20 Aug, 2018

Ecommerce Micro-Moments It all starts with a consumer’s smartphone, which most of us have come to rely on as our own personal assistants. When a smartphone user, for example, voice searches “where to eat ribs in Philadelphia,” this is a micro-moment. Why? Because it’s a tiny point along the customer journey. That one sliver of time could be a winning one for you, especially if you own a Philadelphia rib restaurant. Here’s another example: a shopper uses her phone to search for an alpaca sweater.

09 Aug, 2018

Tips on Building Emotional Connections with Customers Here are a few tips on how to build better emotional connections with customers:  1. Give them a sense of comfort and order. Customers need to know that they are in capable hands. Is your sales process well organized and consistent? You need to help guide the customer through the process and answer their questions with confidence along the way. Even if customers are already well informed about your product and have done their research — even

30 Jul, 2018

Shape Your Social Media Copy with Help from These Companies To create a social media strategy that gets results, it can help to learn from companies that have already found success on those platforms. In this post on the AMA Consulting Services blog, Andrew Adderley shares some examples of companies that you can learn from. Boost Engagement in Your Social Marketing Campaigns Creating great content for social media can only get you so far. You also need to find ways to encourage followers to

23 Jul, 2018

If you’re trying to launch a new product or build revenue, you can quickly be hobbled by the 49 percent of consumers who will take their business elsewhere if they’re unsatisfied. Lackluster training programs cause many of these issues. They do not ensure each new employee is given the necessary skills to meet customer expectations. The team behind TalentCards saw this gap as an opportunity to give employers a better solution. Their basic formula works well as a best training practices guide.

25 Jun, 2018

Creating a website is one of the most important things you’ll do when getting your business up and running. It can help you market your offerings, communicate with customers and complete sales. So you need to be very intentional about how you create it and then constantly work to improve it going forward. Here are some tips from members of the online small business community to help you create the best possible website for your business.   1. Clearly Define Your Goals While we should always

12 Jun, 2018

​If people have asked questions about your business through Google — good or bad — they’ll appear here. It’ll show if you’ve been asked and haven’t answered, and it will show customer answers to other customer questions. And, according to reputation management expert Mike Blumenthal of GetFiveStars.com, the best thing your small business can do with this new section is get ahead of it. That means asking and answering questions about your small business.  Google Questions and Answers for Small

04 Jun, 2018

When it comes to gathering marketing intel, only 56 percent of small businesses with 11 to 50 employees dedicate someone to the task. And only 32 percent of businesses with 1 to 10 employees do so. In its 2018 State of Market Intelligence Report, provider Crayon highlights the importance of market intelligence in a world where massive amounts of data are being generated by consumers and organizations alike. The report looks at the field of market research and intelligence along with the best

30 May, 2018

One of the biggest limitations of using a personal account is in the design of your emails. If you’re not a professional designer, it’s tough to create emails that actually match your brand and make your business look professional. Other limitations include: Problems getting messages delivered: Has anyone ever told you they didn’t receive your email? Sending mass emails from a personal account can result in more emails being sent to the spam folder. Difficulty keeping track of your email

30 Apr, 2018

Public Facebook Groups for Business Advice 1. Digital Marketing Questions “Most public-facing Facebook groups get too big to be effective and are quickly taken over by spam and unanswered questions. I’ve found that Digital Marketing Questions, with its more than 12,000 members, still has a quick turnaround on questions and is free of spam. 2. The Startup Chat “From fundraising mistakes to building a board of directors, you will find your answers on The Startup Chat. The group, which was