Archives for June 2015

Simple Strategies for Increasing Online Sales

June 29, 2015 by Christine

Looking to bolster your online sales? The good news is, more than ever before, customers want to do their shopping online. It’s up to you to make it easy for them to do exactly that.

Increase Online Sales

Here are a few strategies that can help you increase the amount of business you do online:

Focus on one goal at a time. Choose one main priority to focus on at once. It could be improving sales conversions, increasing traffic, increasing time spent on certain pages, getting more inquiries or anything else related to your sales. It's not about you.
It's not about you. Your offer, your content, your online processes and your social presence need to be about the needs of your audience. Sad to report, but the online shopper does not
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again

care about you and I. They care about the value you represent and the problem that you can solve. Pull them into you, do not push yourself onto them.
Tweak your web design. Work with a professional web designer to get your site looking professional and functioning well. It should be easy to use and navigate, and should have an appealing, intuitive design. Links to purchase pages and locations of purchase buttons should always be obvious.
Determine product / market fit. There may be nothing more important than choosing the correct market, simply because every other part of the process is dependent upon having a group of willing and able buyers. No amount of work or luck will help if you don’t have a willing and able market. Maybe you’ve been told that you can build a profitable business around any topic you are passionate about. Wrong. If there is not a sustainable market for your products and services, all the time you invest in building your business is a complete waste of time
Check your site across platforms. You should make sure your site works well on all devices. More and more people are using mobile devices as their primary means of browsing the web, so you should have either a mobile version of your site or a web design that is compatible with both desktop and mobile devices.
Sales without traffic. Nobody has a traffic problem. If your site is not generate traffic, then go to the traffic store and buy it. However, many sites have a problem with their offer and it does not convert. Prospects vote with their money. To gain votes, you need to have an offer that matches the need your audience has in the language they understand, that solves a problem they cannot fix without you.
Customer Value Optimization. When you’re learning new tactics like Twitter, Google Analytics or Facebook Advertising you’ll need to constantly remind yourself of the CVO process. Otherwise, you’re wasting time and money. There is little profit in understanding, for example, Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in and of itself. There is enormous profit in understanding how to apply these traffic strategies to the CVO process.
Make sure site speeds stay quick. If it takes too long to load your website, you run the risk of having your customers navigate away from your website. You have a very limited amount of
Our small business experts can consult or coach on a wide variety of important business topics, including sales optimization and management, sales training, automated relationship marketing, eMarketing, strategic planning and much more. Our thought process is very simple. First we seek to understand, before we seek to be understood. When the team at Viral Solutions brings their minds to your business, you are getting all of our collective experiences. We will not sugar coat the reasons behind our input. We will not withhold our best solutions. We will not limit our implementation strategies. We will tell you exactly how we see it. The results you experience will be the sum of your strategy, your defined target audience, your commitment to serve your customer and our process of delivery. That means we are an integral part of your team!

time to keep the attention of your web users, and loading speeds are something you can definitely control.
Maximize profits on sales you do generate. Most businesses don’t have Tripwire Offers and they don’t have Profit Maximizers. They live and die selling cold prospects on their Core Offer. This is why they struggle and you won’t. Would it shock you to find out that McDonald’s makes almost no money on the hamburger. The hamburger is the Core Offer, but it’s the fry and Coke Profit Maximizer that built the Golden Arches. What could you be offering as an up-sell or cross-sell? What could you bundle with your Core Offer? How can you enhance your Core Offer through a club or membership site?
Make the order process easy. There are simple steps you can take to make the order process far easier on customers. Give them the option to save their purchase information so they don’t have to fill everything out again on repeat visits. Try to limit the amount of information they have to provide so they don’t have to spend so much time filling out data fields. Limit the amount of pages your customers have to click through to complete a purchase. Steps like this go a long way toward improving online sales.
Don’t forget your SEO. Create great content of all forms, and make sure you’re optimizing for local searches if you are a local or regional company.
Be everywhere. Your core offer and the splintered trip wire that feeds it, should be seen everywhere. Your audience should see your brand on all social channels, in emails, in text messages and offline at live events and sponsorships that support non-profits and schools. Three-hundred and sixty degree marketing.

