Posted by StrategicGrowth in email marketing, location-based technology, marketing strategies, Marketing-changing technology, mobile, Mobile Marketing, Social Media, Strategic Growth Concepts, Virtual Technology.
Tags: bluetooth, cell phone, email marketing, location-based technology, marketing, mobile commerce, Mobile Marketing, mobile phones, QR codes, small business, Social Media, Strategic Growth Concepts, virtual events
I had someone ask me today about their business, “If I could do one thing better, what would it be?”. As a business consultant, I am frequently asked some version of this question, but today it got me thinking that the start of a new year is probably a great time to pass along one of the answers to that question that I give to everyone who asks it of me. Are you ready? Here it comes!
Resolve for 2011 to fully embrace technology and to completely integrate it thoughout every aspect of your business; from your marketing, to how you work with and interact with clients and staff, to how you manage your administrative tasks and actually operate your business, etc.
What I mean by this is: integrate and take advantage of all the benefits that today’s technologies have to offer, including: webinars and other types of virtual events (including virtual environment events), social media, mobile technology (and I don’t just mean mobile marketing), cloud computing software options, video, email and any other type of technology that will help you increase efficiency, productivity, and profitability.
Those that don’t choose to embrace technology will be left behind very quickly because 2011, I believe, will be a ‘game-changing’ year for how business is being conducted. If you continue to do business as you always have, you will very quickly become irrelevant.
Think about your business in a new way, for example:
- could mobile technology enable your customers to order and pay for your products or services via their cell phone?
- can you use social media to interact with your customers and potential customers on a more in-depth level so you can be certain you’re providing the products and services they need?
- will location-based technologies enable you to more effectively target potential customers?
- do you have an email marketing program to keep clients, vendors and staff aware of what’s going on in your business? If not, why not?
- can you make your field staff more productive by dispatching them with tools provided by GPS mobile technology?
- can you get more immediate response to special offers by sending them directly to your existing customers via their cell phones?
- can cloud-computing technology allow you to access information from wherever you are as long as you have some sort of mobile computing device or a computer available?
- can you be more available to your staff for those decisions only you can make if you’ve embraced the use of a SmartPhone or tablet device?
- can you cut down on travel costs, and yet increase the number of people that you can effectively interact with to present your products or services by engaging in virtual sales and training programs?
- can bluetooth or QR code mobile technologies help your firm in the manufacturing or supply chain processes?
- can mobile marketing technologies make your marketing more effective?
- would video technology help you more effectively communicate the benefits of your product or service?
- can mobile technology help you increase the viability of the leads you receive at the next trade show you participate in?
- can participating in virtual trade shows help you decrease travel costs for your staff, and the ‘down time’ that results from that travel, while increasing the number of viable leads you receive?
- could social media, mobile and virtual technology increase your ability to recruit new employees with higher rates of effectiveness?
So far, I’ve not found one business that I’ve spoken with or worked with that would not be positively impacted by increased integration of technology in their business. Given that, I now challenge you to consider how technology can help to improve your business – and as a result, your life. If you would like some assistance in evaluating your business and the options available to you, please contact us, Strategic Growth Concepts is here to help!
Here’s to increased efficiency, productivity and profitability in 2011!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Very interesting article on a related topic on TechCrunch; click here to read, ‘Seven Technologies That Will Rock 2011’
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The author, Linda Daichendt, is Founder, CEO and Managing Consultant for Strategic Growth Concepts, a marketing / management consulting firm focused on start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. Areas of specialization include: mobile technology optimization and marketing for increased productivity and profitability, social media marketing, and virtual events production. Linda is a recognized small business expert with 20+ years of experience in a wide variety of industries. She is also the Founder of the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, a mobile industry trade association, and the Co-founder of Mobile Monday Michigan, a mobile industry networking and education organization.
Linda is available for consultation, and can be contacted at Linda@StrategicGrowthConcepts.com. The company website can be viewed at www.StrategicGrowthConcepts.com .
Posted by StrategicGrowth in local marketing strategies, Marketing Plan, marketing strategies, mobile, mobile coupons, Mobile Marketing, Social Media, Strategic Growth Concepts.
Tags: advertising, Brian Prows, Linda Daichendt, marketing, Marketing Plan, marketing strategies, mobile advertising, Mobile Marketing, MobileBeyond, non-profit marketing, small business, small business marketing, SMS, Social Media, Strategic Growth Concepts
I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Brian Prows, Director of New Media Marketing for MobileBeyond, on the topics of Mobile Marketing and Social Media for small business and non-profits.
When Brian contacted me about doing a podcast interview with him, we discussed a myriad of topics that we both deemed to be of great importance to our respective audiences. In talking it through, we finally decided that if we focused the interview on small business and non-profit organizations, and strategies designed to help them grow, that we would be addressing a very large audience who would be able to find value in our discussion.
During the interview we discussed a wide range of marketing-related topics that will be beneficial to both non-profits and general small businesses; from marketing strategies, to marketing plan development, to social media marketing, location-based marketing, consumer review sites and mobile marketing. A primary focus of the interview related to the need for small business owners to identify specific marketing strategies that are high-impact and cost-effective, and then to develop them into a comprehensive marketing plan which can be measured against to effectively track results.
I believe both small business owners and marketers, and non-profit organization management staff, will find valuable information within the podcast and I highly recommend that you have a listen. The article and podcast can be found on MobileBeyond. It can also be found on iTunes.
My thanks to Brian for the interview, and for helping to spread the message of Mobile and Social Media for small businesses.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in marketing strategies, Marketing-changing technology, mobile, Mobile Marketing, Strategic Growth Concepts.
