As we enter the New Year, one common goal clients have been conveying to me, again
and again, is to increase their client acquisition.

These days, the many options available make the decision on which client acquisition
strategies are right for you more confusing. Of course, you are always welcome to
contact us to discuss your goals and plans or you can keep reading and follow this
simple three-step plan:

Step one: Evaluate.
One excellent way I’ve found to determine which are the best options is to use the
SWAT method.

The SWAT method takes into consideration your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats by answering the following four questions:
1) What are your internal strengths?
2) What are your internal weaknesses?
3) What are your external opportunities?
4) What are your external threats?

For example, an agency we work with designs websites. They are terrific at what they
do and have built great relationships with their clients. They determined that their
internal weakness is that they don’t offer services beyond designing websites, which
poses both an opportunity and a threat. Other agencies which offer additional services
to attract customers to their client’s websites create a threat in stealing their clients. At
the same time, this creates an opportunity to expand their offerings to strengthen their
relationship further with their existing customers, generate new sources of income and
increase the lifetime value of their clients, and become more attractive to prospects. So,
they could continue to focus on their strengths, they partnered with us to provide white
label PPC management services to their clients.

Step two: Choose one or more strategies that match your SWAT results.
Keeping your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in mind, here are five
strategies for client acquisition:

1) Add more target verticals. In 2018, segmenting your audience is critical. One
way to separate yourself from the pack is to take your existing core offer and
tweak your messaging to target specific verticals. For example, if you target
lawyers, consider adding a new vertical that targets chiropractors or plumbers,
and so on. Creating a PPC strategy with target-specific language to attract these
new verticals can help you grow much more quickly.

2) Expand your offerings. By providing new services, you not only can increase
your earning potential with existing customers, but you have another way to draw new customers in. For example, let’s say you offer SEO services only. By
partnering with us as a white label service, you can offer PPC management as a
new service without risking losing potential prospects or existing customers to a
competitor.

Or if you already offer PPC management, look at going beyond AdWords and
provide advertising on other channels such as Facebook, Instagram, BingAds,
Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Oath. These can be tricky; however,
we have proven systems in place that will exceed your expectations.

3) Focus on your strengths while partnering with someone who specializes
and excels in your weak areas. Rather than spending energy on learning a new
specialty to expand your offerings, partner with a white label service to add
something new. This way you keep control and don’t risk messing up your
relationships with your existing clients. For instance, are you good at making
sales and customer care? Let us take care of the PPC side of your business for
you. Rated among the top 5% of Google Partners, our track record, high rating,
and over 20 years’ experience specializing in PPC will help you attract more
leads either through campaigns we create for you or by offering you another
attractive service to add to your company offerings, helping you land potential
new customers. And because we will take care of these PPC services including
AdWords, Facebook Advertising, etc., you’ll have more time to concentrate on
making sales.

4) Work on drawing more relevant traffic to your website. Using a Google
certified agency can help you attract more relevant clients. “Google Partners” are
designated by a blue or red badge. A BLUE badge designates that the minimum
requirements have been met to become a partner. An agency with a RED badge
indicates it is among the top 5%. (PPC for Small Biz has a RED badge.) While an
agency with a blue badge may be less expensive, it’s not unusual for a red
badge agency to decrease your acquisition costs by 60%.

5) Add an advertising strategy to your social media channels. You can run
extremely targeted ad campaigns for your business with social media ad
campaigns. In 2018, highly targeted campaigns will be critical to stand out,
making this even more essential to successful client acquisition. In addition to
selecting your audience based on age, gender, and location, you can get much
more targeted. For example, you can target users on Facebook based on their
interests and target Twitter users based on keywords and on LinkedIn you can
target users based on the industry they work in, their job title, and their job skills.
This more targeted approach helps you gain better, more qualified customers
which means you’ll stretch your advertising budget further.

Step three: Decide on a partner agency you feel will be most effective.

Reaching and converting new customers is important to your business and strategies
like the ones listed above can be what your company needs to grow your business in
2018.

In determining what agency to partner with, here are some things to consider:

1) Search for an agency that specializes in PPC in your category. (PPC for Small
Biz specializes in designing, implementing and managing PPC advertising
programs (AdWords, Facebook Ads, Bing Ads) for small business, Global 1000
companies, ad agencies, resellers and multi-location franchises.)

2) Ask for case studies so you can get a feel for their experience level.

