WHY E-MAIL MARKETING?
These days, the correct (read: legally advised) way to build a list is through a double opt-in process. This mains that a person will sign up for an e-mail list via some kind of web form. Then, that person will receive an e-mail asking them to click on a link to confirm their desire to be added to that e-mail list. This is thanks to the CAN-SPAM Acts of 2004 and 2008, and they are the best thing to happen to small businesses. Why? Because now everyone who signs up for your list is double-sure they want to be communicated to from your company, and have confirmed the desire to receive your information. They literally asked for it. So, to not appreciate the importance of that kind of lead generation would be mind-boggling.

GET AN E-MAIL MARKETING ACCOUNT
The best way to do E-Mail Marketing blasts is through an E-Mail Marketing service. Try MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, of whatever service you’re comfortable using. Once you get this account set up, you can create opt-in forms for your customers and visitor to fill out and sign up for your list!

GROW THE LIST
Place this form on your social media channels, especially using an App on Facebook. Place this form on any landing pages you direct traffic to. Last but not least, and actually most importantly, place this form on pretty much every page of your website and blog. I say “pretty much” because you wouldn’t want this on a shopping cart page because it might distract from the customer making a purchase. So, other than any page where a purchase can be made, place your e-mail form on there.

INCENTIVIZE THE SIGN-UP
Give people a reason to sign-up. Offer them a free e-book, or a massive discount, or special perks they can only receive by being a member of your e-mail list. Make it juicy and very valuable. The customer is allowing you to contact them, so give them something of equal or greater value. This is where you start to prove yourself and your company’s worth…so make it really really good!

FREQUENCY
Contact your list semi-monthly. Depending on your business, and how you set up your e-mail strategy will determine exacts, but generally speaking about twice a month is acceptable. Not enough contact and people will cool off and forget about you. Too much contact runs the risk of making people sick of you.

THE ACTUAL E-MAIL
Don’t clutter the e-mail with too much information. Just like any marketing you do, always have one major call-to-action and maybe about 2 or 3 minor ones just in case the main push doesn’t generate clicks. That is also the key here. Generate clicks. You want people to click on that e-mail and go where you direct them (most likely a particular page on your website). Your e-mail is for whetting the whistle and not giving the customer an entire novel to read. They’re not going to sit there and read a long e-mail anyway.

ANALYSIS
Of course, there are a few more topics to cover, and we will in later posts, but this should get you off to the races. Remember to analyze every single thing you do. Analyze open rates (they should be above 20%…don’t get upset if more people don’t open your e-mails than do open them…that’s pretty standard). Analyze click-through rates (these should be double-digits if you’re doing a great job, but again, don’t sweat it if you see “11%” because that is actually a good number). Analyze what links your recipients are clicking on. Are they clicking on the latest blog posts? Are they clicking on social media sharing icons? Are they clicking on your main offer all the time? Analyze every nook and cranny, so you know what your list wants, and give them more of that!

If you need some more advice for your particular business, then just contact us with any questions and we’d be more than happy to help you out! Happy list building!

Congratulations! You have a small business and you’re either just starting out, or you know you need some help to move to another level. You’re seeking out some advice and ideas. This is the first step to getting to that next level. You’re already ahead of the thousands of other Small Businesses which feel that “figuring it out” is the best course of action. This is why you’ll still be in business when they’re packing up the final boxes and wondering what went wrong.

CHOOSING COMPANIES
First bit of advice is when you’re choosing a Small Business marketing company to help you out, whether it’s for a website design, social media marketing, or any help at all, just know that it’s perfectly OK to judge a book by it’s cover. When you go to a company’s website and it looks horrid, their work is not aesthetically pleasing, or they won’t get specific with you on process or price, then it’s OK to feel that they won’t be able to help you achieve your goals. Many so-called “professionals” (so-called by themselves and no one else) and companies are just looking for as many clients and/or as much money as they can get. They don’t approach projects from that very important “win win” mindset. At Circle Marketing, for example, we don’t have “clients we close”…we have “partnerships we open.” This is because we want to be there for our clients every step of the way, and our very affordable packages and pricing are set up to measure your goals over the course of time and provide you with a very specific road map on how to do so.

Now on to the freebie advice! Yay!

YOUR WEBSITE AS A MARKETING TOOL
First thing first, you’ll need a new site in most cases. You should most likely have a CMS (Content Management System) site, which is focused on getting leads and selling your products and services. You’ll most likely want a blog, and might possibly even need forums, ad placement, or a number of other requirements, depending on your business. Your website is something you own and you control, and you won’t be effected by fads or trends. You want your website to be the main hub of content, information, and traffic for your business. If you’re getting more traffic on your Facebook page instead of your website, then your website isn’t being run properly. Everything you do in marketing should lead your customers and potential customers back to your website. There, you should be focused on capturing leads and increasing sales.

