Text-Messaging-for-Small-Business

TEXT MESSAGING TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

by BlogCommunications

Text-Messaging-for-Small-BusinessIf you’re good at what you do, you will have no problem keeping customers happy and coming back to use your services time and time again. But it’s getting the word out there to obtain those customers in the first place that can be challenging.

One less familiar way that businesses are driving engagement is through text messages. Promotional text messages cost pennies to send, and depending on the platform you use you may not be charged for any messages you receive in return. That makes it possible to have two-way text conversations at a low cost, making it easy to engage customers.

Text Messaging referred to as (SMS) or Short Message Service is often overlooked when promoting your business. Millennials prefer text marketing. They don’t mind receiving marketing messages on their phones.

There are a number of applications where SMS can be used in business.

  • Discount Coupons
  • Order Confirmation
  • Appointment Confirmation
  • Last Minute Cancellations
  • Targeted Sales
  • Surveys
  • Alerts and Notifications

Similar to an email list, you’ll only want to text customers who have signed up to receive communications from you. Pittsburgh North Chamber of Commerce utilizes a text message program to send reminders of Business After Hours events, networking opportunities and other announcements. With effort and a small investment, you can grow your text messaging program to generate many repeat customers.

Target your ideal customers.

It’s incredibly difficult to try to reach every potential customer out there, especially if you’re a small business. It’s much more effective and realistic to take a look at who your target customers are and focus on marketing directly to them. If this works with your business strategy and marketing plan, you can instantly reach thousands of contacts and engage with them, promote your services, or make announcements.

In today’s noisy world, text messages go directly to the customer on a device you know they use every single day, so you know they will see your message. Because… people very seldom leave home without their mobile phone.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Emotional-buyers

ARE YOU AN EMOTIONAL BUYER?

by BlogCommunications

Emotional-buyersEmotions drive most of our decisions, and that includes what we purchase. Think about it – when you attend a trade show the smell of freshly baked cookies or popcorn will draw you into an exhibitor’s booth.

What is your company’s purpose in forming a connection with consumers that inspires trust, turns them into a lead, and might even spark a sale? The more brands can humanize their content, the more likely they are to incite an emotion that fosters a relationship between the consumer and brand.

Are you spotlighting your team in either your social media or email marketing campaigns? If you have an e-commerce site – how are you addressing abandoned shopping carts? An abandoned cart email is a gentle reminder, from a business to a customer, about the products added to a shopping cart and ‘abandoned’ there.

Why does this happen?

  • Better Price
  • Customer Distraction
  • Indecision

As business owners, we may not realize how poorly this affects our sales and business. Abandoned carts lead to billions of revenue being lost for online retailers every year.

All is not lost if you take action. Salesforce data shows that 60% of cart abandoners went back and purchased the products after receiving an abandoned shopping cart email. A personalized abandoned cart email reminder shows your potential customers what products they left in their cart and offers them another chance to complete their order.

Here’s one example of something to say in your campaign:

Hi (Customer First Name,)

We noticed you never checked out on (abandon date). Did you forget about your awesome items? We saved them for easy reference. Click here to open your cart. (Cart Link). Here’s a quick summary of your products (Products Cart)

If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call our customer service team.

A number of businesses also add a “How can we help make your experience better?” questionnaire to show their customers that their feedback matters. This is also a great way to know why the customer abandoned the shopping cart in the first place. If there are issues regarding a given product, the data gives you the information needed to make adjustments.

Create a positive emotion. Pull potential customers right back in with an abandoned email cart campaign and realize an increase in revenue instead of forgotten items left in an online shopping cart.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Master-Marketing-Plan

THE MASTER PLAN

by BlogCommunications

Master-Marketing-Plan2018 is coming to a close. As a business owner or someone who works for a company, do you take the time and reflect back on the year to see if you hit the mark or where you fell short? If you don’t measure, you’re missing opportunities to either do more of what’s working or shift from actions that aren’t working. The one thing for certain is there will always be change.

Often, I’ll talk with business owners and ask how did that client come to you? They typically can tell me where the last client came from, but when we dive deeper into how many new leads have you had in the past 3 months and from those, what turned into business, they haven’t written the information down in some format – either a CRM, Excel sheet or whatever system works for them.

