How to Drive Sales Through Social Media

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Site SalesAttracting customers and sales from social media is an art that is difficult to perfect and impossible to predict. It is important to remember when utilizing these mediums that many weren’t created with increasing sales in mind, so don’t be discouraged when Facebook likes are leading directly to purchases. According to Jason Falls of Entrepreneur.com, “this doesn’t mean you can’t drive conversions or build a customer base using social media, but that you have to first understand that’s not what customers are turning to many social networks for.” According to the post, the social media site that seems to be driving the most business is LinkedIn. Falls asserts that “networking with sales in mind is more natural on LinkedIn.” For Facebook, the strategy is better to focus less on conversion and more on simply engaging your audience. Just remember, the most important thing to do on any social media platform is to provide compelling content and promotions for followers. 

Read more of Jason Falls’ blog post, How to Drive Sales Through Social Media, via Entrepreneur.com.

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

 

10 Questions Every Entrepreneur Needs to Ask Suppliers

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Choosing a supplier is one of the most crucial decisions you will make as a small business owner. And just like with all decisions, being informed is vital to ensuring success. In a blog post for Entrepreneur Magazine, Jane Porter discusses the 10 key questions that you should ask suppliers before going into business with them. According to Porter, discussing things such as payment terms, liability insurance, and what happens if materials don’t arrive on time, is important to clarify prior to joining forces.  It is inevitable that there will be a product that doesn’t sell or one that is delivered late, so talking about these issues before they arise is essential to making sure that you don’t get stuck with a financial burden that you can’t afford.

Read more of Jane Porter’s blog post, 10 Questions Every Entrepreneur Needs to Ask Suppliers, via Entrepreneur.com.

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

 

Sugarplums, Snowflakes, Sales

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The holiday season is upon us and according to the National Retail Federation’s Holiday Consumer Spending Survey, holiday sales will increase 4.1%.  One way to get in on this sales increase is by boosting your product’s awareness. By using your website and social media to promote your company, you will increase name recognition and ultimately gain more visitors to your site. A recent blog post from the U.S. Small Business Administration describes how “online presence, email marketing, and social media networks are great ways to target and connect with local consumers during the holiday season, whether it’s through timely updates, compelling calls-to-action, promotions or discounts.” Additionally, the post also provides specific advice on how to capitalize during the holidays. Some ideas included are hosting an open house and getting involved in local charity events. 

To get more advice on how to prepare for holiday shopping, read Calvin W. Goings’ post Sugarplums, Snowflakes, Sales via SBA.gov.

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

Pitfalls to Building Customer Loyalty Online

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Are loyal customers really that important? According to a study conducted by WebSideStory Inc., “visitors who return to a site are eight times more likely to make an online purchase.” In a blog post for Register.com, some  tips on what to avoid when using the web to build customer loyalty are outlined.  One way in which you can increase the probability a customer will come back is by making your site easy to use. Finding products easily is crucial to your success as a small business. When sites become too complicated, users are less likely to want to return to your webpage. For example, sites that have flashing icons, pop-up windows or singing banners are distracting for customers and end up diverting attention away from your content. Additionally, keeping outdated information is another way to frustrate a potential loyal customer. If a product is unavailable, post a note underneath the image of the product; “the last thing customers want is to reach the checkout page to find out that the item they wanted is no longer available.”

For more tips on how to make a user-friendly webpage that increases customer loyalty, read Pitfalls to Building Customer Loyalty Online via Register.com.

 

 

The Five Fundamentals of Customer Evangelism

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Every start-up needs customer evangelists! In a recent blog post, Michael Holmes describes the five fundamentals of customer evangelism.  So how can you get these individuals to support your product? One way to gain die-hard fans is to make them feel included. Holmes advises business to set up forums “where users can answer each others questions, ask what items you should carry in your store” and “create a round table discussion group.” This allows users to feel like they are a part of something bigger and gives them an opportunity to have a say in the direction of your company.  Additionally, making customers feel special is another way to turn a customer into an evangelist.  Provide loyal customers with exclusive offers or inviting them to special events informs them that you value their support and it is a great privilege to be an evangelist.

Read more of Michael Holmes post, The Five Fundamentals of Customer Evangelism, via RodKirby.com.

