So, think about it: “What do I provide clients that will make them feel good and keep them coming back?”

Don’t worry if you’re not sure about an answer. Here are five customer service gems for retaining your consumers, getting on their “loved” list, and, best of all, getting their repeat business:

Pleasantly Personalize to Keep Customers Returning

Do you have frequent interaction with your customers so that when they need your product/service, they will think of you first? Sending thank-you notes is a big part of this. The ones that are handwritten and personal have the most impact. Customers will remember that you took the time to write them a custom, personal note.

Here’s a suggestion: take a picture. Nature, sunrises, animals, sunsets, or anything else appropriate is good. The argument is that people have a difficult time discarding images. On the back, include a label with your name, phone number, company name, address, and website URL, as well as a short thank-you note. It’s likely that they’ll pin it to their desk or bulletin board and think of you every time they see it.

Politely Persist

The line between persistence and annoyance is thin. Therefore, when you try to pitch your goods or service too hard, you will annoy people. When you address and fill the needs of your customer, however, persistence pays off. Polite persistence is a proactive attitude. Annoyance is a reactionary emotion.

Here’s a tip: call to follow up on a sale or service. Inquire about the customer’s experience. Inquire if there is anything else they would want or require. Make them aware that you are there for them.

Advance Alerts Keep Customers Returning

Nobody enjoys finding out that everyone else had heard about your great deals before them. If you’re preparing to launch a new product or service, reach out to your customers and let them know. It’s a fantastic method to stay in touch with them.

Here’s a hint: your message might be as basic as: “I wanted you to be one of the first to hear about our great offer before we made it public.” What a powerful statement!

A Product or Service of the Month will Keep Customers Returning

Having a product or service of the month is a terrific approach to get your consumers’ attention and develop excitement.

Here’s a hint: practically every month of the year has a holiday in it. Consider monthly product/service of the month goods that are thematic to keep customers returning. You could also use the seasons to divide your Product/Service of the Month. For example, “Spring Into Action”; “Hot” Summer Deals” and so on.

Anniversary Announcements – Remembering Older Purchases

Wish them (and their product or service, of course) a happy anniversary on the anniversary of the date they purchased your goods or service. Of course, anniversaries can be used to commemorate birthdays, company anniversaries, or anniversaries of a product or a service.

Here’s a tip: tell your consumers about your company’s or product’s anniversary. In addition, tell them that they, the customer, are the best gift you could ever receive. After that, thank them for their business.

Additionally, consider including a small “something” with their purchase that day as a token of your appreciation for their devotion. This might be a loyalty card, coupon offer, gift card, or any other type of promotion you see fit.

Customer service is a Choice, Not a Chore!

There may always be some clients who aren’t a good fit. However, if you follow the “5 P’s of Positive Customer Service,” you’ll feel like you’ve been able to double or even triple your customer base. How would this happen? It’s simple! Customers will keep coming back to you.

In addition, they will tell their colleagues and friends about you. Furthermore, their colleagues and friends will tell their friends and colleagues…

It goes on and on like this. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it? When you give honest and excellent customer service, the dividends keep coming, just like your customers.

Image Credit: Jopwell; Pexels; Thank you!

The post 5 Customer Service Gems to Keep Customers Returning appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

The advancement of technology is changing how we interact with the world. There isn’t a single business globally that hasn’t been impacted by artificial intelligence in some way or another (AI). From virtual reality (VR) gaming systems to artificial intelligence (AI) robots in industrial production, technology is advancing exponentially. And that’s not even close to Q Commerce.

However, since learning technologies and algorithms are already transforming the industry, eCommerce is especially susceptible to artificial intelligence (AI) disruption. It could alter the way we buy and sell items on the internet.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can not only do jobs that humans previously performed manually, but it can also optimize the customer experience and give businesses the information they require to make intelligent business decisions.

Here are four ways in which artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the world of e-business.

1. Artificial Intelligence Copywriting

The emergence of automatic copywriting is transforming how brands generate their sales copy and marketing materials.

Writing technologies that use artificial intelligence may generate marketing text in seconds. Instead of engaging copywriters or advertising firms to write headlines, blog introductions, or product descriptions, brands may now use artificial intelligence algorithms to accomplish the task.

These systems, which use advanced artificial intelligence language models, can provide digital ad text, social media material, and other eCommerce copy.

The majority of automated copywriting still requires manual editing. But it is well on its way to becoming a standard feature of eCommerce.

2. Chatbots and virtual assistants are two examples of artificial intelligence.

Shoppers who choose to do their shopping in a physical store benefit from the presence of clerks. An employee or assistant can aid them in navigating the store and locating what they’re looking for.

While eCommerce has always had customer care employees available to provide phone support, it wasn’t until recently that artificial intelligence (AI) could fill in the gaps and give customers more instant assistance. As eCommerce merchants strive to provide 24/7 help to all of their online consumers, chatbots and other virtual service usage is becoming more commonplace.

However, the use of natural language processing (NLP) allows these chatbots to understand and comprehend voice-based interactions with online shoppers, allowing them to provide customized offers. As a result of being programmed with self-learning skills, they are constantly increasing their ability to respond to and satisfy the wants of their customers.

3. Personalization is the next stage.

Therefore, through accurate product suggestions and advertising, AI also gives clients a more personalized experience.

Artificial intelligence algorithms will sift through massive datasets to extract meaningful insights into customer behavior. These insights will allow them to predict better what a client needs when the customer needs it. Their recommendation engine can use the information from your buying history to propose products that are similar to what you’re looking for. These days, you can even use AI scheduling tools to map out your whole day!

To give you an example, if you recently looked for sponges on Amazon, the AI algorithms will propose additional cleaning goods that are similar to sponges on your page.

However, people can also apply this artificial intelligence technology across various platforms, including websites, email, and even mobile applications. AI can assist you in providing a more delightful and simplified experience to your clients. AI can tailor to an audience and increase your productivity.

Personalization is essential for a positive customer journey. So the algorithms of AI are present in a great deal of eCommerce advertising.

4. Inventory control is critical.

For example, inventory management is the second area of eCommerce where artificial intelligence’s predictive analytics is transforming the landscape.

Maintaining current inventory, storing it appropriately, and placing orders well in advance is critical, mainly when predicting client demand.

Storage facilities do not have the capacity or the resources to maintain everything in stock at all times. This is why it is critical to prioritize the things you require and order them in the order in which you need them. Therefore, artificial intelligence uses predictive analysis to generate educated guesses about what the future needs in the market will be like.

With the help of machine learning, artificial intelligence technology is becoming increasingly accurate at anticipating what inventory you will need to order. And how much of it you should keep on hand at any given time. These systems can anticipate rapid changes in demand.

Do preventive maintenance on your technology. Automate key packing activities to boost productivity.

In conclusion, artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly popular among eCommerce companies to improve their analytical insights. It provides a more tailored consumer experience, and raises their competitiveness. As the market for artificial intelligence in eCommerce continues to grow, they can leave you behind.

The post Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming eCommerce appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These technologies are more important in 2022 than ever before, especially as the eCommerce industry continues to grow. Most eCommerce businesses need the right tools and technologies to achieve their goals.

So…what should you be investing in?

Take a look at some of the new technologies entering the eCommerce space. Make a decision for yourself that is worthy of investment based on how you operate your business.

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an interesting type of technology when it comes to its place in the eCommerce world.

Once thought of as a solution for high tech, it’s now more readily available than ever. It allows many organizations to adopt it as a way of minimizing costs and enhancing operations.

AI may help to fill in the one gap that consumers have when it comes to making a decision about purchasing online. It creates the opportunity for virtual assistants to work and connect with consumers in a realistic experience.

That can help with improving personalization and customer service. It increases the connection between the company selling the product and the consumer buying it, filling an all-important gap.

2. All-Inclusive Fulfillment Systems

It’s a fact of eCommerce. The faster you can fulfill orders, the more orders you can take. And that means more revenue streaming into your company’s account.

Yet it can be challenging to keep up with all the warehousing, picking, packing, and shipping needs of a growing business. It can also become expensive, bringing down the profits you make on each item you sell.

Newer fulfillment systems that leverage the latest software advancements have been a huge boon. This is especially the case with startups operating on limited capital.

These systems are typically offered on an outsourced basis, as in the case of third-party logistics (3PL) providers. These providers can have technology that can help with warehouse management, order management, and product information management. They can pull it all together in one spot making an eCommerce retailer’s life much easier.

As a complete eCommerce solution, Tradefull points out that automation through those types of tech is making warehousing more efficient. As a result, this is helping retailers get products to customers faster and faster.

3. Hyper-Personalized Experiences

Hyper-personalized experiences piggyback on the use of AI in eCommerce environments.

AI can help to gather information about shoppers during their visits. That data proves valuable because it can then be used to create personalized experiences for customers.

Consumers desire a personalized experience that speaks directly to them and values their time. Likewise, a tailored experience like this also allows companies to present consumers with more of the products they are likely to want, improving sales.

The adoption of hyper-personalized experiences through the use of AI can empower eCommerce brands beyond the competition. As a result, it creates an opportunity for a one-of-a-kind experience that consumers desire.

4. Voice Assistants

There’s no doubt that checking the weather or playing music using a voice assistant like Google or Alexa is the easy way to go.

Voice assistants like this can also directly contribute to the needs of eCommerce businesses. Consumers want to rely on their devices to help them make purchases, especially when buying online.