Your website should also be designed and developed with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind. This will help you rank higher on search engines for the search terms your customers are entering into Google, Bing and others to find your business. When you combine the idea that your website should look professional, is optimized for Search Engines, and you are focused on leads and conversions, then your site will be unstoppable and you should see your business increase just from a better website alone.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Next, you’ll have to figure out how you want to use Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Know that each social network has a different vibe, customer mindset and way of posting. Start on Facebook by creating a business/brand page, and asking people to connect with you there. Create some highly targeted Facebook Ads and publish only the best and most interesting and most helpful content which originates from your website. This way, you can pull your Facebook followers back to your main marketing hub, which is your website, and get more business. Facebook is an attraction tool, a publicity tool, and a customer relationship tool. Rarely is Facebook a direct sales tool.

Now on to Google Plus. At the time I’m writing this, Google Plus is rewarding their users with extra SEO muscle. So, get on Google Plus, create a brand page, and tie that in to your Google Places/Google Local page. Oh, you don’t have a Google Places page? Well, if you’re a brick-and-mortar business (i.e. you have a physical location where customers can go to) then you must have your business page on Google Places (aka Google Local). Connect the two pages together so you can post all your blogs, news, etc on one page, and have that one page be able to accept user reviews and be found easier when people are doing local searches on Google.

Bonus Tip: Also set up a Bing Local account as well, because Facebook and many others are starting to tie in to Bing and it’s popularity is rising. And…it’ll help you cover your bases.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
You’re going to get list on the top of Google’s and Bing’s search results two ways. The first way is you’re going to have to buy ads. The second way is by having some high-quality, long-lasted, completely 100% by-the-book Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Why mention “by the book?” Well, because there are way too many individuals and companies out there who know SEO takes a while and is never guaranteed, so they try to get a company on a long-term contract which the client can’t get out of. The best SEO strategies involve a lot of work, a little bit of money to pay a service or company to do that work, and also a lot of knowledge. Search Engines change their algorithms constantly to keep providing their users with the most relevant search results to their queries.

The basic idea of SEO is it’s like a referral system. Think of Google/Bing as your elite 5-Star hotel concierge. They know everything about whatever you want to know, and they’ll help you find whatever you’re looking for and give you the best advice and answers to your questions. These are modern day search engines. How do they know? They look at a great number of statistics, but the simplest way to explain it is that the more higher profile websites which are linking to your site and mentioning your site as an expert in your field, then the higher you will rank in the search results.

Hire an expert with proven results, no long-term contracts, and stay on them with charts and reports to make sure you’re seeing results…or move on to someone with a better reputation and better results.

Bonus Tips:
1. Get an Email Marketing and Email List provider like MailChimp or Constant Contact so you can regularly and easily communicate with your customers and leads.
2. Explore what other Social Networks might also be right for your particular business to use in your marketing. Examples: Pinterest is great for e-commerce, LinkedIn is great for B2B, Facebook is not so great for B2B and much better for B2C, and Google Plus is great for SEO (as of right now, which will probably change as Google keeps changing their search algorithms).
3. Buy some Ads on Google Adwords and Bing Ads. Until your SEO kicks in, you’re going to need visibility. To get great visibility quickly, you’re going to have to buy it. However, that’s why we’re suggesting SEO, so you won’t have to buy is for long!

With these tips, you’ll be able to hit the ground running and start going in the right direction. Give us a Call or E-Mail and mention that you saw this blog for a detailed and customized Free Consultation. We’ll help you figure out specifics for your particular business and target market, and we’ll help get you going in the right direction!

MISTAKE #1:
Forgetting The Number One Rule of Business: Business is All About Relationships.

Customers want to buy from companies and people they trust, and value the products from. Customers will refer their friends, family, and acquaintances to businesses and products they have good relationships with (product works great for them, company had great customer service, sales person was there for them every step of the way, etc). The web allows companies more opportunity than ever to develop, nurture, and expand upon relationships with their customers. Focus first on the customer, and you’ll find that you’ll have better customers, better conversions, and better evangelists of past customers who go out and spread the good word about you and your services which of course leads to new customers. Keep that Circle of Marketing going and going and going…

MISTAKE #2:
Losing The Money-Making Mindset Which Help Them Become Successful In The First Place.

