Email marketing can become an effective way to engage your customers, if done effectively.  More importantly, email marketing is not necessarily sending out ads or special offers via email.  It is in essence using the email channel to share a message to many contacts at once.  An email newsletter, alerts to your blog or other thought leadership, or other non-sales related email-based communication all fall into this category.  So before you start blasting out loads of emails– let’s see if you are no-spam-from-me compliant.   You should be able to say “yes” I do all these things below:

1.    Opted In: All the contacts on my email lists are contacts that have given me their information by opting in to a mailing list on my site, signing up to receive content from me or people I have actually met and exchanged information with (in person, online, etc.). Make it easy to subscribe to your email list by posting sign-up options on your website, blog, and social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. This coupled with an incentive, like a discount or a free item, will be more effective than waiting for customers to take action alone.  Furthermore, keep your signup form simple so visitors can quickly join.

2.    Invited: If you purchase email lists, which many large and well-known companies do, you take an extra step to “invite” these contacts onto your list BEFORE you send them some sort of offer-based email.  A great way to invite contacts like this onto your mailing list is to dangle one of your most prized pieces of thought leadership (a special report, a video, some resource, a free download, etc.) in front of them.  If you want to make email marketing an effective part of your business, you will need to adhere to ICAN-Spam rules and, well, to just be polite when reaching out to new people.  Don’t assume they want to get what you’re sending.

3.    A way out: I provide a way off my mailing list clearly on every mass outbound email communication I send.

4.    Relevant: You should make sure that what you send will be meaningful to the people on a particular contact list.  This means all contacts may not get all of your email communications.  Target your content to those that really want or need it.

5.    Managed: Make sure that you aren’t sending too many mails to any one person.  So this means you will need some sort of email management tool.  There are many well regarded options out there, we use MailChimp.com and Strongmail.com.

Okay, if you can say “yes” to all the email marketing requirements above, you’re ready to plan your email marketing strategy.  Take a moment to ask yourself what goals, other than generating leads, you are trying to accomplish from your email marketing strategy and then follow these simple guidelines:

·      Set expectations about content.  Tell your customers exactly what they will be getting with the subscriptions, i.e., newsletters, coupons, or sale alerts, and give them just that. Keep the content focused on what you promised at sign-up.  In addition, be consistent with your brand with regard to the look and messaging.

·      Don't send too often.  Send emails on a regular and predictable schedule, or only if you have something valuable to share.  Too many emails will turn off even your most loyal customers. Be strategic in deciding the day and time that you send your email, as this will have a direct effect on open rates. If you send it too late in the week or day, you risk losing them to the anticipation of the weekend. 

·      Make it an easy read. Now that they have joined your subscribe list, do not take up too much of their time expecting them to read long-winded emails or newsletters. Bullet points and subheadings work well in making the content more readable. Use teasers to get them interested, then provide a "learn more" option.  This will allow them to do three things: 1) continue scanning the rest of the email; 2) re-visit the email to read the article or information at a more convenient time; and (3) click on links to seek additional information.

·      Make it Mobile-friendly. If you don't use an email service, invest in a developer to ensure your email is optimized for every possible device.  Chances are high that your customers will view emails on a mobile device so it needs to be responsive.  If it is difficult to view or read, that customer could be lost forever.  Also, make it possible to share your emails via Facebook, or Twitter, or as newsfeed.  Shared information is more likely to be read by a wider audience than unsolicited emails directly from you.

·      Ensure it Measures Up: Use an email service to help you keep track of deliverability and open rates.  Services, like Constant Contact, MailChimp, Strongmail and Salesforce, can provide you with a report that shows you emails that are bouncing back or not being opened.  Going deeper, you can even measure which links in the email people clicked on, and what information they viewed.  Use this information to streamline your process and message, as well as when you get leads to know more about what they may be interested in.

Final Thoughts

Using email to engage your audience can be a powerful channel, particularly if you keep emails focused and honest, and improve your tactics by using the metrics.  

Want Help? Contact our team today to ask a question via the form to the right.

ChangeU: for your independent study…

·      Know the laws about SPAM: http://goo.gl/xdDkVE CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business [pdf] Bureau of Consumer Protection.  The CAN-SPAM Act, a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

     ·     EMAIL IN MOTION: http://goo.gl/I5usnH  MOBILE IS LEADING THE EMAIL RELATIONSHIP

          Return Path research and publications provide a wealth of knowledge regarding best practices,

           client experiences, and industry research studies.

      ·    2014 Best Email Marketing Software Review: http://goo.gl/QgVhuU  Check the comparison and

           review of the top ten email marketing software.  

A common mistake that small companies make is they want to be everything to everyone.  Even big companies make this mistake too.  The truth is that your business, particularly if you sell some sort of technology offering, will be BEST SUITED for only one particular type or profile of customer. 

And, because time and money are limited, the exercise of narrowing your lens to focus on just that type of customer could help you increase the yield of your various lead generation and sales activities. 

Why is it important to narrow your focus?

1.  To concentrate on your organization's core competencies.  Put another way…do what you do best.   Passion, creativity, and the willingness to go the extra mile will come through in the product or service – and clients will immediately take notice.  The attention to detail, research and best-practice methods will even spark innovation -- leading to countless new products that your organization can consider launching into the market.