3) Ask to see not just one-month results, but six or nine-month results to see if the
agency gets results for their clients over a longer period.

4) Speak to their clients. You’ll get a feel for how the company does business and
services their clients.

5) Find out how the agency communicates to ensure they are available when you
want to speak with them versus only speaking to you once a month on a pre-
booked appointment. Also, find out who you’ll be speaking with. (At PPC for
Small Biz, we won’t delegate your account to junior staff, SEO specialists, or
unqualified administrators like other agencies do.)

6) Before you sign anything, get 100% clear on what is expected. This includes your
campaign goal and timescales and who’s responsible for what.

7) Make sure you have an out clause if the objectives aren’t being met. There is no
need to be on the hook for 12 months, but to be fair to an agency, that period
should never be less than three months.

To get a Google certified agency, search for “Google Partner.” I recommend searching
for a RED Badge-designated provider (which signifies they are in the top 5%). Follow
these three steps will help you achieve your customer acquisition goals this year.

Have you ever done any of the following?

• Searched on your phone to find a place to eat?
• Searched how to fix something, cook something, build something, or clean something?
• Searched to see what events are happening that night or weekend?
• Searched to see if there was a store in the area that carried a specific item you wanted so you didn’t drive all over town looking for it?

These are just a few of the examples of what people are searching for today. So, if you are like the growing majority, your answer was “yes” to at least one of these searches.

I’m not sure I know anyone who doesn’t own a smartphone (or at least a mobile phone) these days. All my clients do.

The increased use of mobile phones has had a big impact on the way people interact with ads. Which is why the most successful companies are creating ads that target what Google coined as “micro-moments” and then they use PPC to drive people to these ads.

The American Marketing Association defines a micro-moment as “a mobile moment that requires only a glance to identify and delivers quick information that you can either consume or act on immediately.”

In other words, people are searching for very specific pieces of information such as where is the closest pizza place, how long should you cook sweet potatoes, or where can I get new tires for my car today?

Here’s something else worth noting: According to the Google/Ipsos Consumers in the Micro-Moment study (March 2015), “91% of smartphone users turn on their phone for ideas while doing a given task.” Plus, one in three smartphone users has purchased from a company or brand other than the one they were looking for because of the information provided at the moment they needed it.

Which means if you aren’t creating ads to target these micro-moments you’re losing business to companies that are. If you are targeting these micro-moments, congratulations, because you are winning new customers away from your competitors.

What are the micro-moments people search for?

Google has identified five different micro-moments (which also apply to YouTube searches):

1) I want to watch what I’m into moments. These feed people’s passions and interests.
2) I want to know moments. These feed people who are exploring, learning or researching.
3) I want to go moments. These feed people who want to go to your store and shop right now.
4) I want to do moments. These feed people looking for instruction.
5) I want to buy moments. These help people decide about what or how to buy.

People expect their digital experiences to be customized to them in other ways too.

Here are three ways consumers want their searches customized for them:

1. What’s “near me”?

Consumers want location-specific responses, so if they’re searching for a dentist or ice cream or whatever nearby, they want to be able to type in “dentist” and get appropriate responses. Where people used to expect to have to type in their location or “near me”, today people assume their smartphone will know where they are.

2. Where can I purchase this “right now”?

More and more, consumers also use their smartphones to make spur-of-the-moment purchases. In fact, according to Google/Ipsos Connect, Rising Consumer Expectations in the Micro-Moment, U.S. Survey (Dec 2016), “smartphone users are 50% more likely to expect to purchase something immediately while using their smartphone compared to a year ago.” That means they want to be able to make a dinner reservation, book a hotel room, or find a pharmacy that is open “right now” simply by entering “Italian food”, “hotel room” or “pharmacy.”

3. What’s the “best”

Consumers also use their phones as a guide to finding solutions. Perhaps they are looking for a math tutor for their child. Or they moved to the area and they need to find a new doctor. They will search for guidance on how to make the best decision. This extends to everything from the safest car to kitchen faucets to what are the best places to ski. Mobile searches for “best” have grown 80% in the past two years!

Consumers want and expect their searches to be fast and easy. If your business isn’t meeting this requirement, they’ll find another business that is. And because businesses are adapting and complying with their wishes, they are using search more than ever before. In fact, experts predict that these expectations will only continue to rise. People will want to get things done even faster, be more informed and have even more personal experiences.

