Join my #WebinarWednesday on 9/19 at 10am PST on 4th Quarter Marketing Slam Dunk-FREE Marketing Checklist. You only have 3 months left to reach your 2018 marketing goals, so and let’s rock it! I will share my 4th Quarter Marketing Checklist to use your marketing tools to maximize your sales, promotions, events & fundraising. Register here: Register Here http://bit.ly/4thQtrSlam
March 6, 2017
Your Biz Can Thrive & Support International Women’s Day
On March 8th, women in 30 countries are supporting a day of solidarity by asking women and the people who support them to not shop or work (if they can afford to) in solidarity of casting light on the buying and working power of women. It is an effort to show the power of women’s support and shopping habits that make companies strong by reducing sales and productivity on International Women’s Day. The organizers hope this will cement the connection between supporting women’s causes like equal work for equal pay (see the stats to support this issue), childcare for working women, and a woman’s access to birth control her personal freedom.
As a company you may be not supportive of a day of no
shopping as it will reduce your bottom line that day. However if you are thinking long term, there may be a way for your company to thrive by supporting this cause. Here are a few ideas:
- Wear red on March 8th and remind your team to do the same and go here to learn more about the event.
- If you are a Woman Owned Business post it proudly as organizers suggest any shopping take place at small women-owned businesses.
- Recognize the day by posting & adding signs at your business that celebrate International Women’s Day on Wed, March 8 and that you support women.
- Consider donating some of your proceeds that day to support equal work for equal pay or other organizations that support women’s economic strength and choices.
- Review your business and hiring practices that day to ensure you are not discriminating between the compensation you offer men and women for the same job.
- Add a sales day during the week or month that celebrates your loyal female shoppers and offers a discount (20% to represent the gender gap) or a donation to their causes.
- Offer to let your employees take time off to support the cause if your business can afford to do so. If not, offer a celebration (free lunch, donation or a meeting to air concerns). This helps your employees feel included and valued by their employer.
- If you are open, consider charging women who shop at your business a discount that day or this week, that’ reflective of the difference in wages, roughly 80% of a man’s wage. See stats here.
- Post and support the cause using your social media and hashtags that include #WomensMarch, #DayWithoutAWoman, #BeBoldForChange, #EqualWorkEqualPay and any others to connect the conversations and connect your company to supporting your buyers. Get more facts here: http://bit.ly/IntlWomen2017day
- Understand that anyone not shopping on that day or not showing up at work are not fighting you, they are standing up for what they believe and trying to be counted in dollars to the country. So don’t take it personal, recognize the integrity it takes to stand up.
For more information on ideas to grow your business and keep connections with your buyers , contact Tailor-Made Advertising for a one-on-one online or in person consulting appointment to review and improve your efforts, or to help you manage your Email Marketing program or other online marketing efforts. For more information about Liz or Tailor-Made Advertising, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. To schedule Liz Harsch as a speaker for SCORE, SBDC, Constant Contact, Chambers of Commerce and Small Biz Groups on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call us at 310-791-6300.
November 2, 2016
11/2 Moreno Valley- FREE Rock Your Holiday Email Marketing Plan
Join our FREE Marketing Workshop on Wed, 11/02 Learn how to use Email Templates, Social Media and Holiday Deadlines to Grow Your Business at the Moreno Valley Conference Center 9-11am. Register:http://bit.ly/112email
August 2, 2016
8/3 Join me in Manhattan Beach to plan your online marketing strategy and learn about social media that sells including @Instagram and @pinterest!
Join me, SBDC and #ConstantContact for 2 Workshops in one night this Wednesday, 8/3/16 at the Manhattan Beach Library from 6-8pm. Get details at http://bit.ly/83social
In the first workshop, I will review online social media tools and those that sell including @facebook, @pinterest and @instagram and others. In the second hour, I will provide a planning worksheet and we will plan your next online campaigns with tips on the best way to set goals, promote your campaigns and measure your results. If you own a business, you should come. Get ready to rock the second half of your year with some new strategies and tools. Register today:http://bit.ly/83social .
June 29, 2016
Constant Contact Email Changes for July 2016
Constant Contact performs a major update on July 7, 2016. If you are a past customer of Constant Contact’s Email Marketing program, know that their new editor is a drop and drag system that is more user friendly and also offers new features that their clients have been requesting. If you have Email templates you created prior to March 2013, they will not be available, so they should be saved before July 7.
The new program will include a toggle to the previous editor for customers who have emails they created after March 2013. It is a good idea to take the Getting Started with Constant Contact class to see how the new editor works. Their next webinar is June 30th. You can register here.
Constant Contact New Drag & Drop Editor
Important changes for the new editor are summarized here:
- You can now drag and drop images and content blocks into your email template to create a more user friendly programming tool.
- New templates are all mobile friendly and therefore one column templates that will look good no matter what device you use.
