In this episode we have Charles McKay from Synx.com.au talking with us about Inbound Marketing and how Hubspot fits into the picture.

Charles is an Inbound Marketing specialist and his company helps businesses sell more and grow their businesses using Inbound Marketing.

Some of the topics we discuss include:

* what Inbound Marketing actually is and why it’s important

* Hubspot and why it’s the number one player in the market when it comes to Inbound Marketing

* SMART marketing goals

* what type and size businesses should looking a Hubspot and engaging and Inbound Marketing specialist

* free tools and how to get started regardless of how big or small your business is

Links:

* synx.com.au

* hubspot.com

* Hubspot free CRM

Listening options:

Click here to listen on iTunes or click the Play button below to play from your web browser.

 

In this episode we have Kiri Masters from BobSledMarketing.com back again with what’s effectively part 2 of our discussion on the Amazon Marketplace, Amazon FBA and selling on Amazon.

If you’re new to selling on Amazon or looking to get started on Amazon it’s probably wise to listen to Episode 59 – Amazon FBA & Getting Started On The Amazon Marketplace first before listening to this one.

Kiri’s new book The Amazon Expansion Plan – Learn how to skyrocket your sales, sell globally and make your brand an international success, digs deep into the Amazon eco system and explains how you can leverage Amazon in your product or ecommerce business.

In this episode we cover a whole range of topics and is applicable for any business that is just about to or has just gotten into the Amazon Marketplace. Some of the topics we discuss include:

* marketing strategies including Amazon PPC and using ad platforms outside Amazon

* counterfeiters and copycats and what you can do about them

* some of the recent Amazon rule changes around reviews

* selling internationally and how you would go about expanding from Amazon.com onto Amazon in other countries, for example Amazon.co.uk

Kiri’s book is a fantastic resource for anyone selling in Amazon and you can find out more about the book, read sample chapters and get some specials bonuses at TheAmazonExpansionPlan.com

 

Listening options:

Click here to listen on iTunes or click the Play button below to play from your web browser.

 

In this episode we speak with Kiri Masters from BobsledMarketing.com, a web agency that specialises in helping businesses launch their brand and products on Amazon and helps existing Amazon sellers get more out of their Amazon presence.

This is a good episode to listen to if you have an established ecommerce business and you’re thinking about selling on Amazon or if you are a wholesaler or product manufacturer looking at expanding your marketing reach and growing your business.

We talk about a whole range of topics including pros and cons of selling on Amazon, some of the common Amazon seller mistakes, the types of products that do and don’t work on Amazon, 3rd party tools for getting the most out of Amazon plus a whole bunch more.

Notes from this episode:

* 3 Ways of selling on the Amazon Marketplace

* FBA or Fulfilled by Amazon – this is the method of selling on Amazon that has gained huge popularity over the last few years

* Fulfilled by Merchant – your products are listed on the Amazon Marketplace and you ship them

* Wholesale Program – you sell products wholesale to Amazon

* Amazon tools

* Junglescout

* Reviewkick

* Salesbacker

* Asinspector

* Taxjar

* Helloprofit

* Terapeak

* AMZ Tracker

* Unicorn Smasher

* Keywordinspector.com

Listening options:

Click here to listen on iTunes or click the Play button below to play from your web browser.

This week we talk about accounting and financial tools which is surprisingly something we get asked about a lot.

We share the tools we use along with insights that relate to finances and accounting that we’ve learned along the way.

This episode is a good one to listen to if you’re spending a lot of time each week managing your books and are looking for a better solution.

Notes & Links from this episode:

* Xero.com – the cloud accounting package we both use and love!

* Shoeboxed – an easy way to get your documents in the cloud

* XOCashflow – an addon for Xero to help with following up outstanding accounts

* Evernote – like a digital filing cabinet

* Taking credit cards online:

* Eway.com.au

* Stripe

* Paypal

* Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs – a great book to read if you want better understand your finances and accounts

* Australian Credit cards with no overseas transaction fees:

* 28 Degrees Mastercard

* Citibank Plus

 

Listening options:

Click here to listen on iTunes or click the Play button below to play from your web browser.