Need more assistance improving your online sales? Let our team at Viral Solutions assist you! Get in touch today for more information about how we can help your company.

by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer

Watch out elephants! This slayer of business challenges comes with 30 years of record breaking sales, marketing, operations, training and leadership experience . He has worked face-to-face with 100’s of small business owners as well as large firms. His love of creating, communicating, developing and executing results for clients shines with each project, publication and training event. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion, industry experience, education, problem-solving prowess, charismatic personality and been-there-done that attitude leads his client focused approach.

Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner and an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant.

We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.

Filed Under: Analytics Tagged With: automated relationship marketing, checklist, conversion tracking, digital marketer, drive traffic, infusionsoft, infusionsoft certified consultant, Lifecycle Marketing, marketing plan, mobile marketing, seo, web marketing, website traffic

Plenty of Opportunity Exists to Engage in B2B Mobile Marketing

June 28, 2015 by Christine

Though we’re living in an era where smartphone usage is at its highest rate of all time, a lot of companies have still yet to figure out how to effectively use mobile platforms to in B2B campaigns. One new survey by Regalix indicates that almost 80 percent of B2B marketers don’t have a content strategy exclusively for mobile platforms, and only one third of all of these marketers have any mobile element of their plans at all, despite the vast majority (78 percent) admitting that they know mobile apps are somewhat or very important to marketing.

When you consider the sheer amount of people that are using mobile devices and the amount of time that people are spending on average using apps and browsing the web on those devices, it’s clear that B2B marketers are missing out on a big opportunity. After all, recent research indicates that smartphones account for 75 percent of all mobile devices in the United States, with 184 million total users.

b2b mobile marketing

So what has made B2B marketers so slow to catch on?

One possible reason is a lack of sufficient software. Mobile app development tools tend to be geared toward large automation systems that lack the kind of intricacies that help with being more specific in targeting processes.

Another reason is that B2C marketing on such devices is inherently easier, because they are people’s personal devices. Many of people who own smartphones don’t necessarily use them for business. All smartphone users can be reached for B2C reasons, whereas B2B marketing is more targeted.

However, there are still plenty of ways that businesses can be reached through mobile apps and marketing methods. And for those companies that are able to develop a B2B mobile marketing campaign, there is relatively little competition at the moment.

For assistance in developing a B2B mobile marketing automation campaign, get in touch with the team at Viral Solutions today. We’re looking forward to helping you accomplish your mobile goals!

by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer

Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner and an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant.

We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.

Filed Under: Analytics Tagged With: b2b, marketing strategy, mobile marketing, mobit

Up-to-Date Mobile Usage Statistics and Facts for 2015

June 27, 2015 by Christine

Over the last few years, we’ve seen a veritable explosion of users opting to browse the web and perform other tasks on mobile devices. Within the past year and a half, we’ve even seen the amount of mobile web users surpass the amount of desktop users for the first time ever.

mobile marketing automation by mobit

So what are mobile usage statistics looking like at the beginning of 2015? Here’s some information you might find interesting:

9 billion: the approximate number of people using mobile devices to access the internet. That number is approximately 1.75 billion for desktop users.
The most popular devices for browsing the internet are, in order: PCs and laptops (91 percent), smart phones (80 percent), tablets (47 percent) and gaming consoles (37 percent).
Statistics continue to indicate that multi-platform use for online retail continues to grow. As of July, more users than ever before are doing online shopping on both desktop and mobile devices.
48 percent of all users start searching for product information through search engines. Additional information indicates that 60 percent of all searches on search engines are performed with the use of mobile devices, the highest number to date.
As of the 4^th quarter of 2013, men were spending 29 hours and 32 minutes on average per month on mobile apps, and women were spending 30 hours and 58 minutes on those platforms per month.
For mobile web use, men were spending 3 hours and 45 minutes on average per month using mobile browsers, and women were spending 3 hours and 46 minutes on average.\
The highest conversion rates in Q4 of 2014 came on iPads, Kindle Fires and other tablet devices.

