Author Archives: GleaveMedia
Why tone of voice is important in your business
So the question we’re often asked is how to create any content with the right tone of voice. So in short these are five top tips to follow…..
1. Use short sentences.
2. Avoid jargon.
3. Write in the active voice.
4. Use personal pronouns.
5. Don’t patronise your reader.
Tone of Voice is very tricky to get right, for example if we work with a recruitment consultants, a garage and a dentist and they all want to sound expert, passionate and innovative, how are we to tell them apart through their tone of voice?
You may want to read our post on the 6 Key elements of a Successful Content Strategy for Small Business Owners and Why do you need a Call to Action both will help guide your business down the right Tone Of Voice.
Getting your business facing these challenges and have them working for you shouldn’t be an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that know their tone of voice and ensure it is used across all communication. If you need help in ensuring your business has the right tone of voice then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
Your Digital Strategy for 2018
In 2018 your business needs a digital marketing strategy and this needs to constantly evolve if you hope to stay ahead of your competition, we have a wealth of experience in managing this and developing new strategies for customers as their businesses evolve . As alot of it involves staying on top of current marketing trends and keeping your website and social media profiles properly updated their are also some key issues to be aware of, so here are a few things that you can do that will help your business work better online.
Consistent tone of voice across all social channels
A customer should be able to recognize your business through the look of the business and how you ‘speak’ online, if you want one of the best examples ‘Just Do It’ is one of the simplest, most recognisable slogans of all time – a line Nike has used for the past 15 years – what is your business tone?
Multiple Devices are here to stay
Now more than ever your strategy needs to focus away from only how your business features on a computer screen, to how it features on mobiles, tablets. So your digital marketing strategy should cater to that with ads scaled to fit mobile devices and webpages that can be viewed easily on any device. Mobile ads should even take priority over television and radio ads, especially if you’re targeting a younger demographic.
Time to automate your Content Marketing
There area a multitude of tools that marketers can use to publish content across multiple social media platforms and these tools have evolved to allow you to create and publish content automatically with the push of a button. Social media is even more important than ever in 2018, and the ability to quickly post content to a wider audience will help you stay ahead of your competition.
Please ensure that you share useful content
As important as it is to come up with your own content, you shouldn’t hesitate to share other people’s content if you find it useful and interesting. This is a great way to share links back to your own content and reach a wider audience, especially if you stick to content that is relevant to your own company. You should read out post Social Media and the rule of Two Thirds for more helpful advice on getting this right.
These are just a few things that you can do to stay on top of digital marketing trends during the coming year. As simple as they may seem, they won’t help you if you don’t put in the proper effort. Always work to keep your website and social media profiles updated, and pay close attention to your competition. Digital marketing changes quickly, and you want to make sure you aren’t left behind.
More than ever in 2018 developing a digital strategy for your business shouldn’t be just an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that make it integral to their business growth from the start. Now the sales bit, if you need help in creating your digital strategy for your business then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
Best Marketing Agency in Exeter
Here at Gleave Media we are honoured to have been named as one of the three best marketing agencies in Exeter.
Three Best Rated is a business recommendation website. It selects what it considers to be the three best businesses within a business category, like marketing agencies, for a given city. They select businesses based on several criteria such as reviews, pricing, value, trust, general excellence and more are independent of the businesses themselves, consequently making this a really valuable award. Their employees check out businesses they are considering listing for their website, at no stage did they contact us so we had no idea of their due diligence on our business. They only informed us afterwards when they selected Gleave Media Ltd as one of their three best.
Three Best Rated® is an American business based in Austin Texas and was created with a simple goal to find you the top 3 local businesses, professionals, restaurants and health care providers in any city. They check business’s reviews, reputation, history, complaints, ratings, satisfaction, nearness, trust, cost, general excellence using a 50-Point Inspection.
So I like to give a big thank you for selecting Gleave Media, we’re honoured to have been chosen and would also like to congratulate the other two Exeter Marketing Agencies who were also selected as well.
What is GDPR – The General Data Protection Regulation
GDPR or by its full title – The General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is a regulation by which the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission intend to strengthen and unify data protection for all individuals within the European Union (EU) and it comes into effect in May 2018.
In preparing for GDP the Information Commissioners Office give 12 steps your business can take now, some/all of which may well apply to you.
- Awareness – the key people in your business should know the law is changing.
- Information you hold – where has this come from?
- Individuals rights – do your procedures cover management of the data you hold
- Privacy information – does your business have uptodate privacy notices?
- Access requests- how will you manage individuals asking for what data you hold on them?
- Lawful basis for your data – You should identify the lawful basis for your processing activity in the GDPR
- Consent – have people given permission for you to hold their data?
- Children – if you have minor’s data you already need stringent processes in place, these will need to be tougher.
- Data breaches – do you have processes in place to manage a data breach?
- Data protection – you key people need to be uptodate on he policies and procedures for these new data protection regulations.
- Data protection officers – your business needs to have a key person to act as the data protection officer
- International – if you trade internationally then you need to determine your lead data protection supervisory authority.
One thing is for sure this new regulation is far more encompassing then the current data protection regulations and adds a whole new level of responsibility onto every business large and small. At the time of writing this update significant parts of GDPR are still to be finalised so for more detailed information and a ‘living’ document you need to head to the information commissioners website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr
Why do you need a call to action?
A common phrase used by marketers is ‘call to action’ or the acronym CTA. Basically this means that after someone has read your content they come to a place in it which has a call to action asking them to do something, be that contact your business or buy the product or service you’re offering.
The key fact is that you want your reader to do something, be that share the post on social media or buy a product, whatever it is your call to action must be compelling. You dont need to write pages of copy for your call to action to work better or worse, it just needs to be compelling and reflect what you business is and stands for – your brand.
If you make your call to action unique great as it will be memorable, if its in your business tone then even better, so if you business is fun then so should your call to action be, if its serious then it follows that your call to action is similarly serious. So our three top tips to make your call to action a winner….
- If your call to action is as simple as BUY NOW excellent but you could take a higher level approach with a prize if the user shares some content as that way they may well discover more content applicable for them – hence this is often used in a retail environment.
- Ensure your call to action is short and 100% clear, as with all content dont waffle or else you risk confusing the viewer.
- Can you offer a deal, buy now and get % off your next order is a common one, or sign up for our newsletter and get offers JUST for newsletter subscribers is also a good one.
Whatever way you choose to go, think differently and look at the potential to try out new ideas to really make your call to action come alive….
Getting your business facing these challenges and have them working for you shouldn’t be an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that make it integral to their strategy from the start. If you need help in ensuring your business has the ‘killer’ call to action then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
6 Key Elements of a Successful Content Strategy for Small Business Owners
As a small business, one of the many challenges that you’ll face is how to stand out from the crowd – especially when that crowd includes big names in your industry with huge marketing budgets. One thing you can’t skimp on in order to meet your goals is a solid content strategy for your online presence. With the right elements all working together, you can get more traffic, more attention, and more customer loyalty, without that Big Name budget. Here are the key elements of a successful content strategy to enhance your brand’s presence online:
Website and Storefront
For most small businesses today, an online storefront is a vital part of expanding your sales opportunities. But your website must be more than just a place to sell goods. It is also a place to introduce quality content to your audience. With an excellently maintained website or blog, you can present yourself as an authority in the industry, and build your brand’s identity in a way that will be very clear to the audience. This is the most important aspect of any content strategy, so be sure to focus the most time and energy on having a well-crafted website.
Social Media and Customer Interaction
Social media can’t be ignored in today’s online culture. While your website should be your central hub, social media should be the place where you can interact with customers on a regular basis. Be sure that you are always presenting your brand’s mission and unique personality in your social media presence. Organizations that interact, rather than just post, on social media are far more likely to convert one-time buyers into loyal customers.
Advertising Profiles and Guest Appearances
One thing that many companies overlook online is the power of connecting with other companies. Consumers like knowing that they are buying from experts, and gaining credibility from other sources is a great way to show your expertise. Seek out guest appearances on other blogs, collaborations with popular taste makers, and create profiles on popular advertising sites such as Yelp, to give your audience the sense that you are well-established as a leader in your niche.
These six elements are the key pieces of creating a successful content strategy for small businesses. With a strong website as your central hub, an engaging presence on social media, and other industry leaders lending you credibility through partnerships, you can begin crafting a powerful online presence that keeps your audience coming back.
Getting your business facing these challenges and have them working for you shouldn’t be an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that make it integral to their strategy from the start. If you need help in ensuring your business is listed correctly then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
Does your business think local?
It should go without saying that its no good having a great product or website if people cant find it, almost pointless in fact.
We’ve written previously about the importance of a Google local listing and it is vital that this is optimised so that your business can be found by local customers. Local information is becoming increasingly important in search engine results pages and Google continues to to show and place importance on mapped and local results wherever possible.
So how does your business fix this?
- First of all if you haven’t already then you need to claim and verify your Google local business listing, ensuring it has the correct details, name, address and opening times are key.
- Then optimise content, keywords and contact details, all useful information for anybody searching, you also need to make sure your contact details across the web are universally consistent.
Finally the ‘icing’ on top is by collecting reviews, and yes this is difficult, you’ll ask far more customers than will give you reviews but do you ask?
Just for the record you can read our Google reviews here and our facebook reviews here both actively collected and always asked for….
Getting your business listing correctly on all search engines shouldn’t be an afterthought – the businesses that succeed will be the ones that make it integral to their strategy from the start. If you need help in ensuring your business is listed correctly then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here for a no obligation conversation.
CRM to Create Crowdsourced Process Improvements
A well planned customer relationship management or CRM system can be a great differentiator for your growing business. If you have the ability early on to capture important information about the type of customers you have, their buying habits and interests and the ability to analyze and synthesize this information to your benefit, you have the ability to not only maintain powerful, long-lasting customer relationships, you also have the ability to grow your business exponentially through referrals and repeat business.
According to a study published in Forbes magazine, a fully implemented CRM in a business such as yours has the potential to grow sales by 29%. The CRM can be a powerful tool to help you reach the pinnacle success in the type of business you are engaged. One of the ways your CRM provides a tremendous value to you, particularly as you start out, is through crowdsourcing your customers for feedback on your business processes. Soliciting customer feedback and participation in evaluating how you do business allows you to improve your business and strengthen their loyalty and commitment to the products and services you offer.
The Importance of Crowdsourced Process Improvements
Your CRM is a hub for managing customer information and interaction. If you think beyond a myopic use of the CRM as a data gathering tool and broaden its reach to include email, social media and other forms of dialogue and communication, you have in hand a powerful tool for developing a better customer profile and managing expectations. Information that is gathered through the CRM is captured in real time and represents a way to capture instant feedback relative to the way you do business and how your employees meet and manage the needs of your vital asset.
Crowdsourcing involves the inclusion of all aspects of your business and the sales cycles, from customer service representatives to management to the sales team to the very customers themselves. Feedback elicited from the feedback can be fed to the different functions within your business to better understand:
- What went right with the sale/transaction?
- What areas of improvement are present?
- Is this customer more likely or less likely to continue a business relationship with us?
Harnessing the power of the CRM to engage the customer is an important way to derive tremendous value from your system, we help many businesses do just that. For a no obligation conversation then please call us on 01392 241653 or contact us through the website here.
What is Beyond CRM for My Company?
The customer relationship management system or CRM is a powerful tool for managing all aspects of the customer experience. As a business concern starting out, one of the most important investments that you can make is in a CRM system capable of managing customer profiles, determining how best the business delivers on its promises and rewarding customer loyalty for continued support and advocacy in terms of referrals and additional business.
The CRM however is not the end all to be all with respect to your management of the customer relationship. The information contained within the CRM is useless if not used in an effective way for you to make process improvements or deliver on the expectations that your customers have of you and the business. Here is a look at what is beyond the CRM and what you should do to better manage information and make it work to your advantage as a new or emerging business owner.
What should a CRM Should Drive My Business to Do
CRMs represent a dynamic tool that can integrate various functions and processes within the business. This integration allows different departments and disciplines to communicate with one another and provide support to customers, the critical lifeblood of any organization. Through the full utilization of the CRM and all its functions, both as a data mining tool and as a interactive communication hub, you can develop a way to involve, engage and fully meet the needs of your customer. This helps distinguish you from our competitors and put you in position to grow at a potential unseen.
Understand that CRM relates to an aspect of the customer relationship but does not take place of the physical aspect of the customer experience. If you do not follow-up on the information being provided to you, whether it is an answer to an inquiry by a customer, a request for information, a follow-up call on a complaint, etc. you miss an opportunity to meet the expectations of the customer. Such a missed opportunity could prove a detriment to you down the road, particularly if you are a business who depends on its reputation and word of mouth as an aspect of your marketing and outreach. The more you humanize the customer experience beyond the CRM, the better you will be at retaining long lasting customer relationships.
Should I Consider a Cloud Based CRM?
A customer relationship management system (CRM) can be the heart of your business. CRMs drive your interactions with customers, manage contacts and provide you with a way to increase sales and expand your customer base. You should consider as an emerging business how the inclusion of a CRM benefits your organization.
What are some of the reasons for considering a move to the cloud as a storage option for your CRM system? Do you lose control or access to the functionality of your CRM when hosted in the cloud? What do you give up moving to the cloud or, what do you gain from a cloud-based solution for managing your valuable customer information?
Here is a look at these questions and why a cloud-based CRM makes sense for you.
The Perception of Cloud-Based CRMs
Cloud-based computing is the buzzword for our time as it relates to all businesses, large and small. The simplest way to think about the way cloud computing works is by considering placing your files online as oppose to maintaining them remotely, through storage servers you own and control. Moving data, particular that containing proprietary customer information essential to building your business and managing customer relationships automatically invokes thoughts and fears about:
- Security and safety – is my information protected in the cloud and subject to loss or hackers?
- Accessibility – what type of access issues are present if I move my valuable business information into the cloud?
- Portability – Can I easily move my cloud-based information between sites, users or strategic partners with little to know disruption to my business and efforts to grow and become profitable?
These concerns are real; however the advantages of a cloud-based solution may more than outweigh the concerns you may have.
The Reality of Cloud-Based CRMs
The perceptions about a cloud-based solution for your CRM should be weighed against these advantages:
- Cost – use of a cloud solution saves you on the hardware and personnel costs associated with maintaining your own servers.
- Scalability – the unlimited potential of the cloud as a storage option means it grows as you grow, again lowering your costs associated with investing in hardware and people power.
- Accessibility – data can be access from any device connected to your business, allowing you to grant remote access to your field associates when interacting with customers.
If you are in the process of considering the power of CRMs to harness your business outreach and improve customer outreach and contact, you should also consider how a move to the cloud not only compliments your system but allows you to scale up quickly, lower your costs, and give you a business advantage that allows you to be competitive at a time as an emerging business such advantages are necessary for survival. This is how we’ve grown our business and how we can help grow yours.