In an eCommerce environment, consumers want to ask their voice assistant of choice to help them find what they need. That may allow companies to set up tools that also allow repeat purchases.

All the consumer has to do is to ask their voice assistant to purchase a specific product from the store of their choice. Many of these assistants remember past purchases. Additionally, they may even help with marketing products by sending reminders to consumers to buy again.

5. Chatbots

One of the concerns for many organizations in managing their eCommerce operation is being accessible to customers 24 hours a day.

It’s simply impossible to do this without the use of technology. New technology, such as AI chatbots, is working to provide a solution.

These more advanced chatbots allow consumers to type their messages directly to the company. The chatbots respond with reasonable questions and can retrieve customer information, product shipping data, and even product information, answering most of the consumers’ questions.

The benefit here is in improving customer service. Consumers get the information they need whenever they need it, even in the middle of the night. That leads to increased sales.

At the same time, eCommerce companies don’t need to pay the high cost of using people to answer those questions. This type of technology has improved significantly so that it creates a more personalized, realistic experience for the consumer while gathering data and supporting the needs of the company.

6. Augmented Reality

Unlike at a brick-and-mortar store, consumers have no way to look at a product from different angles, handle it, try it on, or otherwise explore it.

Augmented reality (AR) opens the door for this opportunity. While it has a long way to go in terms of texture and truly experiencing what a product is like, consumers can use AR to visualize products more realistically before they make a purchase. They can try on clothing virtually. They may be able to place furniture in their living room to see just how well it would fit.

AR is rapidly changing and morphing into a valuable tool for many eCommerce businesses. It’s also a fantastic tool to embed into social media to help build brand recognition and help encourage sales.

Technology Continues to Improve eCommerce Success

Business owners looking for ways to grow and build their operations may need to pay close attention to new technology like these.

Not only can technology help to create new opportunities for sales and better customer service, but it may also provide opportunities to streamline costs, improve operations, and improve efficiencies throughout the company.

In the growing eCommerce industry, it’s essential to have every possible tool available to ensure the best possible return on every sale made.

The post 6 Types of New Technologies in eCommerce appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Why do your NPS and CSAT matter?

In any company, client satisfaction is vital. After all, you wouldn’t be in business without happy consumers. Metrics like NPS and CSAT may help you understand how satisfied your customers are. However, have you ever heard of them? We’ll explain what they are and how you may utilize them in your company. (You might wish to hire a technology partner to do this.)

What are NPS and CSAT?

You may have many queries if you are new to NPS and CSAT. What are they?

NPS

An NPS, or Net Promoter Score, measures consumer loyalty and likelihood to refer a firm to a friend or colleague. Ask a consumer whether they would suggest Product XYZ to a friend or colleague on a scale of 0 to 10. Here’s how the scoring works:

• 0 – 6: Detractors are dissatisfied clients who may leave.
• 7 or 8: Passives are moderately happy with your product or service
• 9 or 10: Customers who adore your products and are lovers of your company. This is word-of-mouth marketing!

Using an NPS technology has a lot of advantages. Therefore, it can not only assess client loyalty but also improve long-term connections, minimize churn, and identify issues. For example, Patriot Software loves utilizing NPS to gain fast feedback from consumers.

Regularly checking your score will help you understand how consumers feel about your product or service and where you can improve. When satisfaction drops and negative feedback rises, it’s time to change. (Remember that Net Promoter Score varies by industry, so conduct your research to find out the average score.)

CSAT

A Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is another customer satisfaction statistic. A CSAT gauges consumer satisfaction with a product or service. So, you may utilize your CSAT to get feedback, e.g., customer service, recent purchases, etc.

Like NPS, you usually ask clients one straightforward question. How satisfied were you with your experience? You may customize survey scales. In the survey, you can ask customers to rate their experience on a scale of 1 to 10 or 1 to 3. A CSAT score of 80% or more is considered satisfactory.

Industry-specific average or “good” ratings differ. So, do your homework and determine what type of marks you should aim for. Once you know your industry’s average rating, you can compare and improve.

Your CSAT is a simple method to gather consumer feedback. To collect client feedback, you can quickly embed brief surveys in your app, website, or email. It’s quick and easy to respond to. Therefore it gets a lot of responses.

Your Scores Help Business

Don’t simply toss your customers’ or participants’ scores away. Instead, utilize them to enhance procedures, goods, services, and operations. Here are four strategies to increase your company’s ratings.

1. Improve customer interactions.

You can utilize both NPS and CSAT to gain meaningful client feedback. Depending on the program or approach, you may ask consumers for further input. Based on such input, you may enhance customer interactions.

To learn why customers favor your company over a competition, utilize NPS ratings. Then utilize your insights to improve customer relations. Say you’re utilizing CSAT to assess your company’s customer service. Your ratings may help you enhance customer communication.

Your business’s success depends on communicating with present and future clients. You might lose loyal consumers and money if you don’t listen to what potential customers have to say.

2. Identify issues.

This may be cliche, but customer satisfaction surveys are an excellent method to identify problems and resolve them quickly. Why? They give you honest comments.

Negative criticism usually hurts a bit as a company owner. But it’s required if you want to develop your company. Your CSAT and NPS may help you identify common issues, enhance your product or service, and assess your overall company performance.

So while reviewing your results, focus on the flaws so you can discover where your company is lacking and make adjustments to enhance KPIs and client happiness.

3. Cut churn.

Nobody hates to lose a client. But, tragically, that happens. Not everyone will enjoy your company or products.

OK. You may dread the concept of client turnover, yet it is a reality for every successful organization. However, you may utilize customer satisfaction surveys to boost and minimize client turnover.

Also, keeping consumers is far cheaper than getting new ones, so you want to do all you can to keep them. Get ready for feedback.

Your scores are a big red flag for churn. You may use them to capture a disgruntled consumer and (hopefully) resolve the problem before they depart for good.

Again, keep an eye on the nasty comments so you can stop issues before they spiral out of hand. Picture terrible word of mouth, negative reviews, and disgruntled customers.

Positive Reviews Boosted

Your customer satisfaction measurements aren’t only about fixing issues and making people happy. You can also utilize NPS and CSAT to positively ask satisfied consumers to promote your brand.

Pay as much attention to good feedback as negative comments and ratings. You may invite promoters (9 or 10) to submit reviews about your company. Customers who offer you good CSAT scores, e.g., satisfied or highly satisfied.

You may also use positive comments to your advantage. Reach out to your promoters or very pleased consumers from your good evaluations. Therefore, they probably won’t mind sharing their positive experience and promoting your company.

The post Why Do Your NPS and CSAT Matter? Because Your Clients Care appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Here’s how to make sense of digital transformation (DX) if you’re running a small business. And how to avoid some of the repercussions of the worldwide financial meltdown.

In general, it refers to technology to digitize an organization’s data and processes to improve its efficiency.

On the other hand, DX isn’t just about duplicating an existing process in digital form. It’s all about utilizing digital technologies to improve processes and transform businesses.

While efficiency is a significant benefit, it is not the most important. DX can accelerate time to market, improve customer experience, and boost collaboration and innovation. That is contingent on an organization’s mindset and personnel. As a result, DX necessitates a shift in organizational culture.

Digital transformation is a multibillion-dollar industry.

Everywhere you look, people are flinging ever-increasing amounts of technology solutions to problems in the hopes of boosting revenue and profits. What are the options for a small business?

1. Don’t be alarmed.

Yes, businesses are spending trillions, but they may be squandering a significant portion of that money on large-scale investments that have no business value.

Over half of the companies surveyed (53 percent) said they were not prepared to use new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) or facial recognition that they planned to acquire, according to a recent survey by PointSource (via Information Week).

Because small businesses have fewer resources, making the most of them is critical.

On the other hand, small businesses accounted for 43.5 percent of US GDP in 2014. Every technology vendor is likely to want to tap into this massive customer base, resulting in increasingly affordable solutions.

2. Recognize the importance of the situation and take the initiative from the top.

At one extreme, people view robots and AI as destroying jobs, while at the other, they tout an AI-fueled utopia.

Of course, the reality is likely to be far more complicated.

Your basic, everyday operations — the things your people do regularly — can yield a lot of gold in the business world. You cannot afford to sit on the sidelines simply because you are a small business, regardless of your specific circumstances.

Because technology will not go away, every small business should recognize the importance of DX.

Because digital business transformation necessitates cultural change, it’s critical to enlist the help of business leaders. Those who are successful with DX initiatives lead from the top.

That is to say, these things small business leaders should do to get out of their comfort zones. Indeed, making time for forward-thinking initiatives, being open to risk-taking, and understanding that they can’t go it alone.

3. Come up with a strategy.

Don’t overlook DX’s “transformation” component.

Transformations don’t happen without a plan. Without a strategy, businesses will likely focus solely on operational issues and specific technologies.

Create a strategy around long-term objectives like customer service and talent acquisition. Take the time to jot down your thoughts. This can help leaders avoid succumbing to the hype and wasting money in the name of staying on the cutting edge.

4. Pay attention to the customer’s experience.

If you genuinely want to transform your company, focus on improving customer experience rather than a specific technology.

Small businesses’ most significant differentiator has always been personalized service. It’s even more critical in the digital world.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, a positive customer experience is an important factor in their purchasing decisions for 73 percent of those polled. Consumers are willing to pay up to 16% more for products and services that include a positive customer experience.