Tags: advertising, marketing, mobile advertising, Mobile Marketing, mobile marketing webinar, small business, small business owners, Strategic Growth Concepts
Webinar to Provide Information About the Low-cost, High-return Marketing Medium and How Small Business Owners Can Take Advantage of This Emerging Technology to Promote Their Business and Increase Revenue
DETROIT, MI – Small business owners have the opportunity to learn the many benefits of using Mobile Technology to promote their business by attending a FREE webinar presented by Strategic Growth Concepts on Tuesday, August 10th at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Those interested in learning more about this low-cost, high-return technology, and how they can use it to promote their companies, can follow this link to register for the webinar at the following link.
Read the complete News Release HERE.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in marketing strategies, mobile, Mobile Marketing, Strategic Growth Concepts.
Tags: advertising, marketing, mobile advertising, Mobile Marketing, small business, Strategic Growth Concepts
Part I – Mobile Integration into Marketing Strategy
There’s a lot of ‘buzz’ these days about Mobile Marketing and how it’s changing the world of advertising, and direct communication with consumers. However, as marketers begin to become familiar with all of the Mobile options available to them, one issue they will need to give serious consideration to is how to integrate Mobile into their existing marketing strategy.
To help facilitate a better understanding of Mobile Marketing and the most effective ways to use it, over the next several weeks we will be publishing a multi-part series which discusses this hot, new medium and the best ways to incorporate it into your existing marketing strategy. Additionally, we will also answer any Mobile Marketing questions sent to us by our readers!
One of the biggest mistakes that many advertisers make when they start using Mobile Marketing, is to assume that it’s a stand-alone medium – and then when it doesn’t work as expected, they write it off as an ineffective medium – all because they haven’t learned to use it correctly. So let’s make the most important point about Mobile Marketing now – MOBILE MARKETING IS NOT A STAND-ALONE MEDIUM; MOBILE MARKETING WORKS BEST WHEN IT IS PART OF AN INTEGRATED MARKETING STRATEGY AND A SUPPLEMENT TO THE MEDIUMS YOU ARE CURRENTLY USING.
So what does this mean? Let’s first define what we mean by an ‘integrated marketing strategy’. One definition we found that seemed to represent the idea well was: “A simple way to look at integrated marketing is to think about your customer and analyze all media that you’ll need to use in order to reach him/her with your message, keeping in mind that a consumer will need to see/hear your message AT LEAST 7 times before they will recall it. Integrated marketing also deals with managing those media so that you coordinate activities that will generate a higher impact when combined.” The concept includes online and offline marketing channels. Online marketing channels may include e-marketing campaigns or programs, from search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click, affiliate, email, banner to latest web related channels for webinar, blog, micro-blogging, RSS, podcast, and Internet TV. Offline marketing channels may include traditional print (newspaper, magazine), mobile, mail order, public relations, industry relations, billboard, radio, and television.
In a recent article in Mobile Commerce Daily, Best Buy representatives discussed their own mobile strategy and offered this advice for those starting to utilize Mobile Marketing, “Use mobile as an integrated part of a larger strategy, not as a one-off channel. Particularly if you are a multi-channel retailer, customers have an expectation of a consistent experience regardless of which entry point they access, be it online, the phone, or the store. That’s why for the most part, our mobile communication strategy was an extension of our overall holiday strategy and there were consistent elements across.”
In Part II of this series, we will discuss a variety of Mobile Marketing methods a small business can use at low-cost or no-cost to promote their firm. Future segments of the series will continue to explore Mobile Marketing, and attempt to answer any questions submitted to us about the medium. If you would like to have your questions about Mobile Marketing incorporated into our series, please submit them to us directly at info@StrategicGrowthConcepts.com and include “Mobile Marketing Questions” in the subject line of the email or post them as comments on this blog.
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The author, Linda Daichendt, is Founder, CEO and Managing Consultant at Strategic Growth Concepts, a consulting and training firm specializing in start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. She is a recognized small business expert with 20+ years experience in providing Marketing, Operations, HR, and Strategic planning services to start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. Linda can be contacted at linda@strategicgrowthconcepts.com and the company website can be viewed at www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in Mobile Marketing, Strategic Growth Concepts.
Tags: advertising, marketing, mobile advertising, Mobile Marketing, mobile marketing contest, National Small Business Week, SBA, small business, small business contest, Strategic Growth Concepts
Strategic Growth Concepts Sponsoring 2nd Annual National Contest for Small Business Owners in support of U.S. Small Business Administration’s 57th Annual National Small Business Week Celebration
Small business owners across the U.S. have the opportunity to win 3 months of FREE Mobile Marketing Services for their business from Strategic Growth Concepts. Strategic is sponsoring this 2nd annual national contest, as part of their efforts in support of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s upcoming National Small Business Week celebration.
Contest entrants have the opportunity to win the Grand Prize, 3 months of FREE Mobile Marketing Service along with Marketing Consulting from Strategic, or one of five secondary prizes, 1 month of FREE Mobile Marketing Service and Marketing Consulting from Strategic. Entries can be submitted thru May 18, 2010, with winners being announced during National Small Business Week, May 23 – 29, 2010.
To learn how your firm can enter for a chance to win, click HERE to read complete details.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in mobile, mobile coupons, Mobile Marketing, Strategic Growth Concepts.
Tags: advertising, Barack Obama, bluetooth, cellular phones, Compete.com, email vs. mobile marketing, grocery coupons, Haiti, IVR, Jeffrey Hayzlett, Kodak, location-based marketing, marketing, MMS, mobile ads, mobile advertising, mobile banner ads, Mobile Marketing, mobile phones, mobile web applications, Nielsen, QR codes, ROI, scanable barcodes, small business, SMS, Strategic Growth Concepts
You’re hearing it a lot lately – on Facebook, Twitter, national business publications, and even in daily news media – Mobile Marketing is becoming THE way to advertise; it’s often touted as the best direct marketing method available today. So now you’re wondering – “What exactly is mobile marketing? Are they right? Should my business be using it? Is it really as effective as they say it is? Will my customers want to receive mobile messages? Can I afford mobile marketing? Where do I begin?”