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

12 Ways to Increase Online Sales

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In a recent blog post for Entrepreneur.com, Derek Gehl, the CEO of the Internet Marketing Center, shares his top 12 tips for increasing online sales. He begins the post by sharing the core value of his company: “Test everything; assume nothing!” Each online store will react different to every strategy, and the only way to really find out what works, is to test it. One test that Gehl proposes is to “offer just one product or service on your home page.”  Studies have shown that offering fewer products with more copy describing the products always translates into higher sales. Why is this? Gehl asserts that this strategy works because it allows you to go more in depth. Selling just one product at a time allows you to focus on “one key set of benefits and answer all the possible questions and doubts your visitors might have about your product.”

To learn about more strategies to increase online sales, read Derek Gehl’s blog post, 12 Ways to Increase Online Sales, via Entrepreneur.com

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

Retailers Race to Make Online Shopping Go Smoothly

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With Black Friday on the horizon, the pressure to perfect your distribution system becomes even more prominent. According to Hadley Malcolm and Jayne O’Donnell of USA Today, “the next few days can be make or break for all the online retailers.”  While Thanksgiving Day usually provides a surge in online sales, online businesses will likely seen an even bigger day on Monday, known as Cyber Monday for the online promotions.  So how can you prepare yourself for the sales boost? One way is to make sure your site updates consumers as early as possible when a product is out of stock and when it might become available. An incredibly common error during this season, is taking orders that you  are unable to fulfill by Christmas.  According to the post, with more customers choosing to shop online, the need for a seamless experience has become imperative. Smartphones and tablets have created a situation where people are in “shopping mode” anywhere with cell phone service. Making your website compatible with these devices is crucial for success this holiday season.

For more advice on how to stay ahead this holiday season, read more of Hadley Malcom and Jayne O’Donnell’s article, Retailers Race to Make Online Shopping Go Smoothly via freep.com

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

Content, The Heart and Soul of Your Online Brand

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The importance of content for an online store should never be underestimated. According to a recent post by Jeff Bullas, “having inspiring and educational content is one thing, but distributing and marketing that content is vital to promote a global brand.” In the post, Bullas uses a case study of the online retailer, Mr Poter, a men’s fashion store. The company managed to acquire more than 1 million unique browsers, include 150 brands on their site, and ship to 170 countries in less than a year.  Bullas believes this seemingly impossible feat was achieved because of the “great content in various media formats that educates, informs and provides” information to their subscribers. Mr Porter utilizes a variety of different social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, all of which display original content.

Read more of Jeff Bullas’ post, “Content, The Heart and Soul of Your Online Brand” via JeffBullas.com

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

Five Ways to Earn Customer Loyalty

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What is the purpose of any business? Most people would answer “to make a profit;”  however, this is not only the wrong answer, but this type of profit-centric mindset could actually be harmful to your business. Peter Drucker, a management consultant that is widely considered the father of modern management, claimed that “there is only one valid definition of a business purpose: to create a customer.” As a result, according to a recent post in Business Know How, “the mark of success for a firm, and therefore the ultimate objective of its strategy, is to satisfy customer needs and wants at a sustainable profit. Whatever strategy and tactics we employ to gain competitive advantage must ultimately be based upon our profitably providing a better solution for customers.”  In the post, Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy build on this concept and provide the top five ways businesses can earn customer loyalty.  Some ways this is possible is through an effectively run human resources department that rewards employees for making customers happy.  Additionally, a holistic strategy is also critical to ensure loyal customers. All members of company (from the marketing team to the operations side) should come together  for one cause: “to profitably create and keep a customer.”

Read more of Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy’s post, Five Ways to Earn Customer Loyalty via BusinessKnowHow.com.

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity

The Pros and Cons of Form-Free Content

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It is an indisputable fact that inbound marketers are excellent content creators, whether it is through the construction of webinars, ebooks, blog posts or case studies, inbound marketers create content on a consistent basis; however, not all inbound marketers do it the same way. Is it more effective to “deploy that content behind a form, or keep it form-free for all the world to see with no exchange of information?“ Each method has its perks. This post for HubSpot’s Inbound Internet Blog outlines the advantages and disadvantages of these two opposing strategies.  According to the post, a benefit of form-free content is that it enables content evangelism. David Meerman Scott, an advocate of form-free content, found that “content assets actually have a 50x higher rate of download when they are form free.” This has great implications for your business because the more that people download your content, the faster your ideas will spread and simultaneously, your thought leadership. Some disadvantages to form-free content is that you learn less about the people reading your blog and therefore will have more trouble catering specifically to your readers’ wants. 

Read more of Corey Eridon’s post, The Pros and Cons of Form-Free Content via blog.hubspot.com.

-Julia LaSalvia, Lexity