Common mistakes while choosing a web host
Are you in the process of searching for the appropriate web host for your website? Here are some of the common mistakes that you should be aware of.
- Going for the cheapest web hosting plan
The cheapest hosting plan is not always the best because it has some drawbacks, which may be limiting to one’s business. What people should actually be aware of is that when someone offers a cheap plan, there is something they take back and that they may not offer everything else that others get at a higher cost. In other words, it is not likely that you will receive the same level of service as those who pay more because if it was possible to receive the same level of service, everyone in the planet would go for the cheapest web hosting providers. This then makes sense why we have coupon hosting for those who are involved in reseller hosting.
However, it does not necessarily mean that the most expensive hosting plans are always the best options. But it definitely means that the less you pay, the less services and features you get. When you choose a cheap web hosting, expect to experience many downtimes and poor server infrastructure and this may translate to poor quality customer service.
- Looking out for freebies
It is obviously advantageous to look for freebies, especially if you are a first timer. However, it is important to note that looking for the maximum number of freebies in one web host can make you lose focus and ultimately make the right web hosting decision. Most web hosting companies give away freebies to attract customers, but is upon you to look careful what the catch is. Some of the freebies are as good as they seem but they end up luring you to make a buying decision which could prove expensive in the long run. Therefore, ensure that the most important factors are right with host before you look at what freebies they are offering. Some of the factors to look at include: server speed and up time, great customer support, reasonable price and domain name registration policy (let us look at this next).
- Free domain
Many web masters get attracted with the offer of a free domain name. But it is advisable to look beyond this domain name trick because it can inconvenience you in future should you decide to move to a better host. What happens is that while some companies offer free domain services, they ensure that the domain name is registered under their company and not under your name. what this means is that you may not be able to take it with you when you move. However, the good news is that domain names are not expensive and it is possible to get one at a very cheap price and make it your own. So before going for a free domain name, find out whether you will own the domain name or it will be registered with that company.
Mjrvisuals can help you increase your reach out of that content in your website through our expertise. We run the gambit of visual imagination including video production, digital marketing, video editing, print design, advertising, graphic design, graphic animation, motion graphic and media design. Be part of our portfolio of clients and let us tell your story to the world. Click here to visit our website: mjrvisuals.com/
Customer Insights Every Business Owner Should Know
The key to success in today’s small business can be summed up in three simple words. “Know your customer.”
It is a perfect adage for today’s environment in which longstanding practices and realities are melting away to reveal a transformed landscape where opportunities are abundant, but often more obscured. In this new environment, customer insight is not only important, but also imperative.
It is no secret. Small business profitability is deeply connected to customer insight.
But what is customer insight?
Customer insight means having knowledge about customers and markets that helps structure thinking and decision making. It’s about having the whole picture, visible to the whole organization, from executive to customer service.
Customers expect you to know who they are, what they want, and how they want to be addressed. They want to converse with you. They want to be listened to.
Consider these recent consumer survey findings from the analyst firm Digital Clarity Group:
- Only one percent felt their customer expectations were always met.
- Around 89 percent had switched providers due to poor experiences.
- A full 82 percent said that the company they abandoned could have taken steps to keep their business.
What does this tell us? It means gaining customer insight is one of the most important things in business.
The source of insight
The next question we should be asking is, where can we obtain customer insight data? Customer insight comes from combining data from a number of sources. It is about using all data sources and applying the correct weight to them.
Insight comes from compiling and combining evidence, from data, to paint a picture. Merging the market research and database marketing teams is a step in the right direction, but it’s only part of what is required to create insight.
Part of this process is to know your customer’s touch point data. The following are sources of important customer insight data:
These sets of data can be generated from the following channels:
- Social media data
- Enterprise data
- In store talks
- Email communication
- Website logs
- Phone communication
- News media
- Syndicated research data
- Forums and review sites
The challenge most business owners face is leveraging the data they collect in order to create the right marketing mix. They struggle to aggregate the data to form the right customer insights and disseminate the right actions.
Customer insight requires that small business owners address the following points.
- Who are your most valuable customers (MVCs)
- What do they want to purchase?
- What motivates them to purchase?
