Local Internet Marketing Consultants

QR CODE DEVELOPMENT FOR SMALL BUSINESS: Get Customers To Like You in a Flash

A picture paints a thousand words…

As a famous classic song claims. Apparently, this is not only applicable to stories and songs of love, old and new, but also plays an important role in local internet marketing, particularly in Local Mobile Internet Marketing. How is this so? Through the use of Quick Response (QR) Codes in the latest revolutionary marketing strategy of called QR Code Development for Small Business.

QR Codes are two-dimensional barcodes which are used to store specific information. These may be accessed and decoded by scanning using a mobile phone camera with a built-in QR decoder. QR Codes were originally made for use in the automotive industry as a tracking tool in vehicular parts manufacturing. Due to their relatively large storage capacity and their quick readability, they are now being used as part of some companies’ local mobile internet marketing campaigns.

QR Codes may be used to store various types of data such in a condensed format, allowing customers to have quick access to information such as:

Website URL
Contact Information
Relevant Messages and Images
Product Details
Promotional Offers
Marketing Activities
Discount Coupons
Social Media Site IDs (e.g., Facebook, Twitter)
YouTube Video Links
Downloadable Items
Instructional Manuals
Customer Feedback Forms

And a whole lot more! There is virtually no limit to the type of information you can put into your QR Codes. QR Code development for small business allows customers to get speedy access to what is personally relevant for them and in the process helping them to take the necessary action to get the products and services that they want and need.

Before deciding to include QR Codes in your local mobile internet marketing plans, make sure that you look into the following aspects and answer the questions associated with each one.

1. MOBILE INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE

Is your company website “mobile friendly”? Will your customers be able to access all the information on it using just their mobile phones? Otherwise, you may want to consider making a few tweaks to it to ensure that users scanning your QR Code will find it useful and not think of it as a waste of time.

2. METRICS TO TRACK RESULTS

Do you have ready metrics to quantify the results of the QR Codes you put up for your business? Just like all other marketing strategies, you have the measure if customers are actually using these codes and if their scans are being converted into sales.

3. DESIRED OUTCOME

What would you want customers to do after they scan and decode your QR Codes? Would you want them to fill up some forms? Contact you? Make a reservation? Place an order right then and there? Make this as clear as possible from your side so that it will all come out well-defined for your customers.

4. MARKETING PLAN PARALLELISM

Will QR Codes be a complementary to your existing and planned marketing strategy? QR Code development for small business is just one of your marketing campaigns and should work together to achieve the same results.

5. QR CODE DESTINATION

Is your QR Code destination interesting enough? Do you think it is unique and creative enough to spark your customers’ interest? Remember: Your customers took the time to scan and had allowed themselves to be redirected to some information which they perceive to be useful for them. Make it count.

Secure these five aspects of QR Code development for small business and you’re on your way to decoding the secrets to a successful local mobile internet marketing campaign.

LOST IN LISTS? Data Feed Optimization for Small Business May Be Your Key

So you’ve already set up your website and online shop for your business. You’ve spent hundreds and thousands of dollars to have the best web development company manage your site. You’ve delegated a single department in your company to manage the online purchase aspect of your business. All your efforts and financial investments in the marketing aspect of your business will surely pay off now and you can now sit back, relax, and watch your profits make their way to your registers.

Or maybe not.

These days, having a website and an online shop is not enough. No matter how comprehensive or visually appealing your page appears, it will be completely useless if it’s lost in millions of business and product listings in the Web. After all, the age of impulsive online purchases is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Believe it or not, people now take more time making comparisons between brands before clicking on “Buy”. Comparison Search Engines actually make this a lot easier for the average consumer. Comparison search engines may significantly increase your online presence, drive traffic to your site and eventually, increase your sales and revenue. How do you make sure that these work to your business’ advantage? By making sure you invest on Data Feed Optimization for Small Business. Google Product Search Data Feed Optimization is a good starting point since Google Product Search is considered to be the leader in comparison search engines.

Data Feed Optimization for Small Business, also known as Shopping Feed Management for Small Business, is the process of ensuring that your product feed is being interpreted by comparison shopping engines and maximized to the fullest potential, showing your products and services as search results when they are most relevant. Specifically for Google Product Search, it is a wise move to outlay on optimizing your Google Product Search Data Feed. This means that your product data feed should be developed and maintained in order that it will be correctly filed by Google Product Search. Having done this, Google Product Search will be able to display your products as relevant results for product searches made by customers.

Data Feed Optimization for Small Business also provides other benefits for your business. Aside from helping your products show up for specific product searches, it can also increase your website popularity, boost your vendor and user ratings, and enables your business to reach a large audience. Google Product Search Data Feed Optimization is a strategic way to ensure that your product is competitively displayed in terms of price, consumer reviews as indexed by Google Product Search.

