Online Reviews: How to get them and can you have too many?

The most public online forum, and the most important elements of your online reputation is Google. We all know how important customer reviews are (the good and the bad) and we know that your business needs them. But how do we get them? What if you have them, but may have too many reviews…is there such a thing? Click here to find out how to boost your Google+ review plan.

Google owns the world and has been the go-to search engine for years. Now, it has become a top resource for individuals who do their research before buying a product or service. Through Google’s social media component, Google+, consumers can rate and review businesses that will appear on the search engine. Though this platform is consumer-driven, business owners should not feel helpless over what is posted. Instead, direct your consumers to Google as a public display of customer satisfaction.

How to get Google Reviews?

Ask! – There is no shame in directing your customers to a public outlet to share their experience with your company. Similar to hosting a customer satisfaction survey, Google Reviews act as a medium for your customers to give honest feedback. By conducting your customer reviews on a public forum, you are sharing complete transparency, and taking the “bull by its horns” with the uncensored experiences that many business owners dread. If this notion scares you, it may be time to revisit your customer service. Place a Google+ Reviews button on your website so customers can easily find your Google Page!

Incentivize! – We live in a day of age where we rarely go out of our way unless there is something in it for us. This is where incentives come into play! Like a traditional customer service survey, consumers are often prompted to call a number or visit a website with the chance to win a grand prize. This age-old tactic works with Google Reviews as well. We have a client who offers $5 to anyone who writes a review – good or bad. Other companies have monthly drawings for a larger dollar amount, offer a gift card to their store, or give reviewers a chance to win a trip! Google Reviews are too often anonymous, leaving customer service representatives with few options to follow up with their customer. Incentives will drive them to put their contact info on the review, something invaluable when it comes to solving customer service concerns.

Respond! – People are more apt to write Google Reviews on companies that manage their online reputation because they know their voice is being heard. Yes, even respond to the nastiest, ugliest, hairiest post that a reviewer has shared. People are voicing their experience on the Internet because they want to be noticed by both your company and the public. When addressing a negative review, be sure to thank the reviewer for sharing their input and let them know that you are proactively working to correct the problem. Depending on the situation, it may also help to offer them a refund on their current purchase or a coupon on a future visit. In many cases, after the issue is addressed, the reviewer would then respond on their negative post or write a new positive one praising the company for its customer service.

How NOT to get Google Reviews?

Write Them Yourself! – Both Google and your consumers can sniff out “fake glowing testimonies.” Google sees IP addresses. If someone from your place of business writes a review about your company, it will not be shown on the search engine. Google can also see when multiple accounts from the same IP address post. This is a technique that many online reputation management companies use. Consumers also can tell when reviews are fabricated. You know when you see a review that is too good. Indicators include the use of flowery language, calling people by their first and last name, or looks like someone took more than 15 minutes to write. These reviews are detrimental to your company. One phony good review devalues every organic good review your company has gained.

Share Reviews From Other Sources! – If you are new to Google Reviews, you may be tempted to share the stockpile of paper or digital feedback you have received from your customers over the years. Similar to writing them yourselves, if you post multiple Google Review for the same company from the same IP address (especially the IP address that is linked to your company) they will not be approved, and will lower your search engine optimization with Google.

How many is too many?

There is no such thing as “too many” reviews, as long as they are received in a genuine way. As a business owner, you may think that steering people to rate your business online and having an influx of reviews will get you flagged by Big Brother Google or appear like they were obtained in an unethical way. This is not the case.

Like stated above, Google knows how your reviews were received. They track who your reviewer is, what they searched to get to your Google page, and what they wrote (it’s not creepy at all). Therefore, they know who is a genuine reviewer. Don’t be afraid to rack up as many reviews as you can! You have worked hard and deserve them. Your potential consumer who does their research will appreciate the honest feedback that your brand has to offer, and enjoy knowing exactly what they’ll get with the product or service as well as customer service.

Go forth and accrue reviews without fear!

TRIO now has an interactive platform that can help you increase your customer reviews with text and email messaging! Contact TRIO today to find out how you can improve your business’ online reputation with a click of a button!

Color in Branding

Does the color of your company’s logo really play a role in consumers’ purchasing decisions? How much research goes into finding the perfect colors to convey your brand’s message? Read more to learn the importance of choosing your brand’s colors and how to narrow down the choices.

