So you're a small business. You have one (yourself), two or maybe even 25 employees. Do you really need a website to market your business? You know social media is super important, so can't you just stick to promoting your company on Instagram and a Facebook Business page? Before I get to the answer, I want to remind you of a social media platform called Vine. For a while, the application was insanely popular. I remember spending endless hours watching entertaining videos made by (who I remember as) the first social media influencers. Online celebrities like Rudy Mancuso and Marcus Johns were born on the platform. But then what happened? Other apps like Instagram began adopting video and just like that, Vine was being outplayed. Suddenly, Twitter made the decision to shut down a social media platform that many built their businesses and personal brands on. My point in telling you all of this is that building your presence on social media, alone, is not going to cut it. My good friends (and marketing gurus) Kahlea Nicole and Erica Spitzley reminded me at a conference that social media platforms, even the most popular ones like Facebook and Instagram, could be gone tomorrow. If that happened, after building your presence solely on these channels, your following and business information would be gone. You need a platform for your business that you own and have control over. Social media pages can be taken away from you. Your website that you own cannot. Let's not forget to mention the lovely algorithm changes on Facebook and Instagram that are making it harder for businesses (especially smaller ones) to be seen on the platforms. The conclusion? build that website. "Use social media as a marketing platform to drive traffic back to your website. Use that traffic to grow your email and customer list so you can communicate with them any time, any where. On your own terms," says Conversion Strategies, INC. Building a website isn't as scary as it sounds. There are so many easy templates out there to work off of or you can hire a web designer on Fiverr to make you a custom one. Websites are highly customizable. They also build credibility for your company, allow you to capture customer information and improve your search ranking-SEO. (see infographic, below). If you have any other questions on this subject, feel free to leave a comment below or send me a DM on Instagram!
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I don't care what you're selling, providing excellent customer service is one of the foundations to company success. To do this, leadership must be on par, first. When employees are treated well, they will in-turn treat their customers the right way. On Donald Miller's Building a StoryBrand Podcast, guest co-host and author, Todd Duncan, said "don't focus on profits, focus on people. Delight customers (and your employees) and the money will follow." Just because your service or product is perfect, doesn't mean your business will excel. Your focus as a CEO, manager and employee is to provide experiences that customers will remember. Continuously ask yourself, how can I go above and beyond? I'm giving you 3 reasons that explains why all this matters. 1. It builds customer loyalty. Think about all the companies out there that are similar to yours. If someone doesn't have a reason to give you their money, they won't. Work hard to delight your audience with obvious and unexpected perks. This will result in your customers trusting you and coming back to continuously give you business, which elongates the life of your company. Besides, retaining past customers is much easier than acquiring new ones. 2. It gives them a reason to talk. Word-of-mouth is still one of the most powerful forms of advertising. Especially with social media, customers are bound to share their experiences with companies that they love. This is one of the best ways to build brand awareness. 3. It stops problems before they happen. One of the ways to provide excellent customer service is to anticipate your customers' needs and wants. Take the time to get to know your audience. If there is a common complaint or question that people ask about your business, come up with tactics that reduce those inquiries in the future. Customer service is really simple- Treat others as you would want to be treated. Be sure to never make your own issues a customer's problem. People don't need to know about your life struggles or work stress. Overall, strive to be kind, positive and selfless with others. Let me know, in the comments below, if you live by any customer service principles that have helped your business excel.
Do you ever find yourself thinking about the past and dwelling on the what-ifs of life? Stop doing that. You're only hurting yourself.
Everything that has happened to you was for a reason. Whether it was posting a dumb status on Facebook or making a business decision that you regret. Challenges and experiences in the past helped to shape you into the person you are today. Believe it or not, adversities and trials are valuable. They teach and strengthen you. So what does dwelling do? It hinders you from focusing your energy on the road ahead. Constantly thinking about the past is like running a race and turning around at the half-way mark. It accomplishes nothing and hinders you from reaching your goals. I challenge everyone to keep your eyes fixed ahead of you. Gratitude is a powerful thing. Be thankful for where you came from and have a positive outlook about what's ahead. There is a purpose for your life, and trust me... you're going places. Invest your thoughts in thinking about the incredible future ahead you have ahead of you. Fill your heart with gratitude and your mind with positive thoughts. Doing this will increase your confidence and happiness. I promise. I have so many things that I've been obsessing about lately and they're just too good to share. Check out my current all-around faves, below!
Now that I've officially completed this one, I'm looking forward to getting his newly published book, Crushing It!
Brick-oven pizza, canned rosé, the cutest decor and excellent service (ask for Mario) made this such a memorable lunch. Can't wait to go back to have the Killer Bee again, along with other dishes!
While I haven't bought any of the home or health items, I'm a huge fan of their food because most of it is organic! I pay $3 per item, including quinoa, nuts, pasta sauce, soups and peanut butter. I've compared prices with this company and other major food retailers and Brandless wins just about every time!
My favorite flavor is the Himalayan Pink popcorn, made with coconut oil! I will continue to update this list as I come up with more favorites. Let me know what you're currently obsessing over in the comments below!
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Welcome to my blog! Here, I share posts about my favorite topics, including health, marketing, and lifestyle. My biggest hope is that you are inspired by what you read. Enjoy!
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