 

In this episode we talk about keyword, keyword targeting and keyword research. We share some simple strategies and tactics around keywords that will eliminate a lot of confusion small business owners feel around keywords and search engines.

This is a good episode to listen to if you’re looking to rank higher in the search engines and be more proactive around Adwords and search engine marketing. A lot of costly mistakes can be easily avoided by following some of the advice we share in this episode.

Notes from this episode:

* Your website will rank differently for the same keyword depending on device, physical location of the searcher and in some cases, the searchers history

* “Being number 1” or getting a high rank for a keyword is not a complete strategy. Ranking doesn’t necessarily get the visitor to click on your site and getting a visitor is no guarantee you’ll get an enquiry, lead or sale.  Making sure you have a well written meta description and important conversion elements such as high quality photography will make a big difference the overall performance of your site.

* Be mindful of the searcher intent vs your website purpose. There is a big difference between someone search “margaret river accommodation” (a specific town) and “southwest accommodation (a very big general area).  The quality of searches almost always beats quantity.Other examples:

* “best exercise bike” vs “buy exercise bike online” – from the perspective of selling exercise bikes, the second term is much higher quality

* “dentist” vs “cosmetic dentist perth” – the second search is much more specific and the intent of the searcher is a lot more clear

* Adwords can be a great keyword research tool. Also worth testing keywords in Adwords to see how they perform from a sales perspective before committing SEO resources to ranking for that term.

* Remember the “too good to be true” rule – if it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Many of the “you rank on page 1 or it’s free” SEO agencies take shortcuts and use methods that work short term but hurt you long term.

* Keyword rich domain names don’t work like they used to. Just because a website search matches the domain name doesn’t mean that is why it’s ranking high.

* It’s extremely hard to rank for a search term if you don’t have a page of content for it. For example, a dentist who wants to rank for “cosmetic dentist perth”, “teeth whitening perth”, “dental implants perth” will find it significantly easier to rank if they have a good quality page of content dedicated to each of these search terms.

* Brendan’s keyword research approach (the opposite to how most business owners do it):

* Brainstorm and make a list of all the products and services you sell (pen and paper is ideal)

* Rank this list in order of priority

* Confirm that you have a page for each of these products or services – if not create them. To a certain degree, the longer the page the better.

* Do keyword research and determine what terms relate to the product/service and page and implement appropriately.

 

Listening options:

Click here to listen on iTunes or click the Play button below to play from your web browser.

 

 

 

In this episode we talk about online marketing tactics and strategies as they relate to bigger businesses and businesses with an internal marketing department.

These businesses can be quite different to your typical small business as they’re often dealing with bigger budgets, more people and more moving parts.

 

Notes & links from this episode

Marketing vs sales department

* in bigger businesses marketing and sales departments often have very poor communication where the marketing team often operates in a vacuum and so does the sales team

* with the right tools and measurements in place customers can be tracked from the beginning of their purchasing journey to the end

* the right tools benefit both marketing and sales departments

Tools and tactics:

* Google Adwords for Search -> great at capturing active demand but can’t create demand

* SEO -> again, it cannot create demand. A complete search strategy leverages both Adwords AND SEO

* Maps is an important part of online marketing especially for bigger businesses with multiple locations. Maps need to be managed across Google, Apple Maps AND Bing. Facebook is also getting into the maps space so important too.

* Facebook ads and Google Adwords Display Network are excellent replacements for traditional print advertising. Generally best at creating awareness and increasing demand

* Basic conversion optimisation will go a long way -> something as simple as going through the sales process from start to finish will often highlight big gaps and deficiencies

 

 

Listening options:

Click here to listen on iTunes or click the Play button below to play from your web browser.

 

In this episode we share the online marketing strategy we use with our medical and dental practice clients.

This episode is designed to be a broad strokes guide for businesses in this space and is similar to what we’d present in one of our online marketing workshops.