Think back on your most recent purchase. Any purchase. What made you choose that specific item? Did you research brands? Did you go with a gut feeling? Were you persuaded by the name or by interesting graphics on the packaging? According to a study performed by Satyendra Singh with the University of Winnepeg, up to 90% of snap decisions related to purchasing a product are based on color alone. So while some people may argue that a specific color doesn’t affect people the same way across the board, it certainly can influence someone’s decision making process.

Hundreds of studies have been performed to try to link certain colors to specific emotions. Blue, for example, is supposed to portray trustworthiness and loyalty. So why don’t all businesses have a blue logo? Aren’t they all supposed to be trustworthy? Similarly, if yellow is supposed to be a happy color, why don’t all logos incorporate the color yellow? Doesn’t everyone want to do business with a happy company?

The truth is, a single color isn’t going to have the same effect on every single person. You can’t expect color alone to influence someone’s emotions. Perceptions of color can vary based on personal preferences, cultural norms, past experiences and more. However, that doesn’t mean that picking your company’s color isn’t important. It just means you probably shouldn’t choose your color based on what an article tells you people should feel when they see that color.

For example, let’s say you’re starting a tool company. According to Leonhard Willrich, Co-founder and COO of Buffer, pinks and purples invoke feelings of creativity and being wise. That sounds great, right? People who use tools often have to be creative and wise. However, does pink or purple really “match” the brand identity you’re striving for? What is your target market? For a tool company, you’re probably marketing to mostly men between the ages of 25 and 65. Do you think adult men would identify with pink or purple tools? (There are exceptions, of course. But think of the majority of the men in your target market.) Perhaps darker, more “rough and tough” colors are in order, like blacks, browns and navy blues.

It’s important to consider what image you’re trying to portray through your products. Does this mean that traditionally female products always need to be pink? Absolutely not. Ask BIC about their latest fiasco with their “For Her” line of pens. What it does mean is that when considering a color to use in your company’s logo and branding, instead of focusing on how colors may or may not affect emotions, pay attention to who your target market is and what image you want your brand to portray. Is it fun and innovative? Perhaps choose a bright, fun color. Is it calming and serene? Pick a pastel. If your product is able to be used by both men and women, steer clear of colors that will pigeonhole your product into a gender specific category. When in doubt, ask friends and family for their opinions!

If you are considering giving your brand a facelift, contact TRIO today! We offer a free consultation to help you create a new vision for your brand and offer various branding packages to help you seamlessly transform your company image.

References:http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/00251740610673332http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leonhard-widrich/why-is-facebook-blue-the-science-of-colors-in-marketing_b_4611907.html

Improve Upon Your Customer Experience Through Marketing

Is your business’s customer experience better than your competitors? Are your customers leaving you for a company that is easier to do business with? Read more to learn about how valuable the customer experience is and how you can improve upon yours through marketing.

While planning your marketing for 2017, put the customer at the forefront of your strategy. Instead of focusing on selling customers on your product/service’s features and benefits, shift your mindset to that of your customers – Why do they want to engage with your company? Why are they reading or viewing your marketing material? How can you make it easier for them?

Gone are the days of treating every customer like a number. In today’s digital age, customers expect more. They want an experience that is consistent across all marketing channels. They want companies to use the information the customer gives them to provide more value and offer a personalized experience. Customer experience can set you apart from your competitors and can make or break a sale.

How can you make your customer experience smoother and easier? Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Are you easy to do business with? How can I make it easier?Your customers have options, and they will take their business to companies that are easy to do business with. How can you better provide a superior and low-effort experience across their customer journey, such as customer onboarding, account changes and problem-solutions? The less effort it takes for consumers to accomplish their goal when they contact you, the more loyal they become.
   
   In Customers 2020 report it was predicted that by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. In this upcoming year, work toward making your customer experience seamless. Marketing can help take the legwork out of your customer’s initial product or service research by reaching them when them right when they identify they have a need. Marketing can also provide new avenues of support for your customers, such as answering customer service requests on Twitter and Facebook.
2. Is your business’s web presence helping or hindering your customer experience?In today’s age, your web presence is as important, if not more important than your actual storefront.
   If your website is not optimized for mobile, that should be your #1 goal for 2017. According to Google’s SEO algorithms, the search engine severely docks your website for not being mobile responsive. Therefore, you are hurting your chances for your website to be found.
   Also, check your website, social media, and online listings to make sure no key information is missing. If your address, phone number or store hours are incorrect, you could be misleading your customers and losing potential business.
   Consider running a digital marketing campaign, such as Search Ads or Display Ads, to better connect your target market to your website. Digital marketing can hone in on your target market’s specific demographic and serve them an ad based on their needs that link directly to your website. From there, your website should clench the sale by directing them to the information or product they were looking for with an easy way to access it (whether it be an online cart or directing them to contact information on how to find your business).
3. What are some common themes in the feedback you have received from your customers?Listening to your customer’s feedback on their user experience is key for improving upon your current customer experience. Whether you solicit feedback from you customers specifically, or they voluntarily leave reviews of your business online, it is important to listen to their complaints and praises to learn how to make your customer experience better. Find common themes, such as “easy checkout process” or “could improve on customer service,” and take them to heart when planning your marketing for 2017.
   
