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Posts Tagged ‘sales process’

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How Your Business Can Profit From Retail Showrooming

May 21st, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

The proliferation of mobile devices—and shopping or price comparison apps to use on them—has retailers worried that consumers are using their stores as “showrooms” to check out merchandise, then go online on their phones or tablets to find the same product cheaper elsewhere. But a new study from Wave Collapse, reported in MediaPost, suggests that worry about showrooming may be overblown.

The study found that people who use shopping apps in-store to research products or compare prices aren’t necessarily more likely to go online to buy—they’re simply more avid shoppers in general, across all channels. In fact, 93 percent of those who used apps in stores also reported buying something at a physical retail store in the last week, compared to 84 percent of people who didn’t use shopping apps in stores.

While the research may ease your fears that people are standing in your store, checking out your products and then buying the same thing on Amazon for less, the news still doesn’t mean you can relax. Wave Collapse found that many people who use smartphones in-store aren’t looking for the same products online—they’re seeing if they’re available at other, nearby physical stores. In other words, they’re doing what they’ve always done—comparison shopping—but they can just do it faster now.

Wave Collapse’s data also shows that smartphone shoppers are desirable customers who aren’t limited to mobile purchasing. Some one-fourth of smartphone owners report buying a product on their mobile devices in the past week, 60 percent report buying something online, and 87 percent report buying something in a physical location.

It boils down to this: Mobile shoppers are power shoppers, whether online, on the phone or in the store. So if you see a customer whipping out a phone in your shop, don’t get grumpy. Get over and offer to help them by:

  • Providing more information about the product
  • Offering additional help such as setup or delivery
  • Explaining extras such as warranties and other offerings that might set you apart from the competition
  • Offering to find or order the product for them in a different size, color or style

Recognize mobile shoppers as power customers, and treat them accordingly.

Image by Flickr user whiteafrican (Creative Commons)

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Marketing, sales process, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »

Quotegine: Online Business Proposal Tool: Small Business Resource

May 18th, 2012 ::

Quotegine

If your business proposals could use a makeover, Quotegine can help you develop professional-looking business proposals that are easy to create, have more features and allow you to track your results. Quotegine can be used for any industry, ,and you can collaborate on the proposal with a team. Everything is created, sent and signed online, so there’s no need to print anything out. You can use one of Quotegine’s many templates or create your own custom design. After your proposal is delivered, you get real-time analytics that tell you how much time a client spent on each page and what captured their interest.

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Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Resources, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Why Social Media Users Are Your Most Valuable Customers

May 18th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

You know social media can help spread the word about your business. But did you know customers who are active on social media are more valuable to your business because of it? That’s one of the findings of the 2012 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer.

While customers in general care more about good customer service than last year, and are willing to spend more money to get it, the stakes are even higher for businesses dealing with social media users. American Express found that people who have used social media for customer service at least once in the last year are willing to spend substantially more (21 percent) with companies they believe provide great service – in contrast with the general population (13 percent more) and those who have not used social media for customer service (11 percent more).

People who use social media for customer service are also much more vocal about customer service experiences, both good and bad.  If they have a positive customer service experience, they’ll tell an average of 42 people about it; in contrast, consumers overall tell an average of 15. For negative experiences, the numbers are even bigger.  People who use social media for customer service tell an average of 53 people about negative experiences; in contrast, the average user tells 24 people.

Consumers who use social media for customer service also have higher expectations for customer service in general. More than 80 percent of them have failed to complete a planned purchase because of a poor service experience, compared to 55 percent of consumers overall.

In addition, consumers who use social media for customer service are more likely to

Why do consumers use social media for customer service? The most popular social reasons were:

  1. Seeking an actual response from a company about a service issue – 50 percent
  2. Praising a company for a great service experience – 48 percent
  3. Sharing information about your service experience with a wider audience – 47 percent Venting frustration about a poor service experience – 46 percent
  4. Asking other users how to have better service experiences – 43 percent

Clearly, using social media for customer service can have a big effect on your business—both positive and negative. If you find customers reaching out to you this way, be sure to be responsive to their needs, because you can be sure they’ll spread the word—either good or bad.

Image by Flickr user sjcockell (Creative Commons)

 

 

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Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »

Consumers More Confident, But Still Pinching Pennies

May 17th, 2012 ::

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

As we head into spring and summer, will consumer spending blossom? While the latest data shows consumers feeling confident, the latest SymphonyIRI Group MarketPulse survey, reported in Drug Store News, finds that increasing confidence isn’t yet translating to increasing sales.

