Where did the year go? It seems like only yesterday that I was wishing everyone a happy new year. Well, 2011 has been a fantastic year for small and mid-sized business marketing professionals. Our world is changing so rapidly it is hard to keep up. While this is an exciting time for marketers, it is also a challenging time for us. The continued evolution of the Internet and the digital revolution are mind-blowing. The continued challenge of marketing professionals in small and mid-sized privately-held businesses (SMBs) is how to allocate our time and limited budgets. How do we take advantage of these changes knowing that we lack the resources of our larger competitors?

Well in today’s blog, we will try to help you maximize your marketing dollars and people by outlining what we believe will be the top 12 trends for small and mid-sized enterprises for 2012. Our goal is not necessarily to predict the unknown future, but to focus on the trends that will impact small and mid-sized businesses the most. This list is by no means all inclusive and I would love to hear from others on what they see for 2012.

Customers and employees will become more involved in marketing decisions as electronic communications and the Internet specifically make direct input easier and less expensive to obtain for SMBs.
The power of referrals and recommendations will expand in importance with an ever-increasing social network footprint.
Mobile marketing will enter into marketing efforts for the first time for many SMBs in both advertising and in the development of customer-centered apps.
Social networks will become a significant source of organic search traffic for SMB websites as more SMBs participate in the low cash required marketing tool afforded by social networking.
LinkedIn will become the dominate business networking website granting SMBs access to and identification of important contacts.
Customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention strategies will re-emerge as key strategies to measure marketing performance as the drive to keep customers in a slow economy continues.
Branding and identity strategies will become more prevalent in small and mid-sized businesses.
Marketing automation will grow in importance as SMBs try to leverage limited resources and marketing automation improves.
More websites of SMBs will contain more than English language pages as more SMBs cater to growing international sales.
Small and mid-sized businesses will utilize virtual events such as webinars, online training, and Skype meetings to be more efficient and effective.
Blogging will become more common place with small and mid-sized businesses as they attempt to exhibit industry or product expertise as a marketing differentiation against larger competitors.
Original or 2nd generation business websites will be revamped to help SMBs compete, involve customers more, and to take advantage of new web technologies and integration with social media.

I am sure that I have left some items off this list. Tell me what you think. 2012 is sure to be another exciting year for marketing professionals of small and mid-sized privately-held businesses. Good luck and give me buzz if I can be of any help.

Posted by Brett Flickinger on November 14, 2011, 1:19 pm

What is a QR Code and Why Should I have One?

Advertising, Graphic Design, Marketing, Revenue Enhancement

The is the QR Code for the Next Level Web Site

Have you seen a QR Code and didn’t know it? QR Code stands for Quick Response (QR) Code. Similar to a bar code you may already know on consumer packaging, the QR Code is a code to be scanned. But unlike a simple bar code, a QR Code can do a lot more. It allows Smartphone users do a whole host of things such as be taken to a website, go to a blog, receive contact information or vCard, or be prompted to send an email. A single QR code is capable of storing over 4000 alphanumeric characters.

QR Codes started in Japan and was created by a Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave in 1994. The technology has seen a large uptake in Japan and South Korea. However, in the West there has been a far slower adoption of QR codes. Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (termed mobile tagging). Marketing professionals quickly saw the potential QR codes had in our digital world. QR codes are rapidly tying the digital world to the traditional print world advertising as marketers add them to billboard ads, flyers, brochures, in-store displays, and other promotional materials. Marketers are now attaching them to business cards, advertising or marketing materials to send potential customers your company’s contact info or direct them to a website. For example, some realtors place QR codes on “For Sale” signs on their properties that take prospective buyers to the MLS listing. Other uses have included guerilla-marketing campaigns, event ticketing, coupons, direct mail campaigns, and more.

Here is An Example of How it Works

A potential customer sees an advertisement while reading the paper at a hotel and is interested in your products. Instead of waiting to get to a computer and go to your website, they simply scan in the QR Code on your ad with their phone application which launches the web browser on their phone and takes them directly to that product’s web page. They read more and hopefully follow up with a purchase.