What if I lose business?  You won't.  Instead, you will actually gain business, because you will be demonstrating a commitment to clients in an industry that will regard you as a trusted resource or advisor.   If you are concerned that you might lose potential business – perhaps a client in the periphery to your core market – you should instead concentrate on serving the market with the products you know best.

What if I become obsolete?  Markets, preferences, customers, and products can all be expected to change at a moment's notice.  One big fear of narrowing focus on only one product or audience demographic might be that the product no longer becomes useful or interesting – that it becomes obsolete.  You can combat this if you and your organization have been strategic all along.  By accurately drawing a product roadmap and being able to accurately predict the direction of your target market, you will be able to predict obsolescence long before it is an issue.  And if you have been maintaining a narrow, concentrated focus all along, you will be able to harness both internal and external resources to develop a plan that addresses any product or market shortfalls long before they become an issue.

2.  To improve overall communications and messaging.  Instead of general messaging, do not be afraid to let your audience know about the specific type of product that you offer, or the specific market that you serve.  This is a radical departure from current marketing communications trends but additional rewards will surface in the form of journalists and bloggers who will not only easily find you, but also more easily write about you, as your corporate and product story is much more easy to relate.  As such, you will win over a notoriously difficult constituent group – which any business needs to carry forth its brand messaging and communications.

What if the creative gets stifled?  If you are feeling that your creative is getting a bit worn out, or that you have said everything you can possibly say, you are not working hard enough.  Challenge your marketing team or agency to develop more engaging content, or better yet, crowdsource your messaging: use your Yammer, Chatter, or online community software instance to ask both your internal and external communities for input, advice, and ideas on messaging.  Don't forget to gamify the experience, and reward the winner or winning team with something valuable (or fun).

3.  To differentiate your organization and its capabilities.  Ironically, in an age of 'solution providers' that promise all things to all people, focusing on only one product, category, or industry will set you apart.  Just as with becoming memorable to journalists, bloggers, and influencers or your razor-sharp focus, you will become indelible to your clients for delivering a stellar product or service to an audience whom you clearly demonstrate to know very well.

4.  To better balance risk.  Small companies often over-extend themselves to grab a new, tangential piece of business – rather than focusing attention on core segments OR they become too focused on that one or two really great clients and ignore other opportunities in their bailiwick.  The best approach to this is to balance harvesting your core segments, and your best customers, while also diversifying with a choice few new ones.  Be sure to give your best customers your fullest resources and attention while you grow – but also be willing to balance your time and resource investment with new customers that might bring greater profits and/or growth.  This will be a challenge, but one worth fighting through.  The rule of thumb is – if you’ve got more than 50% of your revenues coming from ONE customer, you need to diversify.  And, if your resource allocation does not reflect your profit yield per customer (meaning the most profitable customers get the most support, value-add, etc.) then you need to consider how you are serving your customers – this should match up reasonably well.   Lastly, if you don’t know the profit yield of each customer – you will probably benefit greatly from better accounting and budgeting practices. 

5.  To increase productivity and profitability.    Because nearly everyone in your organization will be more focused on the products or services that will yield the highest sales with the least number of customer service issues, your company will become more productive and profitable.  Knowing what works best will enable you and your company to avoid developing, selling, and servicing products which will not work, making your organization more efficient over time.

Final Thought:  Narrowing does not mean limiting.  A razor-sharp focus on clients with targeted messaging about the right product will lead to sales.  Today's marketing professional may struggle with this concept, but when sales and satisfied customers result, the rest of the industry will take notice.  Since all marketing should tie back to revenue, your team will easily be able to measure the results of this strategy. 

It's always a tough decision to break away from the pack.  Make the tough decision to focus on what your company does best in order to concentrate on favorable outcomes.  And, more importantly, you can point your efforts to outcomes that will really matter to the success of the business.

Want Help? Contact our team today ask a question via the form to the right.

ChangeU: for your independent study… 

1. THE GLOBAL INNOVATION 1000:  http://goo.gl/AVZk30 How the Top Innovators Keep Winning Booz & Company's annual study of the world's biggest R&D spenders shows why highly innovative companies are able to consistently outperform. Their secret? They're good at the right things, not at everything.

2. The Nine Principles of Branding:  http://goo.gl/Y4F4cr Greg Stine identifies 9 fundamental qualities of a good branding program to help companies positively differentiate themselves and their products from that of the competition.

3. Discipline of Market Leaders:  Target your Customers, Narrow your Focus, Dominate your Market, by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema: http://goo.gl/VzZwKS From the best-selling book, The Discipline of Market Leaders, research shows that businesses achieve sustained success by using 3 disciplines:  operational excellence, product leadership and customer intimacy.  Successful companies excel in one of the disciplines and must be satisfactory in the other two.

How small businesses should use Groupon or LivingSocial

With millions of subscribers worldwide, Groupon (51.8 million) and LivingSocial (70 million) could be great avenues for Small Businesses to find new customers and grow.  But, in order for these platforms to really help a business grow profitably, business owners will need have a well-thought out strategy on how to use them and, more importantly, how to monetize the customers that come from these sites. 