After declining in the second and third quarters of 2011 and rising a bit in the fourth quarter, American’s confidence in their personal financial situations surged in the first quarter of the year. Some 19 percent of consumers say their financial position improved during the past year; 40 percent say it’s stayed the same; and 41 percent say it’s gotten worse. (Yes, in today’s economy, 19 percent feeling positive is good news—SymphonyIRI says this is the most optimistic consumers have been since the first quarter of 2011.)

Asked to look ahead, consumers were somewhat more hopeful about their personal financial situation for the next year.

  • 28 percent expect improvement in their personal finances during the coming year.
  • 26 percent expect their personal finances will deteriorate during the coming year
  • 46 percent feel the same about their personal finances as they did one year ago.

How are these attitudes affecting shopping behavior? Even with a more positive outlook, consumers are still being thrifty.

  • 71 percent of shoppers make shopping lists at home before they head to the store, compared to 67 percent in first quarter 2011;
  • 56 percent of shoppers select stores based on low prices, compared to 52 percent in first quarter 2011; and
  • 62 percent of shoppers check ads before going to the store, compared to 56 percent in first quarter 2011.

“Americans have certainly been on an economic roller coaster ride for the past few years, so it is no surprise to anyone that they will not forgo their frugal ways even though they may feel a bit more confident about their bank accounts,” said Susan Viamari of SymphonyIRI in reporting the findings. “They are opening their wallets a bit more these days, but they are still making lists and clipping coupons, so the key for marketers is to demonstrate the value of their products to consumers.”

How can you do that? Online searches, coupons and ads are the key ways consumers are hunting for the best deals. Make sure your business comes up in online searches, and use discounts and couponing wisely to attract cost-conscious customers, while still making a profit.

Image by Flickr user Beige Alert (Creative Commons)

 

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Why You Should Be Marketing to Women Online

May 11th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

It’s long been the stereotype that women are more “social” than men—in the offline world, they’re typically the ones who plan social events, keep family connections going and love to chat. Apparently, when it comes to the online world, women are even more social, according to a new study by Nielsen reported in The Atlantic.

Here are some of the findings:

Compared to the average online adult, women are 8 percent more likely to have a personal blog. Men are 9 percent less likely to have one.

Compared to the average online adult, women are 18 percent more likely to like or follow brands on social media sites. Men are 21 percent less likely to do so.

Compared to the average online adult, women are 6 percent more likely to have at least one social media account. Men are 7 percent less likely.

Not only are women more likely to get social online, they’re more likely to buy online. Compared to the average online adult, women were 12 percent more likely to have purchased a product they saw on TV. Men were 14 percent less likely.

What do these statistics mean for your business? If you’re marketing to women—and I sure hope you are—you need to get active where they are.

  • Reach out to women through social media accounts for your business and your brands. Create posts and content that resonates with women.
  • Find out which influential women in your industry or market have blogs of their own. Comment on them and encourage the bloggers to check out your own site or blog.
  • Don’t forget about women in business. Social media can be a powerful tool for selling BtoB to female decision-makers or women small business owners.
  • Connect your website, your print or offline marketing and your social media accounts so it’s easy for customers who see your product or service somewhere else to find you and buy from you.
  • Get active on rating and review sites, and encourage reviews from your customers. Respond to reviews in a positive manner and be part of the conversation.

By targeting women where they live today—online—you can raise your business’s profile and your sales.

Image by Flickr user Jerry Bunkers (Creative Commons)

 

 

 

 

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Posted in Branding, Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Uncategorized, Web Design | No Comments »

How to Keep Your Ecommerce Customers From Abandoning Their Shopping Carts

May 9th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Do you despair over the high percentage of ecommerce shopping carts that go abandoned on your site? You might be worrying unnecessarily. Website conversion company SeeWhy reported that the shopping cart abandonment rate rose in 2011 (as it has for the past three years) and predicts this trend will continue in 2012. Why? SeeWhy says consumers are simply becoming more sophisticated about shopping online, meaning they’re more likely to fill carts, seek deals and leave their carts for prolonged periods either as “wish lists” or because they can’t find acceptable discounts for the items.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about abandoned carts. In fact, smart marketers look at them as an opportunity to convert to a sale. Here are some of the strategies you can try:

Remind them. You can send reminders via email to alert customers about an empty cart. Provide links consumers can use to follow up with you if the cart was abandoned due to a technical difficulty with your site, or because they had questions about a product. Season the pot with a discounted offer, if you like. Time is of the essence; aim to send the reminder within 4 hours of cart abandonment.