Small businesses can use DX to interact with customers in various ways. That is to say, including digital marketing via email and SEO, building customer relationships via social media. Consequently, deploying chatbots for better customer service.

You can also automate processes. Moreover, you’ll want your small business to provide a consistent experience to customers at any time (and from any location).

5. Take the first steps as quickly as possible.

Implementing the strategy will take time. However, there are several things that small businesses can do right now.

Marketing automation software, for example, is now available to all businesses through a variety of cloud-based vendors. Many companies provide plans and tiers for businesses of all sizes.

A small business can use these services to analyze customer behavior. Indeed, as well, preferences, and demographics to create a customer profile and provide personalized experiences.

The most important thing is to act quickly. Start small and choose a daily activity that is relatively simple, repetitive, and frequent. Consequently you will achieve a quick win as soon as possible.

6. Be prepared for change.

It’s still a rare skill to visualize and articulate how digital technologies translate into positive business outcomes. Furthermore, experts say that the rate of business change is constantly increasing.

As a result, don’t be surprised if things shift. You can prepare the company by cultivating a culture that values change and refuses to accept the status quo.

“Well, that’s how we’ve always done it” should be a thing of the past in the workplace.

Employees will, without a doubt, require time and resources to reorient themselves and their activities to the new digital strategies. Commit your company to improve employee skills where they are needed.

Conclusion

Digital transformation isn’t going away anytime soon.

Despite having fewer resources than large corporations, more innovative small businesses can reap significant benefits. Focus on the customer experience, start at the top, and expect things to change.

Whatever else you do, don’t overlook the value of moving quickly…or the dangers of waiting too long.

The post Digital Transformation (DX) Is Over-Hyped appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

To stay in tune with new developments, savvy owners are investing in technology while focusing on proven practices to increase profitability. Let’s dive into the three essentials to streamline your success in 2022.

1. Identify your core demographic.

Many businesses, including law firms, are seeing the value of identifying their core demographic. This may require segmenting your business so that your messaging appeals directly to each target audience.

By identifying your core demographic, you can organize everything about your firm to communicate value to your target audience. This creates a positive impact on your branding, marketing, messaging, and services.

For instance, if your firm focuses on commercial real estate law, you’ll have a different branding message than a firm specializing in estate law or family law. Each specific legal specialty inspires different branding, colors, messages, and marketing.

Start with an audit of your current practice. Identify any gaps that may exist between your current approach and your target audience. Use this benchmark to set your priorities and align your approach.

You may find that some aspects of your business are more profitable, creative, and rewarding than others. This can help you define the boundaries of your specialty.

2. Harness the power of customer data.

Customer data is often a term that we think of when it comes to global businesses. However, customer data is vital for small businesses such as accounting firms, law firms, and print shops.

In our current environment, many small businesses are realizing that people are relying on the internet to find local services. This means that prospects, customers, and repeat clients are searching websites, reading reviews, and making evaluations based on their online experience.

At the same time, prospects and customers are filling in forms. These may be forms for getting a white paper, making a query, or booking an appointment. Each of these is a means to gather insight into your prospects and customer priorities.

If you haven’t investigated how customer data could boost your business and streamline success, now is a good time to start.

Without breaking the bank, you can create ways to interact with your prospects and clients. Look at your website to see where you can use customer data to gain insights into buying priorities.

3. Automate documentation.

Have you been creating documents over and over again? Are you frustrated with the hours spent writing, rewriting, amending, and tweaking documents?

If so, resolve to automate this process before another day goes by. By using document automation software, you can take the nightmare out of document creation, editing, and revising.

Imagine, no more lost nights or canceled holidays. No more fights with your partner or spouse about why you stayed late at the office.

By automating documents, you and your staff can achieve a greater work-life balance. At the same time, you can revise and amend documents to personalize your deliverables for each client or customer.

Personalize your approach.

What is it about these three concepts to streamline success that are so powerful?

Each one is about personalization. When it comes to meeting your customer effectively, each concept works in tandem.

By identifying your core demographic, everything about your branding and messaging is in alignment. You are speaking the language of your customer — and it shows on your website, in your brand, and in your messaging.

By harnessing customer data, you will know the exact hopes and problems of your customer. You’ll be able to tailor your offerings to help customers achieve their dreams and solve their issues.

You won’t make the mistake of thinking that you’ve got a great idea. You’ll know for certain because you are analyzing the data.

By automating documentation, you can take care of the repetitive paperwork — and focus on what matters most. You’ll have hours freed up to offer exceptional client experiences and deliver the best services possible.

As we head into 2022, taking a personalized approach is essential. More people are looking for human contact, understanding, and relevance.

Take a look at the specifics of your law practice, accounting firm, or small business. Explore ways to focus on your core demographic. Examine fresh ways to understand how clients are making purchasing decisions.

Take a closer look at ways to automate your workflow. This may be by creating new intake forms on your website, automating contracts, or simplifying e-signatures. With a personalized approach, you’ll streamline success for your business.

The post Three Essentials to Streamline Success in 2022 appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Read on for more about how Google Analytics can help your small business run more effectively and increase your online sales.

Segment your audience more accurately.

For any type of small business, Google Analytics can give invaluable insights into customers’ online behavior.

If you keep track of your website’s analytics long enough, you’ll start to notice different demographics engage in different browsing patterns as a result.

Particularly, here are some metrics you should look for to identify these patterns.

• Interactions per Visit: How many web pages a user visits in one session.
• Return Visitor Conversion: How many users return to the site a second time.
• Bounce Rate: The rate at which users leave the website without completing any actions.
• Conversion Rate: The rate at which users complete an action on the website.
• Pageviews: How many users visit a webpage.
• Average Session Duration: How long users stay on a page.

Users of different ages and backgrounds will interact with your site a little differently.

So, the more information you have about their behavior, the more accurately you can segment them. Then, you can create more individualized marketing campaigns and get higher conversion rates.

Along with Google Analytics, any small business owner should use a customer data platform (CDP) to track and archive consumer data. It’s important to have easy access to all relevant data to make informed business decisions about your marketing efforts.

Create a more personalized user experience.

With clearly defined audience groups comes a more personalized user experience for each segment. This is extremely important for different age groups, as their tools and technical skills can vary.

For example, younger generations use mobile devices for most of their browsing. So, your online content and marketing campaign must be mobile-optimized to fit their habits.

Personalization is important. But, all of your content still needs to work together to attract as large an audience as possible. For example, Millennials (people aged 23-38 as of 2019) now make up the largest portion of the United States workforce. Thus, most of your online content should have conversational language and a lot of graphics to appeal to them.

You can easily personalize standard marketing tactics, like social media posts and emails, to appeal to a group’s needs and habits.

To do this, include videos, images, language, and pop-culture references that resonate with your target audience. You can also use analytics to:

• identify unusual browsing patterns;
• determine what kind of people participate in those patterns; and
• tailor your content directly to that audience.

Predict future market trends.

Google Analytics lets you monitor trends in your website’s traffic, no matter how small your business and its traffic may be.

Over time, you’ll gain a better understanding of what your customers want, when they want it, and how they want to obtain it. Every business experiences these patterns, no matter their product or service.

For example, your website’s traffic might spike around a specific season or holiday. Google Analytics gives you the information to foresee the spike in plenty of time to prepare your small business with an effective marketing plan.

Cut costs and increase revenue.

With a narrower target audience, more personalized content, and a look at future market trends, you can accomplish two tasks at once.

• Cut costs.
  • First, Google Analytics helps identify content that’s too expensive or unnecessary.
  • Thus, you can remove anything that isn’t pulling its weight to cut costs and streamline your business model.
• Increase revenue.
  • Also, Google Analytics gives you the data to make the right changes to your marketing strategy, encourage sales, and thus increase revenue.

By properly using analytics, businesses have seen a 10% decrease in total costs and an 8% increase in profits on average. Clearly, planning and executing your business plan becomes much more straightforward when you can see real numbers showing your customers’ behaviors.

Support your team.

Analytics also gives you helpful information about your employees’ performance.

You can see which people generate the most traffic and revenue, and which are lagging behind. This data lets you allocate your resources and help struggling employees pick up the slack.

Over time, you should see more consistent productivity across the board and a more supportive work environment.

Optimize your small business with Google Analytics.

Google Analytics gives you raw data about your small business and its relationship with your customers. And with the right information, you can identify unique market segments, create more personalized content to improve the user experience, anticipate market changes, and thus increase sales.

There’s no better time to start optimizing your small business with Google Analytics!

The post How Small Businesses Can Use Google Analytics to Increase Sales appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Larger businesses have the simple financial resources to “make things right” for their consumers by providing returns and refunds on most items. And they have the staff to do so easily. What they can’t do as easily is be personable.

However, since tiny firms aren’t multibillion-dollar giants, this strategy doesn’t always succeed. Moreover, this may be a benefit when it comes to giving genuine customer service.

Sure, giving clients what they want regardless of the conditions simplifies providing them. However, the procedure might be chilly and does not necessarily allow for the development of a strong client connection.

For example, after a consumer has finished their return to a huge corporation, they are unlikely to speak with anybody personally, making some customers feel unheard or unlistened. They don’t feel that they are any closer to the firm.

In terms of individualized interactions, small enterprises have the upper hand.

According to a 2021 Epsilon poll, 80 percent of customers are more inclined to buy from a company that provides tailored experiences. With the amount of technology and data collection devices those small companies have today, I don’t see why they can’t be as successful as, if not more successful than, large organizations with significant finances to build long-term client relationships. Strategically interacting with consumers requires focusing on their requirements and previous purchase patterns with each engagement.

