Why it Pays to Hire a Marketing Agency

OK, I know you’re not supposed to use a blog for sales purposes, and if you are a regular reader, you know that we usually never break this rule. 

But, I came across some research recently that, as I share with you, makes it so easy to segue into a sales pitch for BBG&G. So, if you’re not interested in a sales pitch, skip the last paragraph. But, don’t skip the main part of this blog, as it contains information that could prevent you from wasting your marketing dollars.

According to research done by Corporate Visions, and based on a poll of more than 440 b2b salespeople and marketers, findings show that: 

·      80% of Business-2-Business professionals say their marketing campaigns are ineffective. 

The reason given for the ineffective campaigns:

·      Lack of content that is relevant to customers

·      Copy isn’t provocative or engaging

·      Lack of alignment between sales and marketing

Overall, campaign messaging lacks customer focus. Are you focusing on your own company's products, features, and services, rather than focusing on your customers' wants and needs?

Boring content is ineffectual. Blogging, posting, and tweeting is intended for customer’s enjoyment. They want to get something useful out of it. Understanding your customers fully is vital. 

This is what BBG&G thrives at. Our inspired team creates bold messaging that challenges your prospect’s assumptions and creates urgency for change.  With us, you can be confident that your campaigns are grabbing the attention that they deserve. Call us today to chat about ways we can help you engage your customers! (845) 695-1880

How to Beat The Slowest Week In Online Retail Sales

The week of July 23^rd is the slowest week for online summer sales. In Will the Summer Sun make your Sales Shine or Fade Away blog, I talked about some tips for brick-and-mortar stores to help with the summer slump. For you online retailers, most of those tips are not going to work, so I am going to talk about measures you can take that will.

Shoppers will occasionally spend big bucks online throughout the summer; the key is to catch them at the right time. One simple factor that can help increase your revenue and help you focus your marketing efforts is considering what day of the week it is.

Fridays are the slowest when it comes to sales; the average dollar spent goes down by $6! People go away for the weekend and aren’t worried with spending the big bucks before they depart.  We have all rushed home from work on a Friday, quickly packed our bags and hit the road for vacation.  There is no room in that equation for online shopping! Don’t waste your efforts trying to reel customers in on these days.

When people get back from vacation they are thinking about the stuff they forgot to get over the weekend. Mondays account for buyers purchasing the most expensive items. The average dollar spent goes up by $4. This might also have to do with the ‘Monday Blues;’ shopping is seen as a ‘cure’. Wednesdays are the top sales days; meaning the overall total of purchases are higher.

Draw consumers in by adding sales incentives. For example, free shipping for orders of $100 or more on Mondays would help push consumers to make higher-value orders since they are already purchasing costly items. As an online retailer, online marketing is imperative- more than 50% of people with a social networking account check it daily. Take advantage of this by posting updates about new products, a special events and sales.

The Power of Pictures: Instagram and Facebook Camera

"A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words & Information Is The Currency Of The Internet" 

 

There has been a lot of fuss about Facebook’s newest application, Facebook Camera. Facebook Camera lets you rapidly pick one or more photos, apply filters, tag friends and locations, add a description and then post. It has fourteen different camera filters and is coincidentally very similar to what the application known as Instagram does. What is even stranger, Facebook recently acquired Instagram for one billion dollars.

Instagram has no revenue, but what it does have is 30 million users. That wasn’t the only upside to buying Instagram. Facebook so quickly spent one billion dollars because of user data. Instagram is far more targeted than Facebook. Facebook certainly knows how to target ads to its audience’s interests, but as we all know by now, Facebook users post any number of boring, self-interested or otherwise forgettable updates. Instagram photos are simpler and frequently brilliant, especially for brands. You can find out more of a user’s interest on Instagram. A food lover takes photos of dining out and fancy dishes, a skier takes pictures of the slopes and the resort. Facebook can optimize this data and create advertisements with even more of a focus.

Instagram Winning Tickets to Brooklyn Bowl

Another factor is that Facebook has had difficulty finding a way to keep up with mobile technology. Instagram really knows mobile. They do not have a website; it is just an application where you can follow people and see others photos by scrolling on there page. When you upload a photo, you can choose to share it via Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr as well. Instagram looks nice and simple and has an easy interface. The Facebook mobile app can really learn from this.

The beauty of Instagram, and Facebook Camera, is that people love photos. People go on Facebook to look at photos of friends, family, and things that interest them. Half of Facebook users comment on photos at least twice a week.

As a business, how does this affect you? Both applications will display photos on your Facebook Business Page. They might seem like competing apps, but except for minor differences in editing tools, they are essentially the same. It is up to you to choose how you want to interact with your fans. So choose one and use it! Photos get attention.