The good news is as a small business owner, you can now level the playing field and create a huge competitive advantage by creating ads to address these micro-moments. If you haven’t taken steps to serve consumers in this more personalized way, then I encourage you to adapt and adapt quickly. It’ll be one of the most important marketing decisions you ever make.

Check out our 1st “Hot Seat” Interview with Google where we discuss AdWords, SEO and much more. Thanks to Michael Hose from Google for taking the 1st round. Who’s going to be next from Google?

Ahoy Matey!

Raise the Jolly Roger an’ keep a weathered eye open.

Them scurvy dogs at Google will soon be swimmin’ with the fishes down in Davey Jones Locker.

But before Google walks, we’re gonna make ‘em talk. Keelhaul ‘em and get ‘em to tell us where X marks the spot.

Avast ye! This is where I need yer help.

Me hearty . . . I’ll be meetin’ with Google this Thursday, September 22nd for a video-taped interview an’ I need some good stuff from you to grill ‘em.

https://ppcmanager.wufoo.com/forms/google-be-walkin-the-plank/

Send me yer toughest questions an’ I’ll broadside them bilge rats. Things you’d like to know about AdWords, SEO, Google My Business and the like.

Go on account an’ take no prisoners.

We be getting’ Google to show us their colors an’ true intentions.

So get yer swagger an’ send over yer questions.

https://ppcmanager.wufoo.com/forms/google-be-walkin-the-plank/

An’ no quarter given.

Arrrgh!

Cap’n John Pfeiffer

P.S. In case yer forgettin’, September 19, 2016 be Talk like a Pirate Day!

Yo-ho-ho.

Below are funny quotes I found yesterday while Googling “interrogation movie lines”.

Bad Guy: “I get it. Good Cop, Bad Cop, eh?”
Good Cop: “If you like. But we’re a bit short staffed here. So if I give you a cigarette, would you mind kicking yourself in the teeth?”
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

Now, here’s your chance to play Bad Cop.

On Thursday, September 22nd, I plan to conduct a very insightful and direct interview of Google.

I’d like your questions to ask them.

https://ppcmanager.wufoo.com/forms/your-chance-to-play-the-bad-cop/

This will be important Qualitative Information that’s difficult to capture in the world of Big Data. Please keep your questions relevant to AdWords, YouTube, GA, GTM and other Google properties.

https://ppcmanager.wufoo.com/forms/your-chance-to-play-the-bad-cop/

Let’s hope they get it.

Here’s to your online success!

John Pfeiffer

P.S. Send me your questions for Google today . . . before it’s too late. – https://ppcmanager.wufoo.com/forms/your-chance-to-play-the-bad-cop/

In a few short weeks, I’ll be interviewing Google at their Boulder, Colorado office. It will be a privilege and honor to spend time one-on-one inside the walls of Google.

So, I say . . . Let’s Put ‘Em on the Hot Seat!!!!

Finally, here’s your opportunity to ask Google the tough questions you always wanted to ask. And, hopefully, get the inside line to help you navigate Google’s ever-changing online world.

Just click on the link below and send me your question(s).

https://ppcmanager.wufoo.com/forms/lets-put-google-on-the-hot-seat/

Please keep your requests related to AdWords, Shopping, Remarketing, SEO, YouTube, or other Google products.

Ask as many intriguing questions as you’d like.

Questions for the interview will be selected based on relevancy, creativity, degree of difficulty and level of interest among all participants.

After my interview is completed, I’ll post the video on my blog at ppcforsmallbiz.com/blog. We’ll then notify you via email and social media to come check out the interview in its entirety.

So . . . ASK away.

Here’s the form link again.

https://ppcmanager.wufoo.com/forms/lets-put-google-on-the-hot-seat/

I look forward to making ’em squirm in their chair.

Here’s to your online success!

John Pfeiffer

Last month I wrote about creating a “Buying Guide” to help distinguish your business and eliminate your competition. Along with a lot of positive feedback about this idea, I received a common question. Many wanted to know what you should include in your buying guide to make yourself stand out.

One of the best ways is to determine what makes you stand out is by simply asking your clients, customers, or patients what they like most about your company, product or service. If their answer doesn’t directly point to an obvious advantage, more often than not their answers give strong clues for you to draw on. For example, let’s say you are a dentist. Your patients tell you that they always feel like they are coming to see a friend because your staff always greets them with a smile and asks about their family members by name. Because many people have a fear of going to the dentist, your advantage here would be that you have a dental practice patients actually look forward to visiting.