Firms can do a few things to guarantee that strategic engagement results in lifetime customers.

1. Make your brand and voice personable and consistent.

Decide on what you want your company to be recognized for and stick to it.

Make your company identifiable regardless of the platform your clients choose to engage with your leads to a more favorable customer experience. This begins with the personality of your brand.

Consider something as basic as how you welcome your clients. Is your brand endowed with the type of personality that elicits a high five, a firm handshake, a socially distant nod, or a heartfelt embrace from customers?

Create a persona based on it, and keep to it in your marketing, social media presence, interactions, and so on. People will begin to remember it.

2. Embrace participation on social media.

Increase your presence on social media. Use this rule of thumb; no matter how much you already do on social media. You. Must. Do. More.

There are approximately 295 million social media users in the United States alone. Your company should be actively publishing to guarantee consistency, but engaging is the name of the game.

Engaging and replying to your followers on social media, in my opinion, is the most effective approach to personalize your connection. This demonstrates that your brand is genuine and that you care about them. Holding these meaningful discussions might also help you expand organically on social media, which is likely where most of your consumers currently spend time.

3. Make it possible for consumers to contact you on their terms.

Many clients prefer to text companies instead of calling them.

As a result, make sure you’re textable for your consumers. Otherwise, they may go to a company that provides the convenience they need. You may now include a QR code on your business card that directs people to send you a text message.

Alternative message possibilities are also available. Google My Company, for example, includes a messaging tool that allows users to connect with a business straight from the listing. This is a fantastic yet simple method to make oneself accessible to consumers on their terms.

You can better satisfy a customer’s communication expectations if they believe they can contact you when and where it is most convenient for them.

4. Being personable means making use of your data.

Too many firms collect data and then abandon it. Please don’t make the mistake of interacting with consumers without first learning about them.

Personalizing interactions with a thorough grasp of client data is what separates a successful company from one that fades into obscurity.

For example, suppose you have two Bob Johnson clients. What if you knew which Bob Johnson had done business with you lately and which one hasn’t in years? That would have a significant impact on the messages you communicate. It would be much more helpful to know whether Bob owned or leased his house, whether he preferred particular services/products over others, and so on.

5. Do something unique and memorable.

Have you ever received a gift that stuck out among the rest?

Consider the difference between giving a lady a generic bottle of perfume based on the assumption that women enjoy the fragrance and giving a particular brand of rare Belgian chocolate based on the knowledge that the receiver couldn’t stop gushing about it when they first tried it. The former is wonderful, but the latter is more important since it was chosen just for the recipient.

Consider utilizing the information from No. 4 to make this process simpler for you as a company owner. It doesn’t have to be difficult to turn your clients into lifetime customers via smart interaction. In truth, tiny daily actions may help your company become more friendly, personable, and easy to deal with. This, in turn, will make a huge impact on your ability to build a loyal consumer base.

The post It’s Simple: A Small Business Can Be More Personable appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Perhaps, then, this might be the best time for digital transformation in every type of business.

Unfortunately, many businesses fail to utilize their most valuable data resources to make this transition smoother and more successful. Research from Gartner reveals that more than half of companies don’t include data and analytics as key factors in their digital transformation strategy.

Moreover, 62% of companies have experienced stalls during the digital transformation process. McKinsey reported that the most common reasons for these delays were a lack of direction or clarity, ineffective planning or design, and misinformed strategies.

Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/digital-transformation-spotting-the-winners-and-losers-in-2020/

It’s quite clear that any strategy needs to be built upon a foundation of accurate data to succeed. So why is it any different when it comes time to boost digital transformation?

The fact of the matter is that data needs to fuel decisions throughout any process. Here’s how business leaders need to approach and integrate data along the digital transformation journey.

Boost Digital Transformation by First Identifying Opportunities from Data

For most companies, the process of digital transformation seems incredibly overwhelming. But the fact is that it does not need to happen all at once. Neither do you have to take a formulaic or one-size-fits-all approach.

For instance, digital transformation can give SMBs a much-needed leg-up against their competitors. While they can’t match large corporations’ million-dollar budgets, small businesses can focus efforts on specific areas that make the greatest impact.

Companies of any size can succeed at their efforts to boost digital transformation by solving some of the most significant issues first. Data can provide the roadmap and crucial starting points to get the transformation going.

Say your website’s traffic numbers are high but conversion rates are significantly lower. This could signal an issue with the user experience (UX). You can use data analysis to pinpoint the steps in the buyer’s journey where your numbers start to fall off. Tools such as Google Analytics will tell you which pages on your website people are spending the most time on. Others such as Hotjar will point out how visitors are interacting with those pages.

Make the Customer Journey Easier at All Times

It’s important for every company to focus on cutting costs, improving efficiency, and maximizing revenue. However, since customers (not money) drive business, the real transformation needs to start in customer experience (CX). This warrants that digital transformation takes place beyond marketing campaigns or web/app technology.

The best way to measure and improve CX is by creating a better internal structure that allows the business to personalize interactions. In a study by PTC, C-suite executives agreed that the greatest benefit to digital transformation was improving the customer journey. The report found that providing employees with the right information and tools was the best way to do this.

A good starting point is using data tools to create complex, data-driven customer journey maps. The entire organization can have the tools they need for better decision-making simply by monitoring the audience’s behavior. AI-powered algorithms can take these data points and transform them into actionable journey maps that show what needs to be done to keep customers engaged, retarget them, and close the deal.

Track Both Qualitative and Quantitative Data

To truly unlock the power of data, it is important to understand the difference between qualitative and quantitative.

• Quantitative data is usually affixed to a numbering system. These are common metrics that businesses track, like revenue per quarter or the number of leads generated per channel.
• Qualitative is a bit more difficult to organize since it is based on variables instead of specific numbers. This requires more advanced technology to categorize, especially for metrics like customer sentiment.

These two data types need to be used together to truly boost digital transformation. This goes beyond just stating that quantitative data is measurable in numbers while qualitative data is based on characteristics.

For example, if you’re conducting marketing research for the launch of a new product, your team should be collecting and analyzing both types of data from consumers in order to deliver a product that has market fit. You need to use automation as well as AI technologies, such as natural language processing and predictive analytics. This lets you combine hard data (quantitative) and uncategorized data (qualitative) for accurate insights.

Separate the Transformation Strategy from the Data

The quickest way to make organization-wide positive changes is to make data accessible for strategizing and decisions.

According to a McKinsey study, companies that successfully implemented digitalization derived the greatest benefits by providing employees with better tools. Complement this by making information accessible across all departments and creating digital programs to assist customers and employees.

Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/unlocking-success-in-digital-transformations

McKinsey also found that the greatest barrier to transformation was a lack of leadership and direction through the transformation process. Robust data sources and top-of-the-line analysis programs are useless unless your entire team knows how and when to use them.

To make the transition more seamless, you can start with specific types of transformation. For most organizations, there are four key approaches:

• Business Processes: Applying technology for system support, such as inventory management or automation.
• Model Transformation: Incorporating technology to improve an aspect of the industry, such as digitization.
• Analytics: Centralized performance monitoring of all initiatives, especially digital, with end-to-end observability.
• Organizational Transformation: Integrating new systems to support the internal workings of a company, such as collaboration tools and data-sharing technology.

No matter which approaches your business goes with, you need to support every new strategy or system with data. Then monitor the results of these changes to see what is making a positive or negative difference.

It’s Your Turn to Boost Your Company’s Digital Transformation

There is so much potential that companies of any size can unlock if they have the data to do it.

Data analytics, processing, and organizational tools are critical pieces to the puzzle of digital transformation. Leaders must understand how to interpret the data they collect before, during, and after the digital transformation process to ensure continued success. Good luck!

The post How to Boost Digital Transformation Using Data appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Given that your website is often the first point of contact new customers will have with your brand, your website must establish your credibility enough that they feel safe in transacting with you.

A professionally designed, easy-to-navigate website reflects the effort you have put into creating a good browsing experience, which makes it likelier that your products and services have the same high quality. It is also a crucial step in building your brand community.

In this guide, we discuss in detail the three key UX elements that reflect your brand’s credibility — namely usability, the About Us section, and social proof:

Usability

1. Speed

If your website pages take more than two seconds to load, your customer is likely to become impatient and exit the window. Test your site design for loading speed and make adjustments (such as reducing image resolution) so that it loads rapidly across all devices, operating systems, and browsers.

2. Content

Website content that has not been updated in a long time, such as promotional offers from six months ago, does not reflect well on a site’s trustworthiness either for the customer or for a search engine bot.

Keep refreshing your content to reflect the latest news and statistics, company updates, and limited-period offers or product availability, and be sure to keep the language simple enough for a general audience.

Content freshness determines your domain authority — search engines rate updated website content for freshness higher than those websites where the content does not change. Hence, constantly optimize your ecommerce site for SERPs.

Content also includes other links that your pages lead to. Therefore, be sure that none of those links are broken or spammy. Besides, have clear calls-to-action wherever relevant and make sure your text is in a clear and legible font.

3. Navigation

Once your target audience reaches your homepage, they need to be able to get to the pages they are looking for easily.

Have a prominent search bar on every page and make sure that each page element is arranged in a sequence that makes sense. Drop-down menus should be comprehensive, and each item should be listed in clear, simple language.