All of these statistics continue to show the growing importance of mobile use and, in turn, mobile marketing. Highly targeted use of mobile apps and marketing strategies can have a huge impact on your business’s ability to find success.

For more information about mobile marketing automation and to get started with creating your strategy, speak to the team at Viral Solutions today.

Source: http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/07/online-traffic-report-mobile.html

by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer

Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner and an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant.

We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.

Filed Under: Social Media

5 Things to Think About Before Starting a Business

June 26, 2015 by Katie

At Viral Solutions we understand that every business starts out differently. We believe in business. We believe in You. The other day, I posted Are You Indecisive About Starting a Business? Here are 3 Questions to Ask Yourself article. The responses to those questions should aid the reader in a self-assessment whether or not he or she is ready to start a business. The purpose of this post is to help that reader with 5 additional things to think about before starting a business.

1. Does your business concept really fit you? You want to start a business. Great. Does the vision of how you want to run that business work with or against your entrepreneurial DNA? Are you proposing a cookie cutter approach to starting your business, winging it one day at a time, or crafting a business that fits you? Joe Abraham, Author of Entrepreneurial DNA: The Breakthrough Study that Aligns Your Business to Your Unique Strengths is a great weekend read to help you dig deeper on that question.

The purpose of this analysis is to identify how much money you need to make to break even to run your business. It may be simple or complex.

2. What is your break-even analysis? The purpose of this analysis is to identify how much money you need to
make to break even to run your business. It is highly encouraged to run the numbers and ballpark what your magic number is to operate your business and break-even. Certainly, the objective is to make more than that. This steps requires research, analysis, and calculations. There are many tools and resources online to help you determine your own specific break-even analysis. If you're starting out small and resources are limited check to see if there is a local SBA or Small Business Resource Center near you that you can meet with a representative that may be able to help you run those numbers. Mentors and accountants are also helpful.

Some live by it, others swear to avoid it. The decision really ultimately boils down to you. The purpose of the business plan is to provide an organized roadmap of your business concept to launch, milestones within a specific time period.

3. The Business Plan Debate. Some live by it, others swear to avoid it. The decision really ultimately boils down to you. The purpose of the business plan is to provide an organized roadmap for your business. It requires research, analysis, and strategy. If you're using a canned template or simply winging it to only focus on sections that you prefer over others then you're missing the boat on the validity and strategy associated with it. If this is something that you choose to do, you must take it on wholeheartedly. If there are sections that challenge you, reach out to a SME of that area. Right or wrong, you've got to do what works for you. Regardless, the web is full of ample resources should you decide to investigate and prepare a business plan.

Do the work. Do the math. Take your business concept seriously and identify what resources you need, how much they cost, why the resources are needed, and how you will get those resources.

4. Money, Money, MONEY. Yep. Now we're talking dollars and cents. The opportunities for getting the “bank” aka money to fund that business concept may vary. Some put everything on the line and self-fund their venture. Others get investors, partners, loans, grants, or business plan competitions for seed money. Websites like IndieGoGo.com and Kickstarter.com make it easier, yet in some cases, extremely competitive to fund projects, products, and/or ventures. The only way to truly know how much money you'll need is doing to the work with the numbers and research. Any wise investor is going to have specific questions that need to be answered before writing a check, and if you can't answer the questions, you don't get the check. Do the work. Do the math. Take your business concept seriously and identify what resources you need, how much they cost, why the resources are needed, and how you will get those resources.

Marketing is an essential element to the success of market penetration, growth, and sustainability. Marketing at face level seems rather simple – building awareness, relationships, getting people to buy over and over again. It is much more than that. Just as there is strategy in a business plan, there is strategy in marketing.