So let’s answer those questions!
First, what exactly is mobile marketing?
According to the Mobile Marketing Association, “Mobile Marketing is a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network.”
And that communication and engagement is being implemented by marketers from the smallest ‘mom & pop shop’ to the largest multi-national corporations. As the traditional marketing channels suffer various levels of decline, mobile marketing is experiencing triple-digit growth annually.
According to Jeff Hayzlett, Chief Marketing Officer / Vice-President, Eastman Kodak Company, mobile phones are “the most direct and personal of all media channels these days… They enable us to remain connected 24/7. No need to log onto the Internet or roam around town looking for a hot spot. Mobile devices are always hot. A marketer’s dream is to engage in meaningful two-way conversations with people who are truly interested in their brand, and mobile gives you that direct line of communication — constantly.”
There are various types of mobile marketing, including:
- SMS (short message service)
- MMS (multi-media message service)
- Messages that contain multi-media objects such as images, video and audio
- Mobile Web Applications
- Browser-based web services such as the World Wide Web using a mobile device
- Utilizes WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) – an open, global specification that empowers mobile users with wireless devices to easily access and interact with information and services instantly
- Bluetooth (short-range wireless technology; up to approx. 33 ft)
- Also known as proximity marketing
- The localized wireless distribution of advertising content associated with a particular place. In other words, if you have a cell phone in the proximity of a marketing broadcast, you would be able to receive a message or advertisement
- Location-Based Marketing
- Delivers multi-media directly to the user of a mobile device dependent upon their location via GPS technology
- QR Codes (quick-response barcodes)
- Voice
- IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
- a technology that automates interactions with telephone callers
- Voice broadcasting calls numbers from a computer managed list and plays a pre-recorded message to the call recipient or answering machine
- Pay-per-Call
- ADC (Abbreviated Dialing Codes) dial the code to access voice content
- Mobile Banner Ads
- Mobile Website
- A Mobile-optimized version of an Internet website providing an easy way for consumers to learn about your company ‘on-the-go’.
Next, Are they right, should your business be using Mobile Marketing? Is it really as effective as they say it is?
According to the Director of Research at Nielsen Mobile, “People look at every text message they get”, and 97% of them do so within 15 minutes. Can you think of any other advertising medium where you are almost guaranteed that every person targeted will see your message?
Kodak’s Hayzlett says, “Mobile marketing is quickly growing beyond the experimental and is showing tangible results. Two examples are Barack Obama’s unprecedented mobilization of supporters during his presidential campaign, and the incredibly successful American Idol reality show, where over 20 million mobile users text their votes each week.”
An additional recent example of mobile’s results is the spectacular fundraising efforts for Haiti which were driven by mobile donations. Almost $5 million dollars was raised in less than 48 hours via text message contributions, and to-date, more than $30 million has been raised via mobile.
Some industry statistics may help to clarify the effectiveness of Mobile Marketing for you:
- According to industry estimates, by 2013 the U.S. will top 100% per capita penetration of mobile phone use
- SMS is typically read within an average of 15 minutes after receipt, and responded to within 60 minutes
- While 65% of e-mail is spam, less than 10% of SMS (texting) is spam
- A survey of 2,400 moms reveals that the single most important tech gadget in their lives is the cell phone
- A Nielsen study indicates more than half of mobile data subscribers (51%) who saw a mobile ad responded to it by sending a text-message, clicking on it, or calling a specific number.
- In analyzing the mobile audience, Nielsen found that teens were the most likely to recall seeing some type of mobile ad (46%) compared to 29% of users overall. Asian-Americans and African-Americans were among other demographic groups with high recall rates, at 42% and 40%, respectively.
- 88% of all mobile subscribers have a text enabled phone. 51% have received SMS marketing messages, and 25% have opted in to marketing messaging from a brand.
- 14% said they are already open to mobile advertising so long as it is relevant to their interests
Will my customers want to receive mobile messages?
A new survey published by Compete.com indicates smartphone owners are very receptive to mobile coupons. The survey, which looked at the time of day most smartphone owners use their devices, as well as what mobile advertising concepts they’re most interested in, found that usage during commutes to work and while watching TV were the highest by far.
To find out their receptiveness, the survey asked smartphone owners how interested they were in receiving various types of mobile advertising. The results were quite interesting, indicating consumers were most interested in receiving grocery coupons (36%), scanable barcodes (29%), offers to save and pursue at leisure (26%), movie theater offers (26%) and promotion/coupon ads (21%) via SMS (text) when passing by a retailer.*
Can I afford mobile marketing?
Absolutely! Mobile marketing is an extremely cost-effective medium to use with an exceptional return-on-investment. While some firms have achieved an ROI as high as 54% or 62%, typical results range between 7 – 15%; still quite high as compared with more traditional media such as Direct Mail which typically attains a 2 – 3% ROI.
And now, Mobile Marketing is very accessible for even the smallest of firms. Small business owners can implement their own unlimited mobile advertising campaigns – within minutes – for as little as $25 per month, through a service now being offered by Strategic Growth Concepts – and, no contracts required!
Where do I begin?
If you would like to learn more about Mobile, please TEXT the word STRATEGIC to 244326. This will opt you in to Strategic’s Mobile Club, and notify us to schedule you for a FREE demonstration. Members of our Mobile Club will be eligible for future special offers, and will receive tips on using Mobile Marketing to benefit your business. If you prefer not to join the Mobile Club but would still like to receive the FREE demonstration, you can contact us directly at info@StrategicGrowthConcepts.com.