Groupon and LivingSocial are so attractive to shoppers because they offer substantial discounts -sometimes as much as 90% off goods, services, or entertainment.  In fact, these types of sites typically require a significant discount before an offer can be listed.  As such, business owners need to be smart about using these types of sites to grow because your listed deals may not deliver much profit (if any at all).  However, with some calculated planning and excellent customer relationship management, these platforms could be a great way to find new customers and can be an excellent way to market your business locally.  

In short, I see Groupon and LivingSocial as great advertising platforms for small businesses, like the Scottsdale restaurant, Twisted Rose Winery featured below.  This type of offer can be highly effective to drive revenue and profits if used as part of a bigger strategy for small and local businesses.

Have a Clear Set of Objectives

The first step to using these sites successfully is to actually think about the customers you want to attract and more importantly, how you plan to sell them related items/services, as well as how to keep them coming back to your business (even if they don’t get the luxury of a discount).  So, start by creating a plan to retain the Grouponers or LivingSocialites that respond to your offer.  This could be the difference between a successful campaign or a short-term cash grab.  A well-positioned promotional strategy that includes understanding what value-added features your target customer will appreciate will get them to spend a few more dollars when they redeem the deal coupon.

Be Prepared for an Influx of Customers

Before you make such an offer, ensure that you have sufficient inventory and staff to deliver excellent customer service – and if you run out, that you’ve also communicated with customers when they can expect to get your product or service.  Set expectations with buyers so that if your offer is very successful, you have time to order extra stock and/or add another person to the staff to handle the expected surge, among other measures. Nothing will diminish your returns and efforts more than a lack of preparedness or miss managed customer expectations. 

Negotiate. Negotiate. Negotiate.

Take charge of the process when you negotiate with these sites in order to retain as much of the deal revenue as possible.  Do not settle for any number just to get your deal on the site. Do the math and crunch the numbers to figure out what percentage you need to at least break even -- then negotiate to get as close as possible to that percentage. Be vigilant in setting your budget because sales do not always equate to profit. Think of these sites as a means to attract new customers (as opposed to spending money on advertising), and once you’ve attracted them it’s your job to keep them and/or earn more revenue from them with your great products and services.  So as you negotiate, take into consider related products, value added services and other ways that you can “upsell” or “cross sell” more of your products to customers that purchase these discounted deals for a single item or service.  It is on the upsell and cross sell where you can really drive profit and business growth.

Raise your visibility on Online

Use Groupon or Living Social to connect with potential customers and get some traction for your products or services. One of the great benefits of these sites is their intelligent use of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, to promote their deals – such as is shown below. In turn, this increases your potential for a successful deal and gives you excellent online exposure.  As such, be sure your storefront AND website are up to date, match the offer provided online and best reflect your brand message and objectives.

A big congrats to @thesoupergirl, one of our fave local merchants, on your new space in DC! #LocalLove pic.twitter.com/5jwXpcdfNd

— LivingSocial (@LivingSocial) June 19, 2014

Complement your marketing plan

An advantage of adding these promotional sites to your marketing mix is that it's free to feature your business on the sites, but remember they will take a percentage of the coupon transaction upfront.  So, don't rely solely on the daily deals to create value for your business -- continue to use your proven methods of advertising and marketing to champion your brand.  Manage your company website, leverage the social media platform that will work best for your business (such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn) [insert cross link to related blow] and leverage traditional advertising such as print media, online ads, paid search and other tactics that have worked for your business in the past.

Final Thoughts

Deep discounts will always be attractive to consumers and business owners will always have to give a little more to attract customers, which in the end should spell a win for both parties.    If you are considering new avenues of advertising, exposure promotion sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial may be worth a look -- just do your homework before you start wheeling and dealing. 

Let change3 help you manage your online presence and digital marketing strategy affordably – contact us today.

See my perspective on identifying leaders on your team in my latest blog post on LinkedIn. 

Here is an excerpt:

Over the years, I have made a practice of "throwing" my employees into the fire of "you can do this!" My philosophy is simple: in order for my organization to grow, my employees need to become leaders as well - because I can't do everything myself. As such, just about everyone on my staff needs to muscle up and learn to lead in their area of expertise.

Visit LinkedIn to read the full post.  

Still on the fence about content marketing for your company or business? There are certainly some considerations before you take the plunge. Let’s have a look at a few of these.

Total cost: is it really cheaper? Yes! Traditional advertising is expensive and nearly impossible to measure the return. Social and digital publishing technologies – on which content marketing efforts reside – are all about ROI and visibility. Companies and business owners alike can instantly view followers, likes, retweets, comments, page views, and other data. Such feedback is critical to understanding what’s working and what’s not, so decisions can be made. And often the content delivers interest on the part of a potential buyer – a sales lead – furthering the case for content marketing.

The joys of feedback
Instant gratification is at the heart of content marketing. Knowing which content is performing helps us decide which to continue producing – and which to let go. But it’s not just the metrics and measurement of the content that should encourage you to jumpstart a content marketing program. It’s also the feedback from customers, partners, suppliers, and the industry or community in which you do business. Tweets, comments, shares, and other content behaviors will tell you what outsiders – or even insiders, your employees – think of your company. In this manner, content marketing becomes your ad hoc feedback form or survey, constantly providing you the insights into your business that are often difficult to obtain.