Most businesses start out with the money-making mindset, where the small business owner will take out a loan, take calculated risks, and invest in the future of their business. The most successful small businesses also have great products and strategies.

When a business becomes successful, or at least stable, most owners unfortunately flick a mental switch and enter what we like to call “Reverse Thinking.” Instead of focusing on how to make money, and stick to the strategies and tactics which got them there, they get complacent and comfortable and afraid. Ever see a sports team “playing not to lose” instead of “playing to win?” This is what happens to businesses who eventually fail. They plateau, get comfortable, then stay there until the business eventually starts falling off because they’re not nurturing it and growing it. Your competition new and old is staying up with things and thinking of ways to beat you. Don’t let them. Keep moving and planning and stay successful by going back to the things which got you where you are (or keep doing things which are working and getting you on your way).

MISTAKE #3:
Choosing Vendors & Services Based Solely On Price, and Not ROI.

“How Much Will This Cost?” is the LAST question you should be asking, not the first. The first question you should always be thinking and asking is “How Much Money Will This Make Me?” This way, you will know what your Return On Investment is when you do get to the pricing question. Pricing on services is usually flexible depending on what your specific needs and strategies are. Find out the level of success you want to aim for, first, then find a price program which fits into that. When you’re about to buy a car, you don’t go looking for the cheapest car you can find, because “all cars are the same.” You know what you want in a car, then look for cars in a range you can afford, and find the best car for your needs and purposes. Same with services. You can always find “cheaper.” Most of the time, though, “Cheap” is still “cheap” in many ways other than cost.

If a vendor or service provider can’t give you numbers, expectations, and strategies on how their product or service can meet your business goals, then walk away. Actually, don’t walk away…RUN AWAY! Any company that can’t address your business goals with what they’re providing is just going to be a complete waste of your money. No matter how cheap the price is, if someone can’t give you expectations of results, then any money you spend is wasted money. We believe you should never waste money.

If I gave you the option to spend $500 on something that would never work, or spend $2,000 on something that would make you $10,000, and have a strategy to get you there….which would you choose? (Hint: If you chose $500, please read this article again.)

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So there you have it! Now you can promise yourself to never make any of these 3 mistakes and you’ll be well on your way to getting the kind of success you deserve and desire. You’ll know how to stay focused, stay strategic, and keep moving in an upward direction with your small business! If you need some assistance, call us and ask what we can do to help you, or check out our online Marketing Course for Small Businesses, which can help you learn at your own very affordable pace.

In the video above, there is a mention that “everything is possible with the right strategy.” This is an empowering and important thought. Tony Robbins, the great DIY business owner and self-help guru said once that “Success Leaves Breadcrumbs.” This essentially means that there are any number of steps one can take to achieve the same, or similar success another has experienced. One just needs to know how to find where those breadcrumbs are, how to track them, and which path of breadcrumbs is the right path of breadcrumbs for your small business, and for your business strategy. Whatever it is you want to accomplish can be accomplished; and probably already has been accomplished. If anyone can do it, then you can do it.

Not to get to self-help on you, here’s where we will steer this back to the small business world. Your business has a goal. If not, then that’s the first thing you should do. Stop reading this and figure out what your goal is. One year, Five Year, Ten Year, Exit Strategy. Figure out the major milestones you want to hit in your business. These will probably change over time, but you need to know where you want to go before you start driving the car…or you might not end up where you might like.

Now that you have the goals for your business established, consider what other businesses out there have already accomplished what you want. Now, they don’t have to be the same exact business. For example, maybe you want to take your fast Italian food restaurant and create a nationwide franchise chain. You can look at Olive Garden’s path, but you might not align with them. Maybe you’re more like Starbucks, or Chipotle. It helps to stick to your general business category, but you don’t have to model Sbarro if it’s not how you would like to proceed. Modeling a completely other company, though, like Lowe’s, won’t help you either.

Now that you have your model, just do your research. Follow them through their social networks, discover their history through search engine inquiries, maybe their founder has written a book or had a book written about them, and start mapping out what steps they took. Now, obviously, you don’t need to go and talk to the same exact people they did, or use their exact literal timeline; but looking at their successful strategy can help you chart your own course.

Another way to follow breadcrumbs is to read books written by other successful business owners who might not be in your field, hire a small business marketing consultant to help you create your marketing strategy, and educate yourself on the general concepts and strategies of business growth on different levels. This will help you see the similarities across businesses and help you realize what works on not just different levels, but all levels.

