25 Aug

Should Your Business Be Using Lead Generation?

Posted in Small Business Advertising, Synergy Suggestions on 25.08.16 by John Meloche

Now we intrude on a very heated debate in the business world. Should your business use lead generation? Throughout this blog we’ll be exploring both sides of the argument. We’ll be exploring the advantages and disadvantages of lead generation. The question now is, is lead generation a valuable service or disservice to your business?

Let’s explore its benefits first. Yesterday we mentioned how it’s a great compliment to your digital marketing efforts. Well that’s true, lead generation has been proven to increase the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns. It’s an ideal tool for expanding your e-commerce platforms. It further justifies the implementation of e-commerce platforms as it essentially enhances your online marketing presence. We mentioned the ways in which email and content marketing feed into your company’s digital marketing efforts. They both ease the online shopping process and thus further enhance your company’s digital marketplace.

With all this being said, there are always pros and cons to anything. The cons may be somewhat overwhelming for lead generation. These cons typically relate back to one extremely prevalent issue: finding serious leads. According to the B2B Technology Marketing Community, many B2B marketers have expressed their biggest challenge as “generating high quality leads.” Finding quality leads is extremely difficult. Many of your leads gathered from lead generation are not sales ready. The majority of leads you find, will likely be dead ends. That’s the main problem with lead generation. That inconsistency amongst leads is such a huge deterrent for businesses. Certainty is something you cannot get with lead generation, and that ambiguity creates doubt about whether it’s worth the cost.

Lead generation is an anomaly to say the least. It has the potential to be extremely effective, or it can be a bust. It’s a high risk, high reward marketing medium. So depending on how comfortable your business is with taking risks, it may or may not be ideal for you. If you have the resources, you’re confident in your leads, and you have patience, then lead generation could be good for you. It’s is a big mystery, but some businesses have cracked the code to lead generation success, can yours?

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19 Aug

3 Essential Email Marketing Strategies

Posted in Small Business Advertising on 19.08.16 by John Meloche

We’ve looked at the increased usage of email marketing throughout the business world. We’ve analyzed its fit amongst the various types of businesses. We’ve looked at how you should structure your emails. And now to end it off, we’re going to look at simple things you can do to increase the response rate to your emails and boost your ROI. Here are a couple of additional strategies you can implement to help strengthen your email marketing efforts.

  1. Nothing’s better than Free. A great way to start an email marketing campaign is to give something for free. It doesn’t have to be something great but a small little gift is a good way to start a relationship with someone. People love free things, so if you provide them with that, then you can help build relationships with thousands of your email recipients.
  2. Timing is Everything. You have to be meticulous with your campaign. Every little detail has to be perfect. Being precise with your promotional efforts is what enables you to fully display your creativity. This doesn’t change with the timing of your emails. There are certain time frames that produce greater results than others. For emails, prime time is 8 p.m. to midnight. You would think that 9-5 would be better, but people are always working and are unable to check their emails. Better results have been apparent over the night hours. Experian Marketing Services conducted a study in 2012 and found that the time of day that received the best open rate was 8 p.m. to midnight (22% open rate). In addition to a greater opening rate, this time frame also received more clickthroughs and sales.
  3. Mobile Oriented Emails. People are always on their phones nowadays. That means that people are doing more and more things over their phones. That includes checking emails. Litmus, a notable email marketing firm, found that mobile opens accounted for 47% of all email opens in June of 2013. This trend has only continued going into 2016. Lots of people are checking their emails from their phones, you have to make sure your emails are compatible with the various mobile platforms. In fact, you could design your emails for smartphones specifically. Mobile phones are computers themselves, you have to make sure they’re accounted for in your email marketing efforts.

 

These are all just little things you can do to make sure your emails are actually opened. These little things all contribute to increasing the effectiveness of your promotional efforts. When it comes down to it, it’s all about precision. You have to be methodical with your emails as ultimate care with your promotional efforts is essential for success. Precision is just one of many ingredients for marketing success, but if you follow the guidelines listed over the past couple of blogs, you could see a good return on your investment.

