Small Biz Success Tips – Since 2012
HubSpot indicates that the average e-commerce industry conversion rate is 2.04%. If your business is not getting this, it could be a variety of factors, and it might be an easy fix.
Order my phone consultation and I can quickly determine why your conversion rate is low and how to fix it. Remember, the higher your conversion rate, the less traffic you need.
©2020 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.
Today I have 3 hot Pinterest Marketing Tips.
If you’re not using Pinterest for marketing your small business, what are you waiting for? I get more traffic from Pinterest than any other social media site, and my type of business is not one you would think would be Pinterest-friendly.
I am going to give you three reasons why Pinterest excels as a social media platform for business.
Pinterest has public category boards, such as the Travel one above, which means that on occasion your pin may go to one of these public boards and expose you to new people other than your followers and your followers’ followers.
One popular pin can bring your site endless traffic for months, even years. For another business I have, I had the good fortune of one of my pins making a public category board. In the 15 months since that pin first appeared (and has been repinned hundreds of times) it has brought me, to-date, 137,000 visitors and continues to still be my highest traffic source. Now, I am not saying that all of this traffic is potential customers, but I’ll take it.
Having a hard time getting on the first page of Google? Try naming a Pinterest board with a popular Google search phrase and you may have more luck. I typed in “Cute Summer Outfits” and the first three searches that came up were Pinterest boards, ranking higher than some popular mainstream magazines and retail stores.
The best time to pin is when the majority of your followers are active on Pinterest, so they have a better chance of seeing your pins so they will repin (in other words, your pins aren’t buried down lower under more recent pins from other people they follow).
Want to know when that is? Go to the far upper right hand corner of the Pinterest screen where it shows your name. Then simply click on the Notifications icon (which is the red, double pin icon) and you will see the activity of your followers regarding your boards. If your notifications indicates that the majority of your followers were active 12 hours ago, then that is when you should be pinning.
A 20+ year marketing professional, small business consultant, ebook author & blogger, my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!
I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012. It really does help to talk to someone who is objective to get a new, but professional, perspective. I have also written publicity pitches for clients that resulted in them being featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.
© 2014 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Pinterest Marketing Tips
I have said many times to the small businesses that I advise, why do you spend all of your time chasing new business, when you can also get repeat business from your customers.
How to Get Repeat Customers
I believe most small businesses should aim for 30 to 40% of their business to be repeat customers. Of course, it does depend on what you sell. For example if you sell wedding gowns, chances are a bride is a one-time customer. But you can get referral business from her if she was happy. If you sell to wedding stylists, they definitely would be repeat customers.
If you sell supplies for people to make products, then your business should be more like 70 – 80% repeat customers. People typically don’t like to switch suppliers. Certain professionals like doctors and dentists likely have an 80% repeat customer rate.
To get repeat business, you need to stay in touch after the sale, but in a subtle way. Here are some tactics to try that are not pushy, but help your customers to remember that you exist.
Remember, people appreciate that you appreciate, and that is how it should look, not like you are trying to get more business.
Visit my Etsy shop for business and marketing downloads.
© 2012-2014 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.
by Gail Oliver, Small Business Marketing Consultant
Right now, every online shop I visit has the same old, broad-based categories – Mother’s Day Gifts, Grad Gifts, Easter Dresses…boring! When you have a potential buyer on your shop’s landing page, try to narrow in on their specific wants and needs and you may find you sell more.
I love the shop sections One Kings Lane comes up with so shoppers can narrow in on their specific decorating needs:
ModCloth also does a good job of helping shoppers find quickly what they are looking for, either by current fad or the decade they prefer for their vintage line:
What I love about Art.com, is something that I have always recommended. You have to show people how to use your products. On their landing page, they have 5 different shop sections that focus on where or how you want to display the art. Very original!
You want shop sections that relate to current events or trends to capitalize on searches, as well as shop sections that help drill down to what your customers are really looking for.
© 2012-2014 G.B. OLIVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Want to get those post holiday sales?
Think your sales have to dry up just because holiday shopping is over? There are a lot of people who will be buying certain items this time of year, you just have to position yourself for those sales.