- Beyond transaction, how can you interact with your MVCs in a relevant and profitable manner?
- How can you customize aspects of your product or service in order to meet the individual needs of your MVCs
Indeed, having the answers to the above questions is no longer a luxury. Small business owners must not only find answers but also act on those solutions in order to drive growth and profitability of their businesses.
The ability of firms to understand customers one at a time across multiple channels will mean the difference between success and failure because customer-based strategies are the key to competitive differentiation in today’s business world.
Knowing how, when and what to offer a customer can mean the difference between a profitable versus an unprofitable business.
According to Data Mine, you know you are on the right path and have the right customer insight in place when you have adequately answered the following critical questions.
- What is the aim of this organization?
Why was the organization formed? It is important to have the big picture even as you go about your daily duties. Unfortunately, many small business owners get consumed with daily tasks that they forget the mission statement of the company.
What is the organization’s customer acquisition strategy?
Every organization must have a marketing strategy. Doing business without a marketing strategy is like driving in the dark without the headlights. You risk not only getting involved in a fatal accident, but you also risk moving in the wrong direction.
What do we already know (not think we know)?
Obviously, you already know a few things about your customers. It is important to be aware of what you already know so that you can have a starting place.
- What do we need to know?
Now that you know what you know, it is time to know what you need to know. Identify the knowledge gaps and get the right information. Find out what data you need to collect and what tools you need to collect the data and collect it.
· How are we going to priorities what is needed?
Bearing in mind the constraints of time resources, identify the most urgent needs.
How will we ensure insight is retained in the business?
After gathering the customer insight, you need to ensure that it is retained in the business.
In short, insight is provided when the right questions are asked and solutions provided. The following illustration illustrates this very well.
The building blocks of customer insight are:
· Clearly defined company aim and objectives
· Customer driven marketing
· Organized and accessible data
· The right people in the insight team
· Knowledge management
In order to achieve customer insight, people must work collaboratively in the organization and have a clear data strategy.
Customer insight is not employing an analyst, or even a team of analysts. It requires organizational commitment to change. If it was easy, every organization would have customer insight sorted.
Mjrvisuals can help you increase your reach out of that content in your website through our expertise. We run the gambit of visual imagination including video production, digital marketing, video editing, print design, advertising, graphic design, graphic animation, motion graphic and media design. Be part of our portfolio of clients and let us tell your story to the world. Click here to visit our website: mjrvisuals.com/
Web design Tricks to Build Customer Loyalty
What are some of the elements in website design that one must include when looking to build customer loyalty? If you are looking to build a website for your small business, you know very well that nurturing customer loyalty is an important priority. Unfortunately, many businesses miss the opportunity to build customer loyalty and retain existing clients through their websites. You can get more out of your existing customers as well as new prospects if you incorporate the following elements in your website.
- Responsive Design
More and more business owners and agencies are embracing responsive web design and in this age of mobile technology, why would anyone be left behind?
Customers don’t want to struggle with websites that aren’t mobile friendly. Statistics show that non-responsive websites are likely to lose more than half of their potential customers because more than 50% of searches are now done through mobile devices. Moreover, customers who access your site are likely to access it in future using multiple devices. In other words, even if people visit your site via their desktop, they might get disoriented the next time they visit it using their mobile devices and it is not responsive.
You can have the best product in the world, but if your website isn’t designed to be mobile responsive, you are losing tons of customers to your competitors.
Therefore, it is important to look for a professional custom web design service that can create a responsive website.
- Encourage referrals
Did you know that a well-designed website can help to facilitate referrals? The most loyal customers are acquired through client-to-clients referral networks and recommendations. Looking for web design packages that are network-driven can make the difference between struggling to get clients and enjoying a constant stream of new leads.
You can encourage your existing customers to refer your business by giving them special bonuses for every new business they bring. People are more likely to believe friends who have done business with you than some ad in their sidebar. So you should make it easy for customers to refer other customers to you.
- Social media share buttons
Social media buttons are essential if you want your content to be shared widely. When your audience find your content valuable, they are likely to share it via their social media accounts. This is a free and effective way of marketing your website. In order to incorporate unique social media share buttons in your website, look for a custom web design agency that knows how to create elegant buttons.