The need for processes in place
While content marketing ultimately proves to be less expensive – but so much more valuable – than traditional paid advertising, the costs will diminish in time. It takes time to understand the content marketing process, as well as to train a team of employees and even customers to deliver valuable content. When companies learn about content marketing and the ability to get employees and customers to blog, tweet, and post to social networks on behalf of the company, executives and business owners get excited. Why have marketing and communications be carried out by a select few in a department, when the entire operation or enterprise can be engaged?

Here are the essential first steps to creating a full-on content marketing process:
• Designate the desired content developers – internally or externally – and create some How-To’s or guidebook (Hint: do NOT call it Content Marketing Policy, as this will be sure to turn people away).
• Create a broad list of ideas, keywords, story angles, messages, and other creative assets that will help your content marketers generate quality content.
• Invest in (some are actually free) a publishing platform that makes it easy for content to be drafted, published, and measured.

Being authentic has its risks
Content marketing is not without its risks. When others are sharing their messages about your company or brand, there are bound to be differences in opinion or expression. Some of these may be acceptable to you, but others may not. Content marketing ventures require you to have an appetite for risk in the content that’s created in support of your brand – from a typo in a tweet to a negative review of your business on a consumer ratings blog.

The context surrounding this requires you to:
• Ensure that you have content guidelines and even suggested content.
• Anticipate content with quality or opinion issues.
• Devise a strategy to deal with content that does not meet your standards.

Final Thoughts
While daunting at first, the decision to take the plunge into content marketing will have innumerable benefits. Start small, and scale your content marketing operation over time.


ChangeU: For your independent study….
 

What is Content Marketing, Really? http://bit.ly/1uNSedk
Blog from HootSuite, one of the largest social publishing and monitoring providers.

How To Rapidly Grow Your Business with Content Marketing http://bit.ly/1BUksrq
A webinar on demand from HubSpot, one of the largest content automation providers.

The Rise of Smart Content Marketing http://slidesha.re/1vw2Z58
A SlideShare presentation on the art and science of content marketing.

The answer is YES!

I can honestly say I'm not a "holiday" person.  All the hoopla and activity around national and local holidays often seem like an unnecessary use of time and resources to me...but this is changing.  I now understand the significance of holidays for my staff and clients (and me) - and as such, have become keen to celebrate along with them.   So, I use holidays as an opportunity to let my team and my clients know how much I value them, as well as use these special days of the year as an opportunity to reach my audience in a more personal, friendly way.

Holidays present businesses, especially small ones, with a variety of social, branding and commerce opportunities, which should not be ignored.  Business owners and leaders should definitely make it a regular part of their planning process to explore if it makes sense for their company and brand to show some cheer on certain holidays - and when doing so, to do it respectfully to all their customers and prospects.  Especially for bigger companies, navigating the various cultures and local festivities can be a challenge (and hence why multinationals tend not to do festive things), but with the right kind of guidance and empowerment for local staff, it is possible to pull this off with flying colors. 

Holidays present companies with two main opportunities:

1. a chance to show your staff that their personal time and balance is important to you and that you are celebrating this time with them
2. an interesting opportunity to engage your prospects and clients in a more personal way, without invading their privacy

My tips to maximize your Business' Holiday Cheer:

1. Do something nice for your team that's festive.  Whether it be giving them an afternoon off or a small bonus on your country's national holiday or during the year-end holiday cycle - take a moment to celebrate alongside your team on important national and local holidays, where possible.  This is really about building a "team" culture with your employees, and showing them that their personal time off during these holidays is important to you too.  

It's a well-researched fact that over-working your staff leads to lower productivity over time.  So, not only is giving time off (within reason) on holidays important for them, it's important for your business.  If you don't feel that you can spare one day or afternoon off for your staff (or parts of them) - you're probably operating your company beyond capacity and should invest in improved processes, efficiency enhancements or more staff.

2. Tickle your Audience with Creative Holiday-relevant Messages.  There aren't many chances were you can appropriately ping your audience with a somewhat personal message and have it be relevant.  For example "Happy Monday" vs "Happy New Year."  The first seems silly, while the second is an appropriate starting point to discuss how you would like to explore their needs in the New Year, etc.  It's a good habit to reflect on EACH holiday on your local calendar and decide if it makes sense for your business to do something.  "Something" could be to put up decorations, send out festive greetings, or add new items to your menu, etc.  Your customers and prospects are likely to be celebrating each of these holidays, so give them an opportunity to celebrate them with your company as well, at least in a small part.  
3. Show holiday Cheer in a Meaningful Way: As you'll see, Change3 has updated our usual website visuals with some festive images.  And, we've also featured this blog in our monthly newsletter to tie the holiday theme back to our core business - Digital Engagement.  The trick is to find a meaningful, credible way to connect the holiday to your business.  

