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Posts Tagged ‘sales process’

Your 3-Step Plan for a Business Website That Drives Sales

January 29th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

Is your small business website driving the leads, customer engagement and sales you want? If it’s falling short of your goals, how can you help your business website perform better? Here are three steps to take.

Focus on your target customers. If your website isn’t attracting enough customers, maybe it’s too vague and general. No business, or website, can succeed by trying to be all things to all people. Instead of casting a wide net, narrow your focus. Try developing a couple of “personas” that represent your target customer. Be as specific as you can. If your target customer is a busy mom, is she a working mom or a stay-at-home mom? How old are her children? What products is she looking for? Get as specific as you can; this will help you focus on the keywords that will drive that exact customer to your site. By pinpointing the specific groups you’re hoping to reach, you can develop a website that reaches out to those people.
Focus on your customers’ pain points. A website is first and foremost a marketing tool, but sometimes small business owners forget this. Just like your other marketing materials, your small business website should show prospects that your business understands their pain points and is trying to solve them. Going back to the busy mom customer we mentioned above, if she is a working mom with an infant at home, one pain point might be the need to keep stocked up on diapers in order to avoid midnight runs to the convenience store. Your website and keywords should focus on solutions such as diaper delivery, diapers shipped to your home, auto-reorder of diapers and similar options.
Focus on a call to action. Sometimes your business website is working well at attracting customers, but when they’re on your site, they just click around for a bit and leave. If customers aren’t taking action on your site, it’s probably because you’re not showing them a clear call to action. Every page on your site should drive customers to take a specific step, whether that’s “Buy now,” “Shop,” “Call us,” “Click to get a quote,” or “Chat with our operators.” If your product or service is one that doesn’t require a lot of thought, your call to action could be simple, such as “Buy now.” If it’s a product such as business equipment that requires a lot of hand-holding before a decision is made, there will be more steps involved, but you still need a call to action for each of those steps: “Click for more information,” “Request a quote,” etc. This is not the time to be subtle. Use action-oriented words that are very specific as to what you want customers to do. Emphasize them with color, hyperlinks and graphics.

Last, but not least, be sure that you test all the changes you make to your site by monitoring your analytics to see what users are doing. By making these changes, you’ll find your small business website driving a lot more business.

Image by Flickr user FutUndBeidl (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Marketing, sales process, small business, Technology, website design
Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »

Affluent Men Are From Mars, Affluent Women Are From Venus

January 23rd, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

Both affluent men and affluent women have optimistic outlooks about their personal financial situations in 2013, a new report from Shullman Research found. However, there are significant differences in the optimism levels of men and women that could affect how you market to these wealthy consumers.

The Shullman Luxury and Affluence Monthly Pulse conducted in December found that 48 percent of U.S. adults with a household income of over $250,000 believe the U.S. economy is doing better today than it was a year ago. About one-third (34 percent) thought the economy was doing the same as 12 months ago.

However, when you dig down into the men’s vs. the women’s responses, some key differences emerge:

Some 45 percent of men are very optimistic or optimistic about the economy, compared to just 35 percent of women.
About 42 percent of female respondents say that the economy is essentially the same today as it was 12 months ago, compared to just 26 percent of male respondents.
While men and women generally felt positive about their current financial situations, with 78 percent of men and 73 percent of women describing themselves as financially stable, men were more positive about the future. Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of men believe they will definitely or most likely be better off financially one year from now than they are today, compared to 64 percent of women.
Overall, 90 percent of those surveyed reporting that as long as the economy keeps improving, they will spend either more than they did in 2012, or the same amount. However, men were more likely to spend more; 43 percent of men said they will spend a lot more or slightly more than they did last year. Just 36 percent of women said the same.

Shullman Research Center founder Bob Shullman says women tend to take a more cautious approach to their finances than do men. What do these numbers mean to your business?

If you’re targeting upscale women, your marketing message will need to work harder to reach them and overcome that inclination to be conservative in their spending. Use marketing messaging that will calm their financial concerns, such as emphasizing the value of your product or service, how it will benefit them or their families, and how it’s a smart investment.

If you’re targeting upscale men, marketing messages that focus more on “fun” and rewarding oneself may be more effective. Affluent men are more willing to boost their spending and feeling more confident, so tap into their pent-up desires to spend a little more by playing up the desirable features of your product or service.

Image by Flickr user ToGa Wanderings (Creative Commons)

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

What Marketing Strategies Are You Spending on in 2013?

January 22nd, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

How does your small business’s marketing budget for 2013 compare to that of your competitors? A new survey by StrongMail has some insights. Overall, businesses are bullish on marketing for 2013, with a total of 89 percent saying they will either increase or maintain their level of marketing spending in the coming year. (Some 45 percent will increase their marketing budgets and 44 percent will keep them the same.)

