The Biggest Mistake In Marketing With QR Codes

January 27, 2012 – 4:15 am

At last week’s Direct Gardening Association conference, marketing with QR codes was once again a hot topic of conversation. Not only are they easy to use, but they can be of great assistance to customers when done well. What’s more, they may save you money. Rumor has it that the USPS is planning to run another sale, as they did last summer, offering a postage discount to companies that incorporate QR codes in their catalogs.

Dave Waterman of Ink-It Digital, speaking at the DGA conference on QR Codes Demystified, remarked that the single biggest mistake companies make when marketing with QR codes is not using a mobile-friendly landing page.

Anyone who is reaching your site with a QR code is viewing it on a smartphone. Keep it mind that the screen is small and scrolling is a pain … loading times can be slow … and tiny navigational links and drop-down menus can be a real problem to maneuver.  If you’re going to use QR codes, make sure you help, not frustrate, your visitors.

One of best ways to use QR codes is to link to a short sales or instructional video. For some other pointers, read A Brief Overview of Marketing With QR Codes, from our September issue of Let’s Grow newsletter.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Mobile marketing | Tagged | Leave a Comment

How To Grow Your Email List, Part 2

January 24, 2012 – 4:15 am

In our last post, we discussed some best practices for maximizing email sign-ups on your website. Today, we have suggestions for 10 more places to promote email list growth.

1. Email signature. You can provide a signup box right in your email signature, or link to past enewsletter issues.

2. Packing slips. There’s usually free space on packing slips. Why not use it to advertise your enewsletter and grow your email list?

3. Facebook tab. Add a custom tab highlighting the benefits of joining your email list, with a signup box right on the page.

4. Facebook wall. You can also post links to published newsletters on your Facebook wall, as well as mention what topics will be covered in future newsletters.

5. Blog. It’s likely that many blog readers found you through search, and may not be aware of your enewsletter or email promotions. Periodically link to your enewsletter and encourage subscriptions in your blog.

6. Catalog. Encourage email signups in your catalog. It’s likely to reach more prospective buyers than any other vehicle with the possible exception of your website.

7. Inbound calls. When you have a happy customer on the phone, invite them to receive your gardening tips and/or special offers.

8. In store. If you have a retail store, make sure visitors are aware of your email list. Place sign-up cards at the counter, and pass them out at events.

9. Word of mouth. Ask readers to forward your emails to friends. Place social sharing links on every email to encourage links on Facebook, Twitter and the like.

10. Reciprocal mentions. Partner with non-competitive companies who sell to the same market. Highlight the other company in your enewsletter and have them do the same for you.

There are a myriad of ways to grow your email list, most costing little to nothing. The larger your list, the more income you can generate from each mailing, so why not make the most of it?

These are only a sampling of the possibilities. What other methods have worked for you?

By Val Gosset | Posted in Email marketing, Enewsletters | Tagged | Leave a Comment

How to Grow Your Email List, Part 1

January 17, 2012 – 4:15 am

Recently, a lot of companies have been asking about growing their email list. It’s one of the best ways to leverage your marketing efforts, as it costs virtually no more to email 100,000 subscribers as it does 1,000.

Astonishingly, most companies miss one opportunity after another to increase their email list. In this two-part series, we’ll offer some suggestions for changing that. We’ll start by focusing on small website modificaitons that can boost your email signups.

Make Sign-Up Prominent. It’s common sense: the more prominent you make your email signup box, the more subscribers you’ll get. A colorful signup box is far easier to spot than a subtle link. Place it above the fold, and include it on every page.

Offer Benefits. It’s amazing how often companies ask website visitors to sign up for emails without giving them any reason to do so. Always offer benefits, perhaps even a discount or a free gift. For some examples, have a look at our posts on Email Signup Best Practices: A Great Example and An Email Opt-in With Finesse.

Set Expectations. Will subscribers receive useful information, discounts and offers, or both? How often will they receive emails? Letting people know what to expect will reduce their hesitation. If possible, allow them to adjust their preferences.

Archive Past Newsletters. If you’re publishing an enewsletter, don’t just tell subscribers what they’ll receive. Show them! Archiving past issues on your site will boost not only subscriptions, but search engine rankings as well.

