How to Sell More of Anything You Want to Sell

This article is aimed at owners of Restaurants, Retail Stores, Ecommerce Stores, and Service Businesses who sell a selection of products or services.

To keep it a little shorter and simpler, I’m going to refer to all products and services as “Items.”

Sell Your Favorite Items, Make More Money, and Enjoy Your Business.

You know the old 80-20 Rule: 20% of your items represent 80% of your sales (or profits). It’s probably also true that you like selling 20% of your items more than the other 80%.

Why would you like to sell certain items more than other items? Could be:

• Because they’re more profitable.
• Because they’re easier (or faster) to buy, make, or deliver.
• Because you enjoy making, delivering, or performing the service of this item for some reason.

Marketing Your Favorite Items As a Success Strategy

Does selling more of your favorite items sound like a nice concept? Well, it’s possible…and it’s easy. Why? because it’s an easy marketing approach and it works.

Most businesses show off ALL they can do, and all they have. They’re so proud of their scope of selection, but marketing every THING and marketing to every ONE isn’t usually the best strategy.

I know it’s tempting to try to get the most out of your marketing dollar by telling ALL the things you have to offer, BUT focusing on ONE ITEM (or one category), your favorite, can break things wide open for you.

How to Sell More of Anything You Want

The best way to sell anything you want is to get Google’s attention. Even a “little guy” like you can do it.

When Google shows your business on the 1st page of search results, you’re going to get more calls, and more customers for that item.

Here’s how you do it:

• Get or Claim you Google My Business Page. Once you’ve done this, fill in all the information as completely as possible.  This is a GIFT from Google. Use it.
• Add photos of your product. Make sure the photos are given descriptive file names. Google can’t see the pictures but they CAN read the file names. It can only help.
• Add Posts. This is Show & Tell Time just like when you were a kid at school. Show everything and write a description of the photo. Think about the words people (your customers) use when they talk about these things. This is your chance to tell Google exactly what you want them to know about your business and your items.
• Add Info. Here you can add an unlimited amount of detail about every category of product and every item or service you provide.

In keeping with the theme of the title of this article, start with the items you want to see the most: the ones you’re famous for, the ones you love, and the ones that make you the most profit. 

Chances are, only a tiny fraction of your competitors will catch onto this any time soon. This is your chance to get a jump on the rest of the crowd.

This process is pretty easy but like anything worthwhile, it takes time and effort.

Put Your Website to Work

Every product or service you sell, especially the ones you like to sell most, deserve their very own web page. When people are looking for something very specific, whether it’s The Best Blueberry Pie Near Me, or “Install a Whole House Electric Generator in Haddonfield, New Jersey”, the website which has a page dedicated to this ONE product will stand a greater chance of appearing in the search results.

Combined with the work I’m recommending in your Google My Business page, this is a powerful 1-2 punch. It’s also a long-term marketing investment that’ll likely pay dividends for years to come.

Build a Rock Solid Online Presence™ to Acquire New Customers and Sell More Stuff

When you invest in building a Rock-Solid Online Presence™, it serves you for years. It’s a long-term investment that pays you back over and over again. In most cases, it even gets better over time.

If you need someone to help you along with this, it’s well worth it to get someone with experience and the smarts to understand your business, your products and your audience. (ummm, that would be me and my team, so if this makes sense to you, let’s talk it over. Ask Andrew, CLICK HERE.

 

January, 2019 Marketing Ideas Calendar

Need ideas for marketing your Small Business on Social Media, Emails, and In-Store Promotions?

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Marketing January, 2019 Holidays

Monthly Holidays

National Bath Safety Month
National Blood Donor Month
National Braille Literacy Month
National Hobby Month
National Hot Tea Month
National Mentoring Month
National Oatmeal Month
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
National Slow Cooking Month
National Soup Month

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Famous November Birthdays

Jan 3 – J.R.R Tolkien

Jan 8 – Stephen Hawking, Scientist

Jan 17 – Benjamin Franklin

Jan 17 – Muhammad Ali

Jan 22 – Guy Fieri

Jan 29 – Oprah Winfrey

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Weekly Holidays

 

January 1 – 7

Diet Resolution Week

Silent Record Week

New Year’s Resolution Week

 

January 7-13

National Pizza Week

Universal Letter Writing Week

Home Office Safety Week

 

January 15 -19

No Name Calling Week

 

January 17-21

National Soccer Coaches Week

 

January 21-27

Hunt for Happiness Week

Sugar Awareness Week

Clean Out Your Inbox Week

National School Choice Week

National Irish Coffee Week

Catholic Schools Week

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Daily Holidays

 