- The feature to add a button includes customizing a button so you can create a quick call-to-action without an effort and enhance it with a demanding color to increase the call-to-action you want.
- By separating out the Email library, you have more flexibility of managing the documents, images and Emails you have sent out before. In fact there is a simple way to save your email as a pdf to create a flyer should you want to use it in print or online as well.
- Their new program can help you create Facebook ads from your coupons and promotions (if you use that feature of the program) and walks you through Facebook ads to help customers navigate that process more simply.
- Autoresponders are a series of follow up templates, you can create that allow you to launch the series when you upload a list or a single contact to that list. When you create the series of templates in Constant Contact, you can set up a fixed date or a series of dates for them to receive Emails from your account without you having to do anything but upload the email address into your database for that series of emails. Since we know that consumers today need to hear from a company 7-9 times in 6-8 weeks in order to remember your company.
- Birthdays, Anniversaries and Date based Custom Emails are much easier to navigate as well as creating more date based series using their autoresponder tool. Since we know that these methods of advertising works, it enables the business owner to set these up in advance and upload your client and those dates you want them remembered and your custom designed email will address just that customer on the date you specify (even if you are on vacation).
- Social shares also include Pinterest and Instagram so that social sharing is easier for all your social media platforms.
If you need help navigating the new editor or making more of your Constant Contact account, contact Tailor-Made Advertising for a one-on-one online or in person consulting appointment. You can also attend free webinars and workshops by Liz Harsch by visiting Tailormadeadvertising.com to see her upcoming workshops. To schedule Liz Harsch as a speaker for on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call us at 310-791-6300.
March 1, 2016
6 Ways Auto-responders Can Improve Your Marketing Results
Set up correctly, Auto-Responders can do a lot of follow up for your marketing team. Let’s start with what an autoresponder is and how it works. It is a template based Email Marketing campaign that is set up using an Email Marketing Template Program (i.e. Constant Contact) with a series of follow-up Emails (say every 4 weeks) targeting segments of your target market (people who say yes to your product or service) with content that they are most interested in receiving.
Use Segmented Auto-Responders for Engagement
- If you are a speaker, influencer or use events or trade fairs to collect leads, setting up an autoresponder can keep you in front of people you have recently met and keep you top of mind while they get to know your product, service or specialty. Timed right, this method can save you time in phone follow-up and teach you what those new leads are most interested in purchasing or learning from your company.
- By using template Email Marketing as a follow-up you can measure the interests of your Email Marketing contacts and provide more content that keeps them engaged instead of sending a sea of uninteresting emails that are largely ignored. Remember the key to effective Email Marketing Campaigns is sending helpful and relevant content, to interested parties, that helps them (the recipient) not just your sales team. When strategized to be more helpful, sales and favorable impressions of your company rise.
- Segmented marketing is effective but it requires you to take the time to categorize your list based on the interest of your contacts. If you enter data with relevant topics of interests (products or services they are interested in as well as the type of company or individual on that particular list) you can then edit the content to empathetically tie in with the recipient’s interests. When done correctly, those emails will have a significantly higher open rate (65% vs 13%) and those individuals will be more likely to stay on your subscribers list over time.
- By creating a series of follow up templates, you can touch on more than one of your services and supply helpful content that leads your potential customers to select your company over the competition. These emails should not be self serving, but instead provide content that makes it easier for that person to make educated decisions and either save them time, money or provide them with information that they would have to search for online or try to get from the industry with a larger effort. This causes the recipient to be beholden to your Email.
- Consider setting up an Auto-Responder series, for your most cherished clients or donors, in which you highlight what you have done lately and examples of how others have used your services or products well. It shows that you are helping your clients thrive and also lets others tell how well your company works. In addition, the recipients may be stimulated with ideas on how to use your products or services in another way. For donors, it may stimulate them to provide volunteer hours, in kind donations for items you need or share your progress with their friends.
- Consider using Auto-Responders to identify the social media preference of your target market. When you set up your Email Marketing program measure the clicks to your social media links and create subsets of people who click on your facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube or other social media platforms. Then you can provide follow up specials, information and incentives to those social media platforms. Set up social campaigns that create downloadable content and sweepstakes or a coupon series that are offered to your social media contacts exclusively with an incentive to share them with their social media friends and contacts. This will grow your list.
For more information on running your own auto-responders or brainstorming a way to use auto-responders at your organization, contact Tailor-Made Advertising for a one-on-one online or in person consulting appointment to review and improve your efforts, or to help you manage your Email Marketing program or other online marketing efforts. For more information about Liz or Tailor-Made Advertising, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. To schedule Liz Harsch as a speaker for SCORE, SBDC, Constant Contact, Chambers of Commerce and Small Biz Groups on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call us at 310-791-6300.