Keep Signup Simple. If your goal is to maximize the size of your list, a sign-up box that requires only an email address is best. Keep other questions to a minimum, and don’t make answers mandatory.

Of course, websites are only one of many places to solicit email subscriptions. In our next post, we’ll suggest a number of others.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Email marketing, Enewsletters | Tagged | Leave a Comment

What’s Your Breakeven Advertising Budget?

January 12, 2012 – 4:15 am

Most companies think of advertising as a means of growing sales. That’s all well and good, but prospecting is necessary just to stay in place. To determine your breakeven advertising budget, you must answer two critical questions:

1. What’s your attrition rate? Count all the people who bought from you in 2010. How many of those same people bought again in 2011? The percentage difference is your attrition rate. You need to make up those lost buyers just to stay in place, before any growth can occur.

2. How much does it cost you to acquire a new customer? Using historical data, determine what it costs you on average to acquire a new customer.

Multiply the number of people who have bought from you over the last twelve months times your attrition rate times the average cost to acquire a customer, and there you go: The resulting number is how much need to spend in order to simply stay even with last year.

Too many companies think that they can save money in a down economy by eliminating prospecting. What many don’t realize is how important it is to keep prospecting simply to stay in place. Strong buyer files are the lifeblood of every company, and letting those drop too low can send you into a death spiral from which it’s difficult to recover.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Advertising, Marketing | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Welcome, WamBam Fence!

January 10, 2012 – 4:15 am

We’re pleased to welcome WamBam Fence of Cornelius, NC as a new client. Their clever digless fence system, available in both vinyl and aluminum, provides an affordable solution for pool and yard fencing. With free shipping, superb customer service, flexible design options, and professional quality fencing, they offer a remarkable combination of advantages. We’re looking forward to helping them grow!

By Val Gosset | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

A Clever Use of the Bandwagon Effect

January 6, 2012 – 4:15 am

Marketers have long relied on the bandwagon effect to increase sales. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, the bandwagon effect means that “the probability of any individual adopting [particular conduct or beliefs] increases with the proportion who have already done so.”

River Pools & Spas, which was the subject of our last blog post, cleverly uses the bandwagon effect on their website by using a visual representation. Prominently displayed on their home page is the headline Interactive Pool Map: How many fiberglass pools have we installed near you?

Below that, an area map displays hundreds of Google Places icons, each one representing one of the hundreds of pools the company has installed. Click on any icon, and a pop-up window with the address of the installation appears.  A pretty nifty way of demonstrating that “more and more people are buying River Pool & Spas pools” – and an easy technique to adapt to almost any business.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Advertising, Marketing | Tagged | Leave a Comment

A Superb Example of Using Content to Sell

January 3, 2012 – 4:15 am

I love finding great marketing techniques from other industries that could be applied to the gardening industry. The latest that I’ve come across is from River Pools & Spas, a fiberglass pool company based in Warsaw, Virginia.

Judging from their website, the company understands that their prospects require a lot of education and hand-holding before they’re ready to buy. Not only is the site jam-packed with valuable information, but the way it’s organized is also instructive.

Despite the huge amount of content, it’s easy for the site visitor to find what they need quickly, without getting overwhelmed. What’s more, there are multiple routes to the same information, which allows River Pools to emphasize different benefits in different places.

For instance, four of the eight top navigational links lead to information sections:

• Pool Information/Pricing. (Drop-down choices include Where do I begin?, FAQs, and Pool myths and misconceptions.)

• Photo Gallery.  (Visitors can select pools, patios, fences, water features, pool tiles and retaining walls.)

• Awesome Blog (Which appears to answer every question River Pools has ever been asked.)

• Free Stuff (Visitors can download a Pool Buying Guide or order a Fiberglass Pool DVD.)

Even more prominent are the four large red buttons towards the top of the home page, which lead visitors down the appropriate path, depending on where they are in the buying cycle. The buttons read:

• Inground Pool 101: A collection of our most popular articles

• Get Our Free Fiberglass Pool Buying Guide

• Fiberglass Pool DVD: Educational and Free

• I think I’m ready for a pool quote!

If you’re convinced of the value of using content to sell, studying the River Pools website is sure to provide plenty of inspiration.