1/1/2019 National Hangover Day / New Years Day

1/2/2019 National Personal Trainer Awareness Day

1/3/2019 National Humiliation Day, National Fruitcake Toss Day

1/4/2019 National Trivia Day, National Spaghetti Day

1/5/2019 National Whipped Cream Day

1/6/2019 National Cuddle up Day / National Technology Day

1/7/2019 National Bobblehead Day

1/8/2019 National Winter Skin Relief Day

1/9/2019 National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day

1/10/2019 National Bittersweet Chocolate Day

1/11/2019 National Milk Day

1/12/2019 Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day

1/13/2019 Make Your Dreams Come True Day, National Rubber Ducky Day, National Sunday Supper Day

1/14/2019 Dress Up Your Pet Day

1/15/2019 National Hat Day

1/16/2019 National Fig Newton Day

1/17/2019 Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day

1/18/2019  Winnie the Pooh Day

1/19/2019 National Popcorn Day

1/20/2019  National Cheese Lovers Day

1/21/2019 National Hugging Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Day

1/22/2019 National Blonde Brownie Day

1/23/2019 National PIE Day

1/24/2019 National Compliment Day

1/25/2019 Opposite Day

1/26/2019 National Spouses Day

1/27/2019 National Chocolate Cake Day

1/28/2019 National Have Fun at Work Day, National Kazoo Day

1/29/2019 National Puzzle Day, National Corn Chip Day

1/30/2019 National Plan for Vacation Day

1/31/2019 National Backward Day, Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

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7 Social Media Marketing Tips for 2019

For too long, I’ve seen social media marketing “experts” burning their clients’ money on nonsense…posting for the sake of posting but with no real strategy. That’s why social media has been a big letdown for most small business owners. A big investment of time and money, with little return.

How to Get More Marketing Results From Social Media in 2019

In this post, I’m going to provide 7 tips that’ll make your efforts on Facebook and other social media sites easier, more effective, and provide a more measurable return on your marketing investment. (These are not in any specific order.)

Social Media Marketing Tip #1

Facebook Check-In

Your customers who are Facebook users have an average of at least 500 friends. Many have 1000’s!

For businesses whose customers come into your physical location, the check-in is an excellent way to reach lots of people. It’s perfect for restaurants, retailers, personal services (hair, nails, spa, massage, yoga, fitness), healthcare providers (chiropractors, dentists), and more!

The Benefit of Social Media Check-Ins

When your customer is at your location and they check-in on social media, hundreds of their Facebook friends and Instagram followers could see this as a post on their news feed.

Your business name, along with a map showing a pinned position of your business, will show up on the post — which would say something like:  John Adams is enjoying lunch at Sophie’s Diner in Quakerville, PA.

You have now made an impression on potentially hundreds of people, for free! And the fact that John has made this post is equivalent to a testimonial. It’s called “Social Proof” and it has the power to influence other people’s decisions.

If it’s good enough for John, it’s good enough for me.

I recommend that you post a few small signs throughout your business that encourage your customers to check-in on Facebook and/or Instagram. They can do it while in your place of business in less than 30 seconds!

To get even more participation, you can add an incentive such as a $5.00 off coupon or some cheap giveaway. This is high-quality advertising and it’s worth a few bucks. Heck, you might find out it’s one of the best tools in your marketing toolbox!

Check-ins that include photos (and especially selfies) are a home run!

Social Media Marketing Tip #2

Add Video to Your Social Media Posts

Facebook LOVES to show live video, so if you have the guts to “go live” your message could get a lot of traction. If you don’t care to go live, posting a video is still a great idea.

I recommend that every business has its own (free) YouTube channel. Not only is YouTube one of the top social media platforms, it’s also the #2 search engine behind Google!  Simply post an informative video (not a commercial) onto your YouTube channel.

It doesn’t need to be a professional quality production. The value is in the content, not the presentation, and your smartphone is all the equipment you need.  After uploading your video to YouTube, you can upload it to Facebook and any other social media sites you use, and also embed it onto a page on your website.

Videos make you more trusted and place you in a position of expertise;  with more opportunities to be shared online and referred to offline.

BONUS TIP:
For some great ideas on how your business can leverage video, just Ask Andrew (click here).

Social Media Marketing Tip#3

Search-Friendly Posts

All the social media sites have a Search Bar at the top of the page. People use these search bars to find people, but they also use them to tap into people’s posts about certain topics.

In your posts, consider what people might be looking for when they’re looking for a business like yours. Use a keyword phrase in your post which people might use when searching.  For example, Electrician in Philadelphia; Best sushi in Edison, New Jersey;  Pregnancy massage in Atlanta.