Email marketing, social media and mobile marketing will be the main focus of investment this year. More than half (55.5 percent) of marketing executives report plans to spend more on email marketing campaigns in 2013; 51.8 percent say they will spend more on social media; 42.8 percent say they will increase spending on mobile marketing; and 39.8 percent will boost spending on search marketing.

Two-thirds of the companies in the survey report they will spend more on mobile marketing programs such as mobile apps (39 percent) and SMS alerts (21 percent). Overall, mobile marketing spending will increase by 11 percent compared to 2012.

When it comes to social media, where are marketers putting most of their efforts? Facebook dominates, with 60 percent of businesses saying Facebook is the most valuable social media channel for them. Twitter and YouTube ranked second and third, respectively. Google and Pinterest were somewhere in the middle, cited by 31 percent of marketers, while Yelp, Instagram and LinkedIn brought up the rear.

Email is a strong area of growth for marketers, who plan to use it for a variety of purposes this year. While at one point some experts were predicting that social media would make email obsolete, marketers are figuring out email’s value in growing their social media presence and customer engagement. That’s reflected in the 46 percent who say they will spend more on emails to drive growth to their social media channels, such as Facebook or Twitter. In addition, 38.8 percent will spend more on promotional emails, and 34.7 percent will spend more on email newsletters.

Where aren’t marketers spending? Direct mail, trade show participation and traditional advertising will take the biggest hits. Some 37.4 percent report they plan to cut spending on direct mail, 33.6 percent will cut back on trade show spending and 23 percent will decrease spending on advertising in 2013.

You can view a PDF of the full survey results here.

Image by Flickr user Jay Freshuk (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Business Development, Email marketing, Marketing, sales process, Search Marketing, small business, social media
Posted in Business Development, Email Marketing, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media, Web Design | No Comments »

Are You Leaving Money in Customers’ Online Shopping Carts?

January 16th, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

The holiday shopping season resulted in as much as $43.4 billion in sales for online retailers. But a study performed by The Adcom Group for Virtual Hold Technology (VHT) suggests that number could have been much higher if consumers hadn’t struggled with a variety of obstacles to completing the online sale.

The study found that more than three-fourths of online shoppers ran into shopping roadblocks when they had a problem completing the purchase, but couldn’t find help online. A similar number reported that this frustration led them to give up entirely and abandon their online shopping cart.

What specific issues were causing problems?

Problems correctly reading and using the captcha – 80.3 percent
Trouble using promo codes, gift card redemption, or with other discount – 46 percent
Product was back-ordered – 32.5 percent
Had questions about product features and had difficulty finding answers - 31 percent
The site timed out (or appeared to) – 30.5 percent
Had problems logging onto the site, setting up your account or remembering your password – 29.3 percent
Had questions about shipping and had difficulty finding answers – 24.7 percent
Had problems entering credit card data or with credit card acceptance -22.6 percent
Had questions about product availability and had difficulty finding answers – 20.1 percent
Had problems re-setting your password – 18.9 percent
Had questions about the return policy and had difficulty finding answers – 15.9 percent

Here’s the really scary part: When faced with these problems, more than 37 percent of customers just give up, and 25.5 percent head to a competitor.

How could online retailers help combat the problem of abandoned shopping carts? Rapidly resolving the problems that get in the way of buying was the number-one answer. Customers overwhelmingly said they would buy more from a site that offered the ability to click or tap to get immediate customer service assistance. In fact, more than three-fourths said they would prefer a site that offered this convenience to a competing site that didn’t.

Providing better customer service would not only drive customers to complete purchases, but also inspire new business. Over half of survey respondents said they would become promoters of brands that offered the ability to click or tap for customer service, and that they would refer others to the brand, website or mobile app.

Of course, many of the issues mentioned above could be solved with a robust set of FAQs that’s easy to find on your site. Make sure FAQs about issues such as shipping, return policies and more are clearly visible on every page of your site navigation.

You can download the full results of the study at www.virtualhold.com/onlineshopping.

Image by Flickr user zion fiction (Creative Commons)

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Tags: ecommerce, sales process, small business, Technology, website design
Posted in Business Development, Customer Service, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Lettuce (Order Management Tool)

January 10th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

Lettuce

Keeping track of orders is a necessary evil of small business management that becomes even harder if you don’t have a good system in place. Finding a good order management system for a small business, however, can also prove to be a challenge. The creators of Lettuce also had that issue, so they developed an app to track your order and automate the entire process. Since the app is mobile you can capture orders anywhere and focus less on paperwork and more on the sale. Then use the analytics tools Lettuce provides to gain valuable insight into your business’s bestselling (and worst-selling) products.