A warning upfront: the strategy outlined here could easily be a 12 month project so important that you take this into consideration while you’re listening and not get overwhelmed.

The episode is split into two sections, quick wins and low hanging fruit and then the more broad higher level business strategy.

Quick Wins and Low Hanging Fruit:

A basic web presence!

While you may not be actively chasing new patients you really still need to be online even if it’s just a single page website with your contact details.

With a large proportion of people walking around with smartphones and internet in their pocket today the easiest way for them to find your phone number and your contact details is to Google you and get it from your website.

Having an email address and contact form on the site that’s answered daily will also reduce the amount of inbound calls your practice gets and ultimately the workload of front office staff too.

Google, Apple & Bing Maps

An up to date listing that has your full contact details, your address and correct opening hours is critical. As a medical practitioner people are visiting you every day so your online maps listings are getting a workout!

True Online Booking Capability

True online booking capability ideally linked directly to your practice management software. By “true online booking” we mean someone can visit your website, make an appointment online and have a fully confirmed appointment the same as if they had called and made it over the phone.

Even if you’re not actively chasing new patients, existing patients benefit because they may be looking to book an appointment after hours, and as a practice you benefit through increased bookings and less workload.

Online Review Management & Monitoring

It’s inevitable that you’ll get a bad review online at some point in your business life – it’s almost unavoidable and a part of doing business in today’s world.

Given this is the case it’s important that you have a least something in place to check to ensure negative reviews are handled appropriately. At the entry level this can be as simple as Googling the business name once a month and looking at the search results.

In many medical fields actively encouraging reviews is against the law or governing body regulations however if you’re operating in a field that can solicit online reviews, using a tool like getfivestars.com can be very worthwhile.

Broader Strategy:

Content

Having website content that matches the market expectations is critical, pages you’ll commonly need:

* home page

* appointment booking page

* contact us page

* location page for every location with an embedded Google Map and link to Google Maps

* a detailed page for each product, service or experience you offer

One simple technique for building content is to brainstorm all the products and services you sell or want to promote and make sure there is a page for each of them. The page needs to be at least 1.5 scrolls long with images and video. Fattening out the page with say the top 3 most commonly asked questions about that particular product or service is an easy way to make the page bigger.

High quality email and web hosting

There’s no excuse for email problems with today’s technology. Our email hosting providers of choice are Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365. Office 365 is the better one if you’re used to using Microsoft Outlook.

In this episode we share the online marketing strategy we use with clients in the hotel, tourism and hospitality space.

This episode is designed to be a broad strokes guide for businesses of this type an is similar to what we’d present in one of our online marketing workshops.

A warning upfront: the strategy outlined here could easily be a 12 month project so important that you take this into consideration while you’re listening and not get overwhelmed.

The episode is split into two sections, quick wins, must haves and low hanging fruit and then the more broad higher level business strategy.

Quick Wins, Must haves and Low Hanging Fruit:

High quality photography

This goes without staying that you need the best possible quality photos on your site but so many businesses have horrible photos on their website.

You know yourself when you’re booking at hotel or looking a booking a trip or making some sort of reservation one of the first things you probably look at one a website are the photos.

Especially in the tourism and hospitality space, high quality, professionally taken photos are an extremely important part of your overall marketing strategy.

Our episode with Matt Reed is a fantastic one if you need to up-level your photography or are simply not sold on the power of photos, here’s the link:

https://www.businessmarketingshow.com/episode-16-commercial-website-photography/

Click play on the video below and here from Matt directly about why photos are so important:

Video can also be an extreme powerful online marketing tool, a brief about us or “tour” style video can really up-level your sales and marketing game (if the video is done well!)

Here’s a great example from a DidgeridooBreath.com, a didgeridoo shop and popular tourist destination in Fremantle, Western Australia.

 

 

Online Booking Capability

People expect to be able to book flights, hotels, trips and make reservations online. They want to be able to make a true booking with a credit card and not just submit a request through a form.

In today’s world this is not optional, customers need to be able to buy, book or reserve AND pay directly on your website.