As a rule of thumb, your social media share buttons should big, prominent, unique and beautiful. The only way to achieve that is to look for a web designer that knows what they are doing. Incorporate social media share and like buttons into every page of your website to enhance maximum engagement with your audience.
- Offer great value/offer irresistible value proposition
Customers come to your website because they want or need something. Give them solutions that will solve or help them solve their problems.
Through a custom website layout that promises value to your customers, you are able to gain more customers. It is advisable that you offer a freebie such as free eBook, webinar, and course or trial product so that your customers can have a taste of your services and content before paying for them. If it is what they are looking for, they will be more than ready to pay for the full service.
Having said that, your website layout must be neat, impeccable and functional in order to capture the attention your customers and entice them to sign up with your free offer or trial.
- Get customized web design
A customized web design enhances personal engagement with your customers. Customers want to enjoy personalized services. Customers also want to get assurances they can get hold of you through your phone or email when they want to. Therefore, your email, phone number and physical address should be prominently displayed in case customers want to reach you for whatever reason. It is also inspires confidence in your customers.
Don’t forget to include a comment form so that customers can give you feedback. In addition to that, it is good to have live chat capabilities. The more your customers are easily able to get in touch with you the better.
How do you Create Marketing Emails that Will Generate Instant YES?
When a well-crafted email hits your inbox, you open and act on it because it grabs your attention. These emails might look simple and natural. Achieving a clear, balanced and persuasive message takes time and effort, but it is worth it. In order to create an email that will generate positive results (people clicking your Call to Action), here are steps that need to be taken into consideration. Think of these steps as a logical staircase where you need to move from one step to another.
- Make your messages consistent and persuasive
Human beings like consistency. It is hard-wired in our brains. For example, once someone decides to do something, they would strive to make all future behavior to match past behavior. If there is a mismatch, the person immediately begins to feel that something has gone amiss somewhere. It is the same with the emails you receive.
An email campaign should have a consistent message to elicit an action. Emails that have a consistent and persuasive message always outperform those that don’t. A consistent and persuasive email should lead one to take an action.
An inconsistent message is one whose parts don’t add up, i.e. they offer contradictory information.
Example
Suppose that your email is something like “Unbeatable Discount on iPhone 6 this Week”, yet the headlines says, “20% off on all smartphones,” with many types of smartphones being presented.
Although the email may not be factually wrong, it is inconsistent and you are likely to lose some customers. Your message will be more successful if all the components agree.
- Use high quality and relevant images
Use images that are not only relevant to the offer, but also high quality and original. Showing stock images is an instant click-killer. Make sure your images supports the main messages and that they reappear on your landing page—the page your customer will land after clicking the Call to Action button. This will make people feel that they have landed on the right page.
- Have a great presentation layer
Treat your promotional email like a shopping window. The more inviting the presentation, the more likely people will want to enter your shop. Just having a great product is not enough to make people want to buy from you or sign up for your services. Having an inviting presentation layer in your email will grab the attention of your subscribers.
- Precision Targeting is Indispensable: Target the right audience
In theory, it would seem like sending an email to everybody will increase your sales, but that is not what expert marketers do. When it comes to sending email campaigns, targeting the right audience is very important. According to Marketing Sherpa, sending an email to untargeted database is counterproductive. Unfortunately, many small business owners do this all the time.
Collecting email list and blasting everyone that is on that list with an email campaign is akin to shooting in the dark, and it is a bad habit that you need to stop immediately. Why would you want males on your list to receive email offers about "fashionable bras" that you recently launched? Wouldn't that be shooting yourself in the foot?
Highly targeted email campaigns experience 208% higher conversion rates compared to the “batch and blast” emails. As a marketer, you need to rise above the mediocrity and segment your list. Optimized email marketing pays off big time. Marketers that use email segmentation record a higher ROI compared to aimless emails. Moreover, email segmentation drastically reduces opt-outs.
Here are the steps to take if you want to send targeted email campaigns:
- Target a high-value segment
Now that you have an email subscriber list, it is time to separate the wheat from the chaff. A good way to find valuable segment from the list is to look at your list bearing three factors in mind:
- How recent is the subscriber? Subscribers who have done business with you recently are more likely to respond to your email campaign.
