Four Strategies for Increasing Your Advertising Effectiveness by: blog-editor2, February 15, 2011 1. Filling The Need You can debate the exact amount of white space you should have in ads and the perfect percentage of keyword density for SEO until you are blue in the face, but if your product or service is not perceived as filling an urgent and essential need, then you cannot complain about poor advertising effectiveness. Don’t just sell the features and tell prospects how your product or service works. Make sure you are promoting the real benefits for your prospective customers, the ones that are most important to them. For example, a toll free number is not just a way for your customers to reach you by phone or only a critical part of your branding. Toll free numbers have not only been proven to improve advertising effectiveness in terms of response rates but also through double digit increases in closing ratios and actual revenues. 2. Personalization Both individual and corporate consumers are becoming more demanding than ever about the products and services they choose to acquire. They want to be made to feel special and that you care about their needs, and they often will only jump on those offerings that appear to be made just for them. This case is true whether it is a new smartphone, a marketing program, or a mobile app. So consider how you can improve advertising effectiveness or add options to your products that will give that personalized "created just for me" feel. You can also achieve this customer connection by improving on tracking and the flow of your system that will present visitors to your mobile and web presence with exactly what they are looking for and need. Or perhaps you should be creating multiple mini-sites complete with their own branding and vanity numbers to target specific niches in your industry. 3. Integration In several ways, integration applies to increased advertising effectiveness. First, consumers and prospects are surrounded by so many channels these days that it is essential to keep in front of them wherever they are in order to keep your hold on your market share. No longer are consumers just bombarded by billboards, telemarketers, and TV ads. They are now permanently plugged into the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites whether it is on the computer at work, in their cars, or via their smartphones at every other moment of the day and night. Make sure you are in front of them wherever you can be as often as you can, keeping your service fresh in their minds and making it easy for them to acquire your products and services. However, integration is now also playing an extremely important role in the form of Facebook "likes." Getting your products and business "liked" means being able to tap into the sphere of influence and social network that each of your customers has with an extremely powerful word of mouth referral, so make sure to integrate social media with the rest of your business every step of the way. 4. Make It A "No Brainer" To Do Business With You Online One major factor that has many business owners stumped at just how poorly their online advertising is performing is that they fail to recognize just how different it is doing business via the Internet than face to face. In the past, your sales team may have done great moving high end products with almost no effort at all. However, in many cases you cannot expect to charge the same premiums to complete strangers who are finding you on the web for the first time without making a solid effort to demonstrate your credibility through strong branding. You will also find your advertising effectiveness dramatically improves by offering trials or other incentives to get prospects to realize just how great your company is. Make it impossible for them to say no! Read More
Vanity Numbers and Personal Branding by: blog-editor2, February 14, 2011 Who said that only businesses can take advantage of vanity numbers? Individuals who want to create a “personal brand” can benefit from this service as well. Vanity numbers can be used as a marketing tool for personal coaches, professionals, and freelancers. Even celebrity fan clubs are getting in on the action. Vanity numbers enable them to connect with their fans easily, conveniently, and with minimal costs. Definitely, everything is about interaction these days. At the end of the day, potential clients are more likely to call a number they remember than to look for more information in the yellow pages. Calling a vanity number is also enticing because callers do not need to pay for the calls they make. If you use vanity numbers for personal branding, they will set you apart from the rest. Right now, you might be missing a lot of opportunities out there even without knowing it. But by subscribing to a toll-free vanity number today, you will begin to see the difference in your personal brand and bank account! Given all the benefits stated above, it is not surprising that an increasing number of small businesses (mostly sole proprietorships) are getting their own vanity numbers. This tool also evens out the playing ground for the self-employed, small businesses, and more established corporations. There are very few barriers to getting a toll free vanity number. Anyone who wants to create a strong personal brand should check out this option to know its advantages. Image Credit: © Oleg Pidodnya | Dreamstime.com Read More
Reverse Number Look Up for Corporate Intelligence and Tracking Your Girlfriend by: blog-editor2, February 11, 2011 In the past, reverse phone look up was mostly used to identify callers. Today, however, it has emerged as a tool for competitive intelligence and even tracking. By using reverse phone lookup, it is possible to determine who your competitors are, how strong their products are, and how loyal their customer base is. This information will give you in-depth insight about their business operations: what they’re doing right and what their weaknesses are. Using this information, you can create a stronger marketing strategy. Beyond business, however, reverse phone look up can also be used for your personal life. For example, some individuals actually use this service to track their girlfriend or boyfriend! However, that doesn't mean it is used only by people who are suspicious of their partners. The service also gives users peace of mind in knowing that their loved ones are safe. In order for reverse phone look up to be effective, it is important to choose a service provider with an extensive database. Many providers allow you to conduct free searches in their databases on the Internet. But if you are looking for detailed information, it is better to look for paid services. The fee can range from minimal to fairly expensive, depending on the company you choose to deal with. In the end, you'll know who is calling you, and if necessary, you can ask that person or company to remove you from their calling lists, or in some cases, take legal action as needed. Read More
855 Numbers For Call Centers – Now Is The Time To Boost Your Revenues by: blog-editor2, February 9, 2011 In the last eighteen months, the call center business has become more competitive than ever before. With a surge in the demand for outsourcing and the new global way of doing business, third party call centers are now a crucial tool for almost every business. However, there is also more and more pressure to reduce prices and deliver a superior quality of service. To offset these effects on your bottom line and provide a higher level of service, it is necessary to add additional revenue streams. A great way to do so is by offering 855 numbers. When operating a call center, all of your clients need toll free numbers, and in most cases, blocks of many toll free numbers. So why shouldn’t you be offering toll free numbers and making money from toll free services too? At least one leading toll free service provider is now offering a high quality affiliate marketing program that will enable you to bring in additional revenues naturally from the client base you already have as well as helping you to attract new customers. The recent release of 855 numbers has attracted a lot of press, and as an affiliate, your call center can piggyback off of this publicity and demand by promoting 855 numbers too. This affiliate advantage can be done simply by adding links to your website as well as by using your product funnel and social media marketing to let people know about this new addition to your services. Or perhaps you just want to pack more value into your current programs by bundling 855 numbers with your regular services for new clients. This not only provides additional revenues, but your clients who are using 855 toll free numbers will also see much better results from their campaigns and be better able to test and hone their marketing campaigns, which will make your company look like a rock star compared to the competition. Read More
Why Don’t Phone Companies Care Anymore? by: blog-editor2, February 8, 2011 It seems like most phone companies just don’t care about your business anymore. Even if you can get them on the phone, which can sometimes be a miracle in itself, you still often have to make your way through a maze of transfers to someone who can supposedly help you. Even then you are extremely lucky if you get to speak to someone who even remotely acts like he cares. Why? For a start, until recently very little competition existed for phone companies. So no matter how poorly they have treated their customers, they really didn’t risk losing anyone. In other cases, phone companies have just found it cheaper to lure customers back after they leave than to fix their problems. It is basic math. If they can take advantage of you by $400 on your bill and then seduce you back with a $25 gift certificate later on, then why not? While many companies gauge their success on customer service ratings, phone companies know they only need to be slightly ahead of their major competitors in order to maintain customers even if this is still an abysmal level of service. However, one thing you as a business owner or manager can take away from these bad experiences is a powerful lesson in how not to treat your own customers. Another major reason phone companies fail to offer good service is that what is in your best interest is often the opposite of what is good for your phone carrier, especially when it comes to toll free number management. This is why many business owners are switching management of their business phone lines to Independent RespOrgs who have been earning a reputation for superior customer service and toll free number management. Image Credit: © Solarseven | Dreamstime.com Read More
Seven Marketing Trends to Watch in 2011 by: blog-editor2, February 7, 2011 1. Mobile Marketing Many have dubbed 2011 as the "Year of Mobile Marketing." As marketers, coaches, and ad agencies push more clients into mobile marketing as the "must have" tool for the year, we will see a massive rush to develop new apps. Just make sure yours is designed to keep up with the future and offers social media marketing integration. 2. Group Buying Group buying is back in a big way. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, social media marketing giant Facebook has even moved into the realm of group buying and will certainly be attempting to grow the applications further this year. 3. The eBook Rush We will see more and more books being released over the next year as a new wave of entrepreneurs turn their hands to authoring. However, we will also see a completely new breed of ebook developed offering interactive features. 4. Twitter We will see an even wider use of Twitter in 2011 and more TV personalities using their positions to gain more followers. However, we are also likely to see more countries seeking to block Twitter in an effort to avoid civil uprising and organized coup attempts. 5. Permission Marketing For many, permission marketing is the only way to do business already. However, this year we will see a widening gap between the success of those who are using permission marketing and those who simply continue to try and force their messages into the faces of those who really are not interested in seeing any more spam. 6. Affiliate Marketing Evolution We will no doubt see a further clearing out of junk affiliate marketing programs this year, although at the same time will be an increase in quality partner programs and cross-promotion between complementary and quality companies and services. 7. The Social Media Marketing Monetization Manager Thousands of new enterprises have spent the last year expanding their social media marketing and focusing on developing masses of followers and fans. This year we will see more companies hiring "Social Media Monetization Managers" to turn those outlets and prospect bases into real profits. Read More
Is Your Call Center Managing Your Toll Free Numbers the Right Way? by: blog-editor2, February 4, 2011 Call centers are a critical part of doing business in many industries and are core to the success of entire operations. How your toll free numbers are managed plays a big part in the success of your enterprise. So are yours being handled correctly? Whether you are using toll free numbers acquired through your call center or you are forwarding existing numbers, there is a lot more to good management than just how pretty is the voice that answers. Don’t worry, you do not have to be a tech genius who knows exactly how every cable and call is connected between your customers, your call center, and your main office. However, you should be aware of what makes for superior management for your toll free numbers and what can jeopardize it. The main difference is that since the FCC has enabled TFN portability and Independent Resporgs have been established, businesses now have an alternative to the old phone-carrier affiliated RespOrgs that have for so long notoriously been riddled with conflicts of interest and substandard service. In contrast, Independent RespOrgs provide truly independent management and are not only free to be able to act in your best interests, but also provide the power of multi-carrier arrangements for the smoothest and best quality toll free service. When analyzing the management of your toll free numbers for your call center, you must also look at the coverage they provide you and how they are set up to handle issues that may arise. Does your call center provide 24/7 service for your customers and prospects? What if there are technical issues or a natural disaster wherever your call center is located? Do they have a plan in place, such as your numbers being forwarded to a back up call center? Those companies harnessing the power of Independent RespOrgs will have the latest and best routing capabilities for their toll free numbers at their fingertips. These capabilities include time-of-day routing – for sending your toll free calls to an alternate location at different times of the day where they can be serviced – as well as disaster routing. Emergency and disaster routing options can be set in place so that as soon as an issue arises, your calls are routed to an alternate destination so you do not have to suffer loss of production and business. Image Credit: © Mikhail Lukyanov | Dreamstime.com Read More
Appraising Domain Names For Sale by: blog-editor2, February 3, 2011 Domain name appraisals have become a growing business over the last decade. When you consider how web domain names are valued, you may ask whether it is worth paying for a domain name appraisal and what is the best way to avoid overpaying for a domain name? Domain name appraising is definitely more of an art than a science. More than one way exists to appraise a domain name and a range of factors can be used to determine its value, including name length, marketability, brand recognition, industry strength, revenue, traffic, and search engine popularity as well as how a domain name compares with other recent sales. However, what a domain name is worth to one person is often far different to what the next person in line may be willing to pay for it. In fact, few other products out there vary so widely in value, with web domain names ranging from a few dollars to millions. If you are flipping domain names for profit, it may be a good move to invest in domain name appraisals or at least to educate yourself better on how they are valued. Those who want to launch new ventures with a bang and enjoy healthy amounts of traffic from day one may also benefit from further research. For most, however, it is a matter of what an individual domain name is worth to you and your brand. For example, if you made the mistake of creating other branding materials, registering a business name, and acquiring a toll free vanity number only to discover the matching domain name is taken, then you may really need it and have to be willing to pay a significant amount for it. Whereas if having a certain web domain name is just a nice addition or preference, then you obviously are not under the same pressure. There is quite a bit of strategy that goes into getting the best deal on a web domain name, and making one small mistake at the beginning could result in the owner skyrocketing his demands. So before you begin any negotiations or show any interest in a domain name that is already taken, it is wise to consult a professional service that offers web domain negotiation so you can be sure to get the best possible deal. Read More
Web Hosting Affiliate Programs by: blog-editor2, February 2, 2011 Web hosting affiliate programs can be an attractive way to earn extra income for your business, especially for those companies in the marketing and consulting fields. Most web hosting providers offer some type of reseller or affiliate program that will enable you to profit from your clients' need for hosting. These programs are also a great way to form a stronger bond with customers so you are more likely to continue to get their business month after month. However, you shouldn’t just stop there. Why only profit from web hosting when there are other needs that your clients and prospects regularly have as well? After all, if they are not getting their services from you, they may turn to your competition who may then swing them into using the same core services you provide, meaning that you lose them all together. So while affiliate programs can provide handsome additional revenue streams, and more revenues is always a good thing, affiliate programs are actually much more important than that. On top of being able to offer a wider variety of services and product without the cost of developing them yourself, affiliate programs offer more power to attract and draw in new prospects and clients. Take web domain name registration as an example. Perhaps a prospect is searching for a new web domain name; they get taken to your site where you can also provide web hosting as well as present them with your core product or service and put them into your long-term funnel. One of the most powerful products or services you can add to your offerings are toll free numbers. Every business needs a toll free number today. Many need several blocks of toll free numbers. So why shouldn’t you be the one to profit by joining a toll free affiliate program? The leading toll free service providers even offer a range of marketing materials and sticky widgets that can help you drive in more traffic, increase conversion ratios, and enable higher customer retention. So yes, becoming a web hosting affiliate or reseller can be smart, but explore all of your options. Image Credit: © Darkstards | Dreamstime.com Read More