For example, Circle Marketing’s model was created using a combination of the following models: Richard Branson, Chet Holmes, Michael Port, and Godfrey Parkin, as well as the various experts we all have had the pleasure of working with throughout the years and learning by the trial and error of the hundreds of businesses we have all been involved with, helped, or consulted. When you combine all the elements together, and do your research and planning, you can develop your very own and very effective small business marketing strategy which not only is right for your exact company, but the very foundations were rooted in and proved through the success of your models, mentors, and those you aspire to equal (or eclipse) in the world of business.

Share with us below, who you would like to model, and maybe some resources which you have found helpful when doing your research! We would love to learn what worked for you!

1. No Clear Call-To-Action on Web Pages

The first step is what happens when someone comes to your Home Page. This is one of the biggest issues, and creates an incredibly high Bounce Rate (people come to your site and leave immediately without doing anything). High Bounce Rates = Bad Website. Most visitors will leave a site if they become confused or can’t easily find what they are looking for. Let’s fix this.

You’ll need a clear Call-To-Action (CTA) on every page, especially the Home Page. A Call-To-Action is a main element, picture, box, messaging, etc which instructs the visitor what you want them to do above all other options. Whether it’s a slider on the home page, or an email sign-up form, or your blog posts, you must have a clear and clean instruction for what you want the visitor to do now that they’re on your website. If you’re selling shoes, then put some pictures for shoes on the home page and a few links and pictures to purchase your shoes. Make it obvious and the main thing that sticks out on the page. It’s preferable to have two Calls-To-Action, but don’t make them both the same size and importance. There should be a main CTA, and a secondary one.

This goes for your interior pages, as well. Nowadays, with blogs and search engines pulling up the most relevant information for any and every search query, not every user will come to your site through your Home Page. This is important to know that you will need a main Call-To-Action on the interior pages as well. Maybe your Blog’s CTA is the blog article itself, but the secondary CTA is your e-mail sign-up form, for example.

2. Website Isn’t Properly Optimized for Search Engine Rankings

In today’s world of Search Engines dominating the world we live in, have a website that’s not properly optimized for maximum Search Engine rankings is a huge mistake. If you can’t be found, then you’ll either have to buy traffic to your website, or you won’t have any traffic at all, because you won’t exist in the eyes of the search world.

For a longer list of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips & Tricks, please read our article on that subject, but here’s a quick over view so you know what you’re looking for. You want to make sure you know which KeyWords you want to rank for, how much competition there is for those KeyWords, and also place those KeyWords throughout your pages, page titles, web page addresses, and in the ALT Tags of your images. Don’t over-do it. Just follow the best practices guidelines and you’ll be rising in the rankings in no time (if you constantly keep doing it, of course).

Also, make sure that you create an XML Site Map and submit that Site Map to Google and Bing through each of their Web Master Tools Accounts.

3. No Social Media integration

Much like Search Engines, Social Networks are also ubiquitous these days, and offer a great deal of visibility opportunity for your business. It’s very easy to put in a free WordPress plugin (if you’re using WordPress), which will automatically place Social Media sharing buttons at the end of every Blog post on your website. You can also enter in a line of code to allow visitors to Like your Facebook page or Follow you on Twitter without ever leaving your website! This is great functionality, and the combined possibility of allowing sharing and capturing social fans is immensely powerful.

Another great idea is to replace your default commenting area in your blog articles with a 3rd Party platform which can help encourage sharing. For example, Facebook Comments will allow the poster of the comment to allow that comment to be visible on their Facebook Profile and in their News Feed so their friends can see that they’ve commented on your Blog article. This increases the opportunity to connect with others without having to do anything (and for FREE, too).

4. Not Tracking/Analyzing results/progress

If you didn’t know how many visitors were coming to your site, how would you know if you had increased traffic? If you didn’t know where they were coming from, how would you know which off-site efforts were working? If you didn’t know what pages on your website your visitors were viewing, how long they were viewing each page, and which page they left on, then how would you be able to know how well your website is working, what’s working, and where you need improvement? You wouldn’t be able to fix anything.

Good news. Google Analytics does all that…and then some. The best part? It’s way more than most websites will ever need, and it’s all free! Install Google Analytics on every single page of your website, especially your shopping cart and all pages throughout the entire checkout process (if you sell online). Now, you’ll be able to see which pages get the most views, which pages people your site leave on, and even how much money you’re making! It’s truly one of the most helpful tools available on all of the Internet that will help your business.