 

Social Media Tip #4

A Call To Action (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is the most important part of advertising/marketing. Your post should always have a photo and they should always have a CTA. The CTA should be in the form of a link back to your website where you have an offer. The offer should be an incentive for your visitor (potential customer) to opt-in to your email list or to claim some sort of offer. You should still be capturing contact information as part of the offer.

The opt-in, the act of claiming a coupon, or some other offer, is the tangible and measurable element of marketing. Measurement is usually NOT what your social media marketing professionals are too eager to provide because they might expose their failure to produce a justifiable return on the money you’re paying.

If you need any help with any of the ideas here so far, you can click here to Ask Andrew for help. There’s no charge to get my feedback.

 

Social Media Tip #5

Repurposing Content

Repurposing content means using one piece of content on multiple platforms.  You may be thinking “Yikes! What does THAT mean?”  Well, let me just give you an example:

I’m going to post this article on the Small Business U. blog. Then I’m going to link to it on a Facebook post, a Twitter post, and a LinkedIn post. Then I’ll post it on Tumblr and maybe another microblogging site. I quite possibly will make a video on the subject and post it on YouTube, and then embed that video onto this post at a later date.

Repurposing turns your content into a more valuable asset. I create content once, use it on several platforms, and it stays online almost indefinitely, which can potentially serve me and my potential customers — forever!

 

Social Media Tip #6

Event Marketing

You can have events no matter what business you’re in, and these events can be promoted for FREE online on any number of channels. An electrician can have a Smoke Alarm Event or a Home Energy-Saving Event. A restaurant can have a New Menu Event, a Blueberry Event, a Chocolate Lover’s Event. A Massage Therapist can have a Hair-Skin-Nails Event or an Aromatherapy Event.

My point is that an event need not require tents, banners, music, or a juggling act, but you can still get your event and your business on the computer screens of potential customers.

Events can be promoted for free on

• Facebook
• Craiglist
• Eventbrite
• Yelp!
• and other bulletin board type sites

All of these sites get plenty of traffic, so your event will be seen by lots of people.

 

Social Media Tip #7

Networking with Other Business Owners

Are you located in a shopping center?
Do you attend networking events?
Are you a part of a business organization or association?
Do you belong to a country club?

When it comes to your marketing efforts you don’t have to think BIG. Instead, think LOCALLY.

Work together with other business owners with whom you already have a relationship, and also reach out to form new connections.  By collaborating with one other, you can expand your customer base because you’ll be reaching new people.

A smart idea is to get together and agree to Like and Share each other’s social media posts. Their friends will see your posts, and your friends will see their posts!  The more that your posts are Liked and Shared, the more they will show up on other people’s newsfeeds.

And be sure add a compelling Call-To-Action to your photo. It will increase the potential of more traffic to your website, and will build your customer base even more!

And that’s what it’s all about.

 

—————————————————————————————

Author: Andrew Mazer, Founder of Small Business U.

Contact Andrew at Andrew@smallbusinessu.org or sign up for THE ONE GOOD IDEA NEWSLETTER for great Small Business Marketing and Management Ideas.

How to Retain Restaurant Customers

The purpose of any business is to acquire and keep customers. Customer acquisition is rather expensive (advertising). Customer retention is rather inexpensive (marketing).

Why Do We Lose Customers?

According to Dan Kennedy, renowned marketing expert and business philosopher, we lose customers because:

• 1% of them die.
• 3% move outside your service area or range.
• 14% are influenced by a friend’s or relative’s advice.
• 9% leave due to price.
• 14% switch due to dissatisfaction.
• 68% leave because of indifference…they just don’t feel they were appreciated.

Advertising is what you do to get people in the door. Marketing is keeping them coming back for more. Communicating and demonstrating appreciation to customers is paramount to retaining customers.

Ideas for Customer Retention

Customer retention (and therefore, higher customer lifetime value) relies on 2 things:

1. Providing a satisfactory experience.
2. Good communication.

A good customer experience doesn’t have to be at Disney World levels. Just meet expectations. I think everyone wants to be served promptly and they want the food to be good (on par with the price) and they want their order to be accurate.

A good customer experience means your service should be polite, and your place should be clean…EVERYWHERE…floors, walls, tables, chairs, outside, and especially the restrooms. I strongly recommend your employees be trained and required to make eye contact and say “THANK YOU,” and I recommend you lead by example.

Today, it’s pretty easy to stand out. Following these basic expectations can actually make you exceptional. This level of service will get you some high review scores.

