Category: People & Relationships

Article Contributed by Derek Iwasiuk

Making it as an entrepreneur is very tough due to the competitive environment in most industries and the fact that most entrepreneurs do not have the relevant experience or will power to make it. Statistics show that only a small percentage of startups make it past the first five years. There are several secrets that can increase the chances of a startup making it, one of them being an outreach campaign.

Outreach marketing focuses on human-to-human connection. It aims to bring marketing back to a simpler level. In an outreach campaign, you identify bloggers who have your target audience and work with them. They interact with your business and its products/services and share their experience with their audience in return for compensation. So, how does a startup stand to benefit from an outreach campaign?

1. Speeding up the “know, like and trust” process

Readers will be interacting with bloggers they trust. Developing trust takes time and you cannot hope to create it in a few days or weeks. The trust between the blogger and his audience means the blogger’s opinion will be taken seriously. This speeds up the “know, like and trust” process and ensures you release your product/service with a bang.

1. It is human nature to trust a third party recommendation

Human beings are wired to trust third party recommendations more than first hand marketing/self-promotion. People will trust recommendations, reviews, ratings, comments, blogs, and customer testimonials faster than they will trust an ad, even from a well established company.

1. Focus on relevance and authenticity

Outreach marketing focuses on human-to-human interaction as opposed to numerical qualifiers and number of followers. Marketing campaigns like social media optimization, social presence, and ranking will benefit greatly from outreach marketing because, as an example, search engines look at relevance and authenticity when determining ranking in SERPs (search engine results pages).

1. Targeted audience

When searching for a blogger to work with in your outreach marketing campaign, get one who is in your brand’s niche. For instance, if you sell used cars, you can work with a blogger who runs a car enthusiasts blog. This way, you will be focusing your marketing energy on people who are more likely to buy from you. With traditional forms of marketing such as PR submission, PPC (pay-per-click), and SMM (social media marketing), focus is more on numbers and less on target audience.

1. Your product/brand could go viral

If the blogger has a big community that trusts him/her, there is a high chance that your product/brand will go viral. A good blog will have social icons that readers can use to share content they like with their social communities. If you are a startup, you will find it difficult to make your products/brand go viral even if you have the best product since people simply do not want to share something they are not sure about with their friends and relatives.

1. Cost benefits

You will save money with outreach marketing compared to PPC and other traditional online marketing methods. Note that with most bloggers, all you need to do is give a sample product for them to write a review.

1. High quality links to your site

Link building is one of the most effective White Hat SEO tactics – Google loves relevant links in authority sites and blogs. With outreach campaigns, reputable bloggers will have links on their blogs pointing to your landing page. Not only are links good for SEO, but they also bring in targeted traffic to your site since only those that are interested in what you have to offer or what they have read about will click on the links.

1. Fresh content for your site

High quality, relevant, keyword-optimized content is another factor that search engines consider when determining ranking in SERPs. Producing high quality content is a difficult task, especially given the fact that search engines expect you to produce such content in volumes and in high frequency. Outreach marketing gives you quality, organic content that you can promote in relevant channels to get full SEO value.

1. Measurable ROI

When an outreach campaign is managed properly, you can measure the ROI. There are tools to help you measure such things as the number of people who have come to you by clicking on links on a particular blog. This is important for your overall marketing campaign since it will help you know where to channel your scarce marketing dollars.

1. Let others do all the work for you

As an entrepreneur, your time is best spent in product development. With an outreach campaign, you will not be involved in marketing and you can spend your time and effort in other online and offline marketing methods and in product development. Outreach marketing actually saves you money since you do not have to hire an in-house marketing team or to outsource marketing.

1. Brand and credibility building

An outreach campaign will help your brand since the campaign focuses on finding creative ways to tell your brand’s story. This is particularly important for an entrepreneur whose brand will not be widely known. The bloggers you are working with will be looking outside the box and will have different perspectives – all these factors go towards improving your brand. This campaign will also build your credibility. When people see your link and brand name in a blog that is credible, they will also assume that you are credible.

You can find good bloggers to partner with through:

• PR sites like Source Bottle and Media Connections
• Tools like BuzzSumo.com
• Blog directories
• Twitter lists and Twitter search
• Advanced search queries
• Reverse engineering of your competitor’s link profile using tools like MajesticSEO.com and Ahrefs.com

You should ensure that the blogger you are working with is in the same niche your brand falls in. If you are not comfortable giving out money, you could offer something for free and ask the blogger to do a product review. Do not shy away from some criticism – people will trust a blog that is balanced more than one that is skewed in your favor.

Author Bio:  Derek Iwasiuk run’s national digital search engine optimization firm headquartered in Minneapolis. He also spends a lot of his free time educating the minds of thousands of young SEO’s and top agencies. You can also follow him on Twitter @Diwasiuk and learn more about his out reach campaigns.