Little Hotellier and and Rezdy.com are two great apps to get this functionality up and running.

 

Reviews & Review Management/Monitoring

This is simple. You need online reviews. After looking at the photos the next thing website visitors do is check the reviews so it’s critical that you have a strategy in place to get reviews on an ongoing basis.

This can easily be automated with a tool like getfivestars.com

It’s also important you are monitoring reviews on an ongoing basis and respond to negative reviews in a timely manner

Airbnb & Tripadvisor profiles

Airbnb.com can be a goldmine for small hotels and accommodation providers and is definitely worth testing as a marketing channel.

A profile on Tripadvisor.com is pretty much mandatory these days as it’s generally the goto place for most people when they’re looking for reviews or travel suggestions.

Broad Strategy:

Mindset

Many business owners have the wrong mindset when it comes to online marketing strategies.

Fixing your mindset, particularly around time and cost investment, is a key part of making your online marketing strategy work effectively.

Unfortunately most small businesses owners choose services based on price instead of features, benefits and expected performance. Looking at the expected return on a service first,

In this episode we provide an ecommerce marketing blueprint and broadly outline the strategy we’re using right now with our ecommerce and online retail clients. This episode is designed to be a broad strokes high level strategy and is similar to what we’d present in one of our ecommerce marketing workshops.

Similar to the Small Business Online Marketing Blueprint in episode 49, we’ve presented the steps in the same order as we’d work through them with you if we were working one on one.

1. Understand your Business Fundamentals

Be clear, is your business a problem/solution type of business or do you need to actively generate awareness and demand for your products/services. In other words, is there active demand in the search engines for what you’re selling.

If there is activate demand then the strategy is likely more straightforward.

If not then you’ll need to test different marketing channels and be creative.

Frank Body is a great example of a business with a creative marketing strategy.

Are you shipping worldwide or just within your country? This will determine the channels you can use to market the business.

Do you need to educate the buyer before purchasing, what is the complexity of the sale? More complex sales are going to require more information on the website and a multi-step sales and marketing approach

Understanding your sales and marketing funnel is key to making your online marketing work effectively.

eCommerce businesses that are pure box shippers are going to be able to leverage a more simple marketing strategy. If your products are complex, are high priced or have a longer sales cycle then you’re marketing strategy is likely going to be more complex.

2. Use the right technology

Your choice of CMS (content management system) can determine whether the business will be successful or fail for two reasons:

* The CMS doesn’t just drive the website, it becomes the underlying system that supports the entire business.

* If the CMS can’t support key ecommerce marketing tools and tactics such as Google Shopping and Abandoned Cart Emails you’ll be at a serious disadvantage over your competition, this is a very common problem and can seriously impact your business.

Shopify is our preferred platform right now, it’s cloud hosted, cheap, has plenty of themes/templates and third party apps that can plug into it BUT that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right for everyone. This is especially true if you’re doing something more complex than simply shipping boxes.

Other important pieces of technology:

* Email hosting – Google Apps or Office 365, email is mission critical and an ecommerce business has an even greater reliance on it.

* Ticket system for support – Zendesk.com.

* Email marketing – Mailchimp is a good starting point, Klaviyo.com is on the high end.

3. Traffic generation – getting visitors to your site

Search Engines – there are many elements to getting traffic from search and if your search strategy can be summed up as “I want to be number” then you have a problem. There are multiple search engines to take into account in the ecommerce world:

* Google – SEO, Adwords, Google Shopping or PLAs and in some cases Google Plus Local

* Amazon FBA & Amazon PPC

* Ebay – Ebay is still a goldmine for some products and markets

Email marketing – this is a special case because it’s so versatile and so powerful w...

In this episode we talk with Gideon Shalwick from Veeroll.com

Veeroll.com is an online platform that allows you to create Facebook and Youtube video ads in minutes without needing any video editing skills.

Links from this Episode

Veeroll.com

Free Magic Live Youtube channel

Gideon’s Youtube Channel

Listening options:

Click here to listen on iTunes or click the Play button below to play from your web browser.