Using Social Media To Grow Your Business!

The stats, for once, don’t lie…

 Digital marketing giant eMarketer estimates that social media platforms boast over 1.73 billion users worldwide. A number that’s expected to climb to 2.55 billion by the year 2017.

What’s more, according to a recent Nielson study, 46% of consumers turn to social media to help with purchasing decisions. This means that your prospects are most certainly out there, and they’re relying on the social aspect of the web more and more to help them decide who to do business with. So how can you tap into this incredible opportunity to gain more leads for your own business? Let’s take a look.

· 93% of businesses are using at least one social media platform (Forbes)

· 86% of SMEs state that social media is vital to their business (Social Media Today)

· 43% of businesses state that their social media is ineffective due to poor knowledge of each platform (Harvard Business Review)

· 46% of SMEs state that social media is their key marketing strategy (HBR)

· 13% of businesses don’t use social media because they can’t find the right staff (HBR)

· 54% of businesses acquired a client through social media in 2013 (Social Media Today)

· 92% of companies that blogged and updated content every day acquired at least one customer per month (hubspot)

· 53% of social media marketers don’t track their performance on social media

· 72% of social media users are aged 25-49

· Fastest growing demographic on social media is the 45-54 age range

· Worldwide there are over 189 million Facebook users

· Every second, 2 people join LinkedIn

· Over 1 billion people now use some form of social media

Like all stats, you can take them two ways but what’s undeniable is that YOUR clients and potential clients use social media. This means you can REACH them there.

The challenge, though, for the business owner is obvious…

Wikipedia reports that there are 343 social networking sites but there are likely to be at least double or treble this amount. So how do you know which ones to focus on?

This was our challenge over a year ago when we started testing social media. With so many sites to choose from, which ones work best? Not surprisingly, we’ve found the ‘BIG’ players to be the most successful in terms of engaging with and acquiring subscribers and members.

You should only focus your time and energy on the following sites…

· Facebook

· Twitter

· LinkedIn

· Google+

· YouTube

windows)  and ultimately the your efforts. But it’s in respect to the ‘effort’ where social media has its big drawback. 

You see, the whole point of social media is being ‘current’ and ‘timely’. Posting once a month or once a week just isn’t enough. You have to do it daily (5 days a week), otherwise your social media won’t build.

But that’s the challenge. Posting 5 times a week just isn’t easy.

However, with careful planning you can do it.

As I said earlier, for the last 12 months we’ve been testing what works with social media and what doesn’t. All this testing has enabled us to create a 5-stage plan we call ‘SWARM’. These are the 5 things you need to do to build a highly targeted fan base (clients and potential clients) which in turn will help you acquire more fees. You’ll see none of this is rocket science, but as with everything—you have to put the effort in to get the rewards…

Strategy:

The first thing you need to do is think about your objectives. This will help you develop your social media strategy. Like everything I talk about in GMC, your objective needs to be hinged around retaining clients, increasing fees  from clients and acquiring new clients. Your social media objective is no different.

Winning Design & Set-Up:

The next stage is to get your relevant pages in Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+ designed professionally. This is very important.

It is key that you have a consistent ‘look and feel’ across your social media sites. DON’T DO THIS YOURSELF. Get a designer to come up with the designs—it should only cost you a few hundred pounds/dollars.

Accumulate:

Now you know the objective of your social media and you’ve got your pages all looking great, you can start to build your fan base. This needs to be centred around existing clients AND prospective clients.

Set yourself a goal to increase your fan base by X per week/month. For example, with Twitter you might set your target to follow 10 people each week—which in turn will get you between 7 and 9 followers yourself (most people will follow you back).

This simple approach will result in a perpetual and ongoing increase in followers, likes and shares, etc.

Relationship:

By posting on each of your social media sites 5 times a week, you’ll be encouraging your fan base to interact with you, which is the key to social media success.

This constant activity will help your growing fan base…

· To share your information

· Refer you to friends

· Write positive reviews

· Provide recommendations

· Increase engagement and interaction

Of course, this interaction means you’ll also need to reply and respond back, so factor in time each day to do that.

As an important aside, we’ve noticed that adding images, diagrams and pictures to your content does make a big positive difference to your results, so search www.istockphoto.com for interesting images.