Giving back to your community is hugely important for businesses. Not only does it help to set you apart from competitors, it also can make your employees happier and attract new customers and clients to want to work with your business. There are many different ways to give back to the community, here are a few ideas to get you feeling inspired:

Volunteering

If your company is one which has spare time to give away, volunteering to help with a community project is the best way of giving back. It also gives your business exposure and shows that you actively care about improving things for your local community. A great example of this kind of volunteering is when the car sales company Motorpoint, sent employees to work in local charity shops helping out for the day. This helped them to break down the negative stereotypes surrounding car salespeople and showed off their excellent customer service skills which local customers benefited from.

Donate to Charity

A good way to give back to the local community is to sponsor a charity. This way you can donate all funds raised from work bake sakes, fundraisers and office events to your chosen charity and support them over an ongoing period. This could include things like organising company activity days such as sponsored walks, swims, and cycle challenges. One of the advantages of donating money is it doesn’t take up too much time which can be especially help

Focus on your Strengths

Every company will have a different specialism which they can use to help support the local community. Whether you’re a tech company that could volunteer teaching elderly people to use computers or a restaurant that could go make dinner at the local homeless shelter, focusing on your strengths is important as it means you can provide the community with a new skill or something that’s useful to them as opposed to a generic task.

Set a Target

By setting a certain amount of money you’d like to raise as a company, or a target number of hours per year you’d like to dedicate to volunteering, you’ll have something to aim towards and be able to make a significant contribution to your chosen charity or cause.

These are just some of the ways which your business can give back to the community, with  many more to choose from, why not take one up and start supporting your local community today?

Businesses have never before had so much access to so much information about their customers. Information is power, and for businesses, that power translates into the ability to provide a level of customer service that will elevate the bottom line. One of the biggest challenges that businesses currently face is storing, accessing and effectively utilizing all that valuable data.

When data is stored in multiple systems, it’s more difficult to ensure that it isn’t duplicated or outdated, which increases data storage costs. It can also adversely affect the customer experience. Among the problems it can create are longer wait times and improper handling of customer complaints. With the advent of social media, a single mishandled complaint can result in the loss of other customers, as well as potential future customers.

Consumer expectations have grown faster than inflation. Not only do they expect prompt and efficient customer service, but they expect to receive it over multiple channels of communication. Smartphones and tablets have replaced desktops as the preferred medium for online shopping and social communication. Businesses have also gone mobile, and need to be able to access data from anywhere.

CRM software is one of the most effective tools for increasing consistency and reliability, two of the most vital elements of customer relationship management. It increases the ability of businesses to track, analyze, and manage both data and customer interactions. That ability usually results in higher customer retention rates as well as sales growth.

Salesforce, one of the pioneers of cloud-based CRM software, is the most well-known. However, so many businesses are taking advantage of all the capabilities of these services that there are now a wide variety, for a wide variety of budgets, to choose from.

Software developers have shifted their focus to creating CRM software designed specifically for particular industries. For example, for real estate brokerage firms, email tracking capability is a must-have feature. It’s important to maintain relationships with those who are planning to buy or sell, but not immediately. Agents are also on the go almost constantly, and the ability to access data anytime and anywhere is vital. Notes taken in the field regarding properties and timelines are immediately available to everyone in the office.

Integrating all of a company’s communication channels, including their website, telephone, direct mail, social media and live chat provides customers with three important elements of great customer service—mobility, flexibility, and choice. It also allows businesses to easily record and track customer interactions and gather valuable information about their personal preferences and purchasing habits. It can ensure that no lead ever goes unfollowed.

Social media is where consumers share information about their purchases and customer service experiences. Good CRM systems have tools that allow businesses to use social media to form customer communities. One of the benefits of such communities is that members share information, post reviews and answer questions for each other about products and services. It’s a high-tech version of the timeless truth that the best advertising is word of mouth. It also results in fewer calls for technical support.

CRM software systems aren’t just for improving customer service, though. They can also improve communication between management and employees. Managers are more able to recognize and give credit where credit is due with a system that tracks employee performance and productivity, and make helpful suggestions when it isn’t.

A good CRM software system can potentially help transform any type of business into a more productive, efficient, and customer-engaged version of itself. However, according to an article in Forbes, even the best and most user-friendly CRM software requires good management. One expert in the fields suggests that making a successful transition to a streamlined system requires strong administrators who know how to use all the valuable tools they offer to best advantage. Additionally, you can take it to the next level, by using a data integration tool to merge all your CRM data with your ERP, marketplace, e-commerce and other data for further increased transparency within your organization.

While CRM software is extremely user friendly, providing training for everyone who will be using it is a wise investment. Employees may feel intimidated by the prospect of the extra work required to learn a new system. Managers confronted by those complaints should remind their teams that while it may entail some extra work now, it will enable them to work smarter, rather than harder, in the future.

