How to Keep the Workplace Merry and Bright this Holiday Season

Every year, you begin the holiday season believing that it truly is “the most wonderful time of the year.” It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that sometimes work is anything but wonderful thanks to an office full of co-workers and a job to do.

Fortunately, there are ways to make the season bright while still getting your job done. What follows are some tried and true tips to help you do just that:

  1. