Small Business Sales and Marketing

What type of marketing yields the best ROI, drives more sales and offers a small business owner the most control over results?

Below is a simple side-by-side comparison we worked up to hopefully illustrate some of the pros and cons of traditional vs digital marketing. Clients ask my opinion on direct mail, print and various other forms of traditional marketing pretty often. It doesn’t some up as often as it used to, but it’s still a regular point of conversation, so I wanted to address it.

To be clear, we use traditional marketing methods here at DT Business Strategies. In fact, there’s a direct mail campaign going out here in the next week or two. But I’m still seeing companies choose billboards and other methods to the EXCLUSION of optimizing their web presence. As opposed to investing in the creation and optimization of an asset (such as a website, a lead gen campaign, etc) that will bring in business and build awareness for their small business for years to come, they’ll spend the same amount of money to run a billboard for 2-3 months. And then complain that their business still needs more sales.

I would never argue that your business doesn’t need a presence in traditional channels like newspaper and other local print campaigns, direct mail, radio, etc. But the web is what ties all those channels together and provides synergy. If you want to discuss the pros and cons of traditional vs digital marketing, how all the pieces work together and how to strategically pick where to focus, you know how to reach me!

With so many tools at our disposal these days, it’s difficult to know where to focus.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Pinterest
• Blogging
• Email marketing
• Lead capture pages

You are likely aware of and maybe even using some of these, perhaps all of them. But what kind of results are you getting? Do you have a cohesive strategy? Or is it mostly a collection of parts, and you’re not sure how they all fit together.

When I bring new people on the team, this is one of the resources I share with them:

While there’s definitely some complexity missing from this outline, it gives a snapshot of where bottom line results come from. It ties everything together and demonstrates the role each and everything we do plays toward growing the business. Without a tool like this, it’s far to easy to get really busy doing everything you’re “supposed” to be doing but have no overall vision of how all the pieces fit together.

It’s not enough to “be on Facebook”. What are you DOING with it? What RESULTS are you getting? And what results SHOULD you be expecting? Do you have a strategy in place to engage your prospects, track results and continually review your results, so you can ensure you’re growing?

We have enough tools at our disposal now that we can spend all day every day working and still have nothing to show for it. While social media, blogging and email represent massive opportunity for your business, if you’re not putting these tools to their highest and best use, they can end up being a liability instead of an asset.

If you’d like to grab a copy of this marketing outline that we use, download it here.

If you have any questions or concerns about whether or not you’re using your marketing tools for maximum results, get on the calendar to chat with me or one of my marketing coaches. It costs nothing, and even if you’re not ready to work with us on a professional level, I guarantee we can at least answer some of your questions and point you in the right direction 🙂

If you’re reading this blog, you’re a small business owner. You probably already have a website. And you probably aren’t 100% happy with the results you’re getting with that website.

Hey…if you want to get some answers, you’re in the right place!

Whether you’re considering staying with your current website provider or are looking for a change, make sure to ask any web developer you’re working with these questions.

Ask them today.

You’re running your business today, right? Your prospects are visiting your website right now, as you read this. Make sure to address these concerns with your website vendor today, so you can ensure you’re not leaving money on the table.

• Can you provide a strategy for us getting on the first page of Google? If they claim to “guarantee” specific search engine rankings, run in the other direction. SEO isn’t turnkey, it requires a strategy. So if visibility in search is important to you, make sure they provide a strategy you can follow.
• What if I’m not happy with the results we’re getting? What type of support do you offer? Make sure you’re working with a provider that will work with you in an ongoing capacity to help you get results. 
• If I want to update my website or change my design later, is that included? If not, what does it cost? You may get a website at a great price, but is it easy for you to edit and make updates? Or do you have to go through your developer for everything that needs to be done? Are you going to be charged again and again for ongoing maintenance? Make sure you get clear answers to these concerns, so you know what you’re signing up for.
• As technology and search engine algorithms change, what steps do you take to ensure my website stays up to speed? While this didn’t used to be such a big concern, today is hugely important. Tech and SEO are changing constantly. If you’re website isn’t modified to stay current, you can quickly fall behind. Make sure your vendor has a plan in place to ensure your website stays current. 
• I want to make sure we’re getting x-amount of leads from our website every month. What can you do to help us reach our goals? Be clear about what results you’re wanting to see. Ask your vendor directly what they can do to ensure it happens. Businesses don’t grow on accident. If you want your website to generate more leads and business, it needs to be addressed directly. Most designers study design, surprisingly enough. But most have no marketing experience whatsoever.
• Do I have a dedicated IP address? This is more important than ever. Details here.
• Can you ensure a specific page speed ranking? This is another metric that has grown in importance by leaps and bounds. Details here.
• If I want to create lead capture pages to generate new business, do you provide tools for that? Lead capture pages are the #1 tool for lead gen. Creating them without the right tools is time consuming and expensive. Having tools to easily create your own lead capture pages not only saves you huge chunks of cash and a lot of hassle, it also makes your website much more profitable.
• If I have marketing-related questions or need help understanding how to execute an idea on our website, do you provide support for that? Does your website vendor provide marketing support or just tech support? Not the same thing, at all. If you’re a small business owner with a web presence, you’re going to have marketing-related questions. You can always hire a marketing coach, and you may already have one. Bottom line, make sure you’ve got a direct and easy way to get the answers you need. 
• What background do you have related to sales and marketing? Your designer knows design, of course. But what marketing experience do they have? Do they understand your particular industry? Do they know how to sell stuff? If not, how could they possibly build you a website that converts?

