Archives for April 2016
The Biggest Benefits of Infusionsoft for a Small Business
Anyone in small business can tell you that time management is essential. When it comes to marketing, small businesses ostensibly have several balls in the air — from email campaigns and social media to sales, prioritizing your time in each area is tough. Infusionsoft offers a solution. By combining the features of e-commerce, email marketing and social media, the program automates the process of gaining customers and growing sales.
What are The Biggest Benefits of Infusionsoft for a Small Business?
Weâve compiled a few of the biggest benefits of Infusionsoft for your small business.
If youâre like many small business owners weâve worked with, you have leads, but youâre having trouble making sure youâre spending your time and resources on the ones most ready to buy. Nothing is more frustrating than wasting energy on cold leads. Part of the problem is that your marketing efforts may not be bringing the best leads to you and your team. Itâs a common problem. Lead scoring is a feature of marketing automation and customer relationship management (CRM) software that enables you to have a more complete view of how your customers are interacting with you.
- Revolutionize the way you email. Programs like Constant Contact are incredibly popular for managing email campaigns. Instead of sending scheduled emails to every contact you have, Infusionsoft allows you to target specific clients on your list. The program also makes sure your emails are trusted by providers, so they donât just end up in a spam folder.
- Lead tools. With Infusionsoft, youâre able to collect data about all of your customers. The ability to learn about the customer means youâre able to target them specifically and inform your business. The program offers the option for you to automatically assign leads to your sales team and gives them tools to follow-up. Youâre also able to keep track of new leads, customers and revenue on a quarterly or annual basis.
- Cater to the customer. Customers are beginning to expect a more personalized marketing experience. Infusionsoft gives you the power to group customers based on their distinct behavior. Tagging them this way helps you meet their specific need. You also have the ability to watch your customersâ behaviors throughout the buying experience. This allows you to create an incredibly customized experience.
- Save time. Because Infusionsoft creates such an automated process for you, it gives you more time to generate sales and manage those valuable customer relationships. Instead of having several balls in the air, youâll streamline the process into one efficient system.
The bottom line is, Infusionsoft has taken a lot of the legwork out of your time-consuming daily tasks. With efficient management of all of your email marketing, social, and sales campaigns, itâs easy to see how small businesses benefit from this program.
Contact us today at Viral Solutions for more digital marketing tips.
by Christine Kelly
CEO and Queen Bee | Viral Solutions LLC
Copyright 2015 Viral Solutions LLC
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.
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.
Overwhelmed Small Business Owner: Tips to Manage Your Time
Being a small business owner means wearing a lot of hats. Your days are very long, and it seems like you are not making progress no matter how long you work. Learning how to manage your time can be the most important skill in your repertoire, and keep you from going insane.
Here are three tips to help you manage your time.
We do not stop at implementing your vision with the best tools available. That is just the ground work to a long term relationship. There are always modifications to make, adjustments to make, revisions to make, questions to answer, new strategies to implement and goals to revise. Viral Solutions has monthly maintenance packages that we build around your needs and budgetary constraints. Your maintenance package could include 24/7 support, rapid response, service to your end-user, consulting, Infusionsoft training, social media, database services, analytics, sales training, campaign building and more.
Tip # 1: Keep track of your time
Start a spreadsheet of daily tasks and the time it takes to complete them. The spreadsheet to be detailed, including everything you do during the day until you close up shop. Take this new data and calculate what tasks you are spending too much time on; knowing this you can cut back on those activities and focus on the most productive parts of your day. Most people tend to allocate too much time to e-mails, breaks or running errands. Your new spreadsheet will keep you focused and prioritized.
Tip # 2: Organize your to-do list
Use a calendar to organize your daily tasks. The spreadsheet that you created will help you decide what tasks are the most important and should be put at the top of your lists. Review this calendar first thing every day so you have a plan before you actually start working. Not having a plan can set you on a collision course of wasting time on e-mail and social media. As new tasks come up, organize them appropriately on the calendar and set completion deadlines. Having a goal to focus on will drive you to be more productive. Just make it a realistic deadline otherwise youâll feel overwhelmed which defeats the purpose.
