Category: Communication

Inject Your Communications with Call to Actions

7/6/2020

Call to Action (CTA) is a term you might hear when discussing marketing strategies for your business. But what exactly does it mean and how can it help to increase sales and profitability for your company? We’ve put together a simple guide to help explain what it means and why you should be doing it!

Inject Your Communications with Call to Actions

What is Call to Action?
The most obvious example of a Call to Action would be a ‘Buy Now’ button on a webpage. It’s simply an invitation for your customer/visitor to do something. It could be a banner or button on your webpage, part of an advertisement or content (ie. blog/email marketing campaign) that is designed to encourage the visitor to do something specific.

What is the purpose of a Call to Action?
Call to actions are a great way of converting visitors to your website or blogs into potential customers or subscribers. The CTA can have a variety of different purposes depending on what you are trying to achieve. If you are looking to increase sales then a simple ‘Buy Now’ button may be just the trick you need to help convince the undecided shopper, but when you’re trying to attract more visitors or subscribers you need to think more carefully about the wording and location of the CTA.

How can it help my marketing and business?
A good CTA will help increase visitors which in turn could lead to more customers and sales and therefore increased profits! It could also act as an information point for your potential customers, providing them with the link to finding out all about your products and services.

When should I use a call to action?
You should make sure to add CTA’s into all your communications. CTA’s can be used in your marketing channels such as email marketing, website, landing page, offers/promotions, blogs and social media. It’s important to make sure you use the right language for your customers, this will mean researching your customer base and finding out their preferences and habits. Make sure you have updated your email database so you are targeting the right audience.

10 Example Call to Actions:

‘Buy Now’ and ‘Shop Now’ buttons on your ecommerce site - direct your customer to make that purchase they’re contemplating.
You can also entice them further by adding limited offers that create a sense of urgency such as ‘Buy Now - Limited time Only’ which might push them to make the purchase now rather than putting it off until later.
Having a ‘Sign Up Now’ button in your email marketing can attract new subscribers and give you vital information about your site visitors.
If you have a blog ask your readers a question. This is a simple but very effective call to action which engages your visitors and hopefully keeps them returning to your website. The more often they visit your website the more likely they are to make a purchase in the future.
‘Read More’ is another CTA you should utilise in your email marketing and blogs. Instead of displaying the entire post on the homepage you just show a few paragraphs to entice the reader to click through to read the rest of the post. This is great for Search Engine Optimisation too.
‘Subscribe’ is a great CTA for your blog, to help build up your readership base and will hopefully convert to loyal customers.
For social media use ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ buttons to encourage your followers to share your business page. This will engage your current followers and also convert new followers. ‘Visit our Website’, ‘Learn More’, Watch our Video’ will also help create interest and direct potential new customers.
Avoid generic buttons such as ‘Submit’ and try to entice your user to part with their contact details in exchange for a free guide or tool instead.
‘Learn More’ is simple but effective, offering more information for purchasers not quite ready to take the plunge.
Free Website Audit or ‘Free Trial’ is a great way of encouraging an undecided customer to try your product or services and see just what they are missing out on. It helps build trust and the foundation for a great customer relationship.

If your marketing is in need of a boost? Perhaps it’s time for a Call to Action!
You can learn more about communication strategies that include Call to Actions by booking a FREE Consultation >

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How to Adapt your Marketing During C-19

16/4/2020

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The effects from Covid-19 on our daily lives and businesses are being felt across the globe and all of us will be facing uncertainty and worry. It’s important to stay positive and try to do what you can to keep your business up and running. This will require you to think a bit differently about what you can offer your customers and clients and how you can deliver your services or products safely.

Here are a few tips to help you rethink your products and services to cope with the change in demand and your customers requirements.