   If you check out process is easy, how can you make it easier? Does your online cart save your shopper’s information so they don’t have to keep typing in their credit card number every time they buy? Would having a mobile app that individuals can access a one-click buying process benefit your customers even more? How can you make your in-store checkout process as easy as your online buying one?
   If you receive feedback on the need to improve upon customer service, how can you easily do this through marketing? Maybe it involves addressing customer concerns through social media? You could also increase your communication with your customers through regular e-newsletters or SMS marketing. When looking for ways to improve your customer’s experience, be sure there are many avenues for them to express their issues and concerns that are heard and responded to in a timely manner.

How your customers interact with your brand is growing in importance over time. Use 2017 to try new ways to make your company more accessible and convenient to your customers, and hammer out the hiccups as they arrive. They are looking for a seamless marketing experience that leads them through the product research stage, the purchasing stage, and the product feedback stage. For tips on how to better your customer experience through marketing, contact TRIO today!

So… What’s the plan?

The kids are back to school, the leaves are beginning to turn pretty colors, fourth quarter is right around the corner, and it is time to start thinking strategically about your marketing in 2017! Use September as the month to truly evaluate your current marketing strategies to understand what is working, what isn’t, and what you would like to try differently beginning January 1st.

As an organized, strategic business owner, you can make 2017 the BEST year yet because you have planned it to be! Taking your most successful marketing tactics of 2016 and building upon them in the upcoming year is a surefire way to continue to grow your profit and build upon your customer base. Now is the time to write a marketing plan that lays out what objectives you have for your business in 2017, and define marketing strategies and tactics to help you get there.

To start the planning process, take an afternoon to complete these few easy steps:

1. Reflect back on what you did in 2016 that worked in your marketing.
2. What didn’t work?
3. What was your overall ROI in regards to marketing?
4. PLAN – do more of what worked…and less of what didn’t

A “looking in the rear view mirror” review of your marketing can be a daunting task if you haven’t kept up with your goals, but it is important to analyze the past results to understand what progress needs to be made. That way, you have a better grasp of where you’re going in 2017 and what changes need to happen to get you where you want to be.

With a proper marketing plan in place, you will outline where you want to GO in your business, steps in how to GET there and ways to MEASURE the success of your plan. With the future mapped out, you will (no doubt) be ready to tackle 2017 like a pro.

Need help reflecting, planning and executing your marketing? Contact TRIO anytime for a free marketing brainstorming session!

TRUTH: 5 Reasons Why Your Advertising is Failing

So, you have started an advertising campaign and it’s not working. Why? What can you do about it now, since you have already started? Can you “jump ship?” Should you? Let’s examine the Top 5 Reasons Why Your Advertising Could be Failing!

1.) Targeting the wrong people, or too general of an audience

Before you started your campaign, did you really sit down and decide who to target your message to? Did you dive in deep enough to really narrow it down? Let’s look at an example: If you are a new car dealership targeting Business-to-Consumer (B2C) customers, you can narrow your target market by age, income, current car make and model, home ownership, home value, home location, hobbies and special interests, just to name a few! You must weed out those consumers who are not-as-likely-to-buy because you SIMPLY can’t afford to talk to “everyone who drives a car!” Use your current customers as a starting point to develop your Ideal Customer Profile!

McDonald’s, the leading Quick Service Restaurant in the world, narrows their target audience down by menu item! Does your company have more than one target market, based on your products and services?

2.) Your media schedule is spread too thin

Perhaps you aren’t putting enough “weight” behind your advertising campaign. Simply put…Don’t be cheap! Unless you have enough money to invest in a solid marketing program that will penetrate your target audience with enough Reach and Frequency, don’t do it! Listen to your media sales reps when they tell you “this schedule isn’t really heavy enough to work.” They aren’t just trying to sell you more (probably). They truly do care about your business!