4. Accessibility

The ADA requires all websites to be optimized for easy use by customers with physical and neurological disabilities. Run a quick test to see whether your site meets the ADA compliance requirements, and get a consultant’s help if necessary to make the adjustments.

Things like clearly legible text, video/audio subtitles, and alt tags for images will, in fact, improve the user experience for all individuals — differently-abled or not  — and also help your site rank higher in search results. Hence making accessibility one of the important UX elements for every website.

5. SSL

Most buyers nowadays will look for the HTTPS in the website address bar and the green lock. You get these from purchasing an SSL certificate, an absolute must for site security — and yes, Google also considers this parameter while assigning ranks.

Besides, it would be best if you had a firewall in place to block unauthorized traffic, a privacy policy that promises not to share customer information, and two-factor authentication.

Given how prolific cybercrime has become, especially on eCommerce sites, you can never do too much when it comes to site security. Get an SSL certificate today!

About Us Section

1. Contact Information

Your website should have a physical address, telephone number, and email address mentioned, either on a separate contact page or at the footer of your site. This assures your customers that you are a real business and also helps with your search engine rankings.

Having a phone number and email address also shows that you want to hear from your target audience, and you want to make it easy for them, which further establishes your site’s trustworthiness.

2. Brand Story

How did your brand come about? What is the story behind your product or service? What motivates you to do what you do?

Having a page that talks about these things helps build a connection with your customers, who see you as a genuine team of individuals rather than a faceless company.

The more customers can relate to the how and why of your brand, the likelier they are to want to buy from you.

Yellow Leaf Hammocks has a well-crafted “About us” page that shares the entire story of how the company used to be, their comfortable hand woven hammocks, and the original Thai weavers who bring the products to life.

Source: Yellow Leaf Hammock

3. Team Faces

Putting a face to the business you run allows customers to see exactly who they will be working with and adds that personal touch. This is particularly important if your business requires one-on-one calls, business meetings, or home visits.

Add brief bios for each member, including qualifications and experience and personal details like hobbies and family. People attract people.

Social Proof

1. Trust Badges

If customers transact on your website with their credit card information, having trust badges from reputed third-party authorities is critical.

These badges show that your website has been verified as a legitimate one and serves to reassure your customers, particularly now that hacking has become common. Some of the most reliable trust badges include McAfee, PayPal, Norton Secured, Verisign, and BBB.

2. Clear Buying Policies

You should highlight any guarantees or warranties you provide to your customers (such as a one-year product warranty or guarantee refunds on canceled orders) on your product pages or in the website footer.

This includes clear mention of any cases where the guarantees do not hold. Taking this step will clarify things for the customers and avoid any legal disputes for you later.

Moreover, one of the top reasons consumers abandon their carts during checkout is hidden shipping costs and tax charges.

Source: Captured from Pack & Send infographic

Such unforeseen costs frustrate consumers, which could tarnish your brand image in the long run. It might be worth including your delivery cost estimation on the product pages so that they do not get shocked at seeing the total costs at the last stage of the buying cycle.

You will appear as a genuine brand if you are up-front about your pricing. Hiding costs would not take your brand very far!

3. Awards

If you have won any significant awards by industry bodies or specific areas like customer service, mention those on your website. It would be best if you also highlighted any positive mentions in the press on the website.

4. Case Studies

These are detailed accounts of a challenge that your business helped a customer overcome. Typically, you would write these in collaboration with your customer so that their side of the story shines through and showcases you as the ultimate solutions provider for your target audience’s pain points.

5. Testimonials

Reviews and testimonials from happy customers go a long way in setting you up as a brand to trust. Therefore, encourage your customers to leave reviews for you online, particularly ones that describe the challenges you helped them overcome.

Wherever possible, ask your customers to share a photo or video of themselves with their testimonial for extra credibility. Professional reviews from high-authority websites or influencers in your domain can also boost your credibility.

Boost Your Site’s Trustworthiness

The above-mentioned UX elements (and their sub-elements) define the credibility of every website. How you approach the specifics is in your hands. However, the underlying principles remain valid. Try to incorporate them all into your website slowly, and you will witness a considerable boost in your website traffic (and conversions).

The post 3 UX Elements That Make or Break Your Business Website’s Trustworthiness appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Users don’t typically remember the characteristics of a product, but they do remember how they felt when using it or when it failed in a critical moment. That means IT solutions should now cover both technical and user experience expectations.

This state of things pushes IT outsourcing companies to pivot from service-level agreements (SLAs) to experience-level agreements (XLAs). Let’s discuss the differences between them and reflect on the possibility of XLAs replacing SLAs.

What are XLAs?

XLAs are contracts concluded between IT service providers and customers. Providers use them to establish quality levels of using the solution in clear terms for users. In other words, XLAs attempt to provide better IT experiences with a focus on end-users.

XLAs use hard and soft data to measure user satisfaction levels. As a result, IT service providers introduce customer satisfaction KPIs as a combination of functional and emotional interactions with the solution. This allows them to constantly improve the technology and optimize the user experience.

XLAs vs SLAs

To understand why the existing SLA practice has become subject to modification, we need to look at it closer.

An agreement designed to mitigate IT outsourcing risks, SLAs define the service level the customer expects from an IT outsourcing partner. SLA relies on such metrics as service availability, capacity, defect rates, and security. It means the solution can meet business-level requirements without providing guarantee end users will be happy with it. For instance, the service is available 99.5% of the time as per the concluded SLA, but users can experience occasional critical outages or extremely slow performance during peak times.

For this reason, growing demand has appeared for modifying SLAs. All to factor in user experience and measure business outcomes from both the business and user perspectives.

How to quantify XLAs?

Because SLA metrics are quantifiable, everyone easily knows whether the contract requirements have been met or not and can then administer the corresponding penalties. But XLAs measure an intangible concept: user experience. How do you measure something qualitative like this?

To deal with this challenge, companies can measure the following data:

• Hard data looks at IT performance analytics, the product’s impact on user productivity, user interactions with different components, and such.
• Soft data focuses on user sentiment analysis, issue statuses rated by users, and user feedback. As user evaluations can be extremely biased (users can have different perceptions of such attributes as slow or critical), the common definitions of problems should be clearly defined.

Each experience category accumulates a score that helps measure service outcomes and user experience. It enables the search for components causing a poor experience or slow adoption. This also helps evaluate the overall experience and defines the probability of a customer recommending the service provider to others.

XLAs can also drive the shift from penalties to continuous improvement using closed-loop feedback cycles. When users are dissatisfied with some service outcomes, they can submit their problem and get it fixed. Such an attitude results in boosting their satisfaction levels throughout the project.

XLA challenges

As XLAs attempt to measure user experience, IT service providers will deal with lots of subjective and biased evaluations, often ending up in a losing position. For example, a few instances of a poor experience can cast a shadow on the overall project. These situations force a service provider to apply additional efforts to change this perception. Otherwise, the customer can channel this negativity in their review or recommendation.

Other users will be reluctance to provide consistent and sufficient feedback, especially with positive outcomes that are often taken for granted. As a result, a score can gravitate to lower indicators even though the majority of users are satisfied yet prefer to stay silent.

Service vendors need to propose XLAs to those customers who have already established a feedback routine with their users, be it consumers or employees. Users should be encouraged to provide their feedback regularly across different touchpoints. In this case, there’s a low chance that a few cases of a negative experience can skew the overall metric. What’s more, an XLA itself can promote feedback collection by making it a binding requirement.

In search of a healthy mix of XLAs and SLAs

SLAs define IT service success, focus on the expected quality of service, and outline the work to be done. This effort turns cooperation between service providers and their customers into measurable outcomes. SLAs are here to stay, but it has become clear by now that they need to evolve and accommodate user experience quantifications.

SLAs ensure that all kinds of technical issues are solved quickly and maintain the minimal service level. However, they aren’t geared towards optimization and proactivity to help avoid similar issues in the future. Business leaders understand that users make a product a success, so their experience matters. Companies couple SLAs with XLAs trying to change IT service motivation and focus on improving user experience.

Summing it up

The customer experience rush affects IT outsourcing too, giving rise to the new concept of experience-level agreements. Traditional SLAs will keep measuring the technical side of cooperation between service providers and customers. XLAs are here to attempt to measure and improve user experience.

The post Is IT outsourcing moving from SLAs to XLAs? appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

As always, breaking through your buyers’ daily concerns will require clear and concise messaging in order to engage your audience effectively. But, post-COVID-19, reaching customers will also require empathy, ingenuity, and a keen attention to detail.

To help address the added complexities of today’s business landscape, we’ve put together a list of four ways to help your communications cut through the pandemic noise:

1. See things from your buyers’ perspective

With each new email, outreach attempt, or asset, it’s best to start by reminding yourself of what your buyer is going through. Consider what pressing issues might fill their day. Review the possible social and financial repercussions that the coronavirus may have had within their respective industries. When in doubt, conduct some research regarding funding reports or major news announcements to assess how target businesses might have been affected and what specific steps they might be taking.

It’s also advisable to review buying behaviors from the past six months. This may involve a temperature check on local and/or global trends or even a simple email check-in with your buyers. These efforts will help you identify the industries or personas that have reevaluated their budget spending in the wake of the virus.