You’ll also want to search and share relevant industry-specific news articles periodically and create questions and polls relevant to your business.

Measurement & Optimisation:

As a subscriber of GMC, you know that it’s vital you measure everything you’re doing.

It’s no different when it comes to your social media. You need to measure, analyse and manage every social media post and activity across the breadth of your social media sites.

This is arguably the most time-intensive part of your social media plan, but it will give you the insights you need to keep building your ‘SWARM’ (fan base).

For example, you need to analyse which posts get the most engagement, who are your main demographics, when your customers/potential buyers are logging on to their social media and how many times they have clicked onto your website, etc.

Detailed analysis allows you to continually optimise your social media sites so they are performing to their maximum.

Like I said earlier, none of this is difficult. It’s just time-consuming. But having a social media platform is now just too important to neglect.

However, if you need any help getting your social media to really work for you, contact us.

How to Stop Customer Attrition & Win them back?

How to focus on your customers, clients or patients. More importantly, why we need to make them feel ‘LOVED’!

On average, and for a variety of reasons, most businesses will lose between 10% and 20% of their existing customers each and every year. Customers come and go. It’s simply a fact of life.  

Some of the reasons for customer attrition are unavoidable but others are in the complete control of the business.

 Interestingly, according to a recent survey by the Sales and Marketing Executives International, customers stop buying for the following reasons:

·  1% die

·  3% move away

·  5% develop other friendships

·  9% leave for competitive reasons

·  14% are dissatisfied with the product or service

·  68% leave because they were treated with indifference, disrespect, apathy or neglectful behaviour on the part of employees of that business organisation with whom they interacted

But what is good news is that 82% of a business’s customers leaving because they are unhappy is not good news in anyone’s book.

Because   68%   of    people leave through indifference, with a bit of ‘handholding’ many of these customers wouldn’t leave in the first place, and those that do can be ‘won’ back. 

As a business, we work very hard to keep our clients happy. We’re not perfect by any means but we focus on every interaction we have with them and make sure at the very least they are happy with the outcome. We also regularly tell them we appreciate their business, and when they refer people to us, we say ’thanks’ and send them a gift.  

There’s more we do, but I can tell you from my own experience that once you get a customer it’s your job (and the job of your team) to make sure you hold on to them. It’s not difficult to ‘love’ our customers, as long as we don’t forget . After all, even a loved one needs telling how much you care every so often!

Microsoft Surface Pro 3!

Microsoft is really pushing the “laptop replacement” concept with the new Surface Pro 3. The device should appeal to business users preferring to remain in a Windows environment while on their tablet, rather than using Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android. Of course, as we shall see, the Surface Pro 3 is much more than just a tablet. 

Image Source: Microsoft.com

The first quality to note about the Surface Pro 3 is that it is both thinner and lighter than the previous two editions. Microsoft have also increased the display to 12 inches, and improved the screen resolution to 2160 x 1440. Built into the thin body you'll find a full-size USB 3.0 port, a microSD card reader and a Mini DisplayPort. The device features two 5-megapixel cameras (one for the front and one on the back) as well as stereo speakers with Dolby sound. Other hardware specs include SSD storage (from 64GB to 512GB), 802.11ac Wi-Fi and TPM 2.0 for enterprise security.

Image Source: Microsoft.com

Microsoft are keen to develop the ‘laptop’ side of the product, with the clip-on keyboard (known as the Surface Pro Type) also receiving an upgrade. The Type Cover acts as a screen protector, full keyboard and touchpad interface. The new Type Cover is larger than its predecessors; although the older versions will still work, they won't cover the entire screen when the flap is closed. It feels like the best add-on tablet keyboard you can buy, but still falls short of a decent laptop keyboard. Additionally, it is sold separately for £110, despite the fact that anyone buying a Surface Pro will want this as part of their package.

The Surface Pro 3 starts at £639 for the Intel Core i3/64GB SSD model. Buyers can also upgrade to either a Core i5 or Core i7 and select a larger SSD (up to 512GB).

While the new Surface Pro 3 is Microsoft's best mobile device to date, it's more successful as a tablet than as a replacement for your laptop. In short, it won’t replace your laptop but it is a great alternative to the iPad and will work very well indeed for business users.