Good communication is the Holy Grail of customer retention. There’s simply too many choices in the restaurant business. Your competition is every other restaurant in the vicinity. The power of their marketing, the ability to get your attention is your challenge. National chains and franchises have massive marketing budgets for TV & radio advertising, direct mail, and newspaper inserts.

But YOU have things THEY don’t. Read on!

Sign up for THE ONE GOOD IDEA NEWSLETTER for great Small Business Marketing and Management Ideas.

Ideas for using communication to induce customer retention and frequency:

• A personalized About Us page on your website.

You, the owner, and your story is important to a lot of people. It cultivates emotional connections. Unlike the chain restaurants and franchises, whose owners are shareholders and investors, YOU have a story. You have a reason for being in your business. People love stories. It’s how the human brain is wired. Whether you started your business from a personal passion, or if you took over the family business, a paragraph or 2 creates a story…and connections.

Do you use your grandmother’s recipes for inspiration? Have you picked up great ideas from your experiences to other parts of the country or other parts of the world?…More connections.

What about your family? Is your spouse involved with the business? What are your interests? Pets? More connections. “Dog people” love dog people. Golfers love golfers. Adding photos of yourself, your family, and your pets make you likable, friendlier…a friend.

The Best Way to Repeat Customers

• Keep in touch with your customers.

One of the most valuable assets you can have is a list of your customers with their name, email address, and birthday. It’s so easy to accrue a list just by offering a free birthday meal and an occasional email announcing your specials, promotions and events. A restaurant email list can grow from Zero to 1000’s in a matter of months. Tens of 1000’s in a matter of years.

Smart and successful restaurant owners keep in touch regularly with relevant information, an offer, a Thank You, and a Happy Birthday and Holiday wishes. This gentle communication, when you have hundreds, or 1000’s of customers on your list, will keep you in top-of-mind position.

Lots of restaurant owners don’t want to send emails because they don’t want to be “a burden” to their customers. This is nonsense because if they didn’t WANT your email message, they would have never given you their email address in the first place. 

Find out how to put email automation to work for your restaurant. CLICK HERE.

• Mingle

Every time I think about this subject, my cousin George comes to mind. His father started the Elgin Diner on Mother’s Day, 1961 . George eventually took over the diner after his father died. Although George spent plenty of time in the kitchen, what I remember most was the time he spent in the dining room greeting customers and treating them like friends.

I think every owner should cascade around the dining room, make his or her presence known because your customers like it. Ask them if everything is okay, like George did. He owned a diner, not a 5-star steakhouse, so if this technique worked for him, it’ll work for you too.

I know for a fact that the Elgin diner didn’t just have REGULAR customers, they had LOYAL customers, many who ate their multiple times PER WEEK.

• Love your customers

Treat your customers like their the love of your life. If you can’t, you’re guilty of indifference which means you’re probably in the wrong business.

Author: Andrew Mazer, Founder of Small Business U.

Contact Andrew at Andrew@smallbusinessu.org or sign up for THE ONE GOOD IDEA NEWSLETTER for great Small Business Marketing and Management Ideas.

Return On Email

A majority of small business owners share a similar attitude about email: they don’t like it, and they don’t want to use it for marketing purposes because they don’t want to “burden” their customers with it.

The Common Misconception With Email Marketing

Permission-Based Marketing

Permission-based marketing is a gift. We’re living in a world where we’re usually trying to avoid the bombardment of marketing messages by using a DVR, satellite radio, Netflix, and YouTube. However, when people GIVE you their name and email address in exchange for the promise of providing some sort of value (and that’s the only reason they’ll give it to you), they’re giving you permission to send them your email messages. They have essentially raised their hands and said, “Send me your advertising.” I’ll say it again: This is a gift.

Why YOU Should Keep In Touch With Your Customers With Email

Keep in touch with your customers with email because you need to keep your promise. They gave you permission because you promised something of value. “What’s in it for me?” This is what people want to know before they give you their email address. But the best reason you want to keep in touch is because you want them to remember you the next time they’re making a decision to buy whatever it is you sell. You also want them to remember you the next time a referral opportunity comes along.

Why Do People Give You Permission to Send Them Email?

I will give you 3 quick examples of the value you can provide with email messages:

• Restaurants: When a restaurant offers their list of weekly specials and coupons, people will sign up to receive this. For the promise of a bit of a discount, customers will open their email inbox to you and you’ll have a better chance of getting them to come back more frequently.
• Plumbers-Electricians-Massage Therapists: These and service companies of all kinds should create their own email newsletter and offer it to their customers. Plumbers and electricians can provide ONE home safety tip, or ONE home security tip, or ONE home energy-saving tip. Keeping in touch 1/month is the right amount.
• Massage Therapists, Personal Trainers, or Health Food Stores: These businesses can all provide health-related tips.