- How often does the subscriber buy? Subscribers who purchase from your more frequently are more likely to respond than others.
- How much does the subscriber spend? Subscribers that have spent 50% more than your average subscribers are more likely to respond to your emails.
This is not the be-all and end-all email segmentation check list, but it is a good starting point.
- Target using demographics
If possible, divide your list into specific groups to enable you send personalized, targeted and relevant messages. Without further ado, here are five main demographic features you can use to segment your list:
- Geographical locations: if you are serving cross-border markets, dividing your list according to geographical location will make it easier for you to send emails at the right time. This will also ensure you don’t break respective laws and regulations.
- Age: you might have offers targeting different age groups, which means that you can target millennials/college students, baby boomers, little kids and retirees, among others.
- Gender: just as you might want to specifically speak to a college student or retiree, you might want to customize your offers and messaging based on gender.
- Industry: if you have lists that cut across several industries, it is prudent to segment your list based on industry to add another level of personalization.
- Persona: you should study your subscribers and understand them. Know what makes each of them tick and design email messaging around their persona.
Offering exclusive email content to target audiences allows you to offer exact solutions that solve specific needs/dilemmas and supports conversations that will drive your conversation rates and increase your ROI.
Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to reach and engage with your customers. However, in the absence of effective email marketing strategy, you might not achieve your marketing goals.
Mjrvisuals can help you increase your reach out of that content through our expertise. We run the gambit of visual imagination including video production, digital marketing, video editing, print design, advertising, graphic design, graphic animation, motion graphic and media design. Be part of our portfolio of clients and let us tell your story to the world. Click here to visit our website: mjrvisuals.com/
Are you Utilizing the Power of YouTube Marketing
If you have been ignoring the impact of YouTube marketing, then you have been committing a cardinal marketing sin. There are some shocking statistics that will show you just why YouTube marketing has become a big hit. Nielsen report shows that in the year 2011, internet video streaming views increased by 35% compared to only 0.2% increase in television views in America. Mobile video viewing also increased by 20%; therefore, it is clear that internet video marketing (like YouTube) is now more popular, cheaper, and result oriented than the traditional TV marketing. As a matter of fact, the number of people who visit YouTube for entertainment, research, and education is alarming. YouTube is now the second most search engine by volume.
However, something else you should know is that about 35 hours of videos are being uploaded in YouTube every minute, meaning if you take 10 minutes to read this article, you will meet about 350 hours of newly uploaded YouTube videos. So what? So, it means that if you are thinking of using YouTube to advertise your products, then you should bear in mind that competition is extremely high; so, you need to approach it with some plan if you hope to achieve positive results. In other words, just uploading a video does not necessarily mean that you'll automatically get YouTube hits.
The following are two suggestions to get you started on how to get positive YouTube performance:
1. Just like a website, content is king, and good quality is paramount. Please invest some time to create a quality and compelling video before you upload. Potentials customers should find your videos useful, engaging, and attractive to view. If you let them feel like they have wasted their precious moment viewing you video, be sure that the video will never go viral, or worse still, they wont come back. The rule of the thumb is this: the video should address the needs of the viewers. Anything else is thrash. Therefore, invest some time in researching on what the customer needs and create something relevant. For instance, it doesn't help uploading a video that talks about meditation, yet you are selling cars. In that case, you would want to talk about 'how to maintain a car'.
2. Since it is Google that owns YouTube, you have to play by Google Search optimization rules to get an edge. For instance, in order for the video to be findable, it must have a title, good descriptions, and tags, among others. Also, you should create a brand if you want to attract and retain customers. This doesn't have to be done with massive investment; all you need is to be consistent with your content, create a similar backgrounds, create a playlist for the most popular videos, and choose an appropriate layout.
All in all, taking your business online is not an option in this internet age if you are to stay profitable, and relevant. YouTube presents you with one of the best channel of informing the online users about your presence; hence you should take advantage.