Just around the corner, people will be buying Valentine’s gifts not just for husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, but also for their kids, grandkids, friends, grandparents and teachers. So start giving an early bird offer right after Christmas, maybe even a Boxing Day sale.
26% of all wedding engagements take place in November and December, followed by Valentine’s Day. So if you have any products or services aimed at brides, now is the time to be promoting them. This is also a popular time for wedding editorial, such as your local newspaper and local magazines, so start pitching those story ideas that would incorporate what you sell.
Two of the biggest parties of the year – the Superbowl and Mardi Gras – take place in the next two months. Party supplies, food, and drinkware should all be moved to the forefront.
Beach vacations and ski vacations are being booked at this time of year, so make sure you target these vacationers if you have products they’ll need.
From swimwear to ski wear to luggage, these will all be top searches in December.
The winter Olympics start in February and everyone will be wanting to wear and display their patriotic pride. What can you put your country’s flag on?
Everyone wants a deal after Christmas and 10% will not cut it. The key to offering a sale in January is to make it a time-limited, 1-day only blowout type sale in order to get people to act quickly. Buyers love getting a deal so even if they are broke, they will justify the purchase if it is a special offer.
Teens tend to get money and gift cards for Christmas from frustrated relatives who have no idea what to buy them. If you target this market, they have money to spend right now.
Now is the time for people to get fit, lose weight, quit smoking, keep spiritually healthy, make a career change, and so forth. Take advantage of the most popular New Year’s resolutions if they apply to your business.
30 to 40% of your business should be repeat business. So follow up with customers who bought from you during the holidays and make sure your products arrived on time, that they were satisfied, and give them a coupon for 20% off their next purchase as a thank you (time limited, of course).
As you can see, there are lots of ways small businesses can keep their sales momentum going well into the spring.
Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.
I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!
My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.
© 2014 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. How to Get Post Holiday Sales
Are you maximizing the exposure of your business, starting with your everyday life?
Once you walk out the door, you can become a walking billboard for your small business in many ways. Here are 3 good examples to try:
More than likely you have a cell phone and you have a case for it, but did you realize that you have valuable advertising space right on the cell phone case itself? There are hundreds of companies that will create a custom cell phone case for you that could incorporate your company logo, maybe a tag line, a website address, you name it. So, the next time you are sitting at a Starbucks, make sure your cell phone is on the table, case side up so it gets noticed. You can also do this with a iPad case, a laptop bag or backpack and walk everywhere with your company name facing out for everyone to see. If you have employees, create custom covers for them as well.
Maybe you can’t afford to be an exhibitor at a consumer show (such as a bridal show, a home show, a parenting show, etc.) However, you can afford to attend the event and spend the day walking around the show in a t-shirt that clearly advertises your business on both the front and back. Make sure to have business cards on you in case people ask. Wear the t-shirt for any big traffic event, such as walking through a busy marketplace, running a marathon, attending a televised sporting event – the point is you want to always be advertising. And it doesn’t just have to be a t-shirt, it can be a jacket with your logo (and url) on the back, a baseball cap, your baby’s onesie (why not?).
Most people are familiar with this one. You can put your logo on your vehicle, but you can also paint your entire vehicle as an ad for your business. The key is making sure the vehicle gets seen. Leaving it parked in your garage is not going to help you. You want to hit the highway in rush hour where people will likely be stopped behind you in traffic. You want to park in front of a busy mall or outdoor event. You also want to think about other vehicles. You can put your logo on your motorcycle, bicycle, trailer home, or boat.
FINAL WORD: Look at what you take with you when you go out the door, from your phone to your purse to your clothing to your car, and think about whether it can be an advertising medium for you.
I have helped hundreds of small businesses market themselves for success. Just fill in the form below for more information, or email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com to discuss or see my Marketing Services page. Or check out my Shopify Store for Small Business Marketing Products.
© 2013 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved. Walking Billboard for Your Small Business.
I'm Gail Oliver and since 2012 I have advised thousands of small businesses and I can help yours too! Feel free to email me at attentiongetting@gmail.com with a question!
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