How to improve employee productivity using Virtual Offices?

What is a Virtual Office Space?

Many businesses consider the office environment to be the conventional way of functioning. With the increasing costs of office space, more and more businesses are looking out for other ways of working to cut down office space costs and the concept of remote/flexible working is getting popular. This can be facilitated through technology but requires more progressive management strategies. Virtual offices let their staffs work remotely from their home or any other location they choose with internet connection.

Why Choose Virtual Office?

The important reason for choosing a virtual office is the costs involved in the office space. Virtual offices are cheaper than renting a space in the heart of the city. This is often the driving factor for start-ups and SMEs opting for virtual space. This option is considered a lifestyle choice for the modern organisations. This works well with employees especially when they relocate or have children. It is also a good idea to set up virtual work office initially, and then changing to a physical space when profits are better. Employees can also benefit from virtual working to reduce travel costs.

Some businesses may be geographically spread across many countries. In such cases, a permanent office space does not make sense and a virtual office setup is a perfect solution.

Employee Satisfaction and Work Productivity

 

Every business strives to make its employees happy.  Allowing employees to work virtually means they get to spend more time with their family. This flexibility makes an employee happier and more productive. They no longer arrive at work after a stressful, train or bus journey. Instead they can simply work while feeling relaxed and happy. A virtual working style is ideal for people who wish to work as consultants or in desk-based roles, or for people who do not wish to relocate. This is a win-win situation for employers and employees. A physical office may be a geographical constraint for a prospective employee but when allowed to work virtually, this allows the business to hire better talent without having to force them to relocate.

Working virtually is also an advantage for people with disabilities who can work from home with all necessary help and support.

Ultimately IT is key to running a virtual office effectively. Employees need good broadband connections, secure computers provided by their employer and a proper desk, and chair. The culture of the firm is also important - a strong work ethic and adoption of practices such as video conferencing is necessary to have a productive virtual office.

Share you thoughts/experience as comments below. If you need any help, feel free to contact us.

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How to Build Long-Term Business Relationships? 6 Important Tips!

Building up healthy business relationships will help you to meet more people with new, innovative ideas, create a reputation for your business and ultimately boost your sales. Whatever kind of business you are in, developing better business relationships with customers, suppliers, vendors, clients, contacts and more takes time.

Here are 6 useful tips for building better relationships.

Image Source: freeimages.com

1. List out Objectives:

Plan your objective on what you want to achieve from a particular business relationship. Do you want to meet up with a likely client, vendor, supplier, referral or candidate? Setting objectives will help you to better determine which relationships are worthwhile spending time and resources in.

Image Source: freeimages.com

2. Be Ready to Present yourself:

Be broad-minded and have a professional approach. Though it is common, just a reiteration: have your business cards handy. Be prepared to briefly explain what your business is about using a short “elevator pitch” to attract support for your product or project. Follow business meetings ethics.

3. Be Part of Local Business Associations:

Join relevant organisations/associations. There might a handful, if not plenty, of Organisations, Associations and Chambers available to help/network businesses around. Join hands with local charities which can help you to start making contacts. Start your Networking by attending meetings. Share your Business Card & don't forget to get their cards as well. Best way to follow up is through LinkedIn or other professional networking platforms.

4. Make use of the Technology

As said above, use the technology to get in touch and extend your relationship online and long-term. CRM systems, social media and other technological methods will help you in keeping track of and in touch with your business contacts. Share your business information with them directly from time to time to their email address or through their social media profiles.

Image Source: freeimages.com

5. Connect Offline

Though you build an online relationship, it is as important to connect with them personally. That way you can build proper business relationships. For this and all the methods, you need to put in some time and effort in meeting face to face. Schedule casual meetings like a dinner or an official one at their premises. 

6. Win-Win Situation

It is important to have mutual benefits when it comes to business relationships, especially if it has to last long. Give as much or more than what you get from the relationship. Try to extend your helping hands whenever possible that will create a good will.

Try these methods and set a target for yourself, say 10-15 new contacts every month on top of getting in touch with existing contacts, and try to achieve it. 

Let us know how it worked! If you need any help, feel free to contact us.

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