Promo & Marketing Wall

Business Conundrum: Strategies for Letting Customers Know About Price Increases

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Chris Wallace

No one likes paying more money. But price increases happen, and are necessary. The question is, how do you break the news to your regular customers? Here are some strategies to consider.

Strategies for developing your message:

Make sure you understand the reason for the increase. This might sound like a no-brainer, but it’s important for you and your employees to be able to articulate a reason for an increase (beyond “it’s time”). Are you increasing prices because costs are going up? To be more in line with competitors? Because you haven’t increased prices in X years? We’re not suggesting you question your motives or that you feel guilty for raising prices. Instead, we’re recommending that you can clearly articulate your reasons because this will help with the next strategy.
Determine which of these reasons, if any, you’ll share with your customers. Your customers might not necessarily care that you haven’t raised prices in two years or that your costs for x, y, z have gone up. Price increases always hurt because, as consumers, we’re thinking about our pocketbooks first. Still, depending on your customer base, certain reasons might be more compelling than others. For example, if you run a local coffee shop, and you need to increase prices to compete with the large chain that moved in down the street, that message might resonate with certain customers who are committed to buying from local-based businesses.
Think about how you’ll handle negative reactions, questions, and concerns. Once you’ve developed your message and set your prices, you’ll want to make sure you’ve gotten your staff up to speed on the changes, including suggestions for dealing with negative reactions, the process for helping customers cancel their products or services, and answers to commonly asked questions.

Strategies for letting your customers know about price increases:

If you have a storefront or office where customers visit, be sure to post notices, specifically at any reception and/or checkout area. The notice should include what services/products are being affected, the price increase, and the date the increase will take effect. Try giving as much notice as possible, ideally 30 days. After the rate increase, post slightly different notices that explain you’ve recently increased your rates. Another recommendation: at the end of the notice, have a “for more information” line along with a dedicated landing page on your website.

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Posted in Customer Relations, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged pricing strategies | Leave a comment

How to Use Video to Boost Customer Engagement

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Allison Rice

Video Marketing Tips You Can Use NOW!

If you spend any amount of time online, it’s almost impossible to avoid videos—videos of cats, celebrities, songs, Internet memes (hello, Harlem Shake), and much, much more. Videos are an extremely effective way of communicating with and engaging people, so it’s no wonder that more and more businesses are trying to figure out what role video will play in their own marketing mix.

So let’s take a deeper dive into video marketing: why is it so important, what makes for good video, and how can you use video to boost customer engagement.

Why is video marketing so important?

Videos help convert people into paying customers. In fact, according to this article in Social Times, “Customers that watch videos of products or services are 85% more likely to make a purchase.”
Videos come up in search. YouTube boasted earlier this year that more than one billion unique visitors visit YouTube each month.

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Posted in Customer Relations, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged video marketing | Leave a comment

Crowdfunding 101: What It is, Why it Matters, and How to Choose the Right Platform

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Chris Wallace

Crowdfunding is a phrase we’re hearing more and more, so we thought it would make sense to do a post on the who, what, where, when, and why around this popular topic. Let’s get to it.

What, exactly, is crowdfunding?
One of the best visual examples we can offer is this: you know that scene at the end of the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life where all of George Bailey’s friends and family show up at his house on Christmas Eve and offer money (thanks to a call made by George’s wife) to help save him from the evil Mr. Potter? That’s crowdfunding at work.

Crowdfunding is when a group of people collectively pool their money to support a specific endeavor. It could be a business endeavor (e.g. funding the manufacturing of a new product), a creative endeavor (funding a film), or charitable endeavor (funding a nonprofit’s specific need, like a new roof on a soup kitchen). Monetary donations can range from small, like one dollar, all the way up into the thousands.

On crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, the person or organization creating the campaign sets a monetary goal and deadline (such as one month). If the monetary goal is met, the endeavor (whatever it is) moves forward. If the monetary goal isn’t met, then the endeavor *usually* doesn’t happen (and donors aren’t charged). The crowdfunding site *usually* gets a percentage of the funds raised IF the campaign is successfully funded and moves forward. We say “usually” because other crowdfunding platforms do exist that employ different models, such as a personal “stake” in the venture in exchange for funds. Bottom line: before choosing a crowdfunding platform, it’s important to understand the model it’s using. Always read the fine print. Continue reading →

Posted in Amsterdam Printing, Fundraising, Ideas, Non-Profits, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged crowdfunding | Leave a comment

What’s in a Name? Here Are 4 Things to Think About When Naming New Products and Services

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Allison Rice

Bonus Content: Learn Strategies for Coming Up with Names

It’s easy to think that naming a new product, service, or business simply involves brainstorming ideas, testing the ideas out on some people, and choosing a name. But to do it right, it’s more involved than that. Here are four things to keep in mind when naming new products or services.