Keep in touch to maintain top-of-mind position with your customers. Provide good and valuable information because it positions you as an expert.

Tip: Consider teaming up with a non-competitive business who serves a similar clientele so you can share ideas and cross-promote.

“But less than 1/2 of the customers open our email.”

This is an image of one of our client’s email messages as it appears in my inbox. This independent health foods and supplements retailer has huge competition. They send out informational emails frequently to both inform their customers and promote products. If the subject line of an email doesn’t strike a cord with the recipient, they will simply ignore it or delete it, which is fine. The message is still effective in keeping the retailer in top-of mind position and a trusted authority.

The average email open rate is under 30%. Do you think that’s bad? It’s not! It’s a lot better than most other forms of media, plus here’s something else about email you may have never considered: the name of the sender and the subject line get seen by MOST of the email recipients. Even though they don’t consume the entire email message, you have still reminded them you exist, and you’re keeping in touch as promised.

Making a Commitment to Email Marketing

Sending a weekly or bi-weekly commitment to email marketing is a big one. Although a great portion of email marketing can be automated, it still requires planning, writing, and a little bit of creativity.

Friends, keeping in touch with your customers pays big dividends and I highly encourage it.

If you need any help with setting up an email marketing system for your business, CLICK HERE to start the conversation.

 

 

 

December 2018 Marketing Ideas Calendar

Welcome to your Monthly Marketing Ideas Calendar is for December, 2018. Add some fun, or support a cause by utilizing this monthly treasure chest of ideas to tie into your emails, social media posts, print ads, and in-house promotions.

December Monthly Holidays

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National Car Donation Month
AIDS Awareness Month
National Pear Month
Bingo’s Birthday Month
National Drunk & Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
National Human Rights Month
National Tie Month
National Write A Business Plan Month
Operation Santa Paws (1-24)
Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Spiritual Literacy Month
Universal Human Rights Month
Worldwide Food Service Safety Month

Famous Birthdays in December

12/1 Woody Allen
12/5 Walt Disney
12/8 Sammy Davis Jr.
12/18 Stephen Spielberg
12/22 Ted Cruz
12/24 Howard Hughes
12/25 Isaac Newton
12/27 Louis Pasteur
12/28 Woodrow Wilson
12/29 Mary Tyler Moore

Weekly Holidays

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Dec 1 – 7
Cookie Cutter Week
Chrohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week
Dec 2 – 8
Hanukkah
Dec 4 – 10
National Hand Washing Awareness Week
Dec 3 – 9
Recipe Greetings for Holidays Week
Dec 10 – 17
Human Rights Week
Dec 17-23
Gluten-Free Baking Week

December Daily Holidays

12/1/2018 National Pie Day / Rosa Parks Day
12/2/2018 Special Education Day
12/3/2018 National Roof Over Your Head Day
12/4/2018 National Cookie Day
12/5/2018 Bathtub Party Day
12/6/2018 St. Nicholas Day / National Gazpacho Day
12/7/2018 National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
12/8/2018 Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day
12/9/2018 National Pastry Day
12/10/2018 Human Rights Day
12/11/2018 National Noodle Ring Day
12/12/2018 Gingerbread House Day
12/13/2018 National Cocoa Day / National Guard Day
12/14/2018 National Salesperson Day
12/15/2018 Bill of Rights Day / National Wreath Across America Day
12/16/2018 Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
12/17/2018 Wright Brothers Day
12/18/2018 Answer the Phone Like Buddy the Elf Day
12/19/2018 National Oatmeal Muffin Day
12/20/2018 National Sangria Day / National Re-Gifting Day
12/21/2018 Winter Solstice / National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
12/22/2018 Forefathers Day
12/23/2018 Festivus
12/24/2018 National Egg Nog Day / Christmas Eve
12/25/2018 Christmas
12/26/2018 Boxing Day (Canada) / National Candy Cane Day
12/27/2018 National Fruitcake Day
12/28/2018 National Card Playing Day
12/29/2018 Tick Tock Day
12/30/2018 Bacon Day
12/31/2018 New Year’s Eve / National Champagne Day

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How to Get More 5-Star Reviews

In this post, I’m going to show you a smart way to get more 5-Star Reviews. Getting more positive reviews is a critical marketing component your independently-owned restaurant (or whatever business you’re in). Want to make ALL your advertising and marketing work better and pay a bigger return on investment? Read this post. (Video Posted Below)

More Positive Reviews Helps Your Ads Draw More Customers

More positive reviews will make your ads pull in more customers. Do you advertise?