Sources: Babycenter.com, March 2008; Experian via Mobile Marketing Watch, Nielsen: Improved Recall, Comfort With Mobile Ads Study; Luth Research June 2009; *Smartphone Owners Want Mobile Coupons, Mobile Marketing Watch
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Should you be interested in learning more about mobile marketing and how it can help grow your business, please review the mobile section of our website, additional mobile marketing articles within this blog, or contact us directly via the website or email at info@strategicgrowthconcepts.com for a FREE initial consultation.
The author, Linda Daichendt, is Founder, CEO and Managing Consultant at Strategic Growth Concepts, a consulting and training firm specializing in start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. She is a recognized small business expert with 20+ years experience in providing Marketing, Operations, HR, and Strategic planning services to start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. Linda can be contacted at linda@strategicgrowthconcepts.com and the company website can be viewed at www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in Mobile Marketing, Strategic Growth Concepts.
Tags: advertising, cellular phones, marketing, mobile advertising, Mobile Marketing, mobile phones, ROI, small business, small business owners, Strategic Growth Concepts
Mobile Marketing achieves exceptional ROI and generates substantial incremental revenue
Small business owners can now implement their own unlimited mobile advertising campaigns – within minutes – for as little as $25 per month, through a service now being offered by Strategic Growth Concepts.
As part of our continuing effort to provide our clients with the latest technologies available to enable their marketing efforts, Strategic Growth Concepts has become a Certified Mobile Solutions Provider with a national text marketing solution.
Now, businesses such as:
- retail stores
- restaurants/cafes/fast food retailers
- health clubs
- salons
- physicians
- dentists
- veterinarians
- consumer service businesses
- nightclubs
- realtors
- banks
- consumer media (radio/TV/newspaper)
- B2B firms
- and many more
can utilize mobile marketing campaigns to communicate with consumers about:
- appointment reminders
- cancellation notices
- reservations
- take-out orders
- scheduling appointments
- daily specials
- inventory close-outs
- special order arrivals
- expected arrival times
- event notices
- information requests
- contest entries
- surveys
- new product announcements
- changes in operating hours
- and much, much more!
We’re very happy to make this service available to small businesses so they can now take control of their marketing and get large results with a small monthly investment and very little time. And, no contracts required!
Until April 15th, Strategic is offering a 50% discount to businesses that sign up to utilize our text messaging services. To obtain a FREE mobile marketing demonstration and learn how your firm can receive a 50% discount on getting started, please read our complete news release.
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Should you be interested in learning more about mobile marketing and how it can help grow your business, please review the mobile section of our website, additional mobile marketing articles within this blog, or contact us directly via the website or email at info@strategicgrowthconcepts.com for a FREE initial consultation.
The author, Linda Daichendt, is Founder, CEO and Managing Consultant at Strategic Growth Concepts, a consulting and training firm specializing in start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. She is a recognized small business expert with 20+ years experience in providing Marketing, Operations, HR, and Strategic planning services to start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. Linda can be contacted at linda@strategicgrowthconcepts.com and the company website can be viewed at www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in mobile, Mobile Marketing, Strategic Growth Concepts.
Tags: advertising, case studies, cellular phones, David Reed, iPod, marketing, mobile advertising, mobile commerce, mobile phones, ROI, small business, Strategic Growth Concepts, trade show leads, trade shows, VM Direct
As someone who blogs regularly on the topics of small business, marketing, using new technology in marketing and mobile marketing specifically, I am always on the lookout for examples of businesses that are using technology to great advantage in marketing their firms so our readers can learn from them. Recently, I came across an excellent example being used by David Reed of VM Direct that I wanted to share with you. David has taken the concept of trade show participation to the next level to insure that he maximizes the trade show ROI for his firm. Please read David’s story below and let us know in the comments if this or a similar idea might work for your firm.
Collect leads at trade shows like hitting a jackpot in Vegas.
I went to an auctioneers convention in Denver Colorado earlier this month. I set up my little booth along with everyone else. And I notice that they’re laying out their pens with their company logos on them. Or whatever vendor fodder they are trying to catch the consumer’s attention with. They are setting out their fish bowls to gather business cards. Or setting out their pad of paper so individuals can leave their information with them. Etc…Etc…Typical tradeshow stuff.
And I watch while the auctioneers take their pens, put their business cards in the fish bowls, and don’t talk to these people at all. Not a care in the world as to why they are there.
And then there is me. Promoting an internet marketing system. I had purchased 2 i-Pods to give away at 10 am and 2pm. No pens. No fish bowl. Just a sign that said be here at 10 am and 2 pm for your chance to win an i-Pod. Funny thing is that I probably spent less on those 2 i-Pods as they did on the pens and stuff they were giving away. So 10 am rolls around. I have my system set up. Every one is gathering around because WOW a FREE i-Pod. I pull out my sign that says, “TEXT (my keyword, leaving this out for this post) (your e-mail address) to 69302 for your chance to win an i-Pod.” I start the Jeapordy theme song on my laptop and told them “GO”. To see everyone scramble for their phones was quite humorous. My phone is going crazy because I get a TEXT everytime someone subscribes. My e-mail client is going crazy because I get an e-mail everytime someone subscribes. And they are getting my business card delivered to their inbox because that is the autoresponder I had set up. Those with smartphones are getting my autoresponse business card in their e-mail and accessing it right away. Was kind of mass chaos there for a moment until the theme song stopped. I already decided that the 12th person at 10 am was getting the i-Pod. So I look at my phone, count 12 down and called that individual’s name. They were totally amazed that the system was automated like that. Then they were interested in what I was selling. I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to customers and the other vendors that had set up shop for the day. Word got around and 2 pm was just as crazy.