November 16, 2015
11/18 Social Media Marketing That Sells Workshop @SBDC Hawthorne
FREE Workshop Wed 11/18 @SBDC Hawthorne #SocialMedia That Sells http://bit.ly/1118social Tips #BlackFriday #CyberMonday #G
ivingTuesday #ShopSmall. There is still time to plan your Holiday Promotions but these events start next week. So make some time to come to SBDC El Camino in Hawthorne for a FREE Social Media Sells Plus Instagram Workshop designed to help you focus on your sales goals using online tools that work for getting sales accomplished. There are effective methods that use free online tools to help you spread the word about your sales events tied into national promotions like Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. These events are highly public and there are ways to put the focus on your small business and expand your reach when you tie your promotions into theirs. Learn to increase your reach beyond your customer and lead list to get your message boosted to a wider audience that matches your target market. Get tips when you join us this Wednesday November 18, in Hawthorne. Limited seating so register today!
July 9, 2015
5 Tips To Close More Business & Grow Your 2015 Sales
5 Tips to Close More Business In 2015
Increase Your Sales by Improving Your Lead Follow Up
It starts with setting a goal. Like any other thing you decide to accomplish, the chances of you succeeding in growing your business is automatically increased when you put it down on paper and commit to achieving something more grand. Just like that 10 pounds you want to lose in time for the holidays, the more people who know what you are trying to do, the more people who will be encouraging you to get there. If you keep your sales goal to yourself, you will likely not achieve it. So here are some tips to grow your business by setting new goals and achieving them.
- Review your lists. Sales starts with connections and you need to start from somewhere. First review your customer list and see when you were last in touch. Then review your lead list and see if you followed up. Then lo0k at your family friends list and consider this, no one sells you better than your family and friends. This is why social media helps businesses. Fact: A kind word from those who are your raving fans goes a long way. Also add lists of professionals and past work connections who can testify to your integrity and help to connect you with others. Don’t forget your clubs, professional affiliation or religious organizations who can also give you and your company some growth.
- Put your list to work. These days in addition to having a contact, it really helps to have their email address. With that you can start to reach out to them in Email Marketing, Social Media platforms, you can even get them to see your ads regularly on social media where you can upload their emails and make sure when they login, they see you. In addition, at the cost of a postage stamp, Email contacts is much more cost effective and immediate. Consider using online tools that provide stats and show you who is interested like an online toolkit. Contact liz@adteamla.com for a list of tools.
- Create a communication strategy. The average person needs to see your company or your business 7-9 times in order to overcome the hurdle of trust, which is the first step to hiring you or trying your product. What is your plan to reach them this many times? If they come into your store and then you follow-up with an Email, you still have to reach them a whole lot more to get an action. That is why we suggest media mixing your traditional media and ads with online social media tools and Email Marketing—it keeps you on top of their thoughts.
- Check in with your sales team. Some of the best ideas on growing your business will come from those that are fighting to get you sales. They already know your company’s strengths & weaknesses. So why should they discuss this with you? Because you can learn from them and help them be more successful selling. Or you can create an environment where your customers and your sales team are afraid to let you know when your services are less than promised. Create an environment that is helpful for your team to talk to you. Make individual appointments with them to discuss their most current prospects and what is standing in the way of a sales. Give them tools to help close those deals. Also use surveys and polls to see how customers see your business before and after a sale. They may help you see other opportunities for more business in the process. At the least they will help you keep your reputation strong so your shortcomings won’t be found on an internet review.
- Review your profitability. Sometimes the problem with your sales is your price. It can be too high or too low, but it also must be profitable. If you have not factored in sales costs, material charges, shipping, tax, overhead, rent, you may find that you need to raise your price in order to make money. Remember that your clients want you to be around, so do what you have to do to be profitable. It ensures your employees an income and if your product is good quality, the customers will pay a fair price for it. You can also package the product with something else to make the price increase seem like a better value.
Want to learn more? Schedule an appointment to review your marketing or sales strategy with Liz Harsch for a 2.5 hour consultation to review your strategy and get some tips on what to do next to grow your sales. You can also attend one of her workshops or classes on marketing strategies for small businesses and network with other business owners while you are there. Visit her website at http://tailormadeadvertising.com.
Liz Harsch, has been helping small and medium sized businesses make the most of their marketing investments since 1988. Her company, Tailor-Made Advertising, is an Authorized SCORE & SBDC workshop presenter and an awarded Constant Contact Email Marketer and Authorized Local Expert presenting Workshops for Constant Contact, SCORE, SBDC, Metropolitan Water District, multiple Chambers of Commerce, The City of Los Angeles and other Organizations. If you are interested in getting help for your marketing plan or your marketing projects, Email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net.
For more information about Liz or Tailor-Made Advertising, visit tailormadeadvertising.com. To schedule Liz Harsch as a speaker on Traditional and Online Marketing, Social Media, Analytics or Email Marketing for your organization, Email us at tmade.mkt@verizon.net or call us at 310-791-6300.
Tailor-Made Advertising 