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Showing posts from February, 2015

How Engaging Are Your Sign-up Forms?

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Take a moment to think about the forms you ask your visitors to fill out and submit when they visit your website or come to your store. These forms help convert those individuals from anonymous visitors to active leads you can contact regularly. To make that happen, you want people to feel encouraged to leave you with their name and information so you can remember them. Make the offer look enticing Leads are the lifeblood of any organization. If you want people to provide you with their contact information, you need to give them a reason to do so. Make your sign-up forms appealing. First, make the offer something desirable. Then, make the actual screen look inviting. Desirable offers Developing a desirable offer means understanding the people with whom you're speaking. Carefully analyze your buyer personas and consider the type of information and material that would appeal to them. Once you develop the information you want to put behind a sign-up wall, advertise it ...

Keep Your Existing Customers Around By Improving Engagement

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If you're like many business professionals, you know that half the battle of growing your business is getting existing customers to stick around. When you provide your customers with outstanding customer service, some incredible things happen: Customers are willing to pay more, just for your service. Customers are more likely to recommend you to others. You end up spending less for each conversion (it costs less to retain customers than find new ones). You build customer loyalty. In our intensely competitive modern market, you can't afford to overlook these benefits. The key to providing this outstanding level of service is taking the time to engage your existing customers. Too many organizations focus so much energy on attracting new customers that their existing customers feel neglected and overlooked. This can lead to feelings of resentment. Fortunately, with just a little bit of extra effort, you can keep your existing customers engaged and invested in your co...

Blogging Can Be a Fantastic Promotion Tool Across Platforms

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Building a successful blog is an excellent way to integrate your marketing campaigns across several platforms. Here are a few ways to use your blog to promote your business regardless of medium. With direct mail When you send direct mail, mention your blog to let people know it's there for them to read and comment on. Highlight some of the recent topics you've covered to entice them even further. Direct mail is a wonderful way to advertise deals and upcoming sales. Market your blog as another way to stay updated about specials and events. Promote it as a way to learn more about your industry, so customers can get the most from your products and services. On social media Social media is an excellent tool for promoting a blog and connecting with page visitors. Use your social media accounts to promote your blog posts among your followers. Invite conversations on social media about subjects you've covered in your blog as a way of keeping your social channel...

Maui Printing Winter-Spring Specials

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Check out the specials we have. Look for a postcard in the mail soon.

Instilling School Spirit at Your Company

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Many factors go into the decision about where to attend college. While majors, location, and ranking undoubtedly hold a high place, the experience of other students and the school's reputation also play a crucial role. Schools must strike a careful balance between providing a rigorous academic environment, while at the same time offering an enjoyable experience that will make students talk about their school in a positive way to other prospective students. Satisfied students can be the best brand ambassadors an institution can find. When students love their school, it emanates from everything they do. The students root for the home team during sports matches. School tour guides who speak about the university to groups of prospective students are enthusiastic and insightful. Successful professionals who have 'made it' in their respective fields eagerly voice their support for their alma mater. Such enthusiasm builds a positive culture around the school and en...

Marketing Lessons from Iconic Rock Bands

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Few entities can inspire the kind of loyalty rock bands do. Think about performers like the Rolling Stones, the Grateful Dead, and Phish, to name just a few. Groups like these have entertained generations of audiences and encouraged strong followings among their most devoted fans. Sure, their music plays a large part in building and maintaining a fan base, but so, too, does great marketing. Bringing the content to the people Most recording artists want to sell as many records as possible. That's only natural, after all. So they focus on promoting albums and use concerts as a way to advertise their music. The same idea is true in business, where companies often use their professional blogs and social media channels to promote their content and toot their own horn. They might provide occasional helpful information for followers, but their main purpose is selling, and their attitude reflects that. Some of the more iconic bands, however, have taken the opposite tack. Th...

How Much Value Are You Providing Customers Online?

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Imagine you're a student struggling to understand a difficult concept in one of your classes. A friend who aced the class last semester offers to help but ends up just regurgitating the same information you already got from your notes. Frustrated, you ask if they can give you any insight that might help you better understand the subject. "Sure," they reply, "but that wouldn't be fair to the rest of your class because it would make it too easy for you." Sound far fetched? It probably is. After all, who would show such little interest in helping their friend succeed? Yet, for many companies, that's precisely the attitude they take with their marketing content. How helpful is your content? We're all turning more and more online to learn about products and make intelligent and informed buying decisions. In response to this trend, many companies broadcast themselves as the expert and want people to turn to them. Their content, however, is ...

How to Build a Company Culture that Helps Marketing

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As managers, we all strive to develop an atmosphere of success and teamwork. When you can develop a culture that respects those in your office and encourages success, you'll notice many immediate benefits. Workers will become more motivated. Employees will feel valued and know the role they play in the success of the greater organization. They'll also feel more confident handling day-to-day situations and solving problems. You'll be able to spend your time more productively, too, by not having to handle issues your employees now feel confident dealing with on their own. When your employees feel valued and content, the impact can stretch far beyond the office walls. Happy employees present a more enthusiastic and helpful face for your brand to potential customers. Your company's reputation for caring for its employees and its customers will spread. Referrals will grow, and your marketing efforts will have a greater impact. In short, this type of fantastic compa...

How Much Value Are You Providing Customers Online?

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Imagine you're a student struggling to understand a difficult concept in one of your classes. A friend who aced the class last semester offers to help but ends up just regurgitating the same information you already got from your notes. Frustrated, you ask if they can give you any insight that might help you better understand the subject. "Sure," they reply, "but that wouldn't be fair to the rest of your class because it would make it too easy for you." Sound far fetched? It probably is. After all, who would show such little interest in helping their friend succeed? Yet, for many companies, that's precisely the attitude they take with their marketing content. How helpful is your content? We're all turning more and more online to learn about products and make intelligent and informed buying decisions. In response to this trend, many companies broadcast themselves as the expert and want people to turn to them. Their content, however, is ...

Are You Neglecting This Valuable Source of Income?

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When most people think of marketing, their minds automatically turn toward finding ways to attract new customers. In the process, they're overlooking one key customer segment, and that could be costing them enormously. Who is this precious group? Their existing customers. Why existing customers are so critical It costs an estimated 6 to 7 times more to attract new customers than to retain existing ones. Neglecting your existing customers doesn't just waste time and money; it cuts into the bottom line, as you continually search for enough new customers to replace those who leave. Existing customers can be excellent resources for expanding your consumer base. Customers in general are much more trusting of referrals they receive from friends and family than they are of advertising produced by a company itself. This is also true of reviews on websites and review sites. Taking the time to cultivate a fantastic customer experience will not only help encourage customer...

How to Use Keywords to Get Attention

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When it comes to developing content, few buzzwords are thrown around quite as much as "keywords." While quality content remains by far the gold standard for SEO, keywords can be very helpful for guiding search engines and those making queries on them to relevant content on your website. Of course, figuring out what keywords to focus on can be a challenge. Keywords should match the vocabulary and information sought by potential customers, while also flowing naturally within the piece. Here's what every professional should know about finding quality keywords for their website. Determine the keywords people use You don't want to use keywords you think potential customers might use. Instead, you want keywords you know are commonly used. Use resources such as Google Trends and Adwords to monitor how frequently certain keywords are used. Look at trends within your market or industry, too. If a keyword has been decreasing in usage, focus somewhere else. If usage i...