5. Not Having Strong Lead Generation Element (aka E-Mail List Sign-Up)

When a visitor comes to your website, they are most likely a potential customer. They are on your website looking for something. Imagine you have a brick-and-mortar (aka “real life”) store front, and you could capture most of the personal contact information of everyone who walks in the store. Would that be helpful to you? You better believe it. Yet, many many websites don’t have a clear and inviting way for these visitors to sign-up for your email list. Instead, they make the visitor not only work to find the sign-up form, but don’t convince them that it’s a good move.

Instead of just having a “Sign Up for our Email List” form, incentivize them with giving them something for signing up. This also helps you know what kind of people are signing up for your list. Also, you’re making the sign-up form more obvious. Maybe give away an E-Book when they sign up. Something of value that they would want, and by the nature of your offer you’ll know what the person is looking for, because that offer was valuable enough to them to sign up.

Finally, telling them what they can get from signing up goes a long way to them actually signing up. For example, a travel website with the form reading, “Sign Up for our Weekly Travel Tips and Suggested Destinations” will get way way more sign-ups to their E-Mail List then just the plain, vague and boring request in the above paragraph.

E-Mail is one of the best forms of communication with your customers and potential customers. Reason being is because these days the user has to go through a double-opt-in process. hey fill out the form, and then have to click a link in their e-mail to confirm they want to be on your E-Mail List. The person who goes through that process really is interested in hearing what you have to say and doesn’t mind you telling them about it periodically. So, treat them with the respect they deserve as your best prospects and those who are ready to find out more about your company, products, and services.

There you have it. If you notice that you are making one or two of these mistakes, they are easy fixes. If you notice you are making all of these mistakes, then thank goodness you found out now before it’s too late! We offer a Marketing Course which is done online and will give you all kinds of immensely valuable information like the tips above. If you’re making more than one of these mistakes, you might be making mistakes in other areas of your business, too, which could be inhibiting you from attaining your desired business goals and success. Call us if you have more questions, or just comment below and let us know what you think! As always, thanks for sharing this and for your comments!

This is something many professional web designers fail to explain properly to their clients and prospective clients, so I hope to help them out a little here, too.

When you get a few quotes for website design, you’re going to notice what could be a wide range of pricing. You may get quotes as high as $10,000 or as low as $500. Why is this? Its usually due to the combination of what you have asked for, how big the company you’re receiving the quite from is or if it’s an individual designer, how experienced the designer is, whether they are going to give you a custom website or just tweak a theme, or even if they’re going to outsource the work to another country. There are many many factors which go into a website quote and it’s important to know that.

Inexpensive Help (aka My Nephew Is Tech Savvy and Can Do My Website)
You may think what you need and want is simple, but might not understand the development complexity of making it simple. On the other hand, your developer might be in experienced (or worse, lazy) and you might not be getting the website with all the optimization, checks, and balances you deserve as a professional business owner. The cheaper designer may not include all the conversion elements necessary to create the maximum opportunity for you to convert visitors into leads or customers. This costs you money.

Let’s say you sell are a yoga studio. When people come to your website, there is no information on classes, or where to get on an e-mail list, or how to purchase retail products like Yoga mats, Yoga blocks, or other items. You are losing potential sales with every visit.

The Template Site
If you think you’re saving major money by just getting a template site. Sounds like a great deal, right? Only $5/month (if that) and you can “do it all yourself” and have your very own website! Now that you have a website you can start getting found on Google and people will start coming to your business! All for under $60 a year! Sounds too good to be true? Well, it is.

You are most likely not a developer, nor a web designer. Template sites are built with the lowest common denominator in mind. Trying to be all things to all people. 95% of Templates are not designed even for proper optimization or usability. To get a Template website to perform functionally sound and to be optimized for conversion and search results, you’re going to have to hire someone to do some custom CSS coding and add some plug-ins…if the Template even allows that.

When you try to save money, you usually end up paying for it one way or another, so let’s examine how we should do it right.

Pay A Fair Price For A Quality Site
In the grand scheme of things, would you pay $1 for something that would give you anywhere from $2-200 return on that dollar? If you say “no,” then you should rethink being a business owner.  

A quality website (ranging from $1,500-5,000, or more if you have a shopping cart or custom elements) is not “expensive.” A quality website which is optimized for top search engine rankings, has social sharing capabilities, and is professionally designed and compatible with all computers and mobile devices is an investment in your business. This is your online storefront.

If you own a brick-and-mortar business, did you just get the cheapest possible retail space and not paint the walls or fix the cracked glass? Where you happy to “just have something up?” To use an analogy which applies to most people…when you bought your car did you just get the cheapest car you could find that technically ran, or did you shop around for the best value, safety features, MPG, etc?

