This means that you need to be able to see how customers get into your marketing funnel and what happens to them when they get there

The good news is that this is much easier through the internet than it is through traditional off-line marketing methods (although it is still more than possible using traditional advertising)

Using tools such as Google Analytics and tracking software to help you manage your social media like Hootsuite you can keep track of who is coming to your site, where they have come from and what they do when they get there

You should also be using automated marketing funnel and follow-up sequences so that you can track exactly what happens when you contact your customers in the period after they first found you

Be aware that customers are most likely to buy from you in the following two week period after first making contact

Having a good follow up process will also help you build and develop better relationships with your prospects, so they become more loyal customers who buy more from you

A basic way of measuring return on investment might be something like tracking the number and amount of sales made using a discount code that you’ve had printed on a flyer, but to reach advanced levels of understanding ROI you need know a few important numbers

You need to understand the value of a sale, a customer or a lead so that you can start to budget your marketing according to what you can afford to spend and you need to understand how well you are converting opportunities to sell

Here are some examples of things to measure:

• Value of a customer (annual and lifetime)
• Average sale value
• Average monthly income per customer
• Conversion rate (leads to customers)
• Value of a lead

Without at least some grasp of this information, it will be very difficult for you to manage your marketing effectively

We can help you to get to grips with your key metrics

You can reach us by phone on 01733 514007 or email info@simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk and we’ll help you to stop wasting any of your marketing budget and finally take control of the process of making sales in your business

While it is perfectly acceptable, and indeed a good idea, to appear well up the search engines for the phrase ‘plumber’, this more specific search term starts to speak to a prospect who is in real need of an exact service right now

It also serves to set you apart from all the other plumbers who do not offer an emergency boiler repair service

You can take this even further. Another example would be somebody who offers a product, let’s take a vacuum cleaner to demonstrate this case

Instead of attempting to rank highly for the search term ‘vacuum cleaner’, you can instead focus your search engine optimisation (SEO) on a particular brand like ‘Dyson vacuum cleaners’

To take this even further you can use an exact model number so that people searching for a particular vacuum cleaner will find you first

The reason that this is such an effective strategy for your marketing is that if somebody has taken the trouble to research the exact make and model of the vacuum cleaner that they want, you can be sure that they are close to buying

Anybody who is thinking about buying anything goes through a process of research, understanding and comparison before they go ahead with the purchase, and if you can find your customer at the point where they are closest to making the purchase you massively increase your chances of taking the business

If you found this blog post useful or have any other questions about nano-targeting your customers according to what they buy, then please leave a comment in the section below

If you want to speak to one of the team you can get in touch with us through the usual channels

There is an old saying in marketing circles that goes something like this:

‘I know that half of my advertising budget is wasted, I just don’t know which half!’

In today’s day and age, that’s simply not acceptable. We can now track and measure the path of every prospect through our marketing funnel, whether that prospect comes to us from print advertising, from Internet advertising or indeed from walk-in customers

If you want to use your marketing budget in the most efficient and effective way then you need to measure the results of everything you are doing to bring customers into your business

This means tracking and recording the way that every customer finds you – it means using special codes on your offers and asking people who call or e-mail you where they found your company details

You can’t afford to rely on doing what you’ve always done if you want to be successful in our new economy – you need to make sure that you’re measuring what you do so that you can manage it and improve it

The quote that we should be using whenever we plan our marketing activity is this one:

“What gets measured, gets managed” – Peter Drucker

Of course by extension that means that what we don’t measure can’t be managed. Make sure that you’re keeping track of your marketing efforts so that you know where you’re earning your money

If you’d like to talk to us about how we can help you put in place tracking and measuring for all your marketing activity, whether online or off-line, then please get in touch

You can reach us by phone on 01733 514007 or email info@simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk and we’ll be happy to tell you about some of the simple ways you can improve your marketing measurements

Also, if you found the post interesting or have any questions please let us know in the comments below!

It’s an important part of a company’s identity and something that we want to get right, which is not as easy a task as it may seem at first glance

Firstly, we had to think about whether we wanted to create a slogan, like Nike’s ‘Just Do It’, or whether we wanted to go for a full on statement

The problem with full mission statements is that they need everyone’s input, they need to suit everyone – and for those reasons a mission statement is never very effective, it isn’t easily remembered and it doesn’t inspire anyone

e.g. the EasyJet mission statement is:

“To provide our customers with safe, good value, point-to-point air services. To effect and to offer a consistent and reliable product and fares appealing to leisure and business markets on a range of European routes. To achieve this we will develop our people and establish lasting relationships with our suppliers.”

Because it’s so long and designed to speak to everyone about everything that might concern them, it turns out being completely ineffective – speaking to no one in particular about anything that is actually important to them

Nike’s motto is much shorter, memorable and rolls off the tongue – but it also has its limitations in that it really only speaks to the customer and it doesn’t actually explain what they do (although the majority of people already know what Nike do, so it is less of a concern for them)

We needed to find a balance, a ‘slogan statement’ if you will, with something that is fairly short and easy to remember and also explains what we do for our customers

Although we haven’t made any absolute decisions (you’ve got to stay flexible!), we have found something that we think explains what we are all about:

Making Business Easier for You

It also serves as a reminder to everyone in the business as to what our goal is and what we are trying to deliver to our customers

So, what do you think? We’ve already had one suggestion that it should be ‘Making Business Simple for You’ – could we improve it further?

Please leave your comments, or alternative suggestions, in the comments below

And if you really do still want a fancy mission statement with lots of long, confusing and pretty much meaningless words then try this:

http://www.laughing-buddha.net/toys/mission?