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18 Aug

4 Tips on Writing Marketing Emails

Posted in Small Business Advertising on 18.08.16 by John Meloche

Lately we’ve talked about email marketing and how it can benefit your business. But we’ve yet to discuss the actual structure of these emails. What makes them so compelling for customers? How should your business write these emails? Here are a couple tips on how your business can send out persuasive and effective emails:

  1. Compelling Subjects. The subject acts as a hook. It’s the first thing consumers will see from your email; you want to make sure it catches their attention. Now depending on the nature of the email, the subject will vary. But usually something that conveys some sense of urgency tends to help. For example, a subject titled “Huge Sale, you don’t want to miss out!!” would probably work at catching the eyes of your readers. It doesn’t necessarily need to display urgency; comedic and witty subjects tend to work just as well.
  2. Personalize when you can. This might be very hard to achieve but if it’s feasible then go for it. The truth of the matter is everyone is different. We have different wants, needs, and desires. While you might be emailing a similar segment of people, they all could want different things. So it would be greatly beneficial to use whatever information you have on these people to your advantage. Personalization obviously caters more to an individual’s demands and thus increases the chances of them opening and acting on your emails.
  3. Incorporate Trendy Topics. If there are certain popular events going on, then mention them. Structure your email around these events. Use these events as a theme for your email. This enables you to improve you would be incorporating the Rio Olympics into your emails. Something as little as “Huge Olympic Sale!” as a subject would be a good way of using a trendy event to create interest. Essentially these kind of events are a great way of transferring external interest to your emails.
  4. Make Your Call To Action Noticeable. Your call to action is what incites the consumer to go to your website and buy your product. You want this feature to be extremely noticeable so that consumers know where to go when they want to finalize the transaction. A big button like “Buy Now!” would be good. The goal here is just to make sure the call to action is present and hard to miss.

 

When it comes down to it, these kind of emails thrive off creativity. If your company can move its creativity and innovation to the email forums, then you can have success. The best part about these emails is that you can design them; they’re like your blank canvas, you can do anything with it. So let your creativity soar and see those emails turn into sales!

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17 Aug

3 Reasons Why Your Business Should Use Email Marketing

Posted in Small Business Advertising on 17.08.16 by John Meloche

How many emails have you received lately with the following subject “Huge sale, buy now!”? Probably a lot. That’s the new trend in our business world. We’ve discussed the rise of email marketing. But how does email marketing help you? How can it translate into success? Why should your business have an ongoing email marketing campaign? Here are 3 reasons why your business should use email marketing:

  1. Optimal Awareness. When you constantly get emails from businesses, it might come off as a nuisance or insignificant. But the fact of the matter is you remember that business. Their name, their mission, their brand, you keep all of that information in your head. It gives your business access to a very valuable commodity in the business world: top of the mind awareness. For example, let’s say you own a cosmetics company. You have an ongoing email marketing campaign and send people promotional emails regarding sales, new products, etc.. Those repetitive emails engrave your brand within the mind of the consumer. So when the time comes and they need some sort of cosmetic product, they’ll recall your company’s emails and try and take advantage of your promotions.
  2. Brand Loyalty. Email marketing campaigns enable you to develop a relationship with your customers. When you’re providing valuable products for discounted prices exclusively to individuals, people notice and appreciate it. Emails also allow you to regularly contact your customers and incentivize them to further shop with your company. Hence your building relationships with these people and contributing to establishing a loyal consumer base for your company.
  3. Increased Sales. The fundamental reason why any business pursues any marketing campaign. Sales provide the business with revenue that enables it to succeed. The reasons listed above engender augmented sales numbers. That’s the goal for any businesses’ promotional efforts. Not only does email marketing provide sales, but it does so at a low cost. Thus boosting your company’s ROI and giving you that much more financial incentive to utilize email marketing services.

 

Email marketing is yet another method of e-commerce that’s thriving and evolving. It’s an inexpensive way to display your company’s creativity and innovation all the while creating loyal customers. So join the trend and start emailing!