 

By Val Gosset | Posted in Marketing, Website design | Tagged | Leave a Comment

Cross-Promoting Your Enewsletter on Facebook

December 13, 2011 – 4:15 am

If you publish an enewsletter and have a company Facebook page, are you doing everything possible to cross-promote them? Here are a few suggestions:

• Include a sign-up tab. In addition to the standard Facebook tabs, such as “Wall” and “Info,” you can add your own custom tabs. Consider including one that highlights the benefits of your enewsletter and includes a sign-up form, so visitors never have to leave Facebook to subscribe.

• Promote before you publish. Have a newsletter coming out in a day or two? Publish something  on your wall letting your fans know what they’ll miss if they’re not subscribers.

• Post a link to your enewsletter. After you’ve published your newsletter, share a link to it on your Facebook wall, and encourage fans to subscribe.

• Use Facebook content in your newsletter. If your Facebook wall includes a particularly interesting recent discussion, reference it in your newsletter and encourage subscribers to visit your Facebook Page for more details.

Don’t assume that your Facebook fans are already familiar with your enewsletter, and vice versa. Cross promote the two at every opportunity! What other strategies do you use to cross-fertilize your Facebook page and enewsletter?

By Val Gosset | Posted in Enewsletters, Facebook | Leave a Comment

5 Best Ways to Achieve Your Goals

November 29, 2011 – 4:15 am

As the year draws to an end, it’s time to review what worked and what didn’t, and plan the year ahead. Do you set the same goals year after year, without ever reaching them? Do you simply hope for the best, without ever setting goals? Here are 5 key strategies for taking success into your own hands:

1. Write Your Goals Down. It’s not surprising that most people don’t reach their goals; most people never even set them. Consider what you want to accomplish in 2012 and write it down. That one step will put you way ahead of 95% of the population.

2. Keep Your Goals in Front of You. I keep mine in a plastic sleeve on top of my desk, where I see them every day. A bulletin board or your bathroom mirror can be just as effective. Unless you keep your goals top of mind, they’re likely to take a back burner to putting out fires, and endless small tasks that won’t take your business to the next level.

3. Take Small Steps. Some “stretch” goals can appear so daunting that tackling them is discouraging. Break them down into a series of small, manageable steps. Every week, do something to bring you closer to each goal. Celebrate your accomplishments along the way. Before you know it, the seemingly impossible will be very much within reach.

4. Avoid the Naysayers. Some people cling to the status quo. After all, if you don’t try, then it’s impossible to fail! Their reaction is often to find fault with every new idea — often couched with the caveat “I’m only being realistic.” Learn to recognize the people around you with this personality type, and don’t share your goals with them. You’ll only let their insecurity get in the way of your accomplishments.

5. Develop a Support Team. Reaching your goals can be far easier when you have people who understand you and your business to support you, brainstorm with you, challenge you, hold you accountable, and cheer you on.

Such a support team can take many different forms, including mastermind groups and business coaching. Our new Garden Industry Peer Success Group incorporates both, giving you a wealth of support at an extremely affordable price. Registration closes Thursday, December 1, so find out more and register now!

By Val Gosset | Posted in Goals | Leave a Comment

How to Make 2012 Your Best Year Yet

November 22, 2011 – 11:49 pm

Would you like to make 2012 your best year yet? It’s easier than you may think. Here’s why I say that:

About 15 years ago, I made one of the most important business moves of my career. I joined a mastermind group, a group of five fellow entrepreneurs who have met monthly ever since to support each other in achieving our goals. They’ve served as an invaluable sounding board … suggested strategies I never would have thought of … encouraged me to venture into new territory … and held me accountable for reaching my goals. Without them, I never would have achieved the success I enjoy today.

That’s why I was delighted when my long-time friend, certified business coach Valerie Taloni, suggested that we team up to offer Peer Success Groups to Let’s Grow blog and newsletter subscribers. Peer Success Groups combine all the benefits of a traditional mastermind group with the Best Year Yet(R) goal planning and implementation system PLUS business and marketing coaching.

To find out more, click here to read the details. Registration closes Thursday, December 1 and space is limited, so please don’t delay.

I hope you’ll join us!

By Val Gosset | Posted in Goals, Marketing | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment
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