However, there are a few reminders that are worth taking note of when setting up Data Feed Optimization for Small Business. First, you should make sure that prices indicated are always updated and inclusive (or otherwise, indicated) of taxes, freight, and other costs which may be incurred with the purchase. Second, establish you own metrics for your own site. This way, you can evaluate and quantify the effect of your optimization attempts. Third, your page title, product name, and description should perfectly match specific products in your catalog to avoid mix-ups. Lastly, but most importantly, check and double-check if every single product in your catalog is has been included in your data feed. Remember that every single product that does not get listed may mean lots and lots of lost sales. You don’t want that, do you?

IMAGE SOURCE: Search Engine Watch

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THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS in Mobile Marketing for Small Business

Faster than a speeding bullet, quicker than a flash of lightning, the advancement of mobile phone technology has really gone a long way and has found its way to every individual from all walks of life, all over the world. Indeed, communication using mobile phones have evolved from being “unheard of” to “indispensable. In fact, according to a report from BBC, there are over 5 billion (and growing!) mobile phone owners across the globe. Rarely do people leave their homes without their mobile phones and whether at home, in the office, or anywhere else, mobile phones are almost always kept within an arm’s reach. So from an entrepreneur’s point of view, what better way to market one’s products and services than mobile marketing. Mobile marketing for small business allows you to get as near as possible to your clients, through their mobile phones, bringing your business closer to them that the nearest mom-and-pop store. This may come in various forms such as SMS, MMS, In-Game Mobile Marketing, and QR Codes, among others.

Mobile marketing for small business may prove to be a useful tool for introducing a new business, strengthening relationship with your existing client base, acquiring new customers, or launching a new product or service, if you are able to use it well and avoid the pitfalls of the Seven Deadly Sins in Mobile Marketing.

Deadly Sin #1: Wrong Timing

Nothing pisses off customers and people, in general, than an SMS received at one o’clock in the morning or worse, not just a simple message from a friend but an SMS from this-and-that-company, offering a promo for this-and-that-product. No matter how interesting your offer may be, sending out marketing information way late into the night or very early in the morning can be a turn-off for potential customers. Any nice person whose sleep gets interrupted, except for emergency reasons, will definitely morph into a grumpy person, who is not in any way open to entertain anything from the source of the disruption. Definitely not the first impression a business would want to make.

Deadly Sin #2: SPAMarketing

Spam is defined as “unsolicited promotional content” by the Quirk Marketing Agency. Advertisements and promotional offers have the common goal of creating an emotion among potential customers, prompting them to take the next step closer to making a purchase. Spamming will surely pull the plug on your marketing efforts. Set a limit to the number of messages sent directly to your customers mobile phones. A maximum of three per day is a good cap. That way, your messages will have a better chance of being retained in mobile phones, or better yet, acted upon favorably.

Deadly Sin #3: Complicated Mobile Website Interface

Even with the advent of smart phones and other top-of-the-line mobile devices, nothing beats an easy-to-navigate, user-friendly interface for phone applications. That way, customers get to enjoy exploring your business and the benefits it has to offer.

Deadly Sin#4: Rip-Off Fees

Greed, in whatever shape, size, or color, is a killer. Though any type of business will definitely charge fees to its customers, do make sure that you do your best to help them get their money’s worth. If possible, do not charge for accessing business and product information and secure payment for just the purchase. This will be a lot more rewarding.

Deadly Sin#5: One-Way Marketing

Mobile marketing content may be created for the general audience but it doesn’t mean that it will not be flexible. Provide an avenue for customers to interact with your company and ways to customize your products and services according to their specific needs.

Deadly Sin#6: Misuse of Personal Information

Phone numbers and email addresses are just two of the most common personal information requested by companies from people visiting their websites or in mobile marketing. And the clause “We do not sell your personal information” is also one of the most overused. Make sure you keep your promise and give your customers the respect they deserve. Prove that your company is worthy of their trust, even in matters as simple as this.

Deadly Sin #7: TMI (Too Much Information) or TLI (Too Little Information)

Because mobile phones are a lot smaller than personal computers, laptops, and even tablets, the information you can share to your customers may also be limited. Limited in size, yes, but should not mean it’s not packed with the information vital to your clients. Mobile marketing for small business should not bombard customers with too much content or deprive them of too little.

Mobile marketing for small business may look simple at first glance when in fact, there is a whole science to it. Like all other marketing techniques, it should be customer-centric, and should be planned, executed, and maintained with the clients’ benefits in mind.