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Tags: accounting, order management, sales process, small business resources, Technology
Posted in Accounting and Taxes, Business Development, Compliance, Resources, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business, Technology | No Comments »

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Clipix (Bookmarking Tool)

January 8th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich

Clipix

Black Friday online sales numbers prove ecommerce is alive and thriving, but why would consumers pick your website over a competitor’s? Clipix can help consumers remember your site and keep them coming back to shop again. For consumers, Clipix is a private bookmarking tool that lets consumers set Price Drop Alerts, an innovative feature that monitors real-time discounts on the items sold on your website. By adding the Clipix icon to your site, you’re encouraging shoppers to bookmark your page to their personal shopping lists. And if a Price Drop Alert is received, the customer is linked directly to your checkout page at no cost to you (the online retailer).

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Tags: ecommerce, Marketing, sales process, small business resources, Web Design
Posted in Marketing, Resources, sales process, Small Business, small business, Web Design | No Comments »

Should Ecommerce Retailers Open Brick-and-Mortar Stores?

January 7th, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

It used to be that if you had a brick-and-mortar retail store, you eventually added ecommerce capabilities. But now that so many retail businesses are starting out as online-only, a new trend is taking place. The New York Times recently reported that a growing number of online-only retailers are opening brick-and-mortar stores to capture more business and enhance their brands. Should you consider this move?

Obviously, this approach isn’t right for every company. Here are some questions to ask if you’re considering whether a brick-and-mortar store is right for you:

Is your product tactile or unique? Clothing and apparel stores are naturals for this type of brand extension, as shoppers want to touch, feel and try on the merchandise.
Can you find a small space? Most ecommerce sites that open brick-and-mortar stores aren’t going big, but are considering the retail space as a brand extension or showroom. Others are creating pop-up stores that open temporarily for special occasions such as the holiday shopping season.
Can you make it special? A real-world store needs to offer an “experience” to resonate with shoppers, so think about what you can offer in your physical store that you can’t do online.
Do you have an avid customer base? If most of your shoppers come from one part of the country, such as New York City, it might make sense to open a shop there.
Are my sales strong enough to support a retail store? A track record of online sales success will give you an edge in getting a lease and financing for opening a store.

While most of the companies mentioned in the Times article are big chains with deep pockets (such as Gap’s Piperlime division and eBay), there are others that started with entrepreneurial roots, such as eyeglasses retailer Warby Parker and apparel company Bonobos. The Times notes that companies that starting out as an online-only retailer gives you a different perspective on brick-and-mortar sales. For instance, at the Bonobos stores, customers make appointments to come in so the shop can operate with very limited staff. Stores operate as “showrooms” with clothes in all styles, but limited sizes and colors. Customers try items on for size, then clerks order the product online for them and have it delivered the next day.

Increasingly, consumers are expecting online and offline retail to blend together in a seamless experience, and that’s what this new breed of brick-and-mortar stores is doing.

Image by Flickr user jheffreyswidTM Design (Creative Commons)

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Tags: ecommerce, retail sales, sales process, small business
Posted in Business Development, Customer Service, Marketing, Sales Process, sales process, Small Business, small business | No Comments »

How to Spot Trends in Your Business and Turn Them Into Profits

January 4th, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

The New Year is here–the time of year when “best of” and “hot trend” lists proliferate. As you look back over all those lists of what was hot in 2012, take a moment to think about what was hot in your own business last year—and what it might mean for next year.

Here are four key questions to ask yourself:

What did your customers buy more of and less of in 2012? Use your sales records and other data to see what products and services were hot sellers last year and which ones were less so. See what trends you can spot. Are customers buying more do-it-yourself items, or are they upscaling to costlier ones? Try to project into the future and how these changes might affect your business going forward.
Who were your best customers in 2012? Was that a change from prior years? Maybe most of your customers used to be college students and now your customer base is skewing younger. Or your customers used to be midsized businesses and now you’ve got a few Fortune 500 clients. What do these trends mean for the future? How can you better serve the new market? What new products, services or sales channels would appeal to them?
How were most of your sales made in 2012? If you typically sell most of your products in-store, did that hold true in 2012 or did you find more customers buying online? Did wholesale accounts grow while retail sales declined? Did customers who previously bought your service on a month-to-month basis sign up for annual subscriptions? Again, consider what this trend might mean in the coming year. How can you sell more through the sales channels that are growing? Should you pull back on the less profitable channels or eliminate them altogether?
Who were your best salespeople in 2012? What did they do that your other salespeople didn’t? Assess your star performers’ actions and habits, and develop best practices you can use to train the rest of your sales team. Consider whether sales quotas need to be reset or whether some poor performers need to be let go (there are plenty of hungry salespeople out there right now). Finally, reassess how you distribute client and customer lists. Can you set your top salespeople loose on the prospects, sales channels and products you’ve identified as growth areas?