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02 Aug

Are Online Markets The New Norm?

Posted in Small Business Advertising, Social Media, Synergy Suggestions on 02.08.16 by John Meloche

Over the past couple of years, we have seen an emergence of online transactions and E-commerce. It appears as though those fears people once had about online shopping have vanished. This sudden spike in E-commerce demand has sparked the debate over whether or not online markets are the new norm. So today we really look at the question: are online markets the new marketplace?

Let’s start this debate by looking at the facts. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that there will be $92,801 million in sales strictly from online shopping in the first quarter of 2016. Compared to $80,569 million from the first quarter of 2015. This is definitely a sign of prosperity for online shopping however these numbers are small when comparing it to the total market. Those numbers only represent 8 and 7 percent of total sales respectively. It’s clear online shopping is on the rise but when you look at the market as a whole it only represents a tiny sliver of all sales.

Now let’s look at some other compelling facts. But instead of looking at North America, let’s analyze different markets across the globe. Specifically let’s look at the major markets that impact the global economy the most. China is a huge country that’s a compelling figure in the global economic scene. Online shopping is practically the norm in China now. According to Statista, China had 46 million online shoppers in 2007, now they have over 400 million. Almost ten times as many people shop online compared to the number from 9 years ago. This trend is expected to continue at an even more exponential rate. It’s fair to say online shopping has skyrocketed in popularity in China. So with this information being present, it begs the question: If such a giant like China focuses on online shopping, then is it just a matter of time before online shopping really hits the North American market?

The debate of E-commerce becoming the primary marketplace is a good one. It’s very easy to argue on behalf of both sides. But do you actually see the North American markets adopting E-commerce? If so, when do you think that would happen? Let us know what you think. You can tweet us at @synergymkt or you can check us out on Facebook (just Synergy Marketing), and we’re on Instagram @synergymkt.

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17 Jun

What You Can Do To Make Father’s Day Memorable For Your Business

Posted in Promotional Products, Small Business Advertising, Social Media, Synergy Suggestions on 17.06.16 by John Meloche

It’s that time of the year again. Dad’s anticipating a great day with the family meanwhile everyone else is shopping for a gift to buy. Father’s Day is a great holiday and like all great holidays that means shopping. A 2012 H&R study found that spending on Father’s Day was $9.4 billion. Father’s Day serves as a great opportunity for businesses to take advantage of the increased material demand and optimize their profits. Here are a few marketing ideas businesses can use to make their Father’s Day more memorable.

The most obvious promotional strategy would be discounts. Holidays are a great excuse for sales and discounts. This simple strategy can be extremely effective as nothing lures customers to a product like good prices. Not only that but these discounts can be easily applied to your whole store and thus can allow you to promote the inventory you want out of your store that much more.

Another great promotional strategy would be gift guides. Sometimes finding the perfect gift for your dad can be extremely hard. Why not make your customers’ shopping experiences that much easier by giving them a list of products that fathers are surely to love; making a list of products that are directly related to a father’s interests. Not only does this help your customer’s shopping experience but it also generates positive perceptions of your company and strengthens your brand. The fact that your company would go out of their way to make it easier for customers to shop, especially on a day such as Father’s Day, is appreciated.

This next strategy pertains more to a company’s online presence. Since Father’s Day is such a popular holiday it gets looked up a lot on search engines. Putting more Father’s Day material on your website will allow you to improve your SEO(Search Engine Optimization) and thus give you more opportunities to be seen via organic search. Not only is Father’s Day prominent on search engines, but it’s also a very notable holiday on social media. Using relevant Father’s Day hashtags in social media will allow you to effectively promote your posts and businesses.

Another strategy related to online presence is improving your company’s presence in the online marketplace. E-commerce is becoming more and more present in today’s shopping world. This is especially true on Father’s Day. Fundivo reported that almost 30% of all Father’s Day shopping last year was conducted online, an increase of almost 10% from 2010’s total (20.5%). This trend is only expected to continue so anticipate an expanded amount of E-commerce to take place this Father’s Day. Companies need to improve their E-commerce platforms and ensure that they allow for an easy ordering process for customers to follow online. This is a growing marketplace that you don’t want to miss out on.