Every time you spend money on advertising, many of the people who see your ad will check out your reputation. They’ll go to sites like Yelp, Google, Trip Advisor, and Facebook to find out what people are saying about you.

The technique recommended in this article will help you get more positive reviews while also helping you build customer loyalty.

Who Are The Best Customers to Ask for a Review?

The best customers to ask for a review are the ones who join your “Specials & Coupons” email newsletter. How do you get people to sign up for your “Specials and Coupons” newsletter?

Make sure every adult patron of your restaurant receives the opportunity to fill out a form like this one. You can leave a small stack of them in a tray or a business card holder in the table, or you can have your server set some on the table with a pen toward the end of the meal. You may want to have the cashier bring up the subject if your customers pay at the cash register. Th point is:

If they fill out the card, it’s because they’ve had a satisfactory experience. If this is the case, then they’re a good candidate to leave a positive review.

You’ll need to get an assistant (you can get someone for minimum wage or less) to send out an email the same day (or the next day-sooner is better) and send something like this in an email:

Dear Mr. Smith, thank you for signing up for our “Specials & Coupons” Newsletter. There’s a coupon waiting for you at the bottom of this message! We’re looking forward to serving you again soon. Mr. Smith, as a family-owned restaurant, it’s especially important to have a good reputation on the internet.

Every 5-Star review we get on Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor, and Facebook can meaningfully help potential customers find out about our restaurant. If you would spare 5 minutes to leave us a positive review on any of these websites, it would be a huge favor to us. We’ve made it very easy.

Just click on any (or all) of the links below to leave a review. If there’s any reason you think we don’t deserve a positive review, please reply to this email and let us know so we can address the situation. -Respectfully, Joe & Josephine Owner

Get the link to your profile on each one of these popular “review” sites and link directly to them right from your email. (I also advise you to create a Review Us page on your website.)

How to Eliminate Negative Reviews

Eliminating negative reviews from the sites listed here ranges from difficult to impossible. The best remedy for bad reviews is 10 times more great reviews. More great reviews will raise your average review rating. They will also bury negative reviews.

Equally important is, lots of great reviews will generally push you up in the search results so people will find your restaurant online even if they don’t already know you exist.

Benefits of Building a List of Customers

While you’re in the process of improving and building an incredible online reputation, you’re also building a permission-based contact list. You have fans, and you have friends. These folks have freely given you their contact information in return for a promise. The promise that you will keep in touch to let them know about your specials and coupons! Imagine…a giant list of people who have raised their hand and said, “Yes. Send me your advertising!”

Email Automation for Predictable Cash Flow and Asset Creation

Keeping in touch with your customers is good business. This is especially true when they have requested it. This article will explain why building a customer contact list and keeping in touch is so important and so valuable to your business now, and in the future.

Build Your Business with Permission-Based Marketing

Permission-based marketing is when people have given you permission to send them your offers. If people have had a good experience in your restaurant, they’ll often give you permission to keep in touch, especially if you have a special offer for them. Keeping in touch is easy and cheap with email marketing automation. It’s also really valuable.

Keeping in Touch With Customers-Why it’s So Important

It’s not your customer’s job to remember you, it’s YOUR job to remind them you exist. When people give you their email contact information, they’re ASKING you to REMIND them. This is a gift.

You want to be remembered when the question arises: “Where do you want to go out to eat (or order take-out)?” Among ALL the choices there are (and new ones popping up constantly), it’s a lot easier to be remembered when YOUR restaurant shows up in their email inbox once a week.

Even when the customers on your list don’t open your email, they will usually SEE your name and subject line which reminds them of you.

Why do customer stop coming to a place? It’s SO important to keep in touch!

According to Dan Kennedy’s research (a well known marketing guru), we lose customers for the following reasons:

• 1% die
• 3% move
• 14% are influenced by a friend’s or relative’s advice and switch to their brand
• 9%leave because of a better price or product
• 14% switch due to product or service dissatisfaction
• 68% leave because they felt the sales person and company were indifferent to their needs. They feel taken for granted.

Of course, there’s nothing you can do about those who die or about those who move out of the area. But if you have permission to keep in touch with people, you can continue to keep in touch with a friendly message and an offer. Done with class, this will help you retain more customers, even win some back.

Email Marketing Automation

When someone fills out a signup form like the one pictured above, the information will need to be manually entered into an email database. This is about the only part that’s not automatic, but it’s not difficult.