5. How will you market your business? Marketing is an essential element to the success of market penetration, growth, and sustainability. Just as there is strategy in a business plan, there is strategy in a marketing plan. In order to get down to the nuts and bolts of your marketing strategy requires research, analysis, and purposeful planning. If you feel unclear or overwhelmed about marketing and crafting a strategy that fits with you it is encouraged to partner with an SME to help educate, strategize, and implement marketing practices.

In conclusion, starting a business is a lot of fun and a lot of work. These are just a few of many essential things to consider before starting a business:

Identify whether or not your business concept and vision align with your entrepreneurial DNA,
Identify how much money you need to break-even,
Identify where that money is going to come from,
Create putting a business plan, and marketing plan.

Take the time to evaluate where you stand on those issues, and adjust your planning and implementation accordingly. Remember, you don't have to be an expert in all of the areas, be the expert in what you provide, and if you need help in other areas, don't be foolish to not seek out the resources, mentors, or SMEs.

Brightest of Blessing to Your Business Venture.
by Katie Doseck, PhD MBA

Chief Visionary and Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve | Viral Solutions LLC

Dr Katie Doseck, MBA, PhD Viral Solutions Katie Doseck, PhD MBA | Chief Visionary & Strategic Ace Up Your Sleeve. I catapulted my experience with extensive education, trainings, and personal coaching; earning a PhD in Organizational Management with a specialization in Human Resource Management, MBA in Organizational Leadership, and BA in Law & Liberal Arts. Subject Matter Expert (SME) areas: Human Resource Management, Employment Law, Organizational Change, Change Management, Resource Planning, Strategic Planning, Talent Management, Selling & Sales Management, Training & Development, Decision Making Models, Project Management, Customer Relationship Management, and Motivation. Dr. Doseck is based out of Logan, Utah.

Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, Infusionsoft Certified Consultant and a Mobit Certified Partner. We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.

Filed Under: Analytics Tagged With: Break Even Analysis, Business Plan, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial dna, Funding a Business, marketing plan, Questions to Ask, Starting a business

Small Business Web Design: The Basics of a Winning Website

June 25, 2015 by Christine

A good website is a must for any business. It doesn’t matter how big or small you are. Today, you need an online platform.

Perhaps you already have a website but it isn’t doing anything for you. No one’s visiting, buying, or clicking. Or maybe you’re banging your head against a wall trying to build a site that works.

Frustrating, isn’t it?

To make your life easier, whether you’re fighting with a failing website, or building one from scratch, we’ve put together a guide to the basics of building a winning website.

Discover everything that your site needs to do well using our infographic.

Number One: Responsive Web Design

Another Google update recently dropped that made having a responsive website very important when it comes to ranking. Now, if someone searches for a business from a mobile device, a site that isn’t responsive will struggle to appear in search results.

But hold on, what exactly is a responsive website?

A responsive design is one that will adjust to the screen size of the device you’re viewing it on – a chameleon changing its colour to adapt to its surroundings. Having a responsive site has become super important. There are now more people searching on their mobiles than there are people searching on desktops, so your website needs to look great on both phones and tablets.

We wrote a whole blog post about responsive websites here if you want to learn more.

If you are on the fence about going responsive, know this: 48% of users say a non-responsive website frustrates them. And frustrated customers don’t hang around to shop.

Number Two: Logo, Font, Colors

Six out of ten people look for consistent branding. And that’s not just online, but on the phone and in-store too. To make your branding an unswerving tool for success you need to make sure that colour schemes, fonts, and logos are the same on every single page of your site.

Don’t think a strong brand won’t help you sell either.

66% of consumers are happy to pay more for a product if the brand delivers a positive experience. That’s more than half of your customer base who are willing to pay more money for your products.

Number Three: Eye Popping Images

The pictures that you took from your faulty camera phone to use on your site?

They’re likely to do more harm than good. Websites with good images often have 48% higher conversion rates.

Think about it. Would you buy a product that is advertised in a grainy, gloomy picture?