Another powerful way is to evaluate the most common reasons prospects tell you they are looking to change from their current product or service provider to your product or service.

For example, something I hear a lot from clients as to why they left their previous PPC management company is that they are tired of being reassigned to new account reps.

In fact, a recent prospective client told me he was looking to switch his PPC management from a large marketing company. When I asked him why, he told me that his account kept getting bounced around between different PPC managers who he felt had very little vested interest in his business. Every time his account was reassigned to a new point person, he had to re-educate this new person on his company’s goals, needs, and so on.

Because it is common for digital marketing companies to hire young, inexperienced people to manage their clients’ PPC campaigns and because Millennials tend to job-hop between companies, this creates a distinct advantage for my company.

So one of the things I want to play up in my “Buying Guide” is Big Business vs. Small Boutique Firm.

How I showcase this in my “Buying Guide” is like this:

Should You Choose a Big firm or a Boutique Firm?

Considering the small business owner needs every dollar spent to mean something, you’ll want to take careful consideration in choosing the firm that represents you. Because every good opportunity missed and every bad move made has big consequences.

With that in mind, here are some questions to consider before hiring a firm to handle your PPC management.

• Would you prefer to work with employees or directly with the boss of the company?

• Are you okay with having information passed on second hand or do you want to hear information straight from the person with whom the buck stops?

• Are you okay with having your point person re-assigned or would you rather have the same person who knows your account inside and out, backwards and forwards?

• Which do you prefer? A beginning level employee or someone with not only years’ of experience but who is also passionate about PPC?

• Are you okay with re-educating people on your goals, needs and so on should there be turnover in the firm or would you rather explain your goals and needs one time only when you first begin with the firm?

It is common for big digital marketing companies to hire young, inexperienced people to manage their
clients’ PPC campaigns, especially for small business clients with smaller ad budgets. These Millennials tend to job-hop between companies in order to climb the corporate ladder. This means your account not only is handled by inexperienced people, but it’s common to have your account passed off to new hires when your rep leaves for another job. This requires you to educate the newly appointed representative handling your account.

With boutique firms, you are much more likely to deal directly with the owner or a highly experienced PPC manager. Because you are dealing directly with the owner, there is a vested interest in your success. Plus if you are dealing with the owner, you’ll never have to worry about having your account turned over to a new representative. Small boutiques understand that every dollar you spend must count and that bad moves can’t be afforded because they are in the same boat since they are small business owners themselves.

For example, as the owner and operator of PPC for Small Biz, I have a vested interest in the online success of all my clients. It’s my number one concern and it’s one of the main reasons that I started PPC for Small Biz in 2007. I’ve seen the disservice that many small business owners tend to receive from their digital marketing service providers and I opened up my shop to stop this injustice. You see – there is a big difference between large businesses where you’re just a number and a small boutique firm like ours where you can actually have a free marketing consultation with the company founder. In big agencies, their bottom line matters most. In our company, your bottom line matters most because if you succeed then we all succeed. In big companies, you’ll tend to work with newbies just out of school. In our firm, you’ll work with database marketers with over 25 years of experience. In large businesses, you’ll experience working with lots of different employees who can’t wait for 5pm to arrive. At our firm, you’ll find us burning the midnight oil whenever called upon. “

If one of your new clients or patients recently changed from a different company, ask them what it was that made them switch to you. You may be surprised at what you learn. Plus, by asking prospective clients why they are unhappy with the choices available to them or why they are looking to make a change, you may unearth the key points that make you stand out the most.

Now go out and create your “Buying Guide!”

In a small retail store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the business owners face a problem most business owners face today…

Competition due to commoditization.

This particular store sells mattresses. In their market there are 136 other stores that also sell mattresses.

What about your product or service? How many others sell what you sell in your market space?

Here’s the thing. Even if you only have one other competitor in your market, you must find a way to be in a category of one. In other words, to be different and offer something that no one else offers.

How do you do that?

Today I’ll show you how to create a bait piece that will not only effectively generate leads but will pre-sell your prospects making them predisposed to buy from you instead of your competitors.

One of the reasons the method I’m about to share with you works so well is that most business owners will not take the time to implement this.

Having said that, it’s the kind of thing that over and over customers say is the deciding factor for customers. Here’s what one customer of that small mattress store said, “It is what helped “sell me” on choosing your company…it also showed me your commitment to being the best place I should consider for my purchase.”