For example, this year-end holiday season, a restaurant might communicate something like this: "This year, we've decided to give a little more to help our community and will be donating 1 meal for every 10 guests eating in the restaurant between now and Christmas.  We are also accepting canned goods and toys to donate to the local children's shelter.  I hope you'll stop by to make a donation and be our guest to make this holiday season that much brighter for those less fortunate than us.  Happy Holidays!"  In this example, taking the extra time to do something important in the community while reaching out to customers to get them involved will help others while helping your bottom line – not to mention make your business a nicer place to work.

4. Reflect & Encourage Your Staff and Customers to do the same.  I generally use the holidays to reflect on how my business has performed and to reach out to my customers and staff to talk about what's next, because they often use holidays in the same way.  If you make this a regular practice - you'll find that you're having more productive conversations on a regular basis, because we all know how it's easy for the year to zoom by without raising our head to see where we've traveled.  

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

Should You Incorporate the Holidays into Your Marketing? http://bit.ly/12lsoSx
Perspectives on holiday marketing from a B2B executive.

Seven Holiday Marketing Mistakes To Avoid http://entm.ag/1D22u76
Strategies to boost year-end sales, from Entrepreneur magazine.

Small Business Owner's Guide to the Holiday Bonus http://bit.ly/1yKyxUT
Facts and tips about giving holidays bonuses.

Retail & Consumer: 2014 Holiday Outlook http://pwc.to/1AYZmnI
Top trends, consumer behaviors, and implications for retailers - infographic.

Survey Shows Minor Spend Can Equal Big Rewards for Small Business Owners http://bit.ly/1G8URKf

8 Little Touches to Get Your Customers in the Holiday Spirit (and Start Spending!) http://bit.ly/1z1sUAD
A few of the most cost-effective ways you can get customers in the shopping spirit.

How do your customers find you? The hospitality industry is a huge market with a wealth of competition so regardless of your specialty you need to be doing something that makes your business attractive enough to get people through the door.

Where are your customers?
Some of your customers will physically see your business, others will be referred via their networks and if you are lucky you may engage people via good media coverage. However it is, when you create an exciting digital presence you open up huge opportunities to grow your business.

Why? Because:
• 81% of consumers have searched for a restaurant on a mobile device and 75% say they often choose a restaurant to dine at based on those search results
• 65.4% of hotel bookings are made on home website and 65% of same day hotel reservations are made from a smartphone

If you are not easily found online customers will simply bypass your business – it is important to not just have a presence but one that stands out.

What makes up an exciting online presence?
The good news is that with a bit of creative thinking you can use both paid and free options to build an engaging online presence. Let’s have a look at some of the things you can do:

1. Digital front of house – your website
All digital avenues should lead back to your website so this is where you start. Make sure that it:
• Is easy to navigate to the essential sections like how to make a booking – obvious calls to actions are key;
• Has lots of gorgeous images that show people interacting and loving your services/products/venue – you want people to want to be your customer;
• Includes videos so that users can feel that they are virtually there;
• Has friendly and welcoming content – less is better. Use enticing language rather than great slabs of text that most will give up on after the first couple of sentences;
• Optimize for all devices so the person on the move can easily access critical information.

Examples: http://bit.ly/1z4dfig | http://bel50.com/

2. Social Media aficionado
Don’t make the mistake of getting onto any one of the popular social media sites and simply pushing sales. You do need to create awareness of your brands goods and services BUT make sure you create a network of loyal followers, otherwise anyone that does land on you page can easily drift away.

Try:
• Uploading interesting content that suits the platform – encourage interaction and make sure that you acknowledge comments and use them to start a longer conversation;
• Understanding your demographic and solve their problems BEFORE they mention them in relation to your particular niche;
• Creating giveaways and competitions - they are always popular and perfect for expanding your fan base.
Examples: http://on.fb.me/1CPDkYE | http://bit.ly/16Ot6tx

3. Customers are going to talk
They say that any exposure is good exposure – not true especially in the digital world where news travels fast and your business can be damaged before a customer has even left the premises.
There are two parts to the way people talk about your business:
a. They love you – people have had a great experience at your restaurant, hotel, casino and are raving online in all of the right places. Enough said this is great for business;
b. They hate you – we all make mistakes and sometimes customers don’t have the greatest time, the key thing for you is how you deal with it. They will talk online and potential customers will see negative feedback and make a decision about using your services. Answer quickly and positively and always apologize – even if you don’t think it was your fault. Remember people are watching and this can be crucial to your ongoing business success.
Example: http://bit.ly/1zGsJwv

4. Third party buy in
There is a broad range of third party sites that you can use to list your hospitality business. One of the most popular is Trip Advisor.
Listings are free for accommodation and restaurants and this is seen as the go to site for travelers when they want to find out how good you are – you may already have been reviewed there, always check in case it is bad.
Example: http://bit.ly/179jDha

Final Thoughts

What we have included here is a small selection of options available to you. Create a digital marketing strategy before you get started. If you don’t have the skills, time or personnel a specialist agency can help guide you in the right direction.
A successful digital marketing strategy must communicate your business’s brand, features and overall experience to customers using a combination of tools or an all-in-one digital marketing management platform. More importantly, regardless of which tools you choose, they must be flexible and prepare your business for the constantly change demand of digital marketing.

ChangeU: For your independent study….