Image by Flickr user Images_of_Money (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Customer Service, Marketing, sales process, sales teams, small business
Posted in Business Development, Customer Service, Marketing, Sales Process, Sales Teams, Small Business, small business | 1 Comment »

The 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media Marketing

January 3rd, 2013 :: Monika Jansen

The inspiration for this post came from a blog post on Social Media Today that categorized 3 social media sins companies routinely make that waste time and money. The more I thought about it, the more I realized there are many more ways that companies waste money.

Here are 7 sins that are deadly, if only to your business’s bank account:

Sin #1: Not measuring results

Unless you take the time to look at the results of your social media marketing efforts, you won’t know what’s working and what’s not. If you continue to do something that is not engaging people and attracting new customers, well, you’re just throwing money right out the window.

Sin #2: Measuring the wrong metrics

Know what to measure. Likes and retweets are meaningless unless you are pulling people onto your website, capturing their contact information and converting them into customers.

Sin #3: Diving in blind

Not having a plan in place is bad enough, but not doing any research before starting is worse. You need to understand all of your target markets, where they are online, what their needs are, and how to properly use social media to reach them before you do anything on social media.

Sin #4: Zero integration

Cross-promoting content and messaging between online and offline is not hard to do, but a lot of companies don’t bother. Put that Yelp sticker to work by offering a discount on each reviewer’s next purchase. Got a PowerPoint presentation that has received great in-person feedback? Share it online.

Sin #5: No calls-to-action

If you want people to do something, just tell them, whether it’s downloading a free ebook, getting a sneak peek of an upcoming product or receiving a complimentary consultation.

Sin #6: Ignoring community management

The person who oversees your online community – your blog and social media networks – should be one person who is organized and social, not whoever has time at any given moment.

Sin #7: Focusing on one social media network

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket, especially when it comes to marketing. If you focus solely on one social network, like Facebook, over others that are open networks and make it easier to reach your audience, you’ll be missing out on valuable opportunities to expand your reach.

Image by Flickr user shawncampbell (Creative Commons)

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Tags: Marketing, sales process, small business, social media
Posted in Business Development, Marketing, Sales Process, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | 4 Comments »

Cross-Channel Marketing: How the Nation’s Top Retailers Do It

December 31st, 2012 :: Rieva Lesonsky

By Rieva Lesonsky

Are you a brick-and-mortar retailer who also has a website to sell your products? Wouldn’t it be great if you could get more customers shopping at both your physical store and your website? You can. Just learn a lesson from what some of the nation’s most successful retailers are doing to market their products in multiple channels.

Internet Retailer recently examined the habits of some of the nation’s top retail chains and here are the most common tactics they found:

Promote in-store only discounts or deals on your website or via email marketing. For instance, you can email a coupon good only in your store (but include links to your website so customers can shop both ways).

Offer online ordering with in-store pickup. This appeals to customers who are in a rush to get the product or don’t want to pay for shipping. More retailers are offering shorter time frames for in-store pickup, such as Staples, which promises to have shoppers’ orders ready in two hours. If you make such a promise, be sure you have the manpower to fulfill it.

Offer online ordering and in-store payment. Some consumers still don’t feel comfortable using credit cards online or prefer to pay in person for other reasons. You can attract those users by enabling them to reserve a product online, then pick it up and pay in-store.

Do a subtle upsell. Apple, for instance, urges customers to shop online but then come into a store to pick up the product and get “personal assistance.” If your product, like Apple’s, is one where customers could benefit from additional assistance, this approach can get them to come in and spend more in-store than they might have online.

If you’re offering the pickup or pay-in-store option, make sure the area where customers go to pick up their products is merchandised attractively. For example, you could display items related to commonly ordered products (such as cords or accessories if you sell electronics) or impulse buys such as gift wrap or small-ticket items.

Make sure your website has multiple ways for users to find your physical store/s, such as a map and directions, address, and a phone number to contact you. Also make certain that information about days and hours you’re open is prominently displayed.

Increasingly, consumers expect a seamless experience that allows them to shop how and when they want, so make sure your website encourages shopping in any possible sales channel.

Image by Flickr user Jamison_Judd (Creative Commons)

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Tags: ecommerce, Marketing, online marketing, sales process, small business
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Posts Tagged ‘sales process’

Your 3-Step Plan for a Business Website That Drives Sales

Affluent Men Are From Mars, Affluent Women Are From Venus

Are You Leaving Money in Customers’ Online Shopping Carts?

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Lettuce (Order Management Tool)

Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Clipix (Bookmarking Tool)

Should Ecommerce Retailers Open Brick-and-Mortar Stores?

How to Spot Trends in Your Business and Turn Them Into Profits

Cross-Channel Marketing: How the Nation’s Top Retailers Do It