It’s obvious that discounts are now not only the suitable promotional strategy. Today’s marketplace is changing and now more than ever there is an emphasis on digital transactions. If you truly want to make sure your Father’s Day is memorable then start by making sure the family can order those golf clubs that dad really wanted on your website.

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07 Dec

The Importance Of Website Design For Reliability

Posted in Promotional Products, Small Business Advertising on 07.12.15 by John Meloche

Depositphotos_48064213_sHere we are in the second week of December – deeply entrenched in the holiday shopping season. Undoubtedly, no matter where you are in Canada, the shopping malls are crawling with people searching for gifts for their loved ones. Don’t think, however, that just because the malls are crowded, there aren’t a lot of people shopping from the comforts of their own homes. Online shopping continues to grow in popularity, especially at this time of year.

Naturally, it makes sense to allow your customers to make purchases directly from your website. But just because you allow for your website’s visitors to buy from you online, it doesn’t mean that they will automatically be inclined to whip out their credit cards. It’s important to develop a reputation as a reliable business. After all, with all of the fraud that has occurred via online shopping, you don’t want to gain a bad reputation.

So how do you prove that your company is reliable? On ConversionXL.com, Peep Laja asks business owners to consider the following scenario: “Let’s say you’re walking down the street. A twenty-something dude comes up to you – ‘hey, are you interested in a new iPhone 5? I’ll sell it to you for $20’. He pulls it out of his pocket and it looks legit. What do you do? My guess is that you won’t buy it – even though the price is amazing and you know it’s a good product.”

Laja insists that a lack of trust is the reason that most people won’t buy an excellent product at a very inexpensive price. The idea that there must be something wrong with it or that the offer is too good to be true quickly arises. Your website needs to be designed in such a way that it is viewed as being trustworthy. According to Laja, web design matters because “people judge the book by their cover and your website by its design.”

“If you designed your website yourself and you’re not a designer, it sucks,” he insists, “Like many others before him, Dr. Brent Coker studied the impact of attractive websites on human behaviour. (He concluded that) websites that are more attractive and include more trimmings create a greater feeling of trustworthiness and professionalism in consumers.”

Does your website design give off a trustworthy impression? On Web4Business.com, Ivana Katz reiterates the importance of having your website make customers comfortable. “Unfortunately many people are still afraid to shop on the internet because they’ve heard horror stories from their friends and colleagues who have lost money in various online scams,” she reveals, “In order to convert visitors into paying customers, you need to prove your credibility.”

According to Katz, the more professional the design of your website, the more likely it is to earn the trust of online shoppers. So how do you pull this off? “Ensure your website is clean, easy to read and navigate,” she advises, “You need to make sure your visitors can find what they are looking for. Most websites either display their navigation bar on the left or at the top. And since most people are used to this type of navigation, it’s best to stick with it.”

At Synergy Marketing, we believe strongly in having a professional website for the purpose of proving a company’s reliability. Earlier this year, we had our company website revamped to showcase a cleaner, sleeker and more professional look. It’s very easy to navigate through pictures of the various promotional products that we have to offer. However, for more information on our products or to place an order, we encourage you to give us a call.

Just dial 1-877-748-9884!

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01 Dec

4 Ways To Prepare Your Website For Holiday Shopping

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 01.12.15 by John Meloche

3D rendering of a world globe on a supermarket trolley connected to a computer mouseDid your company benefit from the online shopping craze that was Cyber Monday yesterday? If not, you’ve missed out on quite the opportunity to generate more sales than normal through your website. Not to worry, though. There are still plenty of shopping days left in the holiday shopping season. And you better believe that those shopping days will continue to include customers going online to make their purchases.

So how can you ready your website in order to take advantage of Canada’s love for online shopping? As we pointed out yesterday, there are many reasons why people prefer to shop from home. It doesn’t take Cyber Monday to make online shopping a big time convenience for consumers. It’s important, therefore, to have your company website set up in such a way that it is providing that convenience.

