twelveoaksgroup.net » marketing

You Are the Expert

Elizabeth — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:05:28 +0000

Give away your knowledge and market yourself as the expert! Your knowledge and experience within your industry is invaluable and by offering it to others you will increase your credibility in the eye of the consumer and your peers which in turn yields sales. There’s no doubt this will require some invested time and thoughtfulness, and you may even give away secrets to your competition, but if you’re offering valuable information and it has your name attached to it, people will know where to go when they’re ready to spend their money.

Get creative! This is a fun way to market and connect with your customers and it doesn’t have to be complicated. There are a variety of ways to disseminate your information; think Facebook, email, Twitter, website, blog, Youtube, radio, newspaper, podcasts, or letters. Then think about what you’d like to offer up –this of course should relate back to your business. Could you share articles or books, DIY project ideas, money saver ideas, tip and tricks, offer guidance to others in your industry, share interesting facts, or the latest trends? The truth is, whether your business is just starting out or you’re an old pro, if you can offer people relevant information; increased trust and sales will be close behind!

Need more ideas or help executing your own ideas? See what Twelve Oaks Group can offer your small business!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth McPhail grew up learning about the trials, tribulations, and perks of small family-owned business. She creates and maintains websites and blogs, and in her spare time can be found on the water boating!

Mom and Pop CAN Go Virtual

Elizabeth — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:08:24 +0000

For small business owners the thought of a website can be a daunting idea. Limited time, skills or budget is enough to turn many away, and can be the demise of existing sites. Allow me to clear the air and bring a new perspective…

Fact: Today’s consumer turns to the internet before the phone book. We go there for reviews, pricing, hours of operation, contact info, latest happenings, buying, comparison, location, videos and pictures –to name a few. If a small business is able to address even some of these key issues with their website, they will inevitably reach new customers, save time spent on the phone, and have a leg up over competitors.

Fiction: Websites need to be updated all the time. Yeah, it’s great to keep potential customers in the loop about what’s happening with your business, but this info doesn’t have to be posted to your website. If site maintenance is of concern to you, you’re better off omitting time sensitive information to avoid outdated pages.

Fact: Sometimes less is more. If you don’t have the budget or skills to create a site with all the bells and whistles, that’s not a deal breaker. Websites should be clean, informative, and functional. Simplicity in many cases will provide the user with the information they need, and will allow them to take the next step by visiting your business in person.

For more information about how a website might benefit your small biz or to get pricing info, please contact Twelve Oaks Group. It maybe more affordable than you think!

Elizabeth

Branding Your Small Biz

Elizabeth — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 17:51:27 +0000

Big-businesses can offer product or service with a “take it or leave it” attitude –small businesses however, are not afforded this luxury. The little guys –in an effort to stay in the game or grow—are often left to tweak the image of their product or service in different situations so that meaningful messages are conveyed to potential customers at all times. This creates a tricky situation for branding consistency. Below are a few things to keep in mind as you strive to brand and grow your business.

1) Potential customers need to have a clear understanding of what and who your business is before they will buy anything.

If your business is not self-explanatory, it’s important that you convey clear and concise messages about what you have to offer and the application of it –think elevator speech, and then where you’re going to publicize that info. If your business is self-explanatory, think about the image you’d like to convey to people and how you might set yourself apart from other businesses like yours.

2) Keep everyone on the same page.

It’s Important that businesses strive for consistency and cohesion with all publicized info. The way information is presented on Twitter, Facebook, and websites varies greatly, but because each of these platforms is so effective at relating to the customer on different levels, there is immense opportunity to enhance the image of your business. That being said, it’s important the customer doesn’t receive conflicting ideas. Social media admin need to have a clear understanding of what the short-term and long-term marketing objectives are and an overall understanding of how to put forth info and respond to comments in a way that aligns with the priorities and values of the business.

3) Maintain consistent logos, colors, and fonts.