Didn’t think so.

Spend some time browsing images and figuring out what will work well on your site. Don’t just think in terms of selling your product either. Images can improve click-throughs on blogs, news pieces, and newsletters too!

Don’t let your great brand down with unprofessional imagery.

Number Four: Simple Navigation

If a customer has trouble finding products, services, or contact details they’re going to give up and head to your competitor in a snap.

Bad navigation is a common problem in small business websites. In fact, a survey found that 44 out of every 100 visitors to small websites found the navigation complicated or tricky.

The easier it is to locate a product, the better chance you have of converting. It’s that simple. Make it obvious where each page is. Unclutter your navigation bar. Direct them with content. And make it responsive!

Number Five: Contact Details

Chances are, if a customer wants to purchase something from you or inquire about a service, they’ll want to speak to someone directly. Doesn’t matter whether it’s through email or over the phone. They should be able to grab your contact information from anywhere on the website.

Make your phone number and email address visible all the time. Put it in the footer, the header, and litter it throughout your content. Again, this is a common problem many small businesses have, with 49 out of 100 of them failing to display this vital information.

Number Six: Seductive Headlines & Punchy Copy

Customers are often indecisive. They’re wish-washy about making decisions and can go from ‘definitely buying this’ one minute to, ‘do I actually need it though?’ the next.

The job of your content is to push them over the finishing line. Help them make that all important decision.

81% of businesses rate their website content as “useful” or “critical”, and for good reason. The headlines and text content on a website can result in a 10.4% lift in conversion rates. So don’t be drab in your wording, or dreary in your execution.

Snap them awake and tell them why they need you and your business!

Number Seven: Important Info Above The Fold

‘Above the fold’ refers to the part of the page you can see immediately, without having to scroll downwards.

Why is that important?

Well people tend to pay more attention, and retain more information when it’s displayed at the beginning and end. It’s known as the ‘Serial Position Effect’.

So, if you are trying to get a message across, grab a customer’s attention, or flog your wares on a page, get it done before the fold.

Number Eight: Content Promotion

Content isn’t just about the words on each page of your site. It includes a whole number of things including blogs, videos, infographics, and more. And when done well, content can drive action. The trick is getting the right content to the right customer.

Content promotion.

There are lots of ways to do this. You can use social media ads to push your content out to potential customers, you can contact bloggers in your field, or you can utilise PPC. How you promote it is up to you. Just make sure you put time into audience research.

Otherwise your great content will go to the wrong people, and fail to make a difference.

Number Nine: Strong Calls-To-Action

The purpose of your site is to generate leads, get people to call you, or make people buy. But your site can’t do it alone. Sure you have a great design, the navigation’s easy, and the design is responsive, but if you want to it to truly convert you need to employ great calls-to-actions.

These actions can include things like asking people to visit your shop, requesting a call back, or asking people to fill in a survey.

Call to action buttons need to stand out. You need to use colours that grab attention. You should also write the button copy in first person, with one study finding that this technique improved clicks by 90%.

Don’t be afraid to try different button colours, wording, and placement. Find out which is most effective for you and stick to it.

Number Ten: Trust Indicators

Consumers are scared. They’re scared someone’s going to rip them off. They’re scared they’re going to get an inferior service. They’re scared a business will take their money and run.

It’s your job to assure them that they’re safe in your hands.

How do you do this? Simple.

Trust indicators.

If you’re a member of an industry related body, put their logo on your site. If you have a huge list of customer testimonials, create a whole page dedicated to them. Link to your Trust-pilot page. Do whatever you can to earn their trust.

If they trust in you, that’s half the battle won.

Bonus Tip: Make Life Easier

Putting all this information into practice isn’t easy. Paying someone else to do it is often expensive.

RESOURCE: Original article by Adam Chapman with permission from Helen Geraghty

by Thomas von Ahn | Chief Elephant Slayer

Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner and an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant.

We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.

Filed Under: Analytics