Customer Preferences for Online, Social Media, and Mobile Innovations in the Hospitality Industry - http://bit.ly/1FtHJ1o
Hotel Online Reputation Research, Statistics, and Quotes - http://bit.ly/1DezJBZ
Mobile & Online Hotel Spending Soars – Is Your Digital Presence Ready? - http://bit.ly/1FtHN16
The Website Rules That Will Drive Hungry Customers To Your Restaurant - http://onforb.es/1EVdF1j

You can do so much more with your business than just make profits. Of course having a healthy bottom line and robust growth are ideal for any size business but what if I tell you that you can do social good in your community and increase your profitability.

Overcoming the cost barrier
It is reasonable to be concerned that volunteering will negatively affect your business and be both a time and monetary cost that you cannot afford and you are not alone with this concern.
Let’s have a look at some of the ways you can mitigate the cost of volunteering:

General

1. Sponsor: Instead of hosting events, sponsor components that align with your business values;
2. Donate goods: Supply food or other goods for prizes at community events;
3. Supply services: Donate services like bookkeeping and web design to non-profit organizations;
4. Mentoring: Allocate time to mentor community members.

Employees

1. Set maximum time allocation: Decide how much time each employee can volunteer during work hours;
2. Plan for busy times: When work is busy ask employees to volunteer outside of their work hours for an agreed compensation;
3. Work coverage: Fill the gaps when employees are away volunteering via skills training co-workers;
4. Flexible work schedules: Have workers rotate on a flexible roster to accommodate volunteering;
5. Personal days: Allow workers to use their owed vacation or sick leave to volunteer.

The business benefits of volunteering
There is a strong business case to demonstrate that volunteering can help rather than hinder your business. A study, ‘Can Corporate Volunteering Support the Bottom Line?’, by the Case Foundation takes an in depth look at how volunteering affects ROI and provides some essential insights.

1. Employee attraction & retention: Employees are interested in working for companies that give back to the community and, according to The Globe & Mail, will often look at a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program when choosing a workplace.
2. Brand awareness: Supporting the community gives customers a positive image of your brand which means customers are more likely to purchase from you. Be wary of ONLY using community engagement for this reason, customers will know and leave in droves.
3. Customer loyalty: Increasingly customers are engaging with organizations that support the things they are passionate about, for instance the environment, domestic violence or youth homelessness.
4. Expanding your network: Getting involved in your local area creates opportunities for you to expand your professional network.

Final Thoughts
The key to successful community engagement is careful planning. Choose activities that fit your business and your available resources. Look for existing opportunities within your local community and involve your staff in the discussions.
It is no longer a matter of whether you should get involved, for strong business reasons it’s a matter of when. And remember if you are getting stuck on the details, talk to people that can help get you started.

Examples:

• Top 10 Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives: http://bit.ly/18DBZ9W
• 20 Great Examples of Socially Responsible Businesses: http://bit.ly/18eMh0z
• Points of Light, nonprofit volunteer service organization: http://www.pointsoflight.org/
• A Billion + Change is a national campaign transforming business culture so that all companies will unleash the talent and expertise of their people in pro bono service, solving our communities’greatest challenges: http://www.abillionpluschange.org/
• Charitable Agents is a revolutionary new way for home owners and realtors to join together and make a positive impact in their community: http://www.charitableagents.com/

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

Allow Staff Time Off for Charity or Lose Them http://bit.ly/1AdOqDf
Business Case for Employee Volunteering http://bit.ly/1AIBgzP
Solving Social Problems through Business Strategy http://bit.ly/1zZ7kyT
The Benefits Of Corporate Social Responsibility Will Move You To Act http://onforb.es/1yLmC5c
Employers and Employer Supported Volunteering: the business case http://bit.ly/1zZ7FS4

Content marketing is about delivering value to your audience. When you create content that challenges, solves, informs and entertains, you will discover that people are not only drawn to your business but will help to share your content via their circles of interest and enable you to generate more leads. The key to success is the quality of your online content. Not all content will generate leads. There is a plethora of other businesses out there trying to do the same thing so what you need to do is stand out from that crowd.

To develop leads from great content you need to drive them to engagement where they will interact with you on some level. You need to give people something of value to convince them to give you their contact details so you can follow up with them at a later point.

At Change3 Enterprises we offer free downloads like our ‘Partner Marketing Guide’ – a free resource in exchange for an email address: 

You can try:

• Free quote for services;
• Newsletter sign up;
• White papers on industry topics;
• Membership access to resources.

Stay away from the pushy sales pitch and focus on the value that you can give to people that interact with your brand online.

Online Content Keeps on Giving
There are a range of different ways that you can create your brand voice and if you do it well it will be shared broadly to help grow your business.
Some of the content that you may use:

1. Blogs: Business blogs need to be regularly updated. It is ideal to add fresh content every one to two weeks. Allow readers to comment and easily share posts to promote a wide readership;
2. White papers: Position you and your business as thought leaders within your industry. Provide well thought out and researched information to target your demographic market;
3. eBooks: Offer informative eBooks as free downloads to collect contact information;
4. Case studies: Show case customers positive experience with your brand and build up your business credibility;
5. Press releases: Announce exciting company news through press releases that can be widely distributed. Track where they are picked up and published for reliable links;
6. Newsletter: Add a prominent sign up to your newsletter on home and other pages. A regular newsletter distributed to subscribed customers is a powerful communication tool;
7. Other media: Videos, audio and other forms of media are ideal to share on your website and social media portals to create an interesting digital profile.