We are coming into the last month of the year. For many, that means a plethora of holiday parties and vacation days. Is your company preparing for a customer appreciation event? Add the stress of preparing for the holidays and often you will hear, “Let’s touch base after the first of the year”. So, how are you using some of the downtime toward the end of the year? Perhaps that is the time to lay out 2019’s plan of action.

Here are some things to consider:

Have you established strong referral partnerships? The Edmiston Group works closely with McKibbin Consulting. We look for opportunities for each other and as a result of this partnership, many of our clients are in the commercial construction field. We’ve made introductions for them and manage their marketing efforts. Some people have strong ties to BNI or are involved in other category specific networking groups. The point is, find what works for you to grow your business and nurture those relationships. Be certain that the giving of referrals and looking for business for each other is a two-way street.

Do you speak? There are often missed speaking opportunities for breakout sessions at trade show events, but you must plan ahead and submit the required outline that will position you as an expert. Are you trying to hit a niche market? Does that market have a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) requirement for licensing? Can you create a program to meet those requirements? Think about it, if you’re marketing to accountants, nursing, social workers or attorneys that have CEU requirements – you become a subject matter expert in front of a room full of potential customers. This takes some effort on your part, but it certainly is targeted advertising.

Email marketing is a great way to stay top of mind when the need arises. A client of ours, Wright Business Systems recently talked about branded apparel and corporate gift giving for the holiday season. They have over 400 people on their email list. We can see who opened the email and which contacts clicked on the links within the newsletter. They are now warm leads for the team to follow-up with. Undeliverable emails represent opportunities to touch base with companies to determine who the new purchasing agent is and set an appointment.

Social Media helps level the playing field for small business owners. In working with many smaller businesses, they don’t have the big bucks to compete with the large box stores, but through engagement with social media, they have grown their followers. Sometimes business owners we speak with say I don’t have the time or know what to post. At the beginning of the year, the Edmiston Group offers a free social media calendar to download. Look for that in our January issue. However, in 2018, we’ve developed some customized calendars for specific businesses. Branded sales and/or holiday wishes touch their social media audience. Business owners are given a plan and taught how to preschedule postings. For those that are too busy, they outsource this service to us or someone else, but there is a plan to follow.

Sample Customized Social Media Images

Thanksgiving-Social-Media-Sample    Custom-Social-Media-Sample

If you haven’t picked up on the theme of this by now, it’s having a plan and setting aside time to think about goals for next year. Write down monthly activities and execute the plan for 2019. This makes it easier for you and your staff to look ahead to first quarter and see things such as we’re attending a trade show, something for Valentine’s Day or a St. Patrick’s social media post that should happen.

The Edmiston Group helps you create a yearly marketing plan, customized social media calendars, and branded social media images specifically for your business. Customized programs can be designed to fit your budget. Take some time as the year comes to a close, reflect on your successes and plan for 2019. Want some help in putting together your 2019 plan? Download a sample of a Custom Marketing Calendar or give us a call at 724-612-0755 or email [email protected] for more information. Make 2019 your best year yet!

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

creativity-for-business-owners

Creativity for Business Owners

by BlogCommunications

creativity-for-business-ownersAre you finding it difficult to be creative when it’s summer? Are sunshine and fun hampering your creativity? Perhaps you’re convinced that you just aren’t the “creative type” to begin with? Hey, not everyone gets all the good genes.

With some effort and practice, creativity can be learned. The key is in the planning. Do you create “To Do” lists and follow them?

Do you have a yearly marketing plan in place that helps to spur ideas? If not, feel free to download our 2018 Marketing Calendar with dates, events and marketing ideas to grow your business.

Here are some tips to keep the creativity flowing.

  • Be still…Give Yourself Time and Space. Thirty minutes a day to be still will allow thoughts to flow.
  • Engage in brain dumps from your head to paper. These don’t need to be complete paragraphs but rather thoughts and ideas. You might be surprised what quiet time can unveil.
  • Technology overload – minimize distractions. Put the social media to the side and turn off email while you work on your project.
  • Prioritize your projects and don’t let distractions get in the way. Tackle new projects first thing while you’re fresh. here’s a saying, “If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it too long. f you have to swallow more than one frog, swallow the big one first. (source unknown) Tackle big projects when you are fresh.
  • Attend a seminar or take an Online Course. Have an interest in a particular topic that you want to explore? Online training sites like Udemy offer over 80,000 low-cost online courses you can take in a variety of subjects.
  • Learn new things and open your mind to new ideas and possibilities.
  • Do You Doodle? Why do you think adult coloring books have become so popular? It brings out your inner kid and allows you to be creative.
  • Keep an Idea File with you. Your smartphone can easily store notes and ideas.
  • Find Friends. You become like those you hang out with. Surround yourself with creative people who get excited about new ideas – business owners, artists, creatives, writers, web designers, etc.
  • Make Time for Exercise – I personally struggle with this one! Exercise reduces stress and clears the mind.
  • Read from a variety of sources…books, magazines, journals and blog posts.