I collected 198 leads that day. Sold 38 retail accounts. Continue to e-mail campaign the others. And didn’t have to go home with my fish bowl and manually input those contacts into my e-mail marketing system. All for the cost of 2 i-Pods.
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Should you be interested in learning more about mobile marketing and how it can help grow your business, please review the mobile section of our website, additional mobile marketing articles within this blog, or contact us directly via the website or email at info@strategicgrowthconcepts.com for a FREE initial consultation.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in marketing strategies, Strategic Growth Concepts, Web 2.0.
Tags: advertising, geographic targeting, Google local, local store marketing, marketing strategies, marketing tools, small business, small business owners, Strategic Growth Concepts, Web 2.0, Yahoo local, Yelp
With most small businesses today seeking every low or no-cost marketing option they can find to promote their products and services, the publishers of this blog are constantly in search of information about new resources that can help. As we have discussed in many previous articles, many Web 2.0 options abound to help businesses promote themselves, but most are unable to concentrate your firm’s efforts on your specific geographic area – at least not easily. However, the following tools are ideal for promoting your business within your specific geographic region to insure that those potential customers closest to you are well aware of your existance and what you have to offer.
Take advantage of these tools that any small business can use to promote your business within your local community.
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Forget the Phonebook: 3 Local Marketing Initiatives with Higher ROIs
Gregory Go (Wise Bread), Nov 12, 2009 –
The phonebook is so 1998. Few people use it anymore, and yet in an ironic twist, advertising in the phonebook has become more expensive as telcos try to boost revenues. Don’t play their game.
Boost the ROI of your advertising budget by switching your local marketing focus to the following 3 websites.
The basic strategy for each of the following options is two-fold:
- The first step — making sure you are listed and have accurate info — is free for all three of the following sites. It’s equivalent to making sure your phone number and address is accurate in the free, basic listing in the phonebook.
- The second step — buying advertising — is equivalent to buying an ad in the phonebook. Versus the phonebook, you’ll get more reach and better tracking data, which helps ensure you maximize your local advertising ROI.
1. Yelp!
Yelp is the premier review site for local businesses. Consumers love it because it lets them easily share their thoughts on local service providers and retail outlets, and in return, get honest reviews of local businesses from their peers. Businesses love Yelp — honest, reputable businesses, at least — because businesses that receive positive reviews see dramatic increases in referral customers.
Start here.
Step 1: Control Your Listing (and Get Stats)
Yelp provides business owners that have “unlocked” their pages with lots of value-added features including messaging options (eg., post offers and announcements, reply to reviewers) and stats on how many people have viewed your business page. Check out this page for a screenshot of the business dashboard you’ll have access to as the owner of the business.
The biggest benefit of taking control of your Yelp page is being able to highlight positive reviews of your business and/or responding to reviewers privately. However, don’t think that just because Yelp is willing to take your money that it means they will take down negative reviews of your business. They won’t, unless it violates review guidelines (eg., contains racial slurs or is second-hand information). As a good business owner, you should take comfort in this policy, because it means your less scrupulous competitors won’t be able to hide their shady practices for long.
Step 2: Buy Advertising
Yelp offers two advertising options for increasing your exposure:
- Top placement in search results.
- Showcasing your business on a similar business’ page.
You can see screenshots of both options here. Pricing varies based on your city, business category, and number of impressions you want to buy. You can talk details and pricing with a Yelp sales representative by filling out this form and waiting for a callback.
2. Google Local
Start here.
When consumers search for a local business or a local service (eg., “thai food”, “dry cleaner”) on Google, a small map and some business results appear at the top of the search results (screenshot). Additionally, you get a business details page that can contain information like your phone number, email address, store hours, accepted payment types, photos and videos, and service or product categories (screenshot).
Step 1: Take Control of Your Listing (and Get Stats)
Adding business details and creating coupons is completely free on Google. Start by claiming your business at Google’s Local Business Center. Once you’ve verified your ownership, you can start adding details and creating coupons that will appear on your business details page.
Here’s where Google Local become more exciting than the phonebook. On your Google local business dashboard (screenshot), you can see what search phrases people are typing in to find your business and where those searchers are located on a map (abstracted to a zip code level to protect searchers’ privacy).
Click here for more information on Google’s Local Business Center features.
Step 2A: Buy AdWords Ads
AdWords is the program where advertisers bid on search keywords and have their links appear next to or on top of search results. While the AdWords program is not specifically geared towards a local market, as an advertiser, you can limit where your ad appears based on the searcher’s location.
You buy AdWords ads by bidding on how much you’re willing to pay for clicks on your ad. Your ads appear on search results for your targeted keywords (ie., phrases people type into the search box). The more popular keywords (eg., “thai food”) will cost more per click than more obscure keywords (eg., “pad thai”).
Balancing the cost per click versus the popularity (reach) of keywords is what makes AdWords advertising a bit tricky. It does take quite a bit of management to maximize your ROI. Fortunately, Google allows you to set spending limits so you don’t blow your monthly budget, and offers plenty of tools and resources to help you manage your AdWords campaigns.
Managing an AdWords campaign is beyond the scope of this article, but here are some resources to get you started:
Step 2B: Buy Local Ad Listings
These are a new type of ads Google is selling specifically for local businesses. They are currently available only in San Fransisco and San Diego. To get a notice when they are rolled out to your area, fill out this form.
The difference between Local Ad Listings and AdWords is that you don’t have to bid for keywords or do any fancy campaign management. Google charges a flat monthly rate for these ads, and shows them on local searches at the top of search results (screenshot) and in Google Maps (screenshot).
The rate depends on your city and business category. Rates are offered after you’ve claimed your small business listing in step 1. Once you’ve claimed your local business and Google has rolled out these ads to your city, you will see a new “Ads” tab in your business dashboard.