While you may be a long way from the widely-recognized Swoosh, it’s important to remain consistent with these nuances. Some brand recognition is better than none. Brochures, business cards, website headers, etc. should all maintain the same look and color scheme.

Small-business is full of compromise. Next time you find yourself at a crossroads, weigh your options and stay mindful of your business branding. Would you like some hands-on assistance? See what Twelve Oaks Group has to offer.

Elizabeth

Why Not Being Active On Yelp Is Costing You Business

Twelve Oaks Group — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:00:53 +0000

According to Search Engine Land, there were two dominant websites for online business reviews in the early 2000s. The site brought to the forefront that there was a new leader at the top of the ladder whose name was Yelp — and this was back in 2009. Now while the original study was conducted in 2009, it does verify why not being active on Yelp is costing you business.

Fast forward to March, 2011, and Yelp appeared on HubSpot’s The Ultimate List: 50 Local Business Directories. What is so notable about it is that Yelp was number 4 out of 50 with only Google, Bing and Yahoo! being ahead of them.

Now that’s mighty impressive!

The bottom line is that if you’re not active on Yelp, it could be costing your business. No, I’m not talking about signing up for a business account at Yelp; anyone that is a small business can do that. What I’m talking about is really becoming active and using Yelp to its full potential . Let’s see how.

Missed Local Search Visibility

Say you are looking for a website design company – say Twelve Oaks Group — if you are not listed in Yelp’s directory, you have missed an opportunity for a potential client to contact you — and that means you could be losing sales! Yelp had over 71 million visitors to their site in Q1, 2012. Don’t miss out!

Related to missed sales is Yelp is a way to connect customers to your small business by offering deals. A deal is you making an offer through Yelp to buy a certificate that’s being offered by a third-party vendor. Or, you could become the third-party.

Missed Recommendations

Yelp is a great way to review businesses, as well as receive feedback from other businesses. According to Yelp, “Yelp Business Accounts allow businesses to share information with the Yelp Community. Simply put, it’s word of mouth — amplified.”

Missed Networking Opportunities

When you think about it, Yelp is a super place to network with other business. You would miss out on that rapport you can get by not:

getting in touch with people who can be of help to you,
collecting and updating their contact information or
maintaining regular communication with messages to and from other businesses.

Missed Reporting

Besides the “misses” listed above, there is one more I want to bring to your attention. Everyone wants to know how their small business is doing once they sign up for a subscription to a site like Yelp. They understand this and have a way for you to track your company’s progress. If you don’t have a gauge for how your business is doing, how can you hope to improve? Yelp takes care of that with up-to-date trends and statistics.

I’ve given you quite a lot to think about, now haven’t I? The bottom line is that not being active on Yelp is costing you business. So I recommend you hop to it now and sign up for Yelp.

Image from Yelp FAQ

Twelve Oaks Group

Tennessee-based Twelve Oak Group is unique in its approach to its customers. Each team member is committed to helping grow small business, making local government more accessible, and enhancing communities with their web design and consulting services expertise. We will not deviate from this approach!

Twelve Oaks Group Has 5 Incredible Opportunities Where Small Businesses Can Use QR Codes

Pam — Fri, 25 May 2012 23:35:54 +0000

The use of QR codes has its advantages. But first, before Twelve Oaks Group examines where small businesses can use QR codes, let’s first take a look at what QR codes are.

QR is short for Quick Response. They are a two-dimensional coding that is meant to be read with a special QR reader that will read the code — like your smartphone. Why not check your phone right now and see if your phone has an app for QR reading.

Once upon a time, the QR code was first used in the automotive industry. According to Wikipedia, “More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardized kinds…” But, I won’t bore you with the details of those kinds. Instead, let’s get into the 5 incredible opportunities where small businesses can use QR codes.

Social Media Platforms

According to Biznik, “There is a large variety of uses and potential uses for QR codes and social media:

• Links to maps
• Scavenger hunts
• Landing pages for customers/web traffic/blog readers
• Confirming that someone is actually at a specific event (a type of check-in)
• Business cards, labels, stickers, etc”

Business Cards

Your business cards are the second potent opportunity small businesses have for using QR codes. You can have a QR code included on your business card and use it to direct customers or clients to your business website or promotional offer.

Packaging Products

Here’s another idea for you. If you send packages to your customers, why not attach a QR code to the outside of the package and direct them to some of your online guides or presentations about using your product. Or, you can have the QR code direct the customer to a manual that will provide them with tips on how to use your product. Now Twelve Oaks Group thinks this is one incredible opportunity to drive sales.

Press Releases

Anytime you have an opportunity to use press releases to increase the visibility for your small business, you should definitely take advantage of them as press releases are an excellent technique to draw in traffic. Adding QR codes to your press release can be an added way to highlight your business even more, as well as making the press release more user friendly. All the reader would need to do would be to scan your QR code with your smartphone and immediately be taken to your website for more information.

Printed Advertisements

The last and 5th powerful opportunity where small businesses can increase your brand awareness is through the use of QR codes. Look around. More and more businesses are incorporating the use of QR codes on promotional products and marketing materials. Once the customer scans the QR code, they gain access to information on a business — your business. What could be better?

Twelve Oaks Group knows that small business needs every advantage in order to compete with not only their local competitors, but also the larger “big box” stores. Throughout this post, we’ve started you out with 5 incredible opportunities where small businesses can use QR codes. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg. As you go through your day, start looking at other ways other businesses have used QR codes. Or, if you need other web services, why not contact us at (731) 337- 4330. We have a wide variety.

Image Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Pam

Pam Lokker is a master writer and proficient virtual assistant, as well as being Co-owner of Borlok Virtual Assistants.

In addition, Pam is Customer Service and Content Manager for the Twelve Oaks Group.

Building an Email Marketing List – This is Easy!

Nathan — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:57:57 +0000

We’ve long said that e-mail marketing (mailing lists) are one of the best ways to reach your customers. We’ll be sharing our thoughts and tips in the near future, but an article on Entrepreneur.com today caught my eye.

The article offers “5 Ways to Build a Solid Email Marketing List”. To forewarn you, 4 of the 5 are really the same thing, but it’s worth repeating… If you’re serious about e-mail marketing, always include an opt-in form on your website (in several places!).

Here’s what Entrepreneur.com says to keep in mind when creating an opt-in form:

• Generally, the less information you require to opt in, the more sign-ups you’ll receive. Most webmasters find that requiring only an email address and first name — or even just an email address — results in the highest opt-in rates.

• You’ll also get better results if you offer a bonus for providing your email address. Many merchants find that delivering a coupon code or free e-book encourages more sign-ups.

• Depending on the email marketing services provider you’ve chosen, you may be able to split test your opt-in form. If so, try designing two different versions of your form that will be displayed randomly to visitors and will help you determine the most effective approach.

”5 Ways to Build a Solid Email Marketing List” – Entreprenuer.com

One thing you need to remember:

You need to strike while the iron is hot. If you’re collecting e-mail addresses in an opt-in list, you’d better start sending e-mails to your subscribers quickly. If people don’t remember signing up, they may immediately unsubscribe or worse, mark your message as “Spam” (which may prevent your message from being delivered to others!).

Are you interested in e-mail marketing for your business? If all of this seems overwhelming, or you just don’t have enough time to manage it yourself, the Twelve Oaks Group has experts who will take the lead in everything from developing your opt-in form, to actually writing content for your newsletter or promotional e-mail. Contact us today at sales@twelveoaksgroup.net or call (731) 337-4330.

Nathan

Nathan Reed is a spastic online entrepreneur. Since 1997, Nathan has developed online solutions for non-profits, small business, and local governments. Nathan is the owner and founder of the Twelve Oaks Group.