So what is this bait piece?

A Buying Guide.

Continue reading and you’ll get the entire step-by-step process for quickly and easily creating your own buying guide to generate leads for your business.

Before you get started, keep in mind that the purpose of your Buying Guide is to educate your customer about the issues and decision points you want your customers to be aware of. In other words, you want to produce your Buying Guide with the end purpose in mind which is to create an educated customer that after reading your Buying Guide will believe you are the only possible source that can supply the solution they need.

With this in mind your Buying Guide should be a short guide that teaches your customer, client or patient HOW to consume your product or service. This can be delivered in the form of a printed book or booklet or a downloadable guide. (I recommend one or both of these formats so that you can get prospects on your list and follow up with them.)

Your Buying Guide should produce a customer or client that understands your views as follows:
• How your prospect currently perceives your industry.
• How you perceive the industry.
• How you are different (i.e. your Unique Selling Proposition or USP).
• How the person reading your Buying Guide can benefit by engaging with you.
• What they will learn and why it is important to them.
• What mistakes they will avoid with this information.

After your prospective customer has read your Buying Guide, he or she should:
• Understand your language.
• Have a comprehensive idea of what to expect from you and how you will treat them.
• Be able to clearly identify how you are unique and different.
• Feel as if you’ve added massive value to their purchase.
• Move from a “need to do this mindset” to a “I want to do this and am excited” to purchase your product or service.
• Have all fear and apprehension lowered or gone.

To set up your Buying Guide, I suggest incorporating the following six items:

1. A forward explaining your view of the industry you are in and how you understand that this can be confusing or scary.

2. An “About Us” and an introduction page.

3. A table of contents so those who skim can go right to the information they want right away.

If you have something very unique be sure to showcase this across from the table of contents so that people will see it front and center. For example, at PPC for Small Biz you receive Free consulting in important areas of your Internet Marketing such as email marketing, landing pages, and conversion rate optimization directly from the founder of the company who has over 25 years of direct marketing experience(learn more at www.PPCforSmallBiz.com)

4. Your Buying Guide should have at least eight chapters, remember more is not always better. However, keep in mind that a chapter might only be one or two pages long.

Each chapter should be about helping your customer better understand what they are buying and how to buy it more effectively and without remorse, remember you want to create a hyper buyer ready to do business with you and you only.

5. Insert testimonials throughout your Buying Guide and have a section dedicated to just testimonials.

6. Since you are educating your customers, if you are planning on printing your Buying Guide, you may also want to include a place for your customers to write notes.

Now let’s look at example from my Buying Guide, “A Guide to Overcoming 8 Common PPC Buying Mistakes”

Mistake #1: Not Confirming Who Will Be Handling Your Account

Really, this statement seems ridiculous. You would assume that the person who sells you your service would be the person servicing your account or at least that the person that is showcased in your presentation would be. But you would be surprised by the number of people who purchase PPC services from a company in the U.S. only to find out later that they must speak to someone overseas who speaks English as a second language.

Other situations include:
• Only being able to communicate via email and unsure who is reading and responding to your email.
• Being assigned to a rookie fresh out of school who only has little experience in one area—which may or may not be right for you.
• Being put into a recorded call center where you have to answer a series of questions such as what your name, phone # and account number is and an upsell conversation before you ever get to speak to someone.

The time you spend trying to explain your question or answer unimportant questions to someone who doesn’t even know anything about your account directly impacts not only your satisfaction with your PPC service but how successful your campaigns will be.

Helpful Tips

Be sure to ask direct, specific questions about who will be handling your account, how you will communicate with them and what the process is. Be sure you are completely satisfied with how you will communicate before you purchase from them.

Ask the following questions:
 Is the person handling my account a PPC expert with 10 or more years’ experience?
 Will I have a number I call directly to reach the person handling my account?
 Will I be able to contact you by phone?
 Does the person handling my account speak English as their first language?

If the answers to the questions above are not positive, you should really think about whether the company you are considering is right. Do they care about you getting the best results and experience or are they just there to sell PPC?