Advertise. If you use online advertising such as Google AdWords, you can “remarket” by using a conversion code so that remarketing ads (featuring the products customers were looking at) show up on the AdWords network. This keeps the products top-of-mind so consumers don’t forget their carts.

Don’t empty carts too soon. It’s a good idea to keep abandoned carts active for at least 60 days. With customers spending more time shopping online these days, you may need to be patient to grab the sale.

Consider the big picture. If you have a high percentage of abandoned carts that never get checked out, assess whether your checkout process is too complex, confusing or time-consuming. Make sure customers can easily get answers to questions about tax, shipping costs and delivery times without going through several steps of the checkout process. Make FAQs, customer service phone numbers and instant chat options easy to find.

Abandoned shopping carts don’t necessarily represent a lost sale. Treated correctly, they can represent opportunity for your business—as long as you know how to handle them.

Image by Flickr user Adele Prince (Creative Commons)

 

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Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | 1 Comment »

How and Why to Use Mobile Marketing to Reach Your BtoB Customers

May 7th, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

We’re hearing a lot about mobile marketing these days, with the proliferation of smartphones and tablets. But while most of the talk is about consumers and their changing shopping habits, it’s equally important for BtoB marketers to realize their customers’ behavior is changing, too.

For years, business decision-makers have relied on smartphones to get stuff done on the go. The advent of tablets, and their increasing adoption with the introduction of the latest iPad over the holiday season, has only accelerated the trend. Enterprises are adding tablets for their teams or, if they aren’t, a growing number of employees and executives are just showing up with their tablets and expecting to use them for work purposes (BYOD, or “bring your own device”).

Busy execs, in particular, are taking to tablets and using them for all types of purposes, from catching up on their industry reading to giving presentations to watching videos to taking notes during meetings. How can you take advantage of the fact that decision-makers are spending more time on their tablets?

Make sure your website is optimized for mobile viewing. You’d be surprised how few entrepreneurs do this. According to Web.com‘s recent Small Business Mobile Survey,  only 26 percent of small business owners have a mobile-friendly website ( the same layout/content as standard site adjusted to suit a smartphone screen), and just 14 percent have a stand-alone mobile site. Of those who do have a stand-alone mobile site, however, a whopping 84 percent saw an increase in sales as a result. Consider both tablets and smartphones, and be sure to include all platforms. Although the iPad is by far the dominant tablet, when it comes to smartphones, the market is less clear-cut and, especially in big business, many execs still rely on BlackBerry smartphones.

Consider adding a mobile app. BtoB apps need to be useful and solve a problem your customers have by making a process more fun, easier or faster. Think about how typical activities your customers engage in could translate into apps, or how apps can make it simpler to communicate with your business.

Look into mobile advertising. With more execs reading and researching on the go, you may want to move part of your ad budget into mobile. True, you might not be able to afford an ad in the mobile version of The Wall Street Journal, but think about running ads in the mobile versions of your industry’s key trade publications or in their mobile apps.

Get visual. The popularity of video online is skyrocketing, and today’s tablets with their crystal-clear displays are ideal for video viewing. Think about creating short videos demonstrating your product or service, providing customer testimonials or talking about a key issue in your industry.

Whatever tactic you choose, keep in mind that when it comes to BtoB marketing, it’s all about relationships. How can mobile marketing improve your relationship with customers and prospects? How can you provide answers to their questions or solutions to their problems? Make yourself a mobile resource, and your relationship can continue wherever the customer is.

Image by Flickr user Siddartha Thota (Creative Commons)

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Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Technology, Uncategorized, Web Design | 1 Comment »

Why the Hispanic Consumer Market Matters to Your Business

May 3rd, 2012 ::

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

Is your small business trying to reach out to Hispanic consumers? If you’re not, maybe you should be, because Hispanics are already over 52 million strong and will account for the majority of U.S. population growth over the next 5 years. U.S. Hispanics had $1 trillion in buying power in 2010, and Nielsen reports that will grow to $1.5 trillion by 2015.  That’s just some of the data from Nielsen’s recent State of the Hispanic Consumer study, which offers an overview of this consumer market. What makes Latinos such an important market?