An advantage of the Local Ad Listing — in addition to having your business appear prominently on related searches — is the call tracking. When someone calls the phone number listed on your Local Ad Listing, the call is forwarded to regular phone number, and when you pick up, you will hear a short “this call is from Google” message. Counting up the number of calls you receive from your local Google ad, you can then determine if the monthly fee is worth the number of new leads you receive.
3. Yahoo Local
Start here.
Step 1: Claim or create your Yahoo Local listing
Just like Yelp and Google Local, you can claim your Yahoo Local business listing for free. Claiming or creating the listing will allow you to enter additional information and keep your business details up-to-date.
The first step is to create a Yahoo login. If you already have a Yahoo email address, you can use that login account to manage your local business listing. If you already have a Yahoo account, login to your account. If you don’t already have one, you can sign up for a Yahoo account here (it’s free).
Start by doing a search for your business at Yahoo Local. If your business already has a listing, click on the “edit info” link on the details page. Your business will then be linked to your Yahoo account, and when you go to listings.local.yahoo.com, you can click on the “Local Listings Account Center” link in the upper right hand corner to see all your business listings.
If your business is not yet listed, go to listings.local.yahoo.com and click on the “Sign Up” button. You will be presented with a form to fill out your business details like address, phone number, service description, and hours of operation.
For more information about Yahoo Local Listings, check out the help page for Yahoo Local Listings or visit the start page for Yahoo Local Listings.
Step 2: Upgrade to an Enhanced or Featured Listing
And just like the other options, Yahoo offers premium listings that you can purchase to give your business more prominence. Yahoo Local offers two levels of premium listings: Enhanced or Featured.
An Enhanced Listing costs $9.95 per month. You get to add up to 10 photos, a longer description of your business, and stats on how often people see and click on your listing.
A Featured Listing puts your business in the sponsored results section of Yahoo search results. Pricing ranges from $15-$300 per month depending on the size of your city and demand for your service. Click here to view current pricing details.
Check out this page for a comparison of features for the Basic, Enhanced, and Featured Listings.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in email marketing, Marketing Plan, Mobile Marketing, Social Media, Strategic Growth Concepts, Video Marketing, Virtual Technology, Web TV.
Tags: advertising, BlogTalkRadio, marketing, marketing media survey, Marketing Plan, marketing/advertising survey, podcasting, small business, Strategic Growth Concepts
Expected change in media use by medium
As the economy continues to be a major factor affecting the ways in which small businesses promote themselves and go about the business of obtaining new customers, we at Strategic Growth Concepts have also found ourselves seeking new, higher impact, more cost-effective ways of promoting our business to prospective clients, as well as ways to help our clients promote their businesses. Our interactions with our clients and those in our many networks tell us that most small businesses are also interested in learning all they can to make the most of these new marketing and advertising tools.
Therefore, we thought we would conduct a brief study to determine the methods of marketing and advertising currently being used by small businesses, as well as to determine which methods are being explored. We will use this information to develop a series of articles and radio shows to help small businesses review and evaluate the marketing and advertising options available to them, and to assist in their determination of which methods will work best for their business. Click HERE to take survey.
We will share the survey results, as well as information about the various marketing methods, in upcoming articles and broadcasts. In the meantime, we would love to receive your comments in response to this article with your thoughts about the results various forms of marketing have produced for your firm.
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The author, Linda Daichendt, is Founder, CEO and Managing Consultant at Strategic Growth Concepts, a consulting and training firm specializing in start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. She is a recognized small business expert with 20+ years experience in providing Marketing, Operations, HR, and Strategic planning services to start-up, small and mid-sized businesses. Linda can be contacted at linda@strategicgrowthconcepts.com and the company website can be viewed at www.strategicgrowthconcepts.com.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in FaceBook, LinkedIN, MySpace, Naymz, Social Media, Strategic Growth Concepts, Twitter, Video Marketing, Web 2.0.
Tags: advertising, Facebook, FriendFeed, Google Business Center, LinkedIN, marketing, multimedia marketing, MySpace, small business, Social Media, social media strategies, social networks, Strategic Growth Concepts, Tumblr, Twitter, Twitter marketing, Video Marketing, videos, viral video, Yelp, YouTube
by Samir Balwani
Social media marketing and the businesses that utilize it have become more sophisticated. More small businesses are beginning to understand how to best leverage online tools to build a community and recognize that engagement and interaction are the foundations of social marketing, but most don’t know what’s next. What follows are five advanced strategies for small businesses that may already have small online communities and understand how to create an online presence, but don’t know what to do next.
What Is An Advanced Strategy?
The definition of an advanced social strategy is a technique that goes beyond the normal social media presence. It introduces or reinforces a marketing message while pushing a user to another profile or business site. Before moving forward with an advanced strategy, it’s important that your business understands social marketing, has experience engaging consumers, and that you possess a basic understanding of online marketing.
Strategy 1: Multimedia Usage
The term “A picture is worth a thousand words” has never been truer. Consumers are now using the web to look for product pictures and videos; they want more information and want to see what they’re considering buying. The good news is that it’s easy for a company to create and publish videos and pictures.
In addition to taking photos of products, you can also take pictures at office events as a way to highlight company culture. This not only helps convince others to work with you or to buy from you (consumers see that you are down to earth and one of them, instead of a stuffy company), it also helps your HR department recruit new employees. Who doesn’t want to work for a company that celebrates birthdays and has a good time?
Videos are useful for explaining complex how-tos or concepts. Showing step-by-step directions can have a greater impact than even the most well written article. Businesses don’t have to invest huge sums of money to create good videos, either. I highly recommend the relatively cheap Flip camcorder, which takes great videos and is easy for even a non-technical marketer to use. Multimedia can break down the faceless business-to-consumer sales flow and make your company appear friendlier. Use videos and images to show that your business is fun, you care about your employees, and most importantly, that you care about your customers.