PPC for Small Business never passes your online advertising programs off to junior level admins, foreign subsidies, or rookies just out of school. We are the only Search Engine Marketing Specialists that offer all of the following:
 Adwords Certified Professionals
 Over 25 years of database marketing and SEM knowledge
 Winner of the Google Partners All-Star Competition for 3 years in a row.
 Guarantee that you will only work with seasoned advertising professionals who understand small businesses as well as the franchisee/franchisor and manufacturer/distributor/dealer relationships.
 Completely U.S. based company
 Custom & proprietary database of internet marketing knowledge that brings qualified leads to your small business, franchise or dealer network quickly and cost effectively.
 Free consultation with a senior internet marketing executive

All of this is done at no extra cost to our clients. We offer this and go the extra mile so that you receive the best possible results and can experience a competitive advantage for your business.

Create your own Buying Guide as a way to show your prospective clients just how important a decision it is to buy your product or service from you and you alone.

We’ve all witnessed the power of a recommendation…

The way your perspective instantly changes when a friend tells you they’ve tried a product, eaten at a restaurant, seen a great movie or read a book and said, “It was unbelievably amazing-you have to experience it!” Or “I’ve tried that and I loved it!”

You’re instantly inclined to try whatever product or service is in question simply because you trust your family and friends. In fact, according to Nielsen research, 92% of people trust recommendations from their friends and family more than all other forms of marketing.

Some other findings about referrals that make them even more desirable:
– Customers referred by other customers have a 37% higher retention rate. (Deloitte)
– A referred customer has a 16%-25% higher lifetime value. (Wharton School of Business)
– Referral customers tend to be more loyal than other customers. (American Marketing Association)
– According to Market Force, “81% of U.S. online consumers’ purchase decisions are influenced by their friends’ social media posts.”

It follows that one of the best marketing strategies you can put in place is a referral marketing campaign. Not just the traditional “ask for a referral” campaign, but one that leverages your customers and turns them into sales ambassadors who spread the word about your product and services.

Imagine having a whole sales team of customers out there working for you for free. Not only that—as the stats clearly show above, they are more effective!

Which means…because referrals have a much higher close percentage, they are an excellent way to maximize your profits.

The best part… you can create sales ambassadors for your products and services…essentially at no cost to you.

Let’s look at a real live example of this in action.

For the past three years, the Walt Disney Company has done a summer campaign called “Jet, Set, Go.” Now I want you to think about Disney. It’s a name people already know and trust. There is a massive audience already engaging with Disney who are loyal fans. Yet with this one single campaign, Disney received a 40% increase in their reach of core television media thanks to referrals.

Imagine what a 40% increase could do for your business? Even better imagine what a 40% increase looks like in your profits when you don’t have to deduct advertising costs because the increase came from free referrals.

Now you might be thinking…sure this can work for a company like Disney, but it will never work for mine because I don’t sell a product or service that people talk to their friends and family about.

The thing is, this works for even the type of businesses that people rarely, if ever, talk to their friends and family about. It even works for products and services that are considered uninteresting to talk about…such as insurance or accounting.

You see when it comes to referrals, there is a lot more to it than what type of product or service you sell.

Here are three things that will affect referrals:

1. A customer’s entire experience. Have you ever visited a website and although you loved the product, you were so frustrated with your user-experience, you left without buying? Or maybe you went to a restaurant where the food was terrific, but when you went to use the restroom it was dirty.
It’s not just about having a great product or service. It’s about the entire experience. Impressions can affect whether or not a customer gives you a recommendation or not.

In fact, if their experience is bad, you might receive negative publicity. Remember impressions don’t always have to do with the product or service you sell. It could be that they experienced slow service, were treated badly by a staff member, the packaging was awful, or that they grabbed your product off a dirty shelf.

2. Your communication. A friend of mine has a large online following. Although she wanted to recommend a business she loves, when she went to their Facebook page, the posts did not reflect the brand she had come to know and love. Therefore she opted NOT to give the recommendation because she was embarrassed to tag the business Facebook page.

3. Your ads. Another thing to think about is how your ads are structured. We’ve all seen clever Super Bowl commercials that spread like wildfire—yet, when asked later, nobody can remember what the product is that was being sold.

When creating your ads and videos, be sure that you don’t get so caught up in the creative that your ad doesn’t sell your product. The content of your ad must match your company’s message and reflect a core benefit of your product or service.

That way, if your ad or video is shared, it has the potential to convert casual viewers into eager buyers.

Focus on intentionally creating referrals for your product or service and you’ll grow your business faster and easier — and maximize your profits too.

How many contacts does it take to make a sale?

The answer can vary and depend on a number of factors—including the product or service, the price, and the quality of the prospect.