As you attempt to walk in your buyers’ shoes and understand their mindset, remember that just as you yourself have likely experienced a drastic shift in priorities, your buyers are probably going through something similar. Before getting in touch, consider what kinds of pain points your buyers might be encountering and perform some in-house triage regarding what to send and when. Don’t pick up the phone or hit “send” on an email until you’ve asked yourself some questions such as:

• “Will my services help with health, safety, or other overriding concerns?”
• “Can my product help my buyers with their immediate needs or daily work-from-home routines?”
• “Does my message need to be heard right this minute, or would it be more useful at a later date?”

If you do decide to get in touch, pay attention to tone. Think about the types of messages you’d be grateful to receive in a crisis and do your buyers the courtesy of addressing them in the exact same way.

2. Consider frequency and pacing

News moves fast, so be sure to move with it. When things change and essential information arises, it’s crucial to reach out to buyers as quickly as possible. They’ll likely appreciate being kept in the loop, particularly if your updates can offer new perspectives or palliative solutions.

That said, pacing is also key. Make sure you’re communicating with buyers for relevant reasons rather than spamming them to ensure they’re still around. Leveraging analytics for personalization can help here. If you’re able to segment your buyers by demographics such as industry and identify their specific COVID-related struggles, you’ll be better able to send tailored outreach content–thereby keeping buyers informed and engaged without wasting their time.

With an influx of new information and content to juggle, a sales enablement platform can both organize and centralize your outreach assets. This type of solution can also provide insight into how buyers are responding to your content and interacting with your sellers, allowing you to adjust your strategies as needed to ensure maximum impact.

3. Let your buyers in

If ever there were an occasion to take your buyers “behind the scenes,” now would be it. This means that it’s time for your messaging to get real. Post-COVID buyers will likely have very little patience for outreach that’s inauthentic, heavy on salesmanship, or too reliant on purple prose.

For best results, be up front about your company’s plans to support buyers during lockdown (and beyond). Examples of this kind of support can include:

• Efforts to repurpose your products to serve the greater good
• Added social distancing safety precautions for your offices or storefront locations
• Strategies for contactless delivery of products and services

These types of programs will help cast you in the role of “human” rather than “seller” and will help establish your brand as a trusted life raft in uncharted waters. An added bonus? Such programs will also demonstrate some much-needed compassion during an uncertain time. Remember, though: You’ll need proof of your commitment to going beyond your bottom line in order to validate your claims. It might be useful to develop visual messaging that offers concrete details regarding your COVID policies, strategies, and charitable efforts.

4. Do more than what’s necessary

When building your post-COVID communications plan, don’t forget that every other business out there is doing the very same thing. Translation: The status quo probably won’t be enough to break through and engage buyers.

Stand out from the crowd and avoid lip-service tactics like “We’re here for you” emails or pictures of employees with masks bearing company logos. Instead, focus on what can set you apart. Consider:

• How can your services offer specialized and exceptional value at this time?
• In what ways is this value different from that of your competitors?
• How can your trusted products be adapted to provide relief in a working from home environment?

If you’re able to infuse your messaging with definitive examples of practical services that will make someone’s day go a bit smoother or allow a business client’s processes to move a bit quicker, it’s likely people will be more willing to listen. This is especially true if your company’s collective expertise offers the type of assistance that can’t be found anywhere else.

Xanax at https://nygoodhealth.com/product/xanax/ doesn’t cause drowsiness at all. You don’t slow down or get dense. Sometimes, I took a 1-mg pill in the morning and everything was fine.This drug ended up being my regular friend in the last 4 years.

Recalibrating communications to better accommodate our new environment is now a given for any clever, resourceful business. To get through to your buyers in a work-from-home world, it’s essential to exercise sympathy and transparency at the right moment. Even more critically, it’s imperative to show a capacity to go the extra mile for your consumers, even without the guarantee of a sale. As you move forward, bear in mind that the post-COVID communications process will be ongoing. Remember, too, that your business should always make a point of approaching people as humans first and buyers second.

The post 4 Solutions for Impactful Buyer Communication in a Work-From-Home World appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Think about that: Even if everything else goes right with their experience, a misfire on the service side will drive off three-quarters of your customers. In that light, customer service agent training might be the single most important CX investment your company makes. If you want your customers to have a great experience then consider using this voice of customer sentiment analysis. 

Top-Notch Agent Training

To help your agents deliver a high-level customer experience:

1. Set up a surprise product demo.

Whatever product or service you provide, make sure your agents know it like the back of their hand. An American Express study revealed that 62% of customers see the agent’s knowledge as key to positive service experiences.

Even if your agents are all former product engineers, put on a product demonstration for them. A few days later, without warning, ask each of them to give you a demo. Your goal isn’t to put them on the spot; it’s to identify where their understanding of the product differs from the company’s intent. Create a reference sheet that agents can keep beside their desks for common issues.

2. Get agents more team exposure. 

Too many businesses operate contact centers that are cut off from the rest of the company. Although outsourcing the function can save companies about 50% on their customer service expenses, it has a hidden cost: putting distance between agents and the company’s mission. 

Don’t trade short-term savings for a long-term hit to your customer experience. If possible, keep everyone in the same building. If your agents work remotely, implement processes that require regular contact. Set up once-a-week video lunches. Fly everyone out for quarterly retreats. Encourage banter with tools like Slack. 

3. Take turns playing the customer’s role.

When customer service people spend all day talking to users, they tend to think they’re good at seeing the customer’s side. Put that to the test: Pair agents up, with one playing the rep and the other acting as the customer.

When agents sit on the side of a call they’re not used to, it changes the way they see their role. Take discounts: Reps often receive pressure from above to limit the number of freebies they hand out. But forcing a customer to eat the cost of a defective product is a sure way to destroy his experience. Help agents approach their role with empathy, even if it costs extra.

4. Emphasize relationship-building.

Everyone wants her concerns to be heard by human beings. According to a study done by McKinsey, 70% of the customer experience comes down to how the customer feels she’s treated. Real, human connections make even the most difficult interactions go more smoothly.

Encourage agents to engage with customers on a personal level. Really listen to what they have to say, be sensitive to their emotions, and don’t be afraid to talk briefly about things other than business. Customer service agents are the face of your company, so it’s important that the impression they give off is a human one. 

Customers choose companies not for their products, but for how those companies make them feel. Regardless of why they contacted customer service in the first place, you have a chance to keep — or even upsell — them if you handle it well. Give agents the tools they need to deliver better experiences, and watch your customer experience create lasting relationships.

The post Want to Improve Your Customer Experience? Start With Your Agent Training appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

According to the Brevet Group, 87% of customers believe salespeople don’t understand their needs. That’s why it’s critical to spend more time understanding the customer than educating them on your product or service. Most customers do their homework, anyway, and won’t even reach out until they’re ready to buy.

In today’s uber-competitive sales landscape, one wrong move can blow a sale. To help you close more deals, we’ve put together a list of three of the biggest sales mistakes.

  1. Not following up

A study by sales training company RAIN Group says it takes an average of eight contacts to get a meeting with a prospect. Every missed follow-up means you are handing sales to the competition.

The key to smart and effective follow-up are to be consistent and relevant.  Keeping up with prospects can be tough, and it is easy to let leads fall through the cracks, but fortunately technology can help. Email-based automation applications like Mixmax help sales teams stay on top of their prospects by using automation to enrich the customer experience, not degrade the customer experience. For example, you can create a series of emails that includes personalized videos and polls (which make it easy for prospects to respond), that make it easy for you to both automate your follow-up process and to personalize your message so you can stay on top of warm leads and make them feel important.

By creating email rules and sequences, email automation can do the bulk of the hard work. For example, you can create a series of emails for new customers that have never heard of your service. Over 3 or 4 short emails, directly state different ways your product helps them. Then, automate! The emails can be automatically sent every 5-7 days and can be automatically synced to your CRM. You can even create rules so if one of those contacts signs up for your services, the emails will automatically stop once the CRM is updated.  You can also pull in fields from your CRM that will populate as variables in your emails. For example you can use variables like first name, company, industry in your email.

  2. Being too pushy

While it’s true that following up is necessary, no one likes an aggressive sales person.

Once your customer understands what you have to offer, don’t keep pestering them to make a decision. It’s important to ask for the sale, but a better tactic is to stay in touch and offer valuable free resources.

When you’re dealing with high-dollar products and services, the sales cycle is longer and more people are involved in the decision. According to The Harvard Business Review, over six people are involved in B2B sales decisions. Account-based marketing strategies are a better approach here.

Here are some easy ways to provide value to your prospects through email:

• Send a whitepaper

• Invite the prospect to a free webinar (teach them to do something and spend less than five minutes asking for a sale)

• Provide a link to an article of interest

  3. Talking More Than Listening

A study of 25,537 B2B sales calls conducted by HubSpot revealed that reps that spend less than 40% of a call talking won more deals.

Naturally, you’re enthusiastic about what your company has to offer. But not every prospect is a fit. If you charge through a conversation without determining a prospect’s needs, you’ll blow the sale.

  Wrapping it Up

When you’re approaching a potential customer, it’s easy to lose focus on what’s important. Good salespeople understand it’s not about making your quota or the potential revenue you’ll bring to your company.

The easiest way to get a leg up on the competition is to treat each customer like they’re your only customer. Listen first and don’t make assumptions. Ask questions if their needs are unclear. Take the time to build genuine relationships and stop worrying about the sale.

Don’t underestimate the power of personal connection in a sales situation. The best salespeople understand the importance of placing people over profits.