A page on your website should be setup with a similar form or coupons. These can be setup to capture your customers’ contact information and automatically add them to your email database.

Then what?

Email marketing technology allows us to setup emails in advance. Your email messages can be planned ahead to be sent on a schedule of your choosing-once per week, every other week, or once each month.

“But I don’t want to burden customers with emails.” 

NONSENSE! Remember, this is a permission-based list. They have given you permission-they have asked you to send them your stuff. You’re practically under obligation! Besides, everyone on your list can opt-out which automatically removes them from the list.

When someone fills out a sign-up form Like the one above) after they’ve eaten your food, they’re telling you, “Yes. I’m satisfied with your food and my experience. I’ll be back, especially if you keep in touch with your specials, coupons, and news.”

Think about the possible lifetime value of this customer. Do the math: if you can get just 50 customers (with a party of 4) to come back in just 3 more times per year by keeping in touch, how much more revenue will you generate?

Advertise to Build Your List

When you advertise with Groupon or in print (coupon mailers or local magazines), people will visit your website to take a closer look. If you have a page on your website called Specials and Coupons, people will opt-in to your contact list. Now, every time you advertise, you’ll not only get a bump in sales, you’ll also be building your list.

Building an Asset Which Makes Your Business More Valuable

When you send out emails, you’ll see a bump in revenue. You’ll be on a mission to grow your list bigger and faster. Not only will you generate more revenue, you’ll also be creating a new asset: YOUR LIST. Your huge list of customers (fans), is property-property which makes your business more valuable to you NOW and makes your business more valuable and attractive to a potential buyer.

ADVERTISING GETS PEOPLE TO MY WEBSITE > PEOPLE ON MY WEBSITE GETS PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL > PEOPLE IN MY RESTAURANT GETS PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL > SENDING EMAIL KEEPS PEOPLE COMING BACK MORE OFTEN > PEOPLE COMING BACK MORE OFTEN GENERATES MORE REVENUE AND HIGHER LIFETIME CUSTOMER VALUE > A BIG CUSTOMER CONTACT LIST INCREASES THE VALUE OF MY BUSINESS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.

Understand Inbound Marketing for Your Small Business

All the marketing and advertising you do can (and should) result in Inbound Marketing. Find out why this matters and how you can leverage this information to your benefit. Simple stuff, yet overlooked and widely misunderstood.

What is Inbound Marketing and Why Should it Matter for Your Small Business?

Inbound Marketing is described on Wikipedia mostly as in the form of online content, such as email, search engine optimization, and social media. It’s function is to generate interest with the intention to get people to seek more information by visiting a website or a physical location. Inbound marketing is more subtle than an offer, just as an informational brochure is more subtle than a telemarketing call.

I see Inbound Marketing a little differently for a traditional small business like the ones who advertise with coupons or Groupon. 

Making Your Advertising More Effective by Understanding Inbound Marketing and the Role of Your Website

When you understand inbound marketing, you’ll have a new understanding of the role your website plays in the success of your ads.

Watch this video to see what can happen when you’re not paying attention to your website.

The main goal of your Groupon deal or your coupon ad is to get new people to give you a try. A regular customer begins with the first transaction and repeat business is the ultimate goal. It’s what makes a business more profitable and revenues more consistent and predictable.

What happens when your ad hits the consumer’s kitchen table or they see your Groupon ad in their email? (Hint: It’s INBOUND MARKETING.)

If they’re interested in what they see but have never been to your place before, they’re going to your website to take a closer look. I truly believe most business owners don’t realize how many potential customers will look you up online, especially after receiving your ad. If you did, you would probably want to make some changes…RADICAL changes.

Surely you’re familiar with the term: You never get a 2nd chance to make a good 1st impression. Ask yourself, what do YOU think people want to know when they visit your website?

Ideas for Improving Your Website for a Better Customer Experience

Focusing on the customer experience on your website is imperative. SO many people will visit your website but only a small percentage will do business with you. Small improvements can make a huge difference. If 10 out of 100 end up doing business with you, 2 more is a 20% increase. A 20% increase in new customer growth could be the difference between just getting by and wealth.

If they’re in the restaurant business, they want to see your menu, that’s a no-brainer. But if they would like to see some images of your food, or people eating your food, that would be better. Think about a Red Lobster commercial, visit the Home page of their website: photos of food and photos of people. You don’t have to be a mega chain to have a website that engages and compels people to come in, your one-location restaurant can do it too. Here’s a great example: Litchfield Salt Water Grille has a great-looking yet simple website and a fantastic About Us page (which I always recommend). Click the About Us link the the previous sentence to see a great job and poke around the site.

