Where You Should Really Be Spending Your Marketing Dollars in Spas and Aesthetic Practices
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The Web 24/7 Shopping – Are You Waking Up with Money in Your Inbox Every Morning?
More than one third of all retail sales were online in 2015! A year that saw almost 15% growth in this sector of shopping. This is the sixth year in a row that U.S. e-commerce sales have grown near or above 15%. Your website IS your first impression! Is it easy to navigate and can your customer or prospect easily drill down to what they are most likely to be interested in? Almost all small businesses use their own website to motivate consumers. A typical consumer will visit your site 5-7 times before making a point of contact. If they are looking to buy a product make it easy for them. Think like Amazon! Why did they develop the “One Click” option? They knew people were leaving millions of dollars in their shopping carts and not coming back. Whether it’s a move of the mouse or a call to action icon or incentive have it in place to not to lose the sale. Make sure your site is Mobile responsive! Mobile searches now exceed the desktop. Consumers want all the functionality on their phone just like in their home or office. We use WooCommerce and their e-commerce platform for our clients when designing in WordPress. It is a plugin that allows you to sell anything, beautifully. Built to integrate seamlessly with WordPress.
Social Media and Cashing In
Companies are on trend to spend over 20% of their advertising budget on social media in the next few years. It’s no mystery that social media is a popular way to promote offerings.
Facebook now has 1.6 billion users and a vast number only on mobile. 66% of all shares on “I” devices are delivered via Facebook.
Pinterest gets the dollars in. Pinterest also allows businesses to create pages aimed at promoting their businesses online. Such pages can serve as a “virtual storefront”. In one case study of a fashion website, users visiting from Pinterest spent $180 compared with $85 spent from users coming from Facebook. These users spent less time on the company’s website, choosing instead to browse from the company’s pinboard. People may be more attracted to pins of products and images than of people.
Are you using Instagram to buy the items pictured with the tap of a finger? It is a terrific platform for building your brand. Mobile shopping takes a few clicks, but the only thing you have to do is “heart” the photo. Vogue is using a platform called LIKEtoKnow:IT, a RewardStyle offshoot for Instagram that shows users where to purchase the outfit or item they “hearted” as soon as you sign up with the platform. In the past two years since launch, LikeToKnow:IT has generated more than $100 million in revenue, with 1.5 million users subscribed to the system and more than 1,000 LTKI posts created every day. Though RewardStyle has been operating under the radar, it has grown to generate more than $1 billion in sales for its 4,000 retailers and 575,000 brands worldwide since launching in 2011.
Our social media program will determine the best social channel for your unique business and post engaging content consistently. Our clients receive monthly reports on key performance indicators (KPIs) such as shares, likes, comments and how social media is impacting your sales.
The Reviews are In!
You don’t have to be number one organically on the page to attract the most attention. Have five star reviews show up on your Google maps page which in turn show up next to your listing and even though you may rank number 4 you will be your prospective customers 1st choice!
Online reviews and directories are also popular with companies like Demandforce making it easy to get feedback from your customers to use as a marketing tool. Be mindful though as Google likes original content and you should have your own reviews on your site and not a link or duplicated reviews from somewhere else. The same goes for videos. Have a YouTube channel and have videos on your own site. Not just linking from YouTube to your site. We create 2 different types of Google pages for our clients. The brands/maps page, and the Google + page.
Community Connection
83 percent of U.S. consumers prefer dealing with human beings over digital channels to solve customer services issues, according to new research from Accenture (NYSE: ACN). The report also found that 52 percent of consumers have switched provider in the past year due to poor customer service, with banks, retailers, and cable and satellite television providers being the worst offenders. In the U.S., the estimated cost of customers switching due to poor service is $1.6 trillion. An increasing number of consumers are seeking premium products and services with a connection to a group/community to discuss the information, uses, and satisfaction around them. People want to feel a sense of community and be connected to your brand. Facebook is great platform for connection and a forum or comments section on your website creates a place for your customers to ask questions, post reviews and be part of your community.
Forget the Competition
“You compete with Your Client’s Lifestyle Choices.” Many times it’s not the guy down the street you have to worry about. It’s about convincing your customer to choose your service to bring them personal happiness and satisfaction over a vacation or other lifestyle investment.
