Marketing Blog

Landspeed have undegone a massive change in the last few months and have decided to concentrate solely on car servicing, car repairs and MoT's. They'll still be able to find you a car at the best possible price using their car sourcing system, but their central Ipswich showroom is now full of exotic cars provided by Proveeda.

They're a friendly, enthusiastic bunch with all the experience and diagnostic equipment needed to compete with the main dealers but at much more wallet friendly rates, and I should know, they've been supplying and servicing my cars since 2001:)

This has led to the re-launch of their new web site which includes full lead capturing and automatic follow up using The Hub automated marketing system.

Their new car servicing site went live 4 days ago and Google already have them on the first page for the keywords we agreed to target, namely:

• Car servicing Ipswich
• MoT Ipswich and
• Car repair Ipswich

Using the drag and drop web form creation wizard made it simple to create customised lead capture forms on each of the main selling pages, which automatically create a customer record in the back end CRM, making it simple to follow up with any future promotions and offers with just the click of a button.

Now we know the site has been set up properly for Google it's time to start stage 2 of their marketing, a link building program to make sure the pages already listed are soon in the first 3 places for maximum traffic and conversions.

Watch this space...

When was the last time you took a good look at your website?

I'm not talking about a loving glance at the pretty images and graphics you have on your home page, I mean when was the last time you looked through your whole site?

Nothing stays the same. Everything is changing including your company and your customers' needs. What was a great selling point six months ago may not be so relevant today.

Time for a spring clean

It's good business practice to review your web copy every six months or so. Not only will you have changing products and prices, but your customers will have new problems for which they'll be looking for answers.

A stale marketing message will turn your readers off faster than anything. If, when they look at your site, you are telling them the same thing again and again they are going to get bored and look elsewhere. You must ensure your key message moves with the times - after all you don't want to try and sell your customers flares when straight-legged jeans are all the rage.

How do I know what they want?

Knowing what problems your customers have is always going to be tough. So how do you ensure you're giving them what they want?

The simple answer is to ask them. A frequent survey of your customers to find out what they think of your products, how satisfied they are with them (and your service), and even whether they have any suggestions that can improve your product/service, is priceless.

You'll be gathering information directly from your consumers - how powerful is that?

If they tell you what they want and you act on it there's a pretty good chance you're going to sell shed loads!

If you're worried about motivating them to complete the survey, combine it with a free prize draw so they have a reason to respond. It doesn't have to be anything ridiculously valuable - perhaps 10% off their next order, a bottle of champagne - use your imagination, but it should be something that will appeal to your customers.

Shout about it

If this reasearch brings about big changes - new products, new services, new pricing structure, new website - let everyone know about it.

Send out an email to all your existing customers, send out press releases (both on and off line), mention it in your next newsletter...the possibilities are endless. One simple survey could result in a load of free publicity for your business.

By following these simple techniques you're going to be seen as a proactive company; one that listens to its customers and reacts to their feedback. This will help gain trust and bring in business through exisiting clients and referrals.

So make sure you diarise regularly to review your website. Survey your customers and keep one step ahead of your competitors.

5 Reasons why you should be blogging

Blogging is hardly a new concept. It's been around a number of years. At one time it was seen as the realm of the 'geeky techy types' (not wishing to offend anyone) but today it is something that everyone should be doing, especially if you are in business.

What blogging gives you is a platform from which you can discuss your opinions and impart information to the masses. And that's a lot of people. Consider for a moment the number of people using the internet today. There are millions of receptive ears and eyes out there ready and waiting to read your inner most thoughts.

Why should I blog?

That's an easy one - because it is the most cost effective and powerful way to market your business.

Today's market is different to the 'good old days'. People are far more savvy now and it takes more than a flashy looking advert or catchy strapline to make them part with their cash.  Today it's all about relationship building and nurturing trust. After all, if someone doesn't trust you why would they want to buy from you?

You are probably sat there (especially if social media marketing hasn't 'got' to you yet) thinking you are perfectly happy with your Yellow Pages ads. Well, if that's the case, good luck to you. Just watch out for the stampeed of competitors who are dashing past you.

How much do you spend on your Yellow Pages advert every year (or its equivalent)? Is that really value for money? You might argue that it reaches a wide audience. Sure, it probably does, but how many of those people are likely to be potential customers? Advertising like that to the masses doesn't mean you will get an equivalent ROI.

By using social media and especially blogging, you will be writing and giving information about your particular field. The people who read your blog posts are interested in what you have to say (if they weren't they wouldn't have been searching for the content in the first place). Therefore the traffic that your blog will drive to your website will be targeted traffic - they are people looking for what you are offering.

Therefore your blog will be constantly delivering targeted traffic to your website. A constant stream of willing buyers - how powerful is that? Plus you don't have to stump up a heafty annual fee for the priviledge.

When you consider how many people are turning to the internet today to find service providers, the internet is where your company needs to be before it's too late.

Now, earlier I mentioned 5 reasons why you should blog, well, here they are:

1. Simple

Before you throw your hands in the air and claim to be a complete non-techy let me tell you something - you don't need any advanced technical knowledge to blog. Simply write about your industry, 'how to' articles, experiences, industry news etc.

2. Authentic

Your blog will be sharing information with your readers. You won't be overtly selling  them something. Therefore this subtle marketing approach will help you build relationships with potential customers and elevate you to expert status in your field. If they can see you know what you are talking about they are more likely to come to you when the time is right for them to buy.

3. Free

That's a fabulous word, isn't it? Apart from the initial set up of your blog the only cost in running it will be time. Why pay  for expensive off line ads (or online for that matter) when you can reach far more people (targeted people) through your blog?

4. Credibility

I touched on this one earlier. The idea of your blog is to impart your knowledge. People love to find out information on line. It might go against the grain to give away free information like this but just think how powerful it is. By giving help and advice you are building trust between you and your reader. You are building an association between your company name and a particular field - when they want to buy who are they going to go to?

5. Increase your marketing 

Give your readers ways of subscribing to your blog (e.g. by RSS or email) so they can always be kept up to date. Build a marketing list by offering a newsletter (either  through the blog or your main website). You can even use your blog to run an informal survey to guage your readers' interest in new ideas. Link your blog posts back to your main website to drive traffic to it.

I hope this post has whetted your appetite to dip your toes into the world of blogging if you're not already doing so.

Blogging will reach so many more people than traditional marketing methods. It will drive targeted traffic to your website and help your search engine rankings. GIve it a try - what have you got to lose?