If you’re in the service business, they want to see YOU (or at least images of how you’re staff looks). For service businesses who come to the home, people want to feel safe and confident. Horizon Services does a great job with their website. Uniformed technicians- one greeting a customer, several showing them working on a repair job. If you’re a hair dresser, a massage therapist, people want to see what the outside and the inside of your place looks like. They want to see, you, your staff, and some satisfied customers’s testimonials (picture testimonials are better, video testimonials are the best).

Start Planning for Better Results Ahead of Your Next AD

I hope you’re inspired to take time out to plan your next ad or promotion, and to make your website a more important part.

If you’ve ever done a Groupon campaign or if you plan to do another one, OR of you’re advertising with coupons, you’ll want to get a copy of my short book, THE GROUPON SOLUTION™.

Download it free at https://www.smallbusinessu.org/grouponsolution In it, you’ll discover new ways to make your marketing produce a larger return on investment, gain more repeat customers, and make your business more profitable now and worth more in the future.

Marketing Ideas Calendar for November, 2018

Keep your marketing fresh and interesting. Find topics here to perk up your website, your next outbound email or social media post.

November  2018 Marketing Ideas Calendar

 

Monthly Holidays

 

Adopt a Senior Pet Month

Aviation History Month

Banana Pudding Lovers Month

Diabetic Eye Disease Month

Epilepsy Awareness Month

Family Stories Month

Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month

Historic Bridge Awareness Month

International Drum (Percussion) Month

Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Movember

Military Family Appreciation Month

National Adoption Month

National Alzheimer’s Disease Month

National COPD Month

National Diabetes Month

National Family Caregivers Month

National Fun with Fondue Month

National Georgia Pecan Month

National Gratitude Month

National Home Care and Hospice Month

National Inspirational Role Models Month

National Long-term Care Awareness Month

National Family Literacy Month

National Novel Writing Month

National Peanut Butter Lovers Month

National Pepper Month

National Pomegranate Month

National Raisin Bread Month

National Roasting Month

National Scholarship Month

Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Prematurity Awareness Month

PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month

Spinach and Squash Month

Sweet Potato Awareness Month

NoSHAVEmber (U.S. – Beard Month or Movember; Australia – Moustache Month)

Vegan Month

Worldwide Bereaved Siblings Month

 

Birthdays

11/6    Sally Field

11/7    Marie Curie

11/14  Prince Charles

11/20  Joe Biden

11/20  Robert F. Kennedy

11/22  Billie Jean King

11/30  Winston Churchill

11/30  Mark Twain

 

Weekly Holidays

 

Nov 4 – 10

National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week

 

Nov 12 – 19

World Kindness Week

Dear Santa Letter Week

International Fraud Awareness Week

National Nurse Practitioner Week

National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week

American Education Week

 

Nov 17-23

National Farm-City Week

 

Nov 20-24

Better Conversation Week

National Game and Puzzle Week

 

Nov 21 – 25

National Deal Week

 

Daily Holidays

 

11/1/2018            World Vegan Day / National Men Make Dinner Day (No BBQ Allowed)

11/2/2018            National Deviled Egg Day

11/3/2018            National Housewife’s Day

11/4/2018            Daylight Saving Time Ends – First Sunday in November

11/5/2018            National Love Your Red Hair Day

11/6/2018            National Nachos Day / Saxophone Day / Election Day

11/7/2018            National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day

11/8/2018            National STEM/STEAM Day

11/9/2018            National Scrapple Day

11/10/2018         Marine Corps Birthday

11/11/2018         Veterans Day

11/12/2018         National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day

11/13/2018         World Kindness Day

11/14/2018         National Pickle Day / National Educational Support Professionals Day

11/15/2018         Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day / America Recycles Day / Great American Smokeout

11/16/2018         National Fast Food Day

11/17/2018         National Take a Hike Day / National Adoption Day

11/18/2018         Mickey Mouse Birthday

11/19/2018         National Play Monopoly Day

11/20/2018         Universal Children’s Day

11/21/2018         World Hello Day / National Stuffing Day / Tie One On Day

11/22/2018         Thanksgiving

11/23/2018         National Day of Listening / Black Friday / Buy Nothing Day

11/24/2018         Small Business Saturday

11/25/2018         Shopping Reminder Day

11/26/2018         Cyber Monday

11/27/2018         National Day of Giving

11/28/2018         National French Toast Day

11/29/2018         Electronic Greetings Day

11/30/2018         Stay Home Because You’re Well Day