The Luxury Mindset
Luxury is Having Enough Time to do What You Want and the Financial Means to do it
Flexibility of Time
Life Experiences
Comfort, Beauty, & Quality
Selling Points Matter
What are your USPs? It’s your “Unique” approach or offerings of products and services. They can be simpler than you think. Do you have late hours for busy working professionals? Do you have ample and available parking so your clients don’t have to drive around for 30 minutes like a vulture eyeing for the elusive parking spot? Do you customize a unique experience just for them? Perhaps you are the only one to retail a certain product in your geographic zone. These are selling points and should be highlighted in all of your detailed marketing materials.
It’s all About the Bennies
What are your business’ features and benefits? Remember the features and sell by the benefits! People only buy for two reasons. You are offering a solution to their problem or you are providing the opportunity for good feelings. If it isn’t one of these they are not going to buy. Loyalty rewards programs are used by some of the most successful businesses including GNC, American Airlines, and Barnes & Noble. We do not have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to these programs. Offer clients acknowledgement and value added incentives for being your best clients and they are more likely to keep doing business with you.
VIP Programs not only create client loyalty they can be an excellent source of cash flow. Gift card companies can custom make VIP cards with your business name and logo which you then can retail to your clients.
Why Clients Consider Your Products or Services
Why are clients considering you? Is it Ageing, A Self Esteem Boost, A Special Occasion, Lifestyle Change, or Work Related? Key in to their need and plan a strategy with them to win. Include the timeline and steps it will take to get them to the finish line. This is also very helpful if they have their own deadline date. Be their coach!
Communication Fast or Slow? You Will Market Better by Understanding Who You Know
One size fits all communication doesn’t work! Some people buy into the latest products and services immediately others take their time to see the results from the early adopters. You need to know how to communicate effectively to your potential consumer to close the deal.
Have you ever talked with a friend, client, co-worker, or your boss and felt what you were saying was going right over their heads? You are not alone. Some of our biggest frustrations communicating with others is not being heard correctly or misinterpreting someone else’s message.
This is the classic example of relating vs. relatedness. Which means moving from simply observing someone’s communication to truly walking beside them and understanding their perspective.
Being an effective communicator takes more than just listening. We have to listen contextually and hear between the lines of our communication partner to understand where they are coming from. This can be a great challenge unless we know what to look for.
It’s about people, communication and the four natural styles. When we understand and recognize another person’s natural style of communicating, we can mirror their style and produce a more positive result, avoiding the barriers that breakdown communication, cause frustration, and take away from your personal and professional quality of life.
There are four distinct natural styles of communication. Each of us will use our natural style and adapt to other styles when appropriate. In essence, each of us is a combination of all the styles and use our natural style as our primary mode of communication. For more information visit http://tinyurl.com/mw2zfru
Consultation Closer
Tell the client what to expect. If there isn’t a magic wand handy give them the idea of the real results they can achieve. Quote the investment and be confident about it! People with a lack of confidence or people who truly don’t believe in your products or services don’t close sales! If your staff member thinks it’s too expensive for example they are going to “mind your client’s wallets” and not make a recommendation in the first place. All team members need to believe in the quality and experience of your service and products and that they enhance your client’s lifestyle. Provide a lot of training and feedback with this aspect of your business. Spot check with secret shoppers and record calls with programs like CallHub, RingCentral, InContact. Provide before and after and or testimonials to show your prospective client all the happy people who have enjoyed the results of what you have provided. Follow up! It may take more than four follow ups via phone, mail, or e-mail before a client makes a buying decision.
Let’s review how you can take your business to the next level:
- Create or tweak your website so it works for the user
- Establish your presence on social media because that is where you customers are talking about you
- Get your reviews on your Google+ brand page so they show up in search results
- Use social media and your website to create an interactive community for your present and future customers
- Position your services and products as a lifestyle investment
- Write a USP (unique selling proposition) that all your staff knows and when anyone asks why your services and products, the USP is the official answer
- When writing your USP, mention the features but put the focus on the benefits
- Identify your customers by their needs and cater to them
- Learn your communication style and how to communicate more effectively with clients and staff
- Train everyone to sell everything
Yours in Success,
Bryan Durocher