Cheap websites will cost you way more in lost business than a quality and professionally-built website would have ever cost you in the first place. Alleviate all the pain and stress you could encounter from a relative with a computer or a computer-generated not-user-friendly template site, and contact a professional marketing agency who can help you create the very best and most efficient site for your business. You’ll thank me later. I promise.

When you partner with other business and/or people, you can increase each other’s exposure, and hopefully provide even more value to your customers by offering more services through your partnerships. You can do this by trading e-mail list offers. Note: Do NOT trade actual eMail lists, or compromise the privacy of your eMail list subscribers. Trade messaging, sent by the owner of the list, not by the new partner. Make sure you’re offering these new services as a newly added benefit part to the existing ones, and don’t come across as spam or just in it for the money because that will hurt both reputations. Your side, and the side of your partners. Make sure all your marketing efforts are done so with the utmost respect for your valuable customers.

Action Item: What businesses are in the same business category, but aren’t in direct competition with you? Do you already have existing relationships with some of these businesses and their owners? What ways can you increase your new affiliate partner’s business offerings to provide more value to that business’ customers?

1. Understand How It All Works Together
I was going to make this one the last one and tie everything up nicely, but people are impatient nowadays, so let me give you the most important one first, then randomly spread the other ideas around.

You need to understand how all of the different elements of your business work together to create one finely-tuned machine. You have your branding and messaging, your sales staff, your website, your social media, and your advertising. You also have your products and your e-mail list and your employees. Let’s quickly work this out, and in a later blog post we can get more detail focused, or just contact an expert marketing strategist for some friendly advice.

Your branding and messaging must be clear and aspirational to your target marketing and customers. Those customers need to see that messaging in your advertisements, social media marketing, and read it on your website blog.

Your website must be able to capture customer information (i.e. sign them up to an email list), direct them to your social network pages, and provide them with a clear path to find the information and products they’re looking for on your site.

Your social media pages should have a very clear and easy way to send your traffic back to your lead-capturing website, and the source of all this great content: your blog.

Your advertising should speak with your brand voice, attract customers to a landing page on your website or social network page, and capture their information into the same list as your website’s standard lead generation strategy does.

Start with your website, because you own that and it’s not going away unless you go away. Your website should be the main hub of all information, and everything should be directing traffic, leads, and customers into your website.

2. Repeat Business…Keep Them Coming Back
Your customers are your best friends. They put the roof over your head, and keep the lights on. Why wouldn’t you want to see your best friends more often, right? Once you have a customer, do everything you can to get their information. You’re not going to spam them or annoy them (at least I hope not!). Rather, you’re going to occasionally keep in touch with them, check in on them, and remind them that you would love to see them again soon.

Let’s say you’re the owner of a restaurant, then you can offer them social media only specials of the day, or leave comment cards with the bill, or offer them a free desert on their birthday. Or, maybe you own (or work for) a car dealership. You can call on your customers to see how they’re loving the car you sold them and remind them about the great benefits of keeping the car maintained. Remind them how your staff knows that car inside and out and would love to help keep it on the road and never break down on them.

Whatever your business is, there are things you can do to reach out in a helpful and friendly way. Make sure you do this from a purely helpful frame of reference and not as an up-sell. The up-sell will take care of itself when your customers know for a fact you’re taking care of them and their needs.

3. Referrals, Referrals Referrals
Now we have our best friends, aka customers and clients, coming back more often. Let’s ask them to do some free advertising for us. Ask them to post on Facebook or tweet on Twitter about how much they enjoyed your business or service. Incentivize them if you like. Maybe offer whomever spreads the word a free desert, free standard oil change, whatever you can offer that would be cheaper than an ad and more effective.

Why is this more effective? Because people will believe other people’s word over any advertisement they hear or see. Social Proof is what it’s called, and it’s one of the most effective (and cheapest!) forms of marketing.

What if you’re a realtor? Then referrals are an absolute must in your field as you most likely already know. In real estate, 99% customers won’t buy more than once every 5-10 years, so your referrals are your life-line to a great percentage of your sales opportunities.

Also, on your blog, have social sharing buttons so those who found your blog post interesting can share it on their social networks and/or with their friends and colleague.

Hey, look at that, at the bottom of this blog right here are a few social sharing buttons! Maybe you should give it a shot, click a few, and kindly share this post with some of your friends and colleagues. We would really appreciate it, and it’ll make you look really smart for directing other business owners to the valuable information you’re getting right now.