The web is filled with beautiful websites that look amazing but produce no results. If you want a website that converts, you need a website vendor that knows marketing, not just design.

It’s also crucial to not confuse search engine optimization with marketing. You can get all the traffic in the world, but if your website isn’t converting, you’ll still get no bottom line result. If your website DOES convert, you can grow your business with even a very small amount of traffic.

Make sure to ask these questions of ANY website vendor you’re considering doing business with. This way you can ensure you’re getting a website that is capable of performing the way you expect.

Questions or need some assistance? I always love hearing from ya 🙂

It’s not difficult to get great leads from your About page every day. But most people don’t. That’s what I call a missed opportunity. Why do most of us miss this opportunity? Let’s be honest, most About pages kinda suck.

I mean, really suck. That’s what I meant to say:)

Now, sitting down to craft an effective About page can be intimidating, so I wanted to share a few tips with you. Keep these in mind and it’ll be far easier to get the copy written for it.

1. Sure, have a short company bio, but that’s about 10% of the story here.
2. Tell a story…why did you start your business in the first place? What drives you to succeed? Don’t tell people you care. Tell them WHY you care. Be specific.
3. If you’re meeting someone new in person, it’s unlikely you’d say anything like “I’m the top person in my field. I care more than anyone else. No one works harder than me. Here, look at this list of my credentials.” But we say shit like that on our About pages all the time. When you think about it that way, it’s not too confusing why it doesn’t resonate with people. Real human conversation centers a lot more around what we like, what we think is funny or moving, what we care about. Not that we care…what we care about and why.
4. Your About page should be targeted. In other words, if it appeals to 99% of the human race, it’s crap. Your About page should pull at the heart strings of a few people. Just a few. The people you absolutely like working with the best.
5. Talk about THEM, not just you. The content should make it clear that you know where they’re coming from. They should feel like you understand their frustrations and what worries them. Meet them at their level. What problem do you solve better than anyone else? What does it feel like to be in the midst of that problem? How awesome does it feel when it gets fixed? The more you laser target this, the more your prospects will realize you’re the obvious person they want to work with. From there, signing up for your email list is compulsory. Their concerns are addressed, and there’s nothing left for them to think about.
6. Use your About page also to link up a lot of the best content on your site if possible. Demonstrate that however much they’ve read and enjoyed on their first visit, there’s a lot more where that came from.
7. Have a compelling call to action. If you want them to sign up for your list, ask them to do that. Don’t just have an opt in form off to the side. That’s fine, but spell it out for them. Tell them right in the copy of the page itself what you want them to do next.

Your About page is rarely the first page people visit. They will however, hit your About page after being on your site a while. People who are considering doing business with you definitely want an opportunity to “meet” you. They want to get a sense of who you are, what your company is about. The more your About page resonates with them, the more likely they’ll be to contact you or sign up for your list.

Consider including photos and video also. Photos and video of yourself, your office, your team, etc. Some people are just more visual than others, and this type of content resonates much more greatly with them.

Do you have any questions after reading this? Let me know what’s on your mind!

The internet makes it easy to share your awesome work with the world. But the principle of “if you build it, they will come” just doesn’t work in reality.

You need to advertise your business.

There are innumerable companies out there that sell advertising and SEO services, and I get asked by clients regularly what I recommend. Importantly, I have nothing bad to say about most companies out there, because I haven’t had a chance to work with most of them. It’s definitely true that a lot of scams are out there however.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t advertise. It just means you need to be deliberate in your approach and learn how advertising works on the interwebz 🙂

A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing.

Here are a few red flags to look for:

• Anyone offering you a guaranteed spot on Google. For any price. Google rankings can be earned, but they’re not sold.
• Any SEO company that promises you much of anything for a two digit price. Many of the scams know it will take you a few months to catch on, so they get a few months of revenue out of you before you cancel. Any SEO operation worth working with does not promise you first page rankings for $60, $70 or $80 a month. It just doesn’t work that way.
• Any company offering to email your ad to thousands or millions of people for a nominal fee. Again, if it sounds too good to be true…

There are many reputable and high quality operations out there. SEO firms, PPC management firms and ad networks that are very worthwhile. I do consulting and give tutorials with clients all the time. If you ever need a recommendation, I’m happy to help. We don’t do advertising campaigns here, but I have friends in the business that will do a fantastic job for you.

Hit me up any time. It’s my pleasure to make sure you get hooked up with an advertising option that suits your goals 🙂