Tip # 3: Relax, take a break
With your long to-do list and the limited hours of the day, it seems crazy to stop and take a break. But you are missing out on valuable recuperation time. After hours of focusing on one thing, the brain can slow down. When the brain slows down it is very easily distracted. Take short fifteen minute breaks every few hours or so to rest your mind. You will find yourself able to focus and get more accomplished in the hours that you do have.
Though your days will still be challenging, the tips will set you up to be organized and refreshed. Checking your calendar at the beginning and end of every day will help you visualize your progress by checking off the tasks that are completed, giving you a sense of accomplishment. Remember to take breaks to refresh your energy and focus.
Copyright 2016 Viral Solutions LLC
by Rob Carpen
Rob is a content writer and editor, specializing in a variety of fields. He helps B2B and B2C clients with blogs, social media, press releases and web content that create more value for their marketing campaigns. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He played Club Rugby at IUP for four years. He loves Rugby and recently attended the Rugby World Cup in Newcastle, England – New Zealand All Blacks v. Tonga Match. Rob is passionate about craft beer. He is transitioning his eight years of home brewing to earn his professional brewer certificate.
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Work – Life Balance: 3 Strategies to Really Clock Out from Work
Working from home can be very rewarding. In some cases, you are your own boss, and you have the freedom to make your own schedule. You stay focused during your work hours, and you are checking off the to-do list. But does the to-do list get longer and longer as the day goes on? Do you keep finding more tasks to complete? âJust one more blog postâ or âone more e-mail. And it just keeps going. If you keep this up, it may burn you and your family out. Even if you are single, this can still be detrimental to your health. Everyone needs time off. In this article, we will discuss some strategies to help you clock out and enjoy your life.
Today, Viral Solutionsâ mission is to provide its clients with the assistance needed to experience bursts of growth in their operations, and a big part of that is through the use of technology. When business owners feel overwhelmed, burnt out or unmotivated, Viral Solutions steps in to give them the tools they need to achieve new levels of success.
Shut it down
Itâs easy to keep going and lose track of the day when you have been working with focus, and your brain is wired. But you have to stop sometime. To shut your brain down you must shut your computer down. Close that laptop and walk out of your office. Of course, there are times when you have to burn the midnight oil, but donât let this be a habit. Those e-mails can wait. Close up shop and distract your mind with an activity that you enjoy doing.
Live a healthy lifestyle
It is important to keep your mind and body in good health. If your body gets out of shape so does your mental state, and all this can put stress on your relationships. Not having a proper balance between mind and body can also weaken your ability to focus, due to lack of energy. Start an exercise routine, you should exercise at least three times per week if you can squeeze it in do something every day, even if it is just a leisurely stroll. After your workout eat a healthy meal. Good nutrition is half the battle. Put the workout at the end of your to-do list, this way you have a good reason to leave your office.
Work efficiently
Find ways to get things done faster by learning to manage your time better. Being efficient can save you hours every week. Incorporate technology to help you stay organized. Eliminate distractions such as meeting friends for lunch, limit these lunch dates to maybe once every week or so. Fight the urge to run errands, save them for after work. If you are efficient, you can clock out of work easier knowing that youâve accomplished a lot for that day.
Remember there is more to life than work. It is important to clock out every day not only for you but for your family as well. Make healthy choices throughout your life to help you stay focused, and you will find your productivity rise. Stay sharp and work efficiently so you can be satisfied at the end of your work day.
Copyright 2016 Viral Solutions LLC
by Rob Carpen
Rob is a content writer and editor, specializing in a variety of fields. He helps B2B and B2C clients with blogs, social media, press releases and web content that create more value for their marketing campaigns. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He played Club Rugby at IUP for four years. He loves Rugby and recently attended the Rugby World Cup in Newcastle, England – New Zealand All Blacks v. Tonga Match. Rob is passionate about craft beer. He is transitioning his eight years of home brewing to earn his professional brewer certificate.
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again.
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Signs You Need to Revamp Your Social Media Strategy
Marketing in social media is all about finding the sweet spot. Being under or over saturated can make you feel like nothing you do on social media works. This probably isnât the case — itâs more likely that you simply need to refine your approach to the way you market on social media.
Below, we examine some indicators that your business might benefit from a reworked social media strategy.
The foundation of our success as a business is the relationships that we create with our clients. Everyone we work with says the same thing: we truly care about our clients and will do everything we can to help them find success in their operations. We have collected some testimonials on our website that should give you a better idea of what people are saying about Viral Solutions.