Article Contributed by Dan Razak

It is not easy to make smart decisions in the modern business world. Exposed to dozens of influences from different sides, business owners easily get confused when they have to take their next business moves. If you want your business to acquire an admirable reputation in your niche, it is necessary to make it popular with other businesses. Network marketing can be a great way to do that, but only for some businesses.

Initial success

When you are at the very beginning of your business career and it still looks like a blank piece of paper, it is essential to have enough courage for bold business decisions. Such an approach does not mean exposing to hazards, but being determined to take a plunge into the world of business. Therefore, if you are a committed and determined business owner who has already reached some success in the initial stage of their business career, becoming a part of the network marketing community should be a step up for your business. This field needs focused, audacious people who are dedicated to success.

Desire for self-improvement

If you work on your own, you can have significant business results. However, if you are the only reference system you compare to, your ascent to the top will be slow. In business it is necessary to be surrounded by people who force you to go extra miles all the time. Business owners who take part in network marketing will have inspiration and motivation to go forward and work hard to reach new goals. The more leads you generate and the more business associates you gather, the better your business perspective will be. Learn more about benefits of team work in business here.

Skilful time management

Working in the field of online network marketing includes some demands that cannot be met by every office John or Jane Doe. What it takes to become a successful network marketer is a high level of self-discipline, especially if you work from home. If you have tried working from home and you still work that way, it is obvious that you can cope with such demands. The key feature here is time management. Home workers have to master two basic things; firstly, they need to plan their work day in ahead; sometimes even the whole week. And secondly, they should never alienate from their friends. Regular socialization and strict plans make home workers more productive, according to a piece published by Forbes.

Knowing your weak spots

The greatest thing you will ever learn in business is how to recognize your weak spots. Once you get to know how much you actually do not know, you can set off for a serious business adventure. On the other hand, businesspeople and workers who overrate their skills and knowledge might find themselves in a dead end. As a result, their careers could not take off the way they planned. So, if you can recognize what marketing skills you need to improve, start working with networking marketing companies, but also enroll MLM training sessions, to strengthen your weak places.

Due to the commercial nature of the Internet and its growth potential, network marketing has a bright future. Therefore, if you can identify yourself with the four features described in this text, feel free to start pursuing a career as a member of the network marketing niche.

Dan Radak is a web hosting security professional with ten years of experience. He is a coauthor on several websites and regular contributor to BizzMark Blog. Currently, he is working with a number of companies in the field of online security, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.

Article Contributed by Dan Radak 

You cannot expect your business to move forward and to develop unless you invest in it, and especially the workers employees who make everything work. Moreover, you should look into what you can do in order to help them gain new skills to be able to contribute more for the business. Be sure to assess available employee abilities, and where you can help out to make them more valuable. Remember that you cannot force improvement, and that it should be a mutual agreement, which will make sure that your business is heading the right way, and that you are not wasting your money.

Come up With a Marketing Strategy

Marketing is a complex field which will make it possible to advertise your products among the right target audience. However, you will have to sit down and come up with a good marketing strategy plan, otherwise you will have no idea if your campaigns were successful or not. Keep in mind that your business must have feedback on how the demographic is reacting, to ensure that everything is going according to plan. It is possible to have a team of your employees promoted to become marketing strategist or you can hire someone from outside to help you with your ordeal.

Finances Can Be Very Expensive

A company could have trouble if it has no suitable finance managers and team to handle the problems with funds. Outsourcing a team of finance workers can be a viable solution, though, it will be more costly to keep them around in the long run. Nevertheless, you can always select a few who quality and help them finish a financial planning course, which will help your business become self-sufficient and able to handle its own finances. It is often best to avoid having a large number of finance officers, to avoid conflict amongst them, and to be able to yield good results for your overall business.

Create a Creative Environment for Employees to Work In

In essence, nobody likes to work in a dull and grey workspace, which is why it is vital that you spice things up now and then. Furthermore, creativity will be an important aspect of how it can help develop better design, and adopt a way of thinking to help create a steady line of innovation. Instead of avoiding to solve complex problems, it would be best to find various different angles which will help in processing and finding a solution. Be sure to hold training courses and workshops so that your employees can grasp the ideology as well, and that they can use it in everyday situations.

The more money you put into your business, the more you will be able to expect in return, which is why it is important to understand what goes and what will inevitably destroy your business. You must plan ahead and address financial situations as soon as possible, to make sure that your company is thriving. Moreover, investing in a few employees can be beneficial for both your business and them, as it will make them a valuable asset, and an immense help to help evolve your company to the next level. Bear in mind that long-term planning will bear fruit only if you are persistent and careful with it.

About the Author

Dan Radak is a web hosting security professional with ten years of experience. He is a coauthor on several websites and regular contributor to BizzMark Blog. Currently, he is working with a number of companies in the field of online security, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.