I believe follow-up is key and this is why:

2% of sales are made on the first contact. 3% of sales are made on the second contact. 5% of sales are made on the third contact. 10% of sales are made on the fourth contact. And a whopping 80% of sales are made on the fifth to twelfth contact.

Yet, despite this statistics say that 48% of business owners never follow-up with a prospect. 25% make a second contact and stop. 12% only make three contacts and stop. Only 10% make more than three contacts.

With increasing competition, a simple way to put yourself ahead of the competition is to follow-up more than three times.

The question is, how do you follow up with the 98% who abandon your website before you’ve captured their name and email?

You do this with retargeting (also referred to as remarketing.)

What is retargeting?
Retargeting is a form of advertising that helps keep your brand in front of customers, clients, patients, or prospects after they leave your website. Retargeting keeps track of the people who visit your website and displays your retargeting ads to them as they visit other sites online, thus keeping you top-of-mind.

How does retargeting work?
We place code in your website that tracks potential customers’ browsing history when they visit your site and leave before purchasing or taking the desired action. We use that data to create an ultra-customized audience. This information allows us to display retargeting ads to this ultra-customized audience at appropriate times. In fact, customers can be retargeted just about anywhere they might go online.

To some people this may seem intrusive, but the truth is that when it is done right retargeting ads are not intrusive. They help a user find their way back to your website to take the action they initially set out to take.

The fact is that people are busy and easily distracted. They may have wanted to fill out your form, purchase your product or contact your business, when they were interrupted.
Reminding them is not a bad thing. Remember only 2% of sales are made on the first contact and 80% are made between the fifth to twelfth contact. That means if you aren’t following up with these people, you are leaving A LOT of money on the table.

What are the advantages of retargeting?
1) It brings buyers back to your website. Retargeting increases sales by keeping your brand in front of prospects, ensuring you are there at the precise moment they are ready to buy. Once your potential customer, client, or patient shows interest in your product or service by clicking on an ad, they are entered into your retargeting campaign. Every time these prospects see your retargeting ads, you gain more recognition and remind them of your brand. There is a high click-through rate and increased conversion rate that is typical with this repeated exposure to your targeted audience.

2) Boost sales from a larger group of buyers. If you take orders online, retargeting can extend your sales efforts outside of your business’ physical location and build a larger network of interested buyers.

3) It’s quick and simple to set up. Setting up a retargeting campaign doesn’t take weeks or even days to create. It’s quick and simple to set up which means you can start re-capturing the 98% of people who abandon your site almost immediately.

4) It fits any budget. In the past, spending ad dollars to create name-brand identity was something reserved for big businesses. Small businesses simply didn’t have the budget to create the kind of impact needed to gain recognition from customers. With retargeting, you effectively can afford to advertise everywhere your hottest prospective customers are looking without breaking the bank. Plus we can customize your campaign to fit your budget.

5) It spends your ad dollars efficiently. Creating name-brand identity and recognition for yourself and your small business is wise… when you can do it where it counts, with a carefully selected target audience. Retargeting allows you to do just that—getting in front of only the prospects that have already shown interest in what you offer and are predisposed to buy from you. Plus unlike traditional branding, you can track your retargeting campaign.

Tips to make retargeting the most effective.
• Retargeting is most effective when you segment your visitors. For example, people who look at general dental services vs. braces. Tailor your retargeting ads to each group so they see ads that specifically relate to their needs, wants and desires.
• Remove the people who purchased from your retargeting campaign so they don’t see additional ads.
• The highest performing retargeting ads have a clear call-to-action and promote an offer.
• Different products warrant different retargeting timeframes. People shopping for luxury products or services should be retargeted later whereas people shopping for something such as airline tickets should be retargeted immediately.
• Use these two effective search strategies: 1) Bid on keywords you wouldn’t normally bid on just for the people who have previously visited your website or who have converted in the past. 2)

Optimize bids for your existing keywords for visitors on your remarketing lists. For example, you can increase your bid by 25% for those who previously viewed your website in the last 30 days. Or, you could show a different ad to site visitors who have placed items in a shopping cart but have not purchased them.

Retargeting will keep you in front of that 98% of traffic that you are currently losing. Which means, you’ll be able to build brand recognition in the same way big brands such as Pepsi and Nike do by repeatedly putting your brand in front of customers. When you do this, you’ll bring back the customers, clients, or patients who showed interest, but were distracted or interrupted. Giving prospects multiple chances to buy can’t help but provide a huge boost to your online sales.