Reassess your products and services

Look at what you can still sell - how can you adapt to be able to meet the needs of your customers?
Essential items - can you buy from your supplier to sell to your existing customers?
Can you offer gift vouchers for use after the lockdown is lifted? Have you considered crowdfunding to raise your funds or to fund a new project or venture?
Offer online or telephone ordering facilities
Offer delivery services within your local area - communities are teaming up and offering pickup and drop-off for local households, can you make use of these services to get your products out to your customers?
To keep your outgoings to a minimum you might want to consider your skill set and try to do more things within your business yourself.
Offer contactless payments.
Offer your same services virtually - online classes, consultations, training etc... it may even bring in a new revenue stream when lockdown is lifted.
Keep your customers updated with any changes you need to make to keep everyone safe

As you adapt your business and services be sure to remain true to your brand values, be consistent and professional.

What you can do with all this time on your hands!

Business Plan - Prepare for how your business might need to change after the lockdown is lifted.
Marketing Plan or Strategy - Now is the perfect time to update your marketing plan. Identify any visitors to your website for increased customer engagement. Having a detailed customer database will also help you see any changes in behaviour as the crisis continues.
Social Media Plan or Strategy - Having a clear plan to tackle your online presence will ensure maximum customer engagement
Post regular updates to your social media - Keep it current, upbeat and relevant to your business.
Clean your customer list - Make sure you have up-to-date customer data.
Learn a new skill - Anything that can enhance the services you offer or how you can market your business ie. try a new social platform.
Create content - Consider writing blogs to keep your customers updated
Take Stock - If you sell products you need to be sure of your stock levels, especially as supply and demand are so volatile right now.
Support other local businesses - When you’re not working try to support local businesses by recommending them, reviewing them or buying from them.
Check your finances - See where you can make any savings to help maintain your business.
Forward thinking - Update your website with any new services you are offering.

And one last thing!
You may be wondering how to best communicate with your existing customers, they may have stopped buying from you and you are unsure how C-19 has affected their business. Contact them by phone or a personal email, strengthen your customer relationships and build trust. Don’t try to sell them anything, just simply ask how they are doing. Loyal customers are your priority, ask how you can help and support them.

How has C-19 affected your business? Has anything surprised you? Have you developed any new products or services, I would love to hear if the changes have brought on positive new developments, however small they are.

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Why Do You Need a Communications Strategy?

3/6/2019

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A communication strategy is a plan to enable your business to reach your customers through various communication channels. It’s vital for a successful marketing campaign to deliver a consistent brand message and something you should seriously consider for your small business.

Why Do You Need A Communications Strategy?

A communications strategy requires you to address a number of key areas:

Identify your target audience: it’s so important to really know your customers/potential customers so you can tailor your marketing to their needs and interests.
Research the competition: find out who your competitors are, look at their strengths and weaknesses.
Analyse your existing marketing (including social media).
Devise a plan and a strategy to cover all marketing channels. Make sure you have all the resources you need to be able to support all the channels you want to address.

What marketing channels does a communications strategy cover?
There are a number of marketing channels you can cover in your strategy including:

Email Marketing - newsletters/e-bulletins
Website Content - Home page design, landing pages, products & services
Blogs - Case studies and blogs
Social Media - Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc
Print Collateral - Stationery, folded leaflets, flyers
Vehicle livery and exhibitions stands
Everything!

There are probably several relevant marketing channels for each individual customer/ target audience so it’s important to ensure your brand message is consistent across all these channels.

Once you’ve identified your audience and marketing channels you can then start building a plan. Compiling a communications strategy will allow you to make informed marketing decisions, you will know exactly what, why, when and who you are communicating to. This will give you a much greater understanding of your customers and you’ll be able to tailor your communications to them and promote your services more effectively. You’ll be able to build on your brand awareness, maintain customer trust and ultimately increase your profits!

Think of your communications strategy as the plasters that stick all the different roles together which will result in one coherent message across all the different channels.

You know what you need but you might not know how to bring it all together effectively… we can help you create an effective communications strategy by deliver a consistent brand message with a better customer experience.

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