Example: WorldMusicSupply.com
WorldMusicSupply.com, an online retailer of musical instruments and accessories, has used YouTube to build a strong online community. Their channel has built over 7,000 subscribers and has over 260,000 views.
Strategy 2: Integrate Offline and Online Advertising
Many small businesses do some sort of offline advertising, whether it be radio, print, or cable. Social marketing allows a business to extend their offline sales pitch. Including your Facebook Page, Twitter ID or blog URL in offline ads act as social proof, inviting potential consumers to see your community and increase trust in your business. Not only can integrating online and offline advertising help the conversion process, but it can also help build your community. Introducing potential consumers to your social profiles means they may join your community now and buy later.
Strategy 3: Message Adaptation
As businesses start to become more sophisticated with social media they are starting to leverage more online platforms. However, most deliver the same message over multiple platforms instead of tailoring communications for each individual site.
Social platforms each have an ecosystem of their own. What might be acceptable on Tumblr might be considered spam on Facebook. A specific style of writing might spread on Twitter but fail on FriendFeed. Understanding that each site is different and then customizing your message ensures they do well on each respective site.
Not only does customizing messages across sites help the message spread but it keeps users from receiving multiple identical communications. Be sure to maximize your potential by sending a user that follows the business on Twitter and Facebook two different messages, instead of the same thing.
Strategy 4: Local Social Networks, Beyond Yelp
For a small business, local search can be a big win. Being visible to consumers looking for a business in their area is extremely important. Make sure your site is included in local business directories in order to help ensure that consumers find you when they need you. Sometimes finding that many sites can be difficult, however. First, make sure you check your competitors.
Where are they listed? Check their inbound links to check for business directories you can add yourself to. Also, make sure your business has been added to Google Maps, using the Local Business Center. Take the time to include all the information you can and update any old news. For many consumers, this will be their first interaction with the business.
Example: Bella Napoli in New York
Bella Napoli is a small pizzeria in New York that has done a great job of making sure they appear in as many local searches as possible.
Strategy 5: Contests and Discounts
Building a community is only the first part of social marketing. Using that community to drive sales, propagate marketing, or crowdsource operations is the true power of social media. One way to excite the community is to collectively do something to create a contest or offer an exclusive discount (i.e., the contest can create competition between users). Not only does a contest build buzz organically but if contestants need to, for example, publish an article that gets the most comments in order to win, the contest itself becomes viral.
A good social media contest should include some sort of sharing or virality as a requirement for winning. Discounts are also a great way to connect with your community. By giving exclusive coupons to your social community, you’re rewarding and reminding them that you are not only a brand to engage with, but also to buy from.
Example: NetFirms.com
NetFirms.com decided to make it easier to register a domain by allowing people to do it via Twitter. Those who participated or spread the word by tweeting, were also entered into a prize drawing.
Conclusion
Creating a basic social media presence is easy enough, getting your community to actually do something is more difficult. Taking advantage of these strategies can help you build your community, make your marketing more effective, and incentivize buying.
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Samir Balwani is an emerging technology strategist at Morpheus Media, a firm specializing in Social Marketing, SEM, and SEO.
You can follow him on Twitter @leftthebox and get his newsletter.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in email marketing, Web 2.0.
Tags: advertising, email, email marketing, Forever Free pricing plan, MailChimp, marketing, small business, Strategic Growth Concepts, Web 2.0
Those looking for cost-effective ways to market your business can now take advantage of one of the leading email marketing service providers thanks to the following recent announcement. Now small business has no excuse for a lack of marketing to their customers.
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Email marketing service provider MailChimp made its service pretty much irresistible as the company announced the introduction of its “Forever Free pricing plan”.
The new service level allows subscribers to send up to 500 emails per campaign and 3,000 emails per month at no cost. That’s not a misprint folks – that’s a fact.
“We’ve always seen email first as a publishing tool and second as a marketing tool,” said Ben Chestnut, Co-Founder of MailChimp. “We’re aiming to empower smaller groups like artists, musicians, nonprofits, small businesses and hand-crafters to communicate effectively at no cost. That’s why we’re calling this Power to the People. We want to give everyone all the tools they need to send professional, permission-based email campaigns.”
The power of email marketing is well documented. If you’re not currently leveraging email as a marketing channel, this should act as good incentive to give it a try.
Posted by StrategicGrowth in Strategic Growth Concepts, Virtual Technology.
Tags: BlogTalkRadio, Internet, marketing, podcasting, small business, small business lead generation, small business owners, Strategic Growth Concepts, Strategic Growth Concepts for Small Business, virtual event technology, virtual events, virtual trade shows
Today’s epidose of ‘Strategic Growth Concepts for Small Business’ focusing on Virtual Events for Small Business Lead Generation is now available for download by clicking HERE.
This episode contains excellent information regarding Virtual Events:
- What are they?
- How businesses are leveraging virtual events technology to stay in better contact with existing customers and obtain new ones
- What steps should a small business take to get started with virtual events marketing?
- What costs are involved in using virtual events, and is the technology something that small entrepreneurial companies can afford to use?
- What skills are required to host a virtual event?
- and much, much more!
Be sure to download this podcast if your firm is seeking efficient, cost-effective ways of growing your business – without ever leaving the premises!
Posted by StrategicGrowth in Strategic Growth Concepts, Virtual Technology, Web 2.0.