4. Keep the Mindset Which Got You Here
When you first started your business, you knew the risks and the challenges. That didn’t deter you, though, did it? You forged forward against all odds, put in the extra work and did everything it took, and more, to get the job done and grow your company.

Then, you start getting busier in the day-to-day, and you start to get used to the sales and the money that you’re now counting on to maintain your standard of living. You now have a different mindset. While you would love to still keep growing, the fear of losing what you’ve built up forces you to reverse your thinking and you suddenly stop taking the risks and doing many of the things which worked for you in the beginning.

Then, your business starts to level off, plateau, and eventually (if it hasn’t already at this point) start to wane and slide. Why?

Because you stopped taking risks. You have the experience now of what worked and what didn’t work. You can’t afford to take risks, you say? Well, with competition and technology constantly improving, and customer desires constantly changing, you simply can’t afford not to take risks. Risks, well I should say calculated risks, are just a part of the nature of being in business. If you’re afraid of calculated risks and trying things out to keep the company growing and remain competitive, then close up shop and work for someone else.

Reverse that reversed thinking and start thinking of strategic ways to get your profits growing.

5. Create an Efficient Pay Per Click (PPC) Ad Campaign
So, let’s finish up with a calculated risk option that is far less risky than you might think. We are going to quickly go over creating an efficient Pay Per Click (PPC) Ad campaign. Circle Marketing has a blog on split-testing PPC Ads, so please see that as we won’t cover it here, due to space.

First thing to do is keyword research. Use Google’s AdWords Keyword Tool, and find the best combination of volume and relevancy to pick the best ones. This is more of an expert’s job, so just contact us, and we can help you get this optimized.

Next, create aspirational copy and an image for the ad (unless it’s a text-only ad) that is very targeted. Create a few different versions of the ads, and do the split-testing model for very little money up-front until you find the ad or ads which have a far superior click-through rate.

Next, create a couple different landing pages. A great landing page delivers on the promise the ad made, and gives more information, incentive to order right then and there (or at least the very least capture the potential customers’ information), and have a very clear and appealing call-to-action to encourage the conversion into either a lead or customer (depending on your offer).

Once you found the best ads with the best click-through rates, and used analytics to find out which landing page was converting the highest numbers, we now know what is working and what isn’t. Here’s where we spend our money knowing what our educated projected ROI will be.

Instead of spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on a campaign you hope will work, you now have spend a coupe hundred to test the PPC ad and now can spend the large balance of the Ad Campaign’s budget on what you know for a fact works.

Of course, all of these are very broad strokes kind of advice, and every business and strategy needs to be honed and developed with your specific business in mind for maximum effect and ROI. If you have any questions, please comment below and we’d love to answer every single one of them! Talk soon, and enjoy growing your business!

Scam Artist 1: The Web Designer
Most of the time a small business looks to hire a single “web designer,” it’s because there’s a perceived lack of budget available to spend on a larger and more expensive company. Even the middle companies who might charge a few thousand dollars for a website, or some online graphic/development work, seems too much. So, the business owner, or manager, looks to hire off of an outsourcing website by placing an advertisement asking for samples and rates. Most of the time, the business owner will get to choose from awful to horrible. And when they do find an aesthetically-pleasing website, then it was usually designed with the web designer’s goals in mind, not the client’s.

A common problem is a general lack of marketing knowledge. A designer doesn’t understand ROI, Conversion rates, usability (for the most part), Search Engine Optimization, or content creation. The web designer may also not be adept at developing efficient code, and may even use a template or CMS Theme “out-of-the-box” and hackingly tweak only what the client needs for the site/project to look like the clients’.

SOLUTION:
You should look for a company which has a small staff of experts, and whose work is consistent. Also, ask for references and follow up on those references. Asking to see links only tells you a small part of the story. You’re most likely not a marketing expert, either, so knowing how to break-down the effectiveness of each site given to you as links usually isn’t a tool in your toolshed as a business owner. And if you do work in the marketing department of your company, are you informed on the latest and most effective strategies and techniques out there? If you are aware that Google just changed their algorithm almost a year back to counter act link farms and aggregate websites, then you’re more informed than most.

Scam Artist 2: The Social Media “Expert”
When you meed a “Social Media Expert” then you probably have met someone who spends a lot of their time on Facebook and Twitter, and they feel that the hours they’ve logged in gives them enough usage hours and peripheral knowledge of how things works for them to try to get paid for it. Worse yet, if you ever meet a self-professed “guru” then run, don’t walk…and…if you ever meet someone who specifically claims NOT to be a “guru” without you even bringing it up, then run away even FASTER!