A QR code’s potential for your business is limited only by your imagination. Take your advertising to the Next Level with QR Codes.

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Posted by Brett Flickinger on April 26, 2011, 4:08 pm | Trackback

Passion and A 10 Year Old Angel

Advertising, Customer Service, Marketing, Revenue Enhancement, Website Design and Development

Last night I watched America’s Got Talent and was blown away by a little 10 year old girl with a voice of an angel. If you aren’t familiar with this reality TV show, it puts people on stage to perform. Some people sing, others do magic, one guy does bicycle stunts. The point is that it’s a contest to discover talent in America. Well, last night I watched 10 year old, Jackie Evancho, sing one of my favorite Italian/English opera songs “Time to Say Goodbye” with a passion and beauty rarely seen. Check her out on this YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVGrcy8wQHk You won’t believe your ears!

What does this have to do with marketing? Passion! Most ads, direct mail letters, websites and even sales pitches lack passion. They do not appear to be excited about what they are saying or doing. Just think about the ton of ads you see on television, on the radio, on the web or through the mail. Why in the heck should you get excited about any of that stuff when the marketers behind these marketing messages aren’t excited about what they are saying? People are attracted to passion, so when you write or give a sales pitch, do it with passion. Go for it! Let your excitement and enthusiasm spill out. Don’t hold back! Rave about your company, your products or services, how great they are, how it will benefit the user, how it feels goods, works well, and so forth.

For some people this may make you uncomfortable, but trust me when I say that people respect other people who have a positive passion. If a 10 year old girl can go on stage before the world and sing her heart out. You can certainly let loose with a little passion in your marketing efforts. One other trait about people with passion, they tend to work harder to accomplish their goals. As you will hear in the Jackie Evancho video, she is dedicated to achieving her dreams and her passion for singing drives her to work hard at achieving them. Hard work and passion – a great combination for marketing and a great lesson from a small angel.

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Posted by Brett Flickinger on September 2, 2010, 8:53 am | Trackback

Going “Texas Big” on the Internet

Advertising, Marketing, Website Design and Development

Howdy Y’all!

Just got back from Texas where they do everything “Big”! According to them, the only thing bigger than Texas is the Internet so today’s blog will be about marketing and the “Texas Big” Internet. The latest statistics claim that there were 1,733,993.741 Internet users in 2009. How they get a number down to the single individual is a little scary to me. A little too Big Brother for me. Regardless, within that number are a lot of potential customers so it’s important that you market on the Internet.

Where do we start? Let’s define the scope of what I will refer to as Internet Marketing. Internet marketing includes:

Your website
Search engine optimization
Online public relations
Social media/networking
Online advertising
e-Mail broadcast campaigns
Blogging/vlogging
Micro-blogging (like Twitter)
RSS feeds
and more

Whether you sell to consumers or business-to-business, Internet marketing should be part of your marketing expenditures. How much and where to spend your money is very much a case-by-case basis but here are some statistics on where others are spending their money. According to BtoB Magazine, “2010 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans Survey Results,” November 2009, the increase in spending by business-to-business marketers for 2010 are:

Website 71% increase
E-mail 65% increase
Search 62% increase
Social Media 60% increase
Video 52% increase
Webcasts 46% increase
Sponsorship 30% increase
Banners 29% increase
Comments 14% increase

So why are marketers spending more on Internet marketing? The answer is simple. That is where the customers are.

At Next Level, we help our clients get the most out of the Internet. We advise our clients to establish these goals for Internet marketing:

Increase targeted website traffic – meaning visitors you want to visit
Create positive brand association
Enhance brand awareness
Influence search engine results
Support and enhance business development/sales efforts
Create loyal customers
Enhance conversions and purchase intent.

In future blogs we will discuss in more depth just how you go about doing this. Until then, keep working to take your company to the Next Level.