Tags: 6Connex, BlogTalkRadio, Brent Arslaner, Cece Salomon-Lee, InXpo, Kevin Carbone, Linda Daichendt, marketing, small business, Strategic Growth Concepts, Strategic Growth Concepts for Small Business, Unisfair, virtual events, virtual trade shows, Web 2.0
Trade shows – you know what they are, a major element in business development and networking. Whether they be community events sponsored by the local chamber of commerce, or national events sponsored by a national professional or trade association; any business attempting to gain new customers is going to participate in some sort of trade show(s) at some point in time.
Some companies feel it’s imperative to have a booth, others want to attend the educational seminars (or present at them), still others prefer to ‘make the rounds’ and do extensive networking. One thing they all have in common is cost, including: booth rental, display development, staffing, travel costs such as hotel & airlines, and all the materials to distribute – frankly the list can be endless. According to Tradeshow Week magazine, mid-to-large size companies spend about $550,000 every year participating in the standard physical trade shows, with an average cost per show sometimes as high as $100,000 for the larger companies. Small entrepreneurial companies can easily spend in the range of $50,000 per year.
And recent studies have shown – not necessarily productive enough to be worth all that time and expense, particularly in today’s economy.
So what options does a small business have? It turns out, more than you might think! Welcome to the world of VIRTUAL TRADE SHOWS.
As part of Strategic Growth Concepts on-going education series for small business owners, the firm is focusing the next episode of their BlogTalkRadio program, Strategic Growth Concepts for Small Business, on Virtual Trade Shows/Expos/Conventions. Read complete News Release HERE.
This new technology enables small businesses to engage with current customers and find new ones in a highly cost-effective and efficient manner without ever leaving their desk.
We’ll provide a panel of industry experts including :
- Kevin Carbone, CEO of 6Connex;
- Brent Arslaner, VP of Channels at Unisfair; and
- Cece Salomon-Lee, Director of Marketing at InXpo
to educate us on how virtual events work, what they cost, how to maximize their benefit, who’s using them, and how your company can get involved. Learn how your small business can put this technology to work for your company!
Those interested in learning about this new technology can listen to the show live on Tuesday, August 25th at 2:30 p.m. EDT by calling (347) 215-6955, or they can download a podcast of the show at their convenience by accessing the show’s website at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/StrategicGrowthConcepts .
Posted by StrategicGrowth in Social Media, Strategic Growth Concepts, Web 2.0.
Tags: advertising, Facebook, GPS targeted marketing, LinkedIN, marketing, Marketing Plan, measuring social media activity, MySpace, ROI, small business, Social Media, social media measurement tools, social media strategies, social media strategy, social networks, Strategic Growth Concepts, Twitter, Twitter marketing, Web 2.0
While many of the Social Media tools are free to use, there is a cost involved in the time for development of the Social Media profiles and on-going management of Social Media activities. Measuring that cost with respect to results against goals that have been identified will determine whether or not your Social Media strategy has provided an ROI at the level expected, and how it stacks up against more traditional methods of Marketing. To help you achieve an accurate analysis of Social Media results that can be measured against those goals, please review the article below for a variety of tools to assist you.
Should you be interested in developing a Social Media strategy for your firm which has the ability to achieve a significant ROI against company goals, we at Strategic Growth Concepts would be happy to assist you. Please contact us via our
Website or via email at
info@StrategicGrowthConcepts.com to schedule your FREE initial consultation.
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by Jye Smith
3 Steps to Picking the Right Social Media Measurement Tools
- Understand business outcome
- Identify the social media activity
- Analyse the relationship between social media activity and business outcome
Then pick a tool.
I cannot stress enough how important it is though, to understand that relationship between social media activity and business outcome. That’s where the expertise is, that’s where the ROI is.
Which tools do I use to measure social media?
This would have to be the most asked question of the lot – but honestly, it’s like asking how long is a piece of string. Last night I presented at Social Media Club Sydney (slides and notes now available) and still there was a call to look at which tools. Which one are essential to me? Google Analytics and Bit.ly for starters. Katie Chatfield has done a presentation to look at some of the tools available – and you’ll instantly see how overwhelming it can be. But that’s ok – because you need to know what you are valuing first, and look at the tools last.
MeasurementCamp also published another list of social media tools you can use:
- Addictomatic A cool search engine that aggregates rss feeds into a nice visual dashboard
- Blogpulse Blog search engine with conversation tracker tool
- Boardreader Search forums and message boards
- Boardtracker Forum search engine offering instant alerts
- Buzzmonitor Embeddable widget showing recent instances of your search term
- Compete.com Comparable site metrics for any website
- Del.ici.ous Social bookmarking engine. Search by tags and subscribe to feed results
- Facebook lexicon Searches facebook walls for words and phrases
- Google alerts Email updates of key search terms
- Google insights Compare search volume over time
- Google trends Compare search term trends
- Howsociable Gives a social media score for your brand, with email updates of your score.
- Ice rocket Blog search engine with results rss feed
- Newsflashr News search engine, presenting results in nice dashboard
- Sphere Related content widget
- Summize Search for keywords in ‘tweets’.
- Technorati Blog and social media search engine
- Twing Discussion board and forum search engine
- Twingly Spam free blog search engine
- Twitturly Track what urls people are talking about on twitter
- Xinu Shows how well your site is performing across different metrics. Also gives a site diagnosis.
- Quarkbase Fricking cool mashup tool
- Twitter Grader Enter your twitter username to get your grade and ranking
- Twist Graph Keyword trends in Twitter. Very cool.
- yExplore Not strictly social media, but easy access to see inbound links to a page.
- Trendpedia Excellent blog search engine that graphs results over time.
- Website Grader Not completely sure how accurate, but cool tool anyway!
- Yahoo Pipes Err, yeah, can’t believe I missed this off in the first place.
- Socialmention Real time UGC search engine, with social rank
- Bit.ly and Cli.gs – analytics for your tiny urls.
Marketing with New Technology 