  • Youth:  The median age of the U.S. Hispanic population is 28 years old. That’s nine years younger than the total market median age of 37. That means Hispanics are poised to make even more of a mark on U.S. culture as they enter the work force, start families, buy homes and enter their peak spending years.
  • Technology: Hispanics spend 68 percent more time watching online video and 20 percent more time watching video on their mobile phones than non-Hispanic whites. They also spend more time than non-Hispanic whites on texting, mobile email, mobile Internet use and mobile music or photo downloads.
  • Shopping patterns: Hispanics shop and buy differently than the overall U.S. market. For instance, they make fewer shopping trips but spend more per trip.
  • Income: Although a large percentage (43 percent) of Hispanics have household incomes under $40,000, overall, Hispanics are advancing financially more rapidly than the average U.S. population. Between 2000 and 2011, for instance, the proportion of Latino households with incomes of $50,000 or more increased faster than the national average.
  • Growth: Between 2000 and 2011, Hispanics accounted for more than half of the U.S. population increase; in other words, their population grew more than that of all other non-Hispanics combined. In the next five years, they will account for an even greater share (60 percent or more) of population growth.

How can you reach Latinos effectively? Marketing with respect for their culture is key. The survey found that U.S. Hispanics want to maintain the culture of their countries of origin. For instance, nine out of 10 Hispanic parents and parents-to-be want their children to speak Spanish as well as English. It’s easier than ever for Hispanics in the U.S. to maintain ties with their cultures, because social networking, ease of cross-border communication and access to technology enable them to stay in touch with relatives in their countries of origin.

Image by Flick user Jorge Ravines (Creative Commons)

 

 

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Grab Your Share of Mother’s Day Spending

May 2nd, 2012 ::

By Rieva Lesonsky

Mother’s Day is coming up May 13, and the 86.5 percent of consumers who are celebrating the day will be shelling out more money than they have in the past few years, reports NRF’s 2012 Mother’s Day consumer spending survey conducted by BIGinsight.

Consumer spending is up in general this spring, and Mom is going to benefit. NRF’s survey found that the average person celebrating the holiday is expected to spend $152.52 on gifts, up from $140.73 last year. Total spending is projected to reach $18.6 billion.

What are consumers spending on?

  • Two-thirds (66.4 percent) will buy flowers, spending a total of $2.2 billion.
  • Almost one-third (32.8 percent) will buy clothing or accessories, spending a total of $1.6 billion.
  • Electronics such as tablets and digital cameras are the gift of choice from 12.7 percent, who will spend a total of $1.6 billion.
  • More than half (54.3 percent) of those celebrating Mother’s Day will treat mom to dinner or brunch, spending $3.4 billion.
  • Finally, a total of $1.8 billion will be spent on gift cards and $1.3 billion on personal services such as spa or salon services.

Who are they buying for?

Almost 65 percent of respondents will buy gifts for their mom or stepmom; others will buy for their wife (22.4 percent), daughter (10.5 percent), grandmother (8.2 percent), sister (8.4 percent), friend (7.6 percent) or godmother (2.1 percent).

Where are they buying?

Although department stores are the most cited place to shop, specialty stores including jewelers, florists and electronics stores will attract 36.3 percent of consumers, and specialty clothing stores another 8.2 percent. One-fourth of shoppers will buy gifts online, an increase from 21.5 percent last year.

Whether they buy online or off, more consumers this year are using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to research their options, comparison shop or even buy.

About 40 percent of smartphone owners and 51.2 percent of tablet owners say they will to use their devices to research products, compare prices, find or use coupons, look up retailer information and buy gifts. Tablet owners in particular will make the most of their devices, with more than 40 percent planning to purchase items online with their tablets this year.

It’s not too late to take advantage of Mother’s Day spending in your business, whether you sell apparel or electronics, personal services, or own a restaurant. Offering Mother’s Day deals and gift ideas for time-strapped dads is a smart way to capture some of the cash for your business.

Image by Flickr user julian wylegly (Creative Commons)

 

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Small Biz Resource Tip: TaskRabbit

April 27th, 2012 ::

TaskRabbit

Maybe you need to take on a few lower-paying jobs to get you through a slow season. Maybe you are just starting out and need to get the word out about your services. Whatever the reason, TaskRabbit can help you find customers or people to do tasks for you. Users post their needs on the site, and businesses bid on the job. TaskRabbit doesn’t charge you anything to bid, but makes its money by tacking on a 15 percent service fee for the users who accept your bid. The lowest offer usually gets the bid, but if you want the work and are trying to build a reputation, it may be worth it.

 

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Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Resources, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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