Itâs all about you
Are you having trouble getting your audience to engage? Do you seem to have too few shares, comments, and likes? It could be that your content is too egocentric. Take a minute and consider your customer. What are his or her needs? How does your business meet that need? Customers respond when they feel your business offers something of value to them, so focus on the customer as a whole when creating your content. For example, if your business sells running shoes, create content that a runner finds useful, like training tips and fun races in your area. Your customers are likely to engage with what is valuable to them.
It seems like nothing is working
Evaluate exactly what your goal in your social media marketing endeavors. Are you hoping to boost sales? Establish a personality? Communicate with customers? Become an âindustry expertâ by posting quality news and information about the business world? Those are all worthwhile goals. Our best advice is to start by choosing one or two of those goals and focusing on them first. Once you tackle your top social media priorities, move down your list and tackle the rest of your goals. It will help you from getting overwhelmed and it will help you establish an identifiable presence online.
It seems like no one is listening.
Do you feel like Adele is singing about your social media efforts when you hear âHelloâ on the radio? (âHello? Can you hear me?â) You may not be utilizing the best social media platform to reach your consumer group. Research shows that urban customers are more active on Twitter, so it would serve you well to know your demographic before launching a campaign on a specific platform. Also, donât force your audience to be where itâs not. This sort of wishful, Field-of-Dreams thinking can be a wasted effort. If your target demographic is always on Facebook and never on Snapchat, donât try to create Snapchat campaigns that will never reach your audience. Spend some time researching where your people are, and target them that way.
Do any of these signs strike a chord with you? If so, it may be time to revise your social media strategy!
Copyright 2016 Viral Solutions LLC
We help overwhelmed small business owners duplicate themselves – so business can be fun again
Viral Solutions LLC is a Digital Marketer Certified Partner, an Infusionsoft Certified Consultant, a Google Partner – Certified in AdWords and a Mobit Certified Partner.
Overwhelmed Small Business Owner: How and What to Delegate
You have been building your business for quite some time now, and you are the only one that knows how to run it. But you are starting to get swamped with some extra work, maybe a needy client or you took on a couple of new ones. Whatever the case, you know that handling everything you could, could cause you a stroke but you are reluctant to let go of some of the responsibilities. And who can blame you, it is a troubling thought to let someone else taking care of parts of your day to day affairs.
Teach, Train, Mentor, Lead, Develop, Implement and bring Results. 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!
Here are some tips to help you figure out how and what to delegate.
Tip # 1: Let go
Of course, you need and want to handle the most important tasks, so that you feel confident that they will be done right. But there are projects that you can safely hire out to independent contractors to save you some time.
Web design is one task you should leave to a professional. A web page is something that your customers will see before doing business with you, so you want that to look fantastic and work smoothly. Hiring someone to build your website for you will save time and stress because this is one of the biggest headaches for solo entrepreneurs.
Accounting is another good one to hand off especially if this is something you do at the end of the day when you are tired. If you are not able to focus you could easily make a small error that turns into a catastrophe farther down the road. So hire an accountant to keep your books.
Tip # 2: Freelance
You probably donât have deep enough pockets to hire someone full time; that is ok because you can hire a virtual assistant or a freelancer. A virtual assistant is awesome for doing mundane tasks like organizing e-mails, keeping books and making travel arrangements. A freelancer is a good choice for doing projects like web design.
Tip # 3: Hire an employee
Sometimes there is just too much on the table to handle with only yourself and a part-time assistant. In that case, you have to bite the bullet and hire a full-time employee. Hire someone to do the administrative tasks that would normally take up a big portion of your time. It may hurt your wallet at first but having all of that time to focus on the more important tasks will help you get more done and grow your business faster.
Copyright 2016 Viral Solutions LLC
by Rob Carpen
Rob is a content writer and editor, specializing in a variety of fields. He helps B2B and B2C clients with blogs, social media, press releases and web content that create more value for their marketing campaigns. He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He played Club Rugby at IUP for four years. He loves Rugby and recently attended the Rugby World Cup in Newcastle, England – New Zealand All Blacks v. Tonga Match. Rob is passionate about craft beer. He is transitioning his eight years of home brewing to earn his professional brewer certificate.