Connect with Consumers
Keep it interesting and informative, make sure that your content:

1. Resolves an issue: We constantly surf the Internet to answer a question that we have. Design your content to address issues and provide solutions in your expertise area. Break them down to specifics and deal with one problem at a time;
2. Talk about success: People want to see positive content. They will be attracted to successful stories related to your brand that demonstrate how you can help. Don’t forget to use a range of media to engage consumers across platforms;
3. Shows thought leadership: Lead thinking and innovation within your industry. Look at ways that you can create a significant point of difference with your brand and talk about it;
4. Contains variety: Don’t just use one media. Create a range of creative content to appeal to consumers. Shareable content will get seen more than content that is informative but maybe a bit dry.

Final Thoughts
Always keep focusing your content on the reader, not SEO. For your content to really work for you make sure that it provides value to anyone that reads it and solves their issue or at the very least entertains them. Keep your content interesting and most of all make sure that it stands out, you don’t want to get lost in the crowd.

See some of the best:

• 6 Epic Content Marketing Examples From 2014 http://bit.ly/1A2q4gJ
• B2B Content Marketing – 10 Fantastic Examples http://bit.ly/1AhDIeN
• Want more? See other 10 Examples of Great Content Marketing http://bit.ly/1BiVCkt

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

6 Steps To Turn Your Online Lead Generation Into Lead Nurturing http://bit.ly/1EJc37c
Ways To Generate Leads Online http://bit.ly/1CEl5QT
How To Generate Leads With A Powerful Content Marketing Strategy http://bit.ly/17dRmpi

In order to create both a harmonious AND highly-productive environment in my fast growing company, I focus on balancing skills and personalities to create an optimial mix of expertise and perspective.  In order to do this successfully, it's essential to understand employees’ "professional personalities" (e.g. their reward matrix, work preferences and communication style).  

Here's how it works:

• Hiring managers at Change3 seek to have an idea of skill, experience AND professional personality so they can best choose people that are going to fit well into our unique environment and well established culture.  
• To streamline this process, my team and I developed an online application process that profiles each applicant as part of the screening and interviewing process.  
• We also asked our existing staff to take part in the professional personality screening process as well, allowing us to create a baseline and get a clear picture of the traits of the team already in place.  
• Proof point: By being able to choose people that have the skills and the personality fit to make meaningful contributions to my team, I have been able to hire more than 10 new delightful experts in the last few months - without creating havoc inside my budding company.

Launching a new Hiring Optimization Service for Small & Mid-sized Business:

Because of the success of the application we developed, I've decided to turn this application into an online service for our clients, particularly for smaller, fast-growing businesses that may not have dedicated HR departments.  Our application not only streamlines the hiring process by putting resumes and applications in one place online, it also allows hiring managers to screen candidates on a variety of parameters (such as professional personality).  Our app used in tandem with a recruiting service (such as Ziprecruiter.com, Monster,com or others like them), can provide a small or mid-sized business with a professional hiring solution for a fraction of the cost of other recruiting options.  Ready to streamline your small to mid-size business recruiting process? Contact us for a free consultation!

Want to discover the Change3 professional personality?  Click the image to enlarge it.

As more people turn to the internet for products and services, it’s important for chiropractors to have an online presence that extends past a functional website in order to stay competitive, more importantly, because consumers expect it.  A chiropractor should focus their digital marketing efforts on boosting visibility to ultimately bring in new business.

As a local chiropractor, creating a strong online presence is easier than you might think. Here are a few ideas to help you along the way.  

All things lead back to your webpage

Your website is one of your most valuable assets, as such, all your marketing efforts-online and offline-should lead back to your website. Your website needs to be seen and thought of as the place where people come to learn about your practice and the services you offer. 

On the contrary, your social media profiles are different in that they are a more casual and personal place where you can engage and communicate with your patients and followers. With this in mind, your social media pages should always have a subtle, yet compelling call-to-action to go to your webpage. The most common way to do this is to provide multiple links within your posts; this directs clients to your website to begin the process of educating them about the more technical and useful aspects of chiropractic care. 

Example:

Website of Valley Spinal Care

Content Rules 

When promoting your practice use the 80/20 rule in social media, with the intention of helping as many people as you can.  This rule is simple, yet effective in conveying a message of sincerity. 

• 80% of what you post on Facebook or other social media pages should reflect value, be relevant and be insightful to your business realm.
• The other 20% of your content should be for self-promotions and ads to convert your followers to patients.

! Remember that the majority of people spend time on social media to learn and build relationships, respond to this by continuing to share value and education. An often overlooked way to build these relationships is to respond to comments, likes, or any action that is received on your social media pages.

Connect with and educate prospects

Some of your prospective clients may not be fully aware of what chiropractic care really entails and could be skeptical about trying it. The tactical use of social media can help your business rise above many of the objections those who haven’t learned about your practice may have, while educating them, and beginning a relationship.