New behaviors can become automatic through the process of habit formation. There is a simple process to Developing Good Habits:

  • Identify the habit. …
  • Make the decision, and then the commitment, to change. ..
  • Discover your triggers and obstacles. …
  • Devise a plan. …
  • Employ visualization and affirmations. …
  • Enlist support from family and friends. …

Remind yourself that creativity can be a learned skill. Schedule in some time in the coming weeks to try out the strategies above. Feel free to share your creativity with us!

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Outsourced-Sales-Manager

3 Tips to Keep Revenue Goals On Track

by BlogCommunications

Outsourced-Sales-ManagerThe Edmiston Group would like to welcome Lisa Davidson, the owner of the Outsourced Sales Manager as our guest blogger. As you look at the types of partnerships your business forms, consider how you intersect with a complimenting business. It takes a marketing strategy with a measurable call to action to make the sale, but if there’s not a process to selling, where does that leave you? Take it away Lisa…..

The midyear point is quickly approaching, so how are you doing achieving this year’s revenue goals? Much like the resolutions we make at the stroke of midnight each New Year’s to get healthier and go to the gym more often, these goals can lose our attention as the demands of the day to day dealings of running a business can take precedence over one of the primary reasons for being in business; to be profitable!

So, as we near half way point, let’s take a look at why you might be missing your revenue marks from a sales perspective. Here are some of the common issues I find in my practice when working with my clients:

  • Are you selling to your target market, or to increase sales have you stretched outside of your core business? Although this sounds like a good plan, trying to be all things to all customers is a fault many fall into. It may make the register ring, but chances are you will spend more to try and retain those new customers. This causes a loss of focus on your core business and increasing revenue in that area of your business where you truly excel.
  • Is your differentiation over your competition strong enough to gain new customers? Back in the day, “customer service” or “quality products” were enough to attract new customers. However, these have become easy flags to wave and have become common tags for every business we encounter. What company is going to say, “We don’t focus on what our customers want, they get what we give them!” Or, “Our products are just OK.” Sometimes it’s hard as a business owner to articulate what makes them different from the other companies in their space. My recommendation is to ask the people doing business with you why they choose you time and time again! Who better to tell you how you fill a need over your competition than YOUR CUSTOMERS!
  • Do you have a process in place to replicate your successes or do they just happen by chance? So, you get a big sale or a new large volume customer, Wooo Hoooo for YOU! In the excitement and celebration, can you detail how this occurred, so you can get MORE of them? So many businesses take the wins, but don’t bother to go back and figure out exactly how they did it, so they can do it again. Try and learn from the experience to see where you might do even better for the next opportunity. That’s one of the reasons all sports teams review tapes after a game whether they’ve won or lost. To understand their outcome and do even better at the next game.

Hopefully these thoughts will help you get back on track and you and your team will knock your revenue goals out of the park for the second half of 2018!

Outsourced-Sales-ManagerAbout the Author: Lisa Davidson, owner of the Outsourced Sales Manager, has over 30 years of sales experience predominately in selling solution based services. She is experienced in selling to organizations of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to small local business. Through her experiences with these organizations, Lisa has developed an excellent ability in quantifying value and sharing that ability with other sales professionals to increase their success.

Lisa has built a network of quality professionals, and since she holds certifications in various networking skill sets, she has leveraged that network to the value of growing her business and the business of her clients.

 

Business-mindset

Is Your Business Stuck In A Rut?

by BlogCommunications

Business-mindsetDo you often feel you are in a rut? You do the same thing over and over with less than desired results? The sales and promotions you ran in prior months no longer have the same effect. When your small business gets stuck in a rut, you need to find a quick way to snap out of it. This can mean finding a new source of inspiration, following some new trends or kick starting your marketing efforts.