Here are four ways to prepare your website for online holiday shopping:

1. Proofread the content. You don’t want the material on your site to be too convoluted or busy so that it distracts visitors from knowing exactly how to locate and purchase the items they are looking for. “Too much information or content that’s presented in large intimidating blocks will cause web browsers to search elsewhere,” writes Ryan May on BusinessDictionary.com, “In the same way, focus on four to six main products and make those a priority, rather than throwing everything you offer at the consumer up front.”

2. Make sure your site is easy to navigate. Not only should the content be easy to digest, but the usability of your website should be super easy. Remember, online shoppers love convenience. Your website should provide that. On Entrepreneur.com, Mike Azevedo highly recommends that you offer simple navigation, easy-to-read content, consistent design elements, quick website speed and clear access to support through your website.

3. Plug your site via social media. If there’s one surefire way to let consumers know that your company offers its products for sale through its website, it’s to put the word out through social media. Be sure to make use of your Facebook and Twitter pages, among others, all through the holiday season. Let your followers know that even though Cyber Monday is over, there are plenty of deals available on your company website.

“Businesses that use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have invested heavily in these outlets for the promotion of their products and services, directly targeting holiday shoppers searching for deals from their favourite brands,” informs May, “You can do the same by providing package deals or other special incentives to those who routinely follow your brand, inviting people to your Cyber Monday event by tapping the networks that you’ve spent all year cultivating.”

4. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. It’s important to remember that a lot of people do their online shopping with a small device that fits in the palms of their hands. It’s called a smartphone. You may have heard of it! Making your website mobile-friendly ensures that your company can benefit from the many Canadians who use their smartphones to both browse and shop on a daily basis.

“Consumers continuously shift between smartphones, desktops and tablets throughout the day” Azevedo reminds us, “As such, their digital storefront and shopping cart should ideally sync across all these devices. By optimizing your site for mobile, your customers can continue their shopping experience wherever they are and subsequently increase your company’s sales.”

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30 Nov

4 Reasons Why People Prefer To Shop From Home

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 30.11.15 by John Meloche

3D rendering of a shopping basket connected to a computer mouseWelcome to Cyber Monday! It’s the day that traditionally follows American Thanksgiving and the often-crazy Black Friday shopping day. With prices significantly slashed, Black Friday generally sees swarms of people lining up of outside retail stores hours before they open. Sadly, Black Friday also often entails people fighting each other to get their hands on those items with significantly reduced prices.

Cyber Monday, on the other hand, is far less insane. The online equivalent to Black Friday, Cyber Monday provides online shoppers with prices that are just as significantly reduced. It’s not that usual online shoppers would need much incentive to shop via the internet anyways. There are a lot of reasons why many people prefer to stay at home to shop rather than entering the busy malls.

Here are four:

1. It helps to avoid headaches. Let’s be honest. Who enjoys searching for parking and waiting in long line ups? Online shopping helps to avoid all of the headaches that come with traditional shopping. This, of course, is especially true during the busy holiday shopping season. There is never a more busy time in the malls than right now. With Cyber Monday today, many people will be taking the opportunity to shop from home and save money in ways they can’t the rest of the year.

2. It’s easier to compare prices. Many people prefer to browse in various stores in order to compare prices. And it makes sense. Why spend more than you have to for an item that is sold in more than one store? Shopping online, however, makes browsing so much easier. Hopping from website to website takes a lot less time and effort than visiting the physical locations of various stores.

In fact, online shopping helps people who wouldn’t normally take the time to browse to properly compare prices. “When you visit a store, you most likely have to settle for whatever price the vendor has placed on a particular item,” writes Wendy Boswell on About.com, “Not so with online shopping – you have the ability to compare prices from hundreds of different vendors.”

3. It makes shopping so much more comfortable. You can shop in your pyjamas while sipping coffee, if you choose to. The possibilities are endless when it comes to finding ways to shop in the most comfortable ways possible. You can shop while lying in bed with your laptop computer if you feel like it. Online shopping is arguably (although it would be hard to argue) the most comfortable way that a person can go shopping.

4. There’s no such thing as “operating hours”. If you can’t get to the mall before it closes because of work or other obligations, then online shopping is definitely for you. It takes away the problems that may be associated with the operating hours of any store you wish to purchase from. Online shopping can be done 24/7. As Boswell points out, “in comparison to a brick and mortar store with fixed hours, online shoppers can choose any time of the day or night to get on the Web and shop.”

Here’s hoping your business is benefitting from Cyber Monday shoppers today!

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28 Nov

4 More Reasons Consumers Love Online Shopping

Posted in Synergy Suggestions on 28.11.14 by John Meloche

Online shoppingIn yesterday’s blog, we revisited the concept of online shopping and just how popular it has become in Canada. For obvious reasons, it’s very convenient. And arguably, convenience is the top reason that it has become so popular with Canadians. Obviously, in Canada, holiday shopping is an experience that includes going out in the cold. Sometimes, this involves blistery, stormy and snowy conditions.

Online shopping helps to avoid all of that. Staying at home, keeping warm and cozy and doing your shopping via the internet is a wonderful idea for a lot of people. Does your company offer its customers the ability to shop online? At Synergy Marketing, our entire promotional products catalogue can be found on our website. Admittedly, we enjoy speaking with our customers directly over the phone once they’ve decided upon the gifts they want to order.

Even if they haven’t yet decided, we love speaking to them to help them to make the best choices. The point, however, is that they are able to order their items without ever having to take a step outdoors. When you offer your customers the same benefit, you’re bound to increase your sales. At least, this is what Gilon Miller seems to believe in an article posted on UpstreamCommerce.com.

He offers a list of benefits to online shopping based on conversations he’s had with consumers. Yesterday, we analyzed four of those benefits. In today’s blog, we’ll round out the final four. Considering that it’s the holiday shopping season, online shopping is bound to take off if it hasn’t already. Today, by the way, is Black Friday. And that means Cyber Monday is next – the biggest online shopping day of the year! Here are four more benefits to online shopping.

1. Comparison of Prices. There is likely no easier way to browse than to do so online. Think about all of the time and energy it takes to go in and out of every store that you are interested in. As Miller writes, “online shops make comparison and research of products and prices possible. Online stores also give you the ability to share information and reviews with other shoppers who have firsthand experience with a product or retailer.”

2. Crowds. As mentioned yesterday, crowd avoidance is one of the most popular reasons that online shopping is so well-loved. No waiting in long lineups, no search for parking spots – online shopping makes holiday shopping a dream. “Crowds force us to do a hurried shopping most of the time,” Miller points out, “Crowds also create a problem when it comes to finding a parking place nearby where you want to shop and going back to your vehicle later loaded with shopping bags.”

3. Compulsive Shopping. “Many times when we go out shopping we end up buying things which we do not require because of the shopkeepers’ upselling skills,” Miller continues, “or we’ll compromise on our choices because of the lack of choices in those shops.” Online shopping helps for consumers to buy what they are looking for and that’s it. Saving your customers money, by the way, will be a huge plus for you this holiday season. Naturally, they’ll be looking to save money. Your allowance for online shopping will help in the process.

4. Discreet Purchases. Is shopping sometimes an embarrassing experience? Let’s be honest. When shopping for loved ones, we don’t always want to be caught in the stores they like, that we would never frequent in general. “Some things are better done in privacy,” says Miller, “Online Shops enable me to purchase undergarments and lingerie or adult toys without the embarrassment that there are several people watching me and my choices.”

Synergy Marketing believes in the online shopping trend, however, we enjoy speaking with our customers over the phone directly. That means that we allow them to shop within the comfort of their homes and places of business. Our promotional products, by the way, are perfect giveaways during this time of year. Please peruse our website to learn about all of the amazing promo products that we have to offer. Or simply call us at 1-877-748-9884!

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