1. Does it quickly communicate what the product or service is? Unless you can pour thousands of dollars into developing and marketing an abstract name (e.g. Google), it makes more sense to come up with a name that communicates what the product or service is. Here are two examples: PayPal and OkCupid. They’re effective because you immediately get a sense of what each one is about. They’re also effective because they’re short and punchy, and also alliterative. An example of an ineffective brand name? Verbal branding specialist Nancy Friedman recently discussed this gem: Mycestro. Any idea what that product might be? (We’re guessing probably not.)
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Posted in Brand Awareness, Branding, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged naming new products | Leave a comment

After-Hours Audit: How Well Does Your Business Operate Off Hours?

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Chris Wallace

Customer Relations: 4 Tips for Evaluating What Your Business is Doing Right and Wrong After Hours…and How to Fix Any Issues

Sure, you deliver outstanding service during business hours. But what happens on the weekends, the evenings, or in the middle of the night? Since we live in a 24/7 world, often times people look for the products and services they need after hours. So, how does your business measure up?

Here are four things to check.

1. How does your after-hours voice mail sound? Does your voice mail clearly state your hours of operation? If you have a company directory, is it easy to access and follow? Does the voice mail provide important information, such as your website? You want your after-hours voice messaging to be friendly, clear, and efficient. Avoid complex paths and number prompts. The best way to test it is to have a couple of friends or family members try out the system. Give your testers a specific task, such as contacting support, and see how easily they’re able to accomplish this task. Listen to their feedback, and adjust the system accordingly.

2. What’s the process for after-hours support requests and/or emergencies? Some businesses, such as IT and emergency services (e.g. veterinary offices), offer emergency contact info. How does this process work? You should make sure this information is available in multiple areas: through your after-hours voice mail that we mention above, but this info should also be in a prominent location (or multiple locations) on your website and, ideally, on various social media, like Facebook. Remember, when people have an emergency, they may be nervous, upset, and not thinking clearly, which is why you need to offer this information in multiple locations and make it as clear as possible.

The other thing to check is this: once people have the emergency information they need, how easy is that whole process? Test it yourself if you have to. Call the support number or send an email and see how well your staff responds.

3. How fast does your staff respond to non-emergency messages and emails that are left after-hours? Again, the best way to find out is to test this. Submit a fake name through a form on your website, and have a family member leave a fake name/message on a voice mail. If your staff doesn’t follow up as fast as you’d like, use it as a teachable moment and provide some fresh training.

4. Do the marketing messages you use in your after-hours communications reflect the messages you use during business hours? For example, if one of the messages you promote is how fast you respond to customer calls and requests, how do you handle this message during off-hours and on weekends? We’re not suggesting you need to have someone on staff 24/7 to field calls and emails. You just want to make sure you’re not promising one thing and delivering another. So, in this example, be clear: “We respond to all requests made during business hours within 2-3 hours. We respond to all requests made after hours within half a day.” (You get the idea.)

How about you? Have you ever evaluated how your business works after hours? What are some things you test? Share in the comments.

Posted in Customer Relations, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Resource | Tagged customer relations, small business marketing tips | Leave a comment

5 Things Your Employees Can Do to Help Promote Your Business

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Chris Wallace

If you have employees, even just one or two, they can serve as your own pseudo sales force off hours. The good news? If you treat your employees well (you do, right?), they’re usually more than happy to spread the word about your company, if you show them how. Here are five things you can ask them to do.

Two important notes: We don’t recommend bombarding your employees with all of these ideas at once. Pick and choose what makes sense, or give them a run-down of the ways they can help and let them choose what works for them. And we weren’t joking above when we mentioned the part about treating your employees well. The ideas we outline below will only be embraced by employees who are genuinely happy in their jobs. That’s the foundation you need to build first.

So let’s first talk about ways to build that strong foundation:

Listen to your employees. We mean really listen to them. Address grumblings, complaints, and dissatisfaction swiftly and fairly.
Invite their feedback and their participation. If they have a marketing idea, seriously consider it. If it’s a good idea and you implement it, give your employee kudos for the idea (and perhaps a bonus if the idea yields sales).
Create an open, welcoming culture. From subtle things like incorporating an open floor plan to more direct examples, such as the business owner making an effort of stopping to talk to everyone every day, the company vibe will go a long way in determining whether employees will want to help promote you or not.
Share the wealth. Bonuses, monetary or otherwise, are not only great incentives, but also great gestures for a job well done. And if your employees are going to promote you outside of their normal business hours and help increase sales, they should receive some sort of perk for doing so.
Provide regular training. As you roll out new products or services, make sure everyone on your staff, from reception on up, understands the new products/services and their features and benefits.
Provide resources. Make sure your staff has plenty of resources at their fingertips so that if someone they know has a question or wants more information, they can easily access the info and freely share it.