Happy mission statement creating

You need to make sure that whatever you are doing in marketing is delivering a return on investment (ROI)

To get a response from any customer you need to understand them and the frame of mind they are in when they see your marketing and advertising

You should design a campaign knowing that the decisions you make about the words you use through the style of font to the pictures on the page will make a difference – every element of your marketing has an impact on the success or otherwise of that campaign

Whatever people say about how good your ad is the proof is in the results you get

Market research doesn’t tell us the full story – in fact sometimes it tells us the wrong story. What people say they want and what they actually want or do are two very different things, so market research is useful but limited

That all changed with the advent of search engines

Now you know what words your customers are using to search for your products and services, which turns market research on its head because you can find out what your customers actually do, not what they say they would do

Customers are actively searching for information or looking to buy and they will show you exactly what they want through their actions

This is Interceptive Marketing that takes advantage of putting yourself between a very warm prospect and the final purchase, at the point where they are searching for what they want to buy (this is why there are so many price comparison websites doing well)

Once you have intercepted your future customer, you need to make sure that you find a way to keep in touch with them and build that relationship

Compare this to social media, which is Interruptive Marketing – trying to distract a potential customer who is doing something else at the time

Unless your products/services are entertainment based, this is a more difficult way to sell

With SEO a prospect doesn’t need to put anything down or switch their attention, they were looking for YOU! How much more motivated to buy do you think this person is?

People searching for you are close to buying and they are either going to buy from you or buy from your competitor. You need to make sure that you have the advantage

Being there when your customers are searching for you is essential for the success of your business

If you found this post useful or entertaining, please let us know in the comments box below. If you have any more questions about how search marketing can be used to make your business reach more highly targeted customers, then please get in touch

You can reach us by phone on 01733 514007 or email info@simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk if you need to talk to someone about how Search Marketing and SEO can work for you and your business

It’s the 3rd of August and lovely out! I’ve managed to get the Internet connection in the garden, good news… Man it’s hot!

If you’re a business and thinking about web services its good news all-round.

The sun has gone to my head and I have some sizzling offers to share with you.

These are the lowest prices we have ever published!!!

Why don’t you check them out?

Feature Packed Website Package – Only £295+VAT

http://simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk/website-offer

Buy 2 Get 1 Free – Monthly SEO – Link Building!

http://simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk/SEO-offer

Less than ½ Price Google Places Optimisation £97+VAT – Upgrade to include a video + £50 only

http://simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk/Google-Places-offer

1-Minute Promotional Web Video – Only £75.00!

http://simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk/video-offer

These offers will run until August 31st and I’d be more than happy to discuss and guide you with your online project.

Call Steve Now on 01733 514007 or 07725 645 112 for more details.

Or email: steve@simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk

If this is not for you right now, maybe forward it on or subscribe to our blog via our RSS feed on our website and look out for tips, news and subscriber discounts… http://simpleonlinemarketing.co.uk/category/blog

Enjoy the sunshine, speak soon!

Steve

6. Join the conversation

Getting involved with social media is like being at a party, you’re not going to enjoy the party if you just sit in the corner and watch what other people are doing. The whole point of social media is to put yourself out there on the social platforms and talk about the things that interest you

The easiest way to do this is to just be you, try to be a person who uses social media rather than a business or a brand using social media

Often writing a simple message such as ‘Good morning’ or ‘hope you have a wonderful day’ will lead to a response. Other times you can use techniques such as asking questions, because people love to share their opinions

If you really want to get a response and no one is replying, try simply asking people to comment on what you say!

7. Find out about the people who follow you

This one is fairly straightforward. It is common courtesy to try to learn a bit about the people who follow you, engage in conversation with you and who read the information that you post

At the very least you should read their bio. The information you can get from that bio will give you an idea of the type of conversations you can have that will interest your followers

For example, if someone lists a hobby then you could send them a link to some information about that hobby. It shows you are taking an interest, it opens the door for a conversation to start and it shows that you are contributing to your community

8. Share information, including promoting other people

You’ve heard this before, right? Social media is all about sharing and contribution. The more you give, the more you will get from your social media efforts

When you find other people who have great knowledge and information make sure that you share that information with your community as well

Often this is an indicator of how well you know your industry and which of the key influencers you follow and it is also a reflection of your personality, the things that interest you and entertain you both within and outside of your industry

9. Learn Twitter etiquette

One of the most important lessons is when to direct message (DM) and when to @ reply to Twitter users

An @ reply is a message directed to a Twitter user, but one that will appear on their wall so that both they and the people who follow them will see it. A DM is a message that is sent privately to another user so that only they can read it

You need to careful when:

- sending personal information

- having long conversations

- asking multiple questions to the same person

- correcting a mistake or

- giving constructive criticism

All of these are better done by DM than by @ reply – partly because of courtesy and partly because this is what most people accept is ‘proper’ Twitter behaviour

We also recommend that if you’re going to make a direct request to someone or if you want to get their attention then it’s best to do so with a direct message

10. Find out who the Big Guns are

It can be really useful to find out who the most popular Twitter users are, both in and outside of your industry, because by doing this you can keep up to date with the latest news & trends and you can also take the opportunity to learn how to use Twitter better from these regular users

You should at the very least find and follow the top players in your business area because they will be sharing the latest information

Of course we recommended that you also find and follow us on Twitter – we are @SimpleSnippets – and be sure to say hello when you do!

If you found this guide useful please leave a comment below. Even if you didn’t find it useful, we’d still love to hear from you! What else can we do to help you?