Cheap Marketing Ideas you can implement on your Online and Offline Business
Don’t have many bucks to spend on your small business or start-up? Establishing an efficient marketing strategy is sometimes a challenge for small business owners in Australia because they are unable to allocate considerable funds for marketing; most of them operate on a shoestring budget. You don’t have to break the bank to market your small business in Australia.
Moreover, very day, we hear from small business owners who think they need special skills to reach their customers. Many of these Australian small business owners eventually get overwhelmed by the number and the complex marketing options available, and end up sitting on the sidelines because they are confused where to start. In this article, we will look at 77 local marketing ideas for small business owners in Australia.
Positioning and branding
- Build brand identity
Building your business brand identity can have a big impact
- Add emotion to your brand
Emotional branding is defined as the successful attachment of a specific emotion to a brand.
At one of the Business Marketing Association (BMA) conferences in Chicago, Jay Baer asked a room full of roughly 1,000 B2B marketers, “Are you more interesting than my wife?”
Can you think of the people you have had an emotional connection with in your life? How did they impact on your life? Now think about the brands and see the common threats among them.
It is true for brands as it is for people: to break through in modern marketing, small business owners in Australia need to be more interesting and relevant in the moment.
Brands need to connect with people in the way a close friend would—through emotion—in order to build, long-lasting, and quality relationships. There are huge opportunities for retail stores to take advantage of emotional branding.
According to one research, smell is powerful when it comes to persuading someone to buy a product. Stores using certain scents in their stores have been found to have a 30% increase in sales.
A study by University of Wollongong and Murdoch University in 2012, emotional branding is becoming widely used globally. According to Dr Steve Bellman of Murdoch University’s Audience Labs, marketers are tapping into customer’s feelings to market their brands. Another study shows men who show love for their brand beer purchase 38% more beer than the average.
Therefore, emotional branding can lead to substantially more sales without companies having to rely on discounts and promotions. On the flip side, however, creating that emotional connection can be a difficult task.
How brands can connect emotionally
- By telling a story that inspires an emotional connection:according to Beth Comstock, General Electric Chief Marketing Officer, you can’t sell anything if you can’t tell anything. Every brand has stories to tell.
- By allow their audience to be the real heroes: imagine who emotionally connected your brand would be by showcasing how your product has changed lives. Simply give your audience a voice, a platform and face to be heard.
- By being authentic: don’t be afraid to embrace your inner geek. Remain who you are and don’t try to be like who you are not. At Bizify, we try to remain true to ourselves. We try to help startups find their feet and we intend to remain true to that mission.
- By embracing the opportunity to surprise and delight:surprising and delighting customers can be an effecting marketing strategy. Use social media and mobile to spark moments of happiness in customers and you will be surprised at its effectiveness. Coca-Cola has really perfected this art.
- Create an irresistible value proposition
A value proposition is a statement that explains what value you provide to your customers and how you do it uniquely. Establishing a substantive value proposition is critical if you want to stand above the crowd. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs loose out because they fail to articulate a unique value proposition.
Be clear on what your business stands for. What is your promise? How will you put out a consistent and passionate message that attract the right candidate? This will also help you to hire the right people and develop products and services that are aligned with your unique value proposition.
- Be careful with launching too many brands
The big problem for many businesses is they think more brands will make them more successful but they have neither the architecture nor the capacity to manage a multiplicity of brands well. Businesses can increase profits by deleting none-performing brands. Even though revenue may fall in the process, reducing the number of brands will be beneficial in the long run.
Multiband strategies are likely to suffer from diseconomies of scale because of the hidden costs. By letting go off weak, declining and marginally profitable brands, you will be freeing resources to make your few remaining brands better and more attractive to customers. Thus, killing some brands in your portfolio may sometimes be the best way for your business to serve the customers.
- Package your products
Packaging is an important element when it comes to marketing. How you package your products can attract or repel customers. Is your packaging visually attractive through shape, color, design and does it communicate the right brand ideals. If not, it might be time to revamp the way you package your products.
Conference Highlight Video from Starfield Summit
We were asked to film the Starfield summit, a conference that talks about the industry of health and how to make it better. See the highlight video, but it was three days with more then 6 cameras and full A/V on location. Visit mjrvisuals.com to see more of our work!