My #1 pet peeve is working with clients who want to “test the waters” and “try” out a new medium. That is the worst idea you could have, because you won’t break through the clutter and make an impression on your target audience. You are better off taking your advertising investment and buying a scratch-off lottery ticket at the gas station! At least then you have some odds of seeing a return on your investment!

3.) Bad Creative

Sometimes you are targeting the right audience AND have invested the right amount of money in an ad campaign, and it is STILL not working. Maybe you’re not telling your customers the right thing! Do you have a strong Call to Action in your message? Are you talking your customers’ language, or are you using words that they don’t connect with? It’s time to examine your ad creative and see what can be changed!

To give you an extreme example of making sure you are “speaking your customers’ language,” an American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope’s visit. Instead of “I saw the Pope” (el Papa), the shirts read “I saw the potato” (la papa). Ha! Just a good reminder to double and triple check that you are advertising what you WANT to advertise!

4.) Internal weakness within your business – Signage, location, sales-force, product, service, etc.

One reason why companies fail miserably with their advertising campaigns is because they are terrible about following up on leads when they come in, or aren’t properly tracking where the leads are coming from! Every organization has a little of this going on, but now is the time to take a look at your internal procedures and make sure you are testing, measuring and tracking your leads properly and following up on each and every customer inquiry! This will ensure that you will only invest in advertising that gives you a good ROI in the future.

If you are tracking your conversion rate from a lead to a paying customer, you might also uncover some other weaknesses in your business. Perhaps your location is hard to find, or not clearly identifiable, or your product or customer service does not meet consumer expectations.

All of these things can make you believe your advertising is failing, when in fact…the advertising is working just fine – you just need to fine tune your processes!

5.) Your expectations aren’t realistic

Are you expecting a 1000% return on your investment? Do you think that if you drop a direct mail campaign that your phone will be ringing off the hook for months? Well, probably not. If you haven’t already done so, take a look at national response rate statistics for the mediums in which you are advertising. There are websites from organizations for every possible advertising medium. A simple Google search can help you find them, and they are chocked full of statistics to ensure you have realistic expectations for your advertising!

Did you know that the average national response rate for direct mail is 1%? So, if you mail 2,500 postcards, 25 people will respond. Now, depending on your conversion rate (national average is around 30%) that will be 7.5 new customers! Great job. Just make sure those 7.5 customers have a high enough average ticket sale and profit margin to give you a good return on your direct mail investment.

So, there you have it. Have you found the missing link to why your advertising is failing? If not, we can help! Call TRIO today at 515-259-0577 or email at Renee@TRIOagency.com. We can help analyze your current marketing program and recommend ways for you to become more efficient in your approach to earning more customers!

Graphic Design: How often does it sway your purchasing decision?

We all say we do not judge a book by its cover. Yet, when we go to the library, our eyes seem to stop at the book that has the brightest colors, the one that is the most-uniquely shaped, or the one  whose texture is different from the rest. These were all decisions executed by a graphic designer to stand out on the shelf, grab your eye, and to ultimately lead you to cracking open the spine. 

We judge “books” by their covers every day. Are you guilty of buying something specifically because of its cute packaging? Personally, one instance that comes to mind was the time I bought Olly brand vitamins. I went to the store not in the market for a new women’s multi-vitamin. When my eye caught Olly’s unique shaped container, bright colors, and label that called me its “new BFF,” I knew I had to have it!

What about the opposite? Have you scrolling through a store or website and were turned off by a company’s ugly logo, poor package design, or their distasteful use of the font Comic Sans?

If so, you have experienced the reality that graphic design can make or break a sale.

Graphic Design Makes You Unique

In today’s age, it is often the branding of our products that makes it unique. There are millions of multi-vitamins out there, just like there are millions of hair salons, restaurants, banks, etc. You know what makes you different from your competitors, but do your potential customers?

Customers first perceive your company and product at face-value, from what you send them in the mail, the information they pick up about your company at a trade show, what your website looks like, and how your logo and signage is displayed on your storefront. Graphic design gives your brand the fresh face you want to put forward. It creates a consistent image that fosters familiarity to your company. Used in a way that speaks to your consumers, they will choose your company over another, simply based on appearances.

Is It Magic?

Graphic design is not magic, rather a science combined with an art form. Google famously tested 41 shades of blue before deciding what shade attracts the most clicks on the search engine’s hyperlinks. That may be overkill… but it is not uncommon for a company to do market research before settling on a logo or look for their brand.