A common problem with Social Media consultants is that they aren’t familiar with PR/Publicity, Marketing and Advertising. Having a knowledge in these areas will help your Social Media message be more effective. Social Media is marketing your product, but it walks the fine line between pure marketing and pure publicity/PR. You’re essentially going to be starting a conversation with potential customers, and cultivating a strong relationship with them. You have to strategize your message effectively for your target market and understand who your customers are…from the type of income they make right down to the types of shoes they are likely to wear. You have to know your customers’ mindsets if you’re going to communicate how your brand, company, and/or product is going to help improve their lives in some way.

SOLUTION:
A honest to goodness true expert (or guru) will have case studies, metrics, and examples of what they’ve done for others. You should also ask your expert how they envision your company or brand being able to harness the power of social media, and what ideas they have for you, and how they will strategize your social media road map. When you begin working with them, after you’ve agreed to work together, then ask for specifics and documentation on how they will work for you, what results to expect, and how you can check their work periodically to chart the progress.

One note, though, to be fair, Social Media is the quintessential real life example of the old saying, “Good, Fast, Cheap…Pick Any Two.” If you’re going to get some Good results Fast, then it’s going to cost you in media buys, hourly charges, and affiliate partnerships just to name a few. If you’re expecting something to work Fast and Cheap, then the results are not going to be very good. For example, if you want 5,000 fans in three months for your Facebook Page, then expect a lot of fillers and unqualified fans usually gotten through trading “Likes.” Depending on the kind of business you have, this might be a decent tactic depending on the overall strategy. Finally, if you’re looking for something Good and for Cheap, then the great results will not come quickly. It will take time to cultivate good relationships while being frugal. Why? Because you’re going to have to keep the hours spend on the social networks down, or you’re going to have to invest a lot of time yourself if you don’t wan to pay others to spend the time doing it, just to name a couple reasons.

Scam Artist 3: The “SEO” Promise
This could be the biggest scam out there. The promise of “I’ll get you on the first page of Google in two weeks!” Anyone who says that, just tell them to politely leave you alone, because you know their game. They know that NO ONE knows the algorithm Google uses, much less be able to guarantee positioning on an on-going basis. There are billions of “first pages of Google,” and you can reach quite a few just with a specific-enough search.

For example, if you search for your own name, or your business’ name then you better be the first entry on Google, or you’ve got some work to do. Being first for your exact name should be easily achievable. The trick, however, is being first for an actual KeyWord and search phrase your customers will be typing into the search engine box to find you.

SOLUTION:
When looking for better search engine rankings listen to the “experts'” pitch. If they promise first page and first spot rankings for any KeyWord you wish, then they are not being honest. If they want to work with you to find the perfect and achievable “long tail” KeyWords which will help your customers actually find you by what you do and where you are, then you’re on the right track.

Also, you shouldn’t have to pay one penny more for organic search engine optimization. That means developing your website so that it’s optimized for prime display in the search engines, and ready for great rankings. Many scam artist developers, and one-person-shops will grab a WordPress theme, install it for you, and tweak some logos, colors, and text and send you on your way. That’s not going to help you. There are a certain base number of customizations which will need to be done on every site, by an expert, to help you achieve those amazing search engine result rankings you’re looking for.

In Conclusion:
There has been a lot of information here. As a courtesy to you for reading all of this, please give us a call with any questions and we’d be happy to help walk you through a few things which would help you out, and NOT give you a used car salesman pitch for your troubles. It’s our mission to help out, and make businesses more successful however we can, so just Contact Us today! Talk to you soon!

Facebook Timeline for Pages is coming to Facebook on March 30, 2012. Circle Marketing’s Louis Tanguay, teamed up with Broadcast Louder‘s Susan Newman to deliver the ultimate webinar on how to most effectively use Facebook’s new Timeline for Pages with the sole focus on maximizing your business and/or brand’s ROI and conversion cost efficiency.

You’re going to see strategies, ideas, and techniques in this Webinar which others simply aren’t doing yet. These fresh and new ideas, combined with the power of Facebook’s new Timeline for Pages’ abilities, makes this a must-see video for any and all small business owners and social media marketers of all sizes.

Circle Marketing can partner up with you and provide your business with the latest in Facebook marketing strategies, or if you have clients of your own we can do the work for you as a silent partner. This way, your clients can give you all the credit for their amazing success. Contact us now, and let’s start improving that Facebook Marketing ROI!

View Facebook Timeline Marketing Video – Part 1:

View Facebook Timeline Marketing Video – Part 2: