The Big 7 Steps: What Every Small Business Needs to Know About Sales & Marketing

THE BIG 7 What Every Small Business Needs to Know About Sales and Marketing 1 ATTRACT TRAFFIC Use social media, SEO and PPC SOCIAL MEDIA: Attract leads to your site with attention-grabbing content by starting a blog and sharing recent posts on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Linkedln. 50% of small business owners reported gaining new customers through social media – particularly through Facebook and Linkedln' SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO): Use SEO to get your website found by people who search for a product or service you offer on sites like Google. PPC: Pay Per Click advertising enables you to boost online traffic by paying a certain amount to promote link clicks to your site. S.S. Bait CAPTURE LEADS 2 Entice leads to give you their contact info COMPELLING CONTENT: Create interactive lead magnets that encourage visitors to sign up to receive your content. LANDING PAGES: Your landing page copy should be short, concise and speak directly to the targeted audience you are trying to reach. Make sure you have a direct call to action that is rewarding for people to complete. The fewer fields on the web form that the subscriber has to fill out, the better. Try sticking to simply their name and email address. INSPIRE TRUST: Demonstrate your expertise by placing testimonials, awards and social proof* alongside web forms where it is easy for your leads to see. *SOCIAL PROOF: The positive third-party validation that occurs when someone finds out that others are doing something. 3. NURTURE PROSPECTS Develop trust to increase interest and engagement Personalized emails improve: ESTABLISH A COMMUNICATIONS RHYTHM: Create a consistent timeline for your nurture campaign that fulfills the needs of your prospects and your business. click-through & conversion rates by 10% rates by 14% PERSONALIZE COMMUNICATIONS: Make your emails personal and relevant to the reader by providing content that speaks to the specific wants and needs they've communicated to you. CONVERT SALES 4 Turn browsers into buyers E-COMMERCE: Handle online purchase anxiety upfront by displaying a clear and easily accessible return, refund or replacement policy and FAQ list. PERSONAL SELLING: Optimize your sales process and improve the productivity of your sales team by having your customer relationship management (CRM) system automatically identify and respond to key actions by prospects, identify hot leads and distribute them based on specific factors, like industry and geography. 5 DELIVER & SATISFY Happy customers are loyal customers KEEP YOUR PROMISES: Then surprise and delight customers by sending loyal customers exclusive offers based on their preferences and buying habits. Even in a challenging economy, customer experience is a high priority. 60% of consumers often or always pay more for a better experience 3 UPSELL CUSTOMERS 6 Develop relationships with customers DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS: Communicate with existing customers through follow-up messaging about complementary products and services they may be interested in based off of purchase history. CREATE A LONG TERM UPSELL STRATEGY: This can help grow recurring revenue over time. 7 GET REFERRALS Ask loyal customers to spread the word THE KEY: Getting referrals from happy Happy customers who get their issue resolved tell four to six people customers is simple - you just have to ask. And, don't forget to reward customers for their referrals with a thank you gift. about their experience 4 ENCOURAGE REFERRALS: This can be done with a great partner referral program. YOU CAN DO THIS No matter what kind of small business you own, these basic steps form a complete map for sales and marketing success, from attracting and capturing leads, to growing sales, to keeping your customers happy and saving time. An integrated sales and marketing plan based on this platform will transform your business and fuel your entrepreneurial passion. Infusionsoft. SOURCES: 'Mediabistro | 2Aberdeen Group | Harris Interactive | White House Office of Consumer Affairs, Washington, DC >>>>> >>