Understanding your target market will help you pick out a creative way to display the facts about your company, product or service. The vitamins listed above are perfect for 20-something women, yet that product would flop if the target market was intended for gruff, 40-something men who tend to look for more basic, straight-forward packaging and may opt for a basic generic brand. Strategy is key, and design is what brings it to life.

Looking to rebrand and give your company a face lift? TRIO can bring your brand to life through strategic branding and graphic design. Contact us today!

Social Media Advertising - Reach Your Target Market Where They Play

Most of us can’t go a day (let alone a couple hours) without scrolling through our newsfeed of choice to see what our friends, family, colleagues or social influencers are up to. Because the popular social media platforms are free for users, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Instagram rely on advertising for support. Based on feedback, most up-to-date platforms have seamlessly integrated ads into the user experience of the medium.

The beauty of social media is that almost everyone is connected to one site or another, regardless of job-title, age and interests. Out of the Internet’s 3.17 billion users, 2.3 billion are active social media users. Of these social media users, each person has an average of 5.54 social media accounts. From a 2016 Brandwatch report, its has found that there are 1.65 billion Facebook users, 400 million Instagram users, 320 million Twitter users, 300 million LinkedIn users and 100 million Pinterest users.

Depending on what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to, there are certain paid advertising opportunities that are better than others. Below is a quick overview of the five most common social media advertising platforms:

Facebook:

Facebook has a plethora of advertising options, depending on your desired call-to-action. Some of the most common types of ads encourage users to “like” a company’s page, visit their website, claim an offer, increase conversions on your website or raise attendance at an event. You set up your campaign based on what you are hoping to get out of it.

Facebook ads can specifically hone in on your target market, no matter how niche or how broad. With targeting options based on geography, gender, language, age, interest, demographics and behaviors, you can tap into all the data Facebook has stored on its users to promote your products or services to a custom audience tailored to your business. You can choose a daily budget or lifetime budget to best suite your advertising spend.

Facebook is also constantly upgrading its creative advertising features. Current trends includes getting the word out about your business through a video, and utilizing its carousel feature so users can swipe through multiple products or images within one ad.

Instagram:

To run an ad on Instagram, you’ll need a Facebook business page. Facebook acquired Instagram back in 2012, and has recently integrated an Instagram ad component to its Power Editor. When you create a Facebook photo ad, video ad or carousel ad, you will find that it also shows a preview of what your ad will look like on Instagram. When you publish your ad to show on Facebook, it will also post on Instagram.

Instagram uses the same targeting metrics as Facebook. When you select the location, demographics, interests and actions of your Facebook campaign, it will also target the same criteria on Instagram.

Twitter:

Twitter is a great advertising platform for business-to-consumer organizations and non-profits. If you regularly use Twitter for business, you understand how small your organic reach is per tweet. Because of the nature of Twitter, the more followers one has, the less likely they are to see your tweet. Promoted tweets sit at the top of the Twitter feed when someone first pulls it up.

To select your target audience, you can choose specific interests, geography, gender, device or users similar to your followers. You can even target specific keywords in people’s tweets. Set your budget and only pay when someone interacts with your post.

Creative for Twitter promoted tweets is the same as a regular tweet. Use your 140 characters creatively!

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is primarily a business-to-business organization platform. LinkedIn ads help you to reach the decision-making head honchos and is a great way to get directly in front of business owners or executive leaders. There are two types of ads: text ads and sponsored posts. 

LinkedIn text ads sit on top of your newsfeed, above your profile information. They are easily overlooked. LinkedIn sponsored posts, however, show up right in one’s newsfeed gaining a lot of exposure and interaction. 

LinkedIn sponsored posts are just like any other update on LinkedIn - consisting of text, photos and/or links. The genius lies in the precise targeting features that LinkedIn offers. The social media platform can specific target based on job title and function, industry, company size, seniority and more.

Pinterest:

Pinterest is a great advertising platform for retailers. When scrolling through your Pinterest feed, have you noticed the occasional post that seem to come to life? Similar to a flip book, Pinterest has invented this eye-catching way to capture its audience’s attention. Static promoted pins are also common for this medium.

Choose who sees your ad by compiling keywords that describe what you are selling. You can pick around 150 keywords for each promoted pin. You can also specify language, location, device and gender.

A majority of brands, both small and large, are utilizing social media to market their business. Paid advertising is a great way to engage with your target market and to ensure you stay top of mind when they are in need of your product or service. If you are interested in social media advertising, contact TRIO today!