• Use your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+  to help you do these things.
• Additionally, a YouTube video channel is another powerful educational medium that can go a long way in showing potential patients what to expect when they come to you. 

By using these tools to connect on a higher level with your supporters and community, you have a greater chance of converting connections into lifelong patients.  

Example:

Spinal Works Chiropractic YouTube Channel

Stay in touch to establish expertise

When looking to nurture the doctor-patient relationship it is important to stay in contact with current patients on an on-going basis. Social media allows your business to do so in the most effective way while accruing no cost to you. These relationships, if nurtured correctly keep your product in the forefront of a patients mind, making them more likely to refer your practice to others. Word-of-mouth promotion is a large asset when you are examining your business from a marketing and advertising perspective. Additionally, the viral nature of social media provides unlimited opportunities for you to establish yourself as a prominent expert in your field. By continuing to post useful, pertinent content you can develop an esteemed reputation in your local area.

Final thoughts

While it does take some extra effort to establish a successful digital marketing strategy, the benefits of doing so far outweigh any uncertainties. You will undoubtedly be able to grow your practice, reach new patients, and show that you are a trustworthy chiropractic care facility. Investing the time to know where incoming patients or current patients found you, will allow you to hone your marketing strategy. 

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

Chiropractic Economics http://bit.ly/1cuWHLP

#1 most-trusted and most-used resource for practice building, product information, and purchasing decisions by doctors of chiropractic. 

Resources for Chiropractors on Pinterest http://goo.gl/oAT2Pl  

A place to share positive message about chiropractic, alternative healthcare, and provide resources that help chiropractors spread awareness.

Improving your digital presence is about more than just adopting new technology and adding social media to your website and this differs depending on your business. For example, the key for retailers will be different from a medical practice. Retailer must align their digital marketing strategy to the consumers’ expectations, one that is consistent with the in-store buying process.  Additionally, a retail business should consider the idea of the Internet of Things [IOT]. This specialized interface connects every aspect of the buying process, from the customer to the devices and technology and everything in between.  In familiarizing yourself with tools such as this, you can optimize your digital marketing strategy to ultimately build a strong brand and increase sales.

Here are a few things to consider during development of a digital marketing strategy for your retail business. 

Meet your customers’ digital expectations

Today’s consumers have more choices than ever for how and when they want to access content, allowing them to take a multi-channel approach in researching and buying products. By understanding the expectations associated with product acquisition, retailers can align their online purchase processes with their in-store process. This includes the What you see is what you get approach. Consumers want to know they are getting the same level of customer service and quality of product that they would in-store. Knowing this fact from online reviews and the like will increase the likelihood that a consumer will transition from browser to buyer.

The smartphone has had a tremendous impact on the online buying process; so much so that the smartphone has actually replaced the tablet as the leading device for researching purchases. They have also introduced retailers to what has become known as the connected consumer – a consumer who expects to be able to shop wherever, whenever, and however they like.

Furthermore, consumers expect to reach your store, whether via the internet or in-person, with everything they need to know about what they are purchasing and the availability. Digital applications like Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) RFID, and other retailer technology can  benefit  your business  by  allowing employees to  do inventory faster and more accurately, as well as provide a higher level of customer service, by streamlining the checkout process.  The more value you are able to provide to your customers, the more capital they will invest. 

Make it a one stop shop 

Set your business apart from other brands by offering e-commerce--shipments, returns, price matching, etc. This will increase your opportunity to build brand loyalty and maintain customers.  Take Amazon, for example.  This major e-retailer has made the entire purchase process easy for customers by providing everything they need—from initial research, to price comparisons and product reviews, all the way to making the purchase.  As a result, consumers feel empowered and in control of the process, while your business continues to gain more insight into buyer’s behaviors and habits from the information they share on the site.

If your business is unable to adopt these ecommerce additives, consider implementing an online mobile friendly coupon for use online or in-store in addition to one with a greater value that is only compatible with online purchases.

Social media = social commerce

With the advent of social media came social shopping, allowing customers to interact with their favorite brands.  A retailer that actively uses multiple social media platforms can build relationships that will drive traffic to their website and create brand ambassadors through ‘Liking’ and sharing. 

Utilize your social media pages to talk to consumers, share new product information, and announce specials. However, take it a step further by making it possible for them to begin the buying process on your social media page. An example of this is Target. With the use of Like2Buy, Target fans can shop via Instagram, by simply selecting the image, and being linked directly to Target’s main website to complete the check-out.   

Final thoughts

Every business is different, and the way in which you execute these tips will be based on your business needs. When it comes to your digital marketing strategy and social media efforts, your business will benefit the most if you use a more service-focused approach rather simply pushing your products on to customers. 

ChangeU: For your independent study ...

Retailing 2015: New Frontiers - PwC http://goo.gl/rJkcAG

PricewaterhouseCoopers and TNS Retail Forward collaborate to report on this overview of the retail industry through 2015.

ConversantTM Retail Marketer Insights Study 2014 http://goo.gl/tMI16Q  

Research with important insights into the digital opportunities and challenges faced by leading senior level retail marketers.