What stops you from moving forward?

  • FEAR. Are we doing the right thing? Going down the right path? What will others think? INDECISION is the seedling of FEAR! Indecision crystalizes into DOUBT, the two blend and become FEAR! The “blending” process often is slow. This is one reason why these three enemies are so dangerous. They germinate and grow without their presence being observed.
  • PROCRASTINATION. It’s easy to always do the simple tasks of being busy. But what happens when you have a large project, or need to focus on something new? Do you spend your time being busy, or block off time at the front end of the day to tackle the project? Try breaking the project into smaller chunks so it seems more manageable and schedule time to accomplish those chunks
  • I CAN DO IT ALL. Often this is where I see business owners get stuck. They have the mindset that they can do everything themselves, yet by not releasing tasks to either outside consultants or employees the business owner is the bottleneck in their own growth.
  • DECISIONS. As you move about your day decisions pile up. Interruptions occur and your head becomes full of deadlines and stuff. Make the most important decisions early in the day while you are fresh. By giving yourself 24 hours, it allows you to “Sleep On It” with a fresh look first thing the next morning. You will find it easier to be clear on your decision.
  • TIME MANAGEMENT. How often do you c heck your email? Do you make a plan and/or a list for tasks to be completed with a due date? Do you assign tasks to others and hold them accountable? There are a variety of project management tools to do that. Asana is a tool that I use with members of my team.

The first quarter of 2018 is over. As you review your marketing plan going into spring/summer, what are you going to do differently that will yield results? If you don’t have a plan, now is the time to put one together. If you don’t have time to create and execute the plan, let the Edmiston Group help.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

business-networking

Network In The New Year

by BlogCommunications

As another year has come and gone it is time reflect and improve upon what you did as a business person this past year and set new goals for 2018. These goals should include steps to learning new things to improve services or personal skills. Networking is an area that is easy to overlook. There are so many events out there – you can network till the cows come home, but are you being effective? Are you involved in groups or events where your referral sources or potential clients may also be? Your sales reach expands by having a well-established network of referral sources both professionally and personally.

Have you ever needed a plumber, electrician, or even a carpenter? When you are in a pinch and don’t know a service provider yourself, who do you ask or what do you do? For most people, the answer is your friends, family, colleagues or more often I see this on social media. How often do you look at Google Reviews or Yelp before buying? Having a solid network of referral sources will help to ensure that you are the person they recommend for the job when the time arises.

Let’s be honest: networking isn’t always at the top of our priority list. Networking is WORK and at times can be awkward, time consuming and usually the last thing you may want to do after you finish up work for the week. In today’s world, third party validation is more valuable than you telling others what you do. When someone else shouts your praises buyers listen.

Millennials have grown up with the internet being just a click away and a cell phone in their hand. Socialization, whether online or in person is more common and easier than ever before. You need to take the time to connect with others, be outspoken about your interests and career goals and build relationships with people you might not otherwise have even met.

There are several things you can do to help make your next networking event a success.

  • Break the ice. It can often be stressful and overwhelming to walk up to stranger and introduce yourself. Have a line ready such as, “What brings you to this event” or “What do you do?” Can help to break the ice and make conversation easier. Truly listen to what they are saying. The initial introduction isn’t the time to “Sell Your Services.” Get to know a bit more about the person and if you think you might be a fit – set up a time to get together for coffee or lunch.
  • Have a purpose. You want to avoid simply collecting business cards. Set a goal for yourself and find a networking event that meets that goal. Perhaps an association or nonprofit event will put you in touch with potential clients or business contacts.
  • Share your goals. This allows you to connect with others who share the same ideas or thoughts as you. Working together with those who share the same goals allows you to benefit from each other, expand your network and reach. I’m certain a colleague will know people you don’t. I belong to a networking group and when someone posts a LinkedIn article, they ask others in the group to share their post. This expands the reach and views of the post.
  • Follow through. If you find that you have clicked with someone at a social networking event be sure to get their contact information and follow up. It never hurts to mention something specific you enjoyed about your encounter with them. I have a process with my digital marketing program that adds these new contacts to my newsletter list. I then touch them once a month with our newsletter.

As you take time to set new goals for the New Year, be sure to set a goal to network in the right venues. Be where potential clients hang out. Gain new referral partners. People do business with those they know, like and trust. Let that person be you!

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.