Image Source: cjharis.blogspot.com

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The 5 Myths on Local Small Business Internet Marketing

All businesses, regardless of industry, start out as small businesses, one way or another. It starts as an individual’s unique and creative seed idea, planted and grown with a lot of planning and analyzing in the hope that it will blossom into an industry leader, a pioneer in the particular niche in which the business is focused. In this day and age, it is very important to invest in appropriate marketing strategies so that there will be no limitations to how far your small business can go and how big it will grow. Still, there are a lot of misconceptions on how local internet marketing can help your business. Sometimes, an entrepreneur’s faulty or limited understanding of the nature of small businesses can hamper the success of the business itself. Here are a few myths about local small business internet marketing. Knowing about them makes busting them a lot easier.

MYTH #1: My business is too small to need local Internet marketing.

First off, ask yourself what is your basis for classifying a business to be “too small”? Is it based on your amount of capitalization? The size of your store or office? Do you think that your market-reach is too diminutive? Or perhaps, it is your imagination that’s too small? Your limited outlook for your business may be the one holding you back. In reality, there is no such thing as a business being too small to need local internet marketing. All businesses, regardless of perceived and actual size, need some form of local small business internet marketing. Giving your business some online presence adds a lot of credibility to all the products or services you claim to provide well.

MYTH #2: Once my “small” business has grown into a “big” business, I can minimize local internet marketing.

Nope. You cannot just do that. Local internet marketing only gets the ball rolling for our business. It’s just a start. As your business grows, the entire marketing department of your company should also be in full throttle, ready for action, as you go through the twists and turns of a budding business. This is applicable not only for Internet marketing but also for other marketing activities because these should all work together, enabling you to reach out to as large as possible a market. Failure to maintain the same level in marketing may earn your business the reputation of being “just a good starter and nothing more”.

MYTH #3: I can choose only one local internet marketing strategy, the one that works best, and forget about the rest.

With the skyrocketing increase in Internet accessibility, potential customers have never been more willing to exercise their freedom of choice. With a wide range of options, such as social networking sites, blogs, pay-per-click advertisements, company websites, it never hurts to be visible in as many sites as possible to achieve maximum exposure. Remember: Your marketing style’s effect is relative. It may or may not work depending on people’s personal preferences.

MYTH #4: I need to spend a fortune on marketing my small business.

Local small business internet marketing need not be expensive at all, especially during the early stages of your business. Explore as many options as possible. Most social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are offered for free and yet these are some of the most popular ways to introduce your business to the rest of the world and you don’t even have to spend any amount to use these. Blog sites like WordPress, Blogger, and Livejournal are also accessible without requiring any payment. Take advantage of these offers and make the most out of them to promote your products and services.

MYTH #5: Having good local internet marketing guarantees profits for my small business.

You may have the best local small business internet marketing campaign but still reap no profits or worse, suffer from big losses if you do not give equal priority for your product and company development. You should always be able to live up to your promises and claims with regard to your products and services, before the sale, during the sale, and even after making the sale.

Knowledge is Power. In the wide world of business and the Internet, the need to get your company armed and prepared for battle is an understatement. Know and understand your business, maximize available local small business Internet marketing options and your small business is on its way to being seen and getting heard all over the world.

image source: AmericanTruckersatWar

LOCAL INTERNET MARKETING: The New-Age Brochure

For most people these days, the Internet has become an indispensable tool. Whether it be for business or recreation, various types of information has become more accessible and are now “just a click away”.

The wide array of websites, including social networking sites, as well as the speedy worldwide growth of the information technology infrastructure has encouraged people to have some sort of online presence. It seems like an easy-breezy life for the ones who click away. But for those on the other side of the screen, it is can be a daunting task, which should always be taken seriously. Local internet marketing is the present and future of selling and is in itself, an autonomous business, which requires a lot of studying, planning, and organizing to ensure optimum results.

So what are the things that should be thought of before venturing into this type of promotion? There are five major aspects to make it work for you and your business, made easier for you to remember as the 3C2D of Local Internet Marketing.

Customer Relationship Management

Face it: No amount of cash spent on any form of advertising can guarantee sales for your business if you do not have customers. More importantly, priority should be given to make sure that there is a perfect balance between keeping existing customers (customer retention) and generating new client leads (customer acquisition). In any form of business, Customer is Always King. Hence, utmost care should be exercised in order that this principle is established and maintained in all aspects of the business.

Content

Because it is on the Web, you always have to assume that your company’s local internet marketing strategy can reach out to all parts of the world and is accessible to all walks of life, from varying cultures, language, educational attainment, race, and religion, among others. Consequently, all content must be free from extreme biases to these forms of human diversity. Otherwise, your business may end up in bad light, in the center of some controversy, and simply branded as an insensitive and greedy capitalist.

Consistency

Consistency should always be observed in doing business with your clients. Your marketing programs are your first contact with your customers and this leaves the first imprint in your relationship with them, therefore, you owe it to them to be consistent in your initial promises. The claims you make should always be translated to the quality of the products or services that you offer.