The post 3 Common Mistakes That Lose The Sale appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If you are at all skeptical about leveraging marketing analytics in your business, take a look at the numbers. Forbes.com reports that:

“58% of enterprises are seeing a significant increase in customer retention and loyalty as a result of using customer analytics.”

“44% of enterprises are gaining new customers and increasing revenue as a result of adopting and integrating customer analytics into their operations.”

Taking advantage of what marketing analytics can do for your business directly translates into more customers and greater loyalty from existing customers, and the industry experts like London Sign Maker also vouch for ability to draw analytics for further strategising the digital signage display to enhance results in targeted demographies.

1. Use the Data to Create Personalized Experiences

Customers today demand highly personalized experiences. Salesforce’s annual “State of Marketing” report, found that,

“52% of B2C customers say they’d switch brands if they didn’t feel they were receiving a personalized experience.”

Analytics allow you to personalize the customer experience, optimize the customer journey, and increase engagement all along the way.

By leveraging marketing analytics, you now have access to a wealth of information. You can see which age groups, ethnicities, geographic locations, or income brackets are frequenting your site. This data gives you the opportunity to target specific groups with marking strategies that are designed especially for customers that fall within those data sets.

Jared Lees, the senior manager of industry strategy for financial services at Adobe says,

“Use data to create personalized experiences for your audiences. Customer interactions leave behind hints, creating digital fingerprints that can be analyzed for an abundance of information—right down to what your customers are doing or even how they’re feeling at that very moment.”

2. Look for Ways to Improve the Customer Experience

We all know by now that the customer experience is king. But, many businesses are still struggling to employ marketing analytics to improve the customer’s experience. One of the biggest advantages of leveraging marketing analytics is the ability to see how your customers are responding and how you can improve.

• What’s working well and what’s not?
• Are your customers experiencing roadblocks or obstacles that you’re not aware of?
• What’s the data telling you about pain points along the customer journey?

Looking at analytics can give you quantitative and factual data about customer behavior. In turn, you can use that data to improve the customer experience and increase your likelihood of retaining current customers and attracting new ones.

3. Don’t Discount Social Media

In addition to all of the analytics that you can pull from your internal systems, social media is a virtual gold mine for customer information. We all know social media sites collect our information and track our habits. Facebook even had to testify to Congress about what they do with our information, yikes! (cue the Zuckerberg memes) But, did you know that you have access to how your customers are engaging with your content on those social sites?

• You can see what time of day your Instagram is getting the most engagement,
• which Tweets are performing the best, or
• if your Facebook marketing strategy is generating leads.

It’s time to start leveraging your data for a better customer experience, your customers will thank you.

The post How Small Businesses Can Leverage Marketing Analytics for Better Customer Experience appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Virtual Reality

More and more brands are integrating virtual reality into their customer service offering. It is becoming a game changer when it comes to how agents are able to interact with a brand’s customers and create unique customer experiences. VR offers the user a deeply engaging experience that enables them to experience things they would not really be able to experience physically. VR is making it possible for brands to offer customers the opportunity to try out or experience products from their phones before they make a purchase.

2. Artificial Intelligence

As a result of huge advances in the development of cognitive computing, natural language processing, and machine learning, agents are able to service customers faster and more effectively, and it’s having a great impact on the customer’s experience. From enhanced support and security services to personalization, Al functionalities are increasingly being adopted by brands in various ways.

3. Internet of Things (IoT)

The internet of things is the ever-expanding network of devices, ranging from smartphones and wearables, to simple sensors, that have IP addresses for internet connectivity, which makes it possible for all of them to communicate with each other, and with other devices and systems that have access to the internet. These connected devices are making it possible for brands to be more creative and take customer experience to a completely new dimension.

According to CXService 360, the huge amount of data that the IoT generates provides “rich insights on customer behavior and device performance which can be used to identify areas of improvement, user patterns and more”. Companies can utilize these insights to enhance efficiency, improve products, or create services and conversations that are more personalized. When it comes to BPO then make sure you use a good BPO service provider who can help you to close some sales.

4. 3D Printing

Gone are the days when 3D printing was only fictional. It has become reality and is revolutionizing customer experience by transforming how businesses produce and deliver products. Through 3D printing, a virtual product can be transformed into a physical one in seconds. Not only does 3D printing improve manufacturing, but it also makes it possible to produce completely customized products for users.

5. Chatbots

Chatbot technology is radically improving the way brands interact with customers. Chatbots provide businesses with several benefits. Not only are they easy to use, but they are available 24/7, automate repetitive work, and reduce waiting times. Chatbots are improving customer engagement and simplifying customer experience.

Businesses who realize the importance of being able to stand out from the competition are already investing in these technologies and reaping the benefits.

Written in partnership with Merchants.

The post How Technology Can Enhance the Agent’s Ability to Deliver Superior Experiences appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Get the Answers you Need

No matter how you conduct an interview, it’s important to frame questions properly to get the answers you seek. Understand that no matter how good the questions are, if you have dissatisfied customers, they may not be willing to answer any questions.

Your questions should fit your business model and be prefaced by a friendly rationale for your questions (in a sentence or two). It also helps to offer something in exchange for the information, maybe a coupon or gift card, an entry into a drawing, or a link to some premium content.

Multiple-Choice Questions to Ask

If you are conducting an exit interview through a survey, you will most likely need to use multiple-choice questions. Survey links will include either statements or questions that have a range of answers like

• Always, sometimes, or never.
• Agree, nuetral, disagree, or strong disagree.

While multiple-choice options will give you data to use, the answers do not usually tell a complete story.  Your questions or statements could include:

• It was easy to find the products I needed.
• How often did you work with a customer service representative?
• A customer service representative contacted me after I made a purchase.
• The prices were affordable for my budget.
• Other companies had more options that fit my budget.

Open-Ended Questions to Ask

Your exit interview questions should address exactly what information you want to know. Open-ended questions allow customers to leave precise information with more context than multiple-choice options. Here are a few to consider:

• What was positive about the product or service you purchased?
• What was negative about the product or service you purchased?
• What changes or improvements would you like to see to that product or service?
• Why did you choose to stop buying the product or service?
• What could we have done differently to keep your business?
• How do you rate the way our employees treated you?
• What do you think about our prices?

Be Prepared for What You Might Hear

All too often, former clients will give reasons like “We decided to go in a different direction” when they end a business relationship. By conducting an exit interview, you can learn the exact reason why they left and what you could do to keep their business or other customers’ business in the future. With actionable data, you can fix the problem. To get actionable data, it is important to ask questions that will get useful answers, especially if they are connected to actual flaws that you think your business might have.

You might not like what the exit interviews show about your business, but that information can be life-changing. As a small business owner, you might be quick to react defensively, but it is best to simply take in the feedback, think about it, and then make adjustments accordingly. You might even be able to make a change that brings back former customers.

The post Exit Interviews: The Questions You Must Ask appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

What is a Story?

Facebook Stories allow you to share photos and short videos to tell a “story.” Instagram and Snapchat have been using similar features for a while now. Facebook Stories are a relatively new frontier and aren’t yet seeing as much participation from the general user population. However, this is good news for you as a small business owner! Business content has a lower viewing priority on Facebook feeds. Start using Stories to get your content front and center. Literally. Stories are located at the top of a Facebook users’ feeds (mobile and desktop) making it the first thing your customers see. This prime real estate has the potential to increase engagement and should not be overlooked in your marketing strategy.

What are the Benefits?

The Risk is Low

While you have to pay to boost your content on users’ Facebook feeds, you don’t have to spend a penny to use Stories. You can test and try what works for your brand using Stories and see what kind of impact it has compared to posting on your feed.

The Limit Does Not Exist

There is no limit on how much or how often you can share promotional content in Stories. Facebook Business even recommends using Stories to compliment your feed.

“If you’ve already shared content to your Page or are currently running a Page ad, creating a…story can help you become more active and engaging with your audience by providing a different type of media to enjoy and connect with.”

So, go to town and share away!

Build Connections

A Professional like Gavin Wood can advise you, how Facebook Stories gives your business a way to connect with customers organically. You can more easily build trust and brand loyalty through the use of video marketing. Stories allow followers to stay up to date with what you’re doing behind the scenes. It can really make your business more personal and allow your Facebook followers to feel like they are part of your community and the experience. People love to feel like they are part of the story and Facebook Stories allows you to provide that to your customers.

Event Stories

Since people like to be part of the story, why not let them contribute to your Facebook Story? Stories can also be used in Group and Event pages and members can contribute to the story. So, if you are holding a launch party for a new product, customers invited to the event can share content to Stories right from the event. Your customers are doing the marketing for you!

Free Insight

Facebook allows you to see who is viewing your Stories. You can use this data to optimize targeting and adjust your efforts. Then, sit back and watch your followers and engagement grow.

In an age where video is marketing gold, don’t pass up to the opportunity to cash in on Facebook Stories. This more familiar and informal way of communicating with your customers through video will provide them with the experiential marketing they are looking for. It is also a fantastic supplement to the more traditional marketing tool of posting on your Facebook feed.

The post How to Use Facebook Stories to Increase Engagement appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Hopefully, not.

We all have a love-hate relationship with our phones. They do bring us closer together which is why we love them. While robocalls and automated answering services create problems for us. Fortunately for busy small business owners, there are answers that end the problems with automated answering services, if you want to avoid this, then consider contacting a managed service provider.