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Posted by Brett Flickinger on July 7, 2010, 9:59 am | Trackback

Making an Impression with Business Cards

Advertising, Graphic Design, Marketing

Everyone has a business card but few people use them as real marketing tools. Let’s see if you are. Take out your business card and look at it. Be honest. What does it say to a prospective customer? What impressions does it leave with them? Will it make the people you’re going to give it to go “wow”? Is it going to make them ask you questions about what you do? Or are they just going to say “thank you” and put in a pocket?

Is your business card printed on white paper with black block type? Conventional to the point of a yawn. Or is it a real conversation piece?

When you think about it, your business card is far more than just a card with your name and phone number on it. It is a mini-advertise ment. It is one of the first impressions of your company. It needs to start the positive impression building process.

So what can you look at when redesigning your cards? The texture and color of the stock are vitally important. Select card stock that “says” something about you. If you think it’s not that important, watch the next people you give a card to. They almost invariably feel the card as they talk. Give them something nice to feel.

Is your card easy to read? Most have basic contact information but does your card also have your e-mail, website address, Twitter, Linked In and other social networking information?

The next thing they do is turn the card over. Does your business card have white space on the back? If so, you’re wasting a valuable selling opportunity if it does. Print useful information there such as list of products or services you offer or brand images.

Have you won any awards for excellence in your field? Don’t keep them to yourself. Put them on your business card. It’s a testimonial in miniature. A customer testimonial will work too.

The final point on cards. Make sure that everyone in your company has one. Yes, I said everyone. It always amazes us how clients of ours tend only to give so-called senior or sales-oriented people business cards. Doesn’t your receptionist meet with people? Doesn’t your service mechanic have friends? Cards are inexpensive. Print a bunch and make sure people give them out all the time.

You don’t need an obvious sale opportunity to pass out a card. You never know where and when a referral will occur. If you aren’t replacing your stock of business cards frequently, your people aren’t doing their job to give them away at every opportunity.

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Posted by Bill Ferguson on November 18, 2009, 2:17 pm | Trackback

Writing Ads That Get Results

Advertising

Many people (maybe even you) have difficulty writing ads. So here are three valuable tips to make the process easier. They’ll also make your ads more effective than you’ve ever imagined!

FIRST—start writing! Write anything. Really, starting is the hardest part. Once you start writing, the ideas will start to flow. At least you have something to go back to and edit.

SECOND—next write down a long list of possible headlines. Thinking of the right headline (apart from being THE most important element in the ad), forces you to summarize the essence of what it is you want to say. Don’t worry about the rest of the ad. Just write down the headline.

THIRD—now go through and pick out your favorite three headlines. Based on these three headlines, write out the rest of the copy. The graphics follow logically. Do this for all three ads. Make the words sound conversational and easy to read. The words should flow together.

Having trouble getting the words to flow like a professional copywriter? Try this exercise.

Find a friend who isn’t in your line of work. Have them sit and listen as you explain about your product or service. Tape record what you’re saying.

You see, when we’re under pressure to write an ad, sometimes we convince ourselves we can’t. Yet in a relaxed atmosphere telling a friend, inhibitions disappear. Then, the easy, non-advertising words you’d normally use come out.

When non-professionals write an ad, it’s usually stilted and artificial. But when we get those same people to talk about their product or service, and why they got into the business in the first place, they’re full of conviction, enthusiasm, depth of industry knowledge, ideals about quality and customer service. Real down-to-earth stuff. It makes “great copy.” It happened all because they sat down and spoke with someone rather than sitting down and trying to write an ad.

The same qualities that work for you when you sell face-to-face, will work for you in writing your ads. All you have to do is get down to doing it.

Posted by Bill Ferguson on , 2:14 pm

Next Level Marketing & Website Design Blog

2012 Marketing Predictions for Small and Mid-sized Privately-held Businesses

What is a QR Code and Why Should I have One?

Passion and A 10 Year Old Angel

Going “Texas Big” on the Internet

Making an Impression with Business Cards

Writing Ads That Get Results