Development

What makes local internet marketing stand out from other forms of marketing is its ability to evolve more quickly. Product and Web development should go hand in hand and should be run at the same speed. Remember: It is a lot easier nowadays for people to notice stagnation in a business because of worldwide connectivity. Make this work to your advantage.

Design

Getting in touch with your company thru the Internet should be a holistic sensory experience. Your design should be a feast for all the senses and should surpass simply being an eye-candy for passers-by. It should prompt people to take action. It should inspire them to be partners with you.

Being in business is a commitment. Putting your business in the Web is no walk-in-the-park. Explore vast diversity of strategies and techniques at your disposal and use the above guiding principles to make them work. Local internet marketing is a science and an art in itself. It is a challenge which should be embraced by any business which seriously plans to stand out and succeed. After all, the whole world has become your neighbor now.

*Image Source: 123RF.com

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How Do You Start a Local Business Internet Marketing?

If you are considering starting a small business online, you may want to devote more time for it, more than you thought. While at the onset, it may seem obvious that a great factor in starting and running your own business is money, it is possible to launch everything online without worrying about financial support primarily. Instead, be serious about your dedication and invest more time on what you want to do and how you want your local business internet marketing to happen.

The next reality you have to face is how to get your market’s attention. Remember that there are millions of business websites. In a local setting, you could have hundreds of competitors. Don’t let the reality distract you from achieving your goals. Accept the fact that they are out there already, hungry for the same attention that you want and probably wanting more.

Expertise is Essential.
You may not consider yourself as an “expert” yet in your own niche but the trick in local social media marketing is to become one. You probably consider yourself unprepared for the possible questions and comments that you may get but think about how you are ever going to get reaction from your audience if you don’t start now.

The key is to enhance your knowledge by utilizing your local business internet marketing skills as early as today. How do you think experts became the person that they are now? It’s because they have dedicated enough time and answered their curiosity by learning and sharing the same piece of knowledge as they go.

Sharing Translates to “I know this stuff.”
How do you think successful business owners got to where they are now? Going back to what we talked about time and learning, these people also know how to spread bits of learning they know across the internet. Facebook, Twitter, Digg, YouTube and other social networking and media sites do not ask for your money. Instead, these are great tools to help your voice be heard.

Share, tweet, and broadcast what you already know. Get your creative juice pumping and don’t worry too much about your image. Your personal branding will build up once you have a steady stream of credible media that is useful for everyone. When you have managed a regular broadcast in different social media websites, you will definitely get noticed. It is only then that you have become successful in your own local business internet marketing plan without the spending money.

Think about a niche. Then, think about the best person behind that niche. If you want yourself to be that person, you can be. All that is left for you to do is to act.

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Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies Lures Emotions

Since the explosion of social media, everybody started to build their own blogs, YouTube channels, Facebook profiles & Twitter accounts among others. Aside from coffee, social media platforms have become a part of a person’s normal daily activities. It has even become more important when online marketers started using social media platforms as their primary tools to promote their clients businesses as well as their own.

But why do average users and online marketers alike care about social media so much? A study conducted by KnowledgeStorm showed statistics on what appeals most to social media users:
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Think About Location-Based Marketing for Small Business

Facebook and Twitter have both managed to become successful and maintain their service for sticking to what they are really good at. Titan social media platforms they may seem but they are not exempted from experiencing bad days. Similar to every other big or small business, the drawbacks can be immense and yet, they have managed to perform beyond their limitations.
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Start Mobile Marketing for Small Business with 5 Easy Steps

Previously, we talked about how a minor missed detail can cause your small business potential buyers. Today, let’s look into the reality of increasing your online and mobile visibility by effectively developing a local mobile marketing strategy. A small business today isn’t competitive if it’s not active in adapting to the changes of online mobility.

A research firm called Research and Markets has released a report stating that mobile search revenues will reach $8 billion by year 2015. It’s also going to take up 11 percent of the total search revenue. Imagine how your small business could benefit from and contribute to that percentage by 2015. This report alone is enough to encourage you to increase your business’ mobile visibility as early as today. If you have been doing it at a steady pace, keep up the good job but don’t stop there.
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A Local Internet Marketing Failure, Could Lose You Customers

The abundance of accessible information online to just about anything has paved way to easier local internet marketing for dedicated small business marketers. But do the buyers and sellers meet halfway?

Should there be a more concrete basis as to how local internet marketers approach their target market or does the local target audience need more awareness on how to utilize the advantages of local internet marketing?

Just recently, I have been excited using different online shopping sites in comparing prices for a watch that I would love to buy. It’s sort of like a gift to myself for doing a good job at work. I was so excited in comparing prices, that I forgot one very important aspect of online shopping. Disappointingly, I disregarded the shipping fees. Since none of the sellers are anywhere near my area or within my local radar, I felt uneasy for the extra shipping charge. At this point, I felt stressed out as I was more than ready to purchase the item online but gravely disappointed with the additional fees.
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