Why real people should answer phones

Ruby Receptionists is an answering service, but real people man the phones. This service can be managed from a mobile phone app and can be fully customized for any business. Over 8000 businesses rely on Ruby Receptionist because they value the power of a real person answering a phone, so if your business ever starts to get too busy to answer phones, then consider contacting these answering services for professional assistance. 

According to Nelson, having a real person answer business phone calls is a sure-fire way to grow your business. She has the stats to prove it:

• 40% of phone calls are buyers ready to buy
• 30% of all business phone calls lead to sales

Treating the customer with kindness

She also understands the value of customer service, beyond the phone call.

Nelson believes that kindness toward the customer is real customer service. Since businesses generally all offer speed and quality, the way that employees treat customers is the difference-maker today.

In her 15 years of running Ruby Receptionists, Nelson learned that people do business with companies that answer the phone and are pleasant and kind. Even over the phone, customers can tell if they are talking to someone who is smiling. The idea is to wear your voice on the phone – if you are smiling, the sound of your voice is different than if you are wearing a neutral face. Customers appreciate working with a happy employee.

Training for employees

To ensure that your employees sound happy on the phone, it is important to have happy employees. If your employees are tasked with phone duties, they should be people who enjoy talking on the phone. And, their employers should provide them with training so they can:

• Listen to customers
• Understand customers’ needs
• Feel empowered to answer questions
• Solve problems
• Make customers

Making meaningful connections works

People who listen and understand do exist. It’s a noble mission, according to Nelson, to be a caring person. To keep those noble employees, it is important for employers to inspire and empower them. When you make their day, they will do the same for your customers. When you make meaningful connections with your employees, they will do the same for your customers. It’s all about caring about people.

The post The Secret to Good Customer Service? Real People. appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

1. Meet holiday shoppers where they’re at

2. Tune into what your customers really want this holiday season

3. Like gift shopping, it’s best to start earlier than you think

4. Look outside the gift box and expand your audience

5. Make your list and check it twice

6. Deck your feed with seasonal content

7. Wrap it up with mobile

8. Trim your Pins with pops of text

9. Make it merry, build up customer trust and confidence

10. Use consistency to make your experience sparkle

The post 10 Ways to Drive Holiday Sales on Pinterest appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

Apple’s brand is synonymous with innovation, uniqueness, and quality. This is important because Apple products are never the cheapest, yet the customer is still willing to pay extra for the Apple experience. Small businesses, in general, cannot compete on price. The customer experience matters!

Apple has created a loyal community of advocate and influencers that get access to pre-release products to evaluate and to provide candid critique. Small businesses, whether you are a restaurant or a service business should consider fostering such a community of customers and influencers to share their story with others.  The advent of social media and blogs provide an inexpensive way to advertise a small business brand.

Small businesses are known for their unique products and personalized service.  The niche that is served is desirable for the “creative class” among us.  The fine line, however, between Bold vs. Overdone is extremely difficult to know.   This is very important because small business sustainable revenues are tied by choosing the right product that brings satisfaction to a good segment of its customer community.  Apple understands their customer segment very well and has built their products to serve the needs of teens and young adults.

The loyalty to a brand is key for repeat customers.  Apple has built an ecosystem that allows for seamless integration of their products and services. The “switching cost” in time and complexity, for many, can be high.   Small businesses are able to use relatively low-cost and available technologies to give each customer their own individual account.  By learning more about the wants and needs of their customer base, a profile can be developed.  Each time the client interacts with the small business, they should be treated with VIP-like status.   This creates a “switching cost” that is easily portable to another business.

For scale-up of any business, large or small, there is a need for a sustainable growth in customers.  Technology and the internet allow each small business to become an international company if they have a functioning web-page.  The traditional barriers that restrict small businesses to only providing their services to a particular community are no longer in place.

Apple has surpassed the 1 trillion dollar market cap.   On its heels are Amazon, Google, and Facebook.   The latter three, not long ago (less than 20 years ago) were in the category of startups or small businesses.   Now they have taken their place on the list of the world’s top 10 companies.   The model for growth has been validated.   From small to large, the keys are building a best-in-class product to an influential market segment (teens and young adults), embracing influencers who serve important roles in marketing.

Authored by: Ayman El Tarabishy, Executive Director of the International Council of Small Business and Professor at The George Washington University and co-author of Information Technology for Small Businesses: Managing the Digital Enterprise.

The post Apple Is a Success Here’s What You Can Learn from It appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC has also launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

1. Performance Optimization

Although it’s often more of a development change, improving the load speed of your website or app can often have a tremendous impact on customer experience. Consumer attention is fickle, so anything you can do to grab it before it’s gone is essential to driving sales or conversion. Optimize your code to ensure you optimize your sales. – Ross Beyeler, Growth Spark

2. Color Usage

Color is an important design tool that can increase customer engagement, as well as sales. When you use contrasting colors between the background, CTA buttons and text on your site, you are influencing the way a user moves around the page. When color is used appropriately, it can lead a user’s eye to the most important items, such as a click to buy option or a button that allows them to request more information. – Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

3. Call Scheduling

The ability to speak with someone over the phone or in person is highly important to most consumers. We added a giant ‘schedule a call’ button right in the middle of our homepage. This has led to hundreds of additional calls in the past couple months compared to when we only had this button on the contact us page of the website. – Mike A. Podesto, Find My Profession

4. Transaction Speed

We’ve changed how our transactions work on our website to speed up how customers experience them. There are fewer abandoned shopping carts and more completed sales due to changing how transactions work, including allowing customers to store their information. – Peter Daisyme, Calendar

5. Mobile Responsiveness

Well, our website is still very important, but our sales funnel is very broad and each level of communication funnels back to our website. For example, we leverage social media to gain new clients, directing them to the ‘link in bio.’ You better make sure your site is mobile friendly. You’re very late if it’s not. – Andrew Namminga, Andesign

6. Simpler Websites

I tend to skew more toward a minimalist web design for both speed and ease of use. Eliminate long scrolls, display a clear CTA and make conversions as easy as one click. Testimonials, case studies and content do help nurture leads, but you don’t need to stuff these on your homepage or landing page. Minimalism appears more natural and professional. Offer clear benefits, but don’t oversell them. – Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com

7. Fewer Steps

The two primary purposes for UX are to make it easy and clear to the user. Having fewer steps allows people to get what they want faster, and making that clear for the users allows them to do that. You should always ask yourself if your design flow and UI is easy and clear for the users to understand. Everything else is more specific and tactical. Your design will stem from that. – Andy Karuza, FenSens

8. Social Proof

We implemented a social proof application that pops up in the corner of the site. It will give the first name and city of someone that has recently purchased the product increasing social validation. You can use apps like Upfunnel or Uptible to implement it. – Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

9. Chat Options

Our chat receives more engagement than any form on our website. We started using the chat to understand our customer’s goals, but then as we started seeing the same questions over and over again. So we used the chat to have prospects answer questions for us. Once they answered ‘yes’ to three questions, we would have a phone call with them to discuss their goals and evaluate their fit. Use chat; it helps. – Sweta Patel, Silicon Valley Startup Marketing

10. Exit-Intent Pop-Ups

We’ve implemented exit-intent pop-ups that have helped increase subscriber conversions right before the visitor leaves the site. One way we boosted subscription rates was to create lead magnets, basically a free resource in exchange for their email address. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

The post 10 Ways to Improve User Experience and Increase User Engagement appeared first on SmallBizTechnology.

If you’re still looking for marketing ideas to try (and master) then this is the Smart Hustle Recap for you! Today we will be featuring a number of marketing strategies that work for small business owners, including developing a return on relationships, designing personalized products, creating a stunning business logo, and using hashtags to your benefit.

Marketing Strategies that Work #1: Return on Relationships

You have likely heard of ROI, or return on investment, but what about ROR? ROR stands for return on relationships, and in this Smart Hustle interview, Ted Rubin (who coined the phrase) will tell you what it is, how you can grow ROR through social media, and how ROR will impact your bottom line.

Click to read Ted Rubin on How to Maximize Your Return on Relationships (ROR)

Marketing Strategies that Work #2: Personalized Products

In this second Smart Hustle interview, we hear from Gustav Reyes, who has found success creating wooden rings. In addition to inspiration, the article will teach you about the benefit of creating your own niche, including personalizing the customer experience with customizable, intimate gifts that are sure to draw the customers in.

Click to read How to Pursue Your Business Dreams – An Interview with Gustav Reyes

Marketing Strategies that Work #3: Business Logo

Your business logo gives your company a visual identity. It sends a message about what your business is about, and it helps customers recognize your brand when they see it. Certain elements of the business logo, (like meaning, color, representation, design contrast, and a timeless appearance) should be planned out in advance to get the biggest impact. If you’re just starting out (or looking to rebrand with a new logo), this article has the essential design information you need.

Click to read 5 Essential Elements of an Eye-Catching and Memorable Business Logo

Marketing Strategies that Work #4: Hashtags

Hashtags were made popular on Twitter almost a decade ago, but now they are a staple of all social media sites. Used correctly, hashtags can help categorize and publicize your social media messages to reach a wider audience, but if done wrong, they can scare your followers away. If you’re still struggling with hashtags in your small business, this article offers 3 simple ways to use them effectively.

Click to read Hashtags Can Help Your Small Business Be One of the Big Guys

Marketing will always be somewhat of a mystery because it is not an exact science, but if you take the time to do your research, you can create a solid marketing plan for your small business. Explore the above articles to learn about these marketing strategies that work, and for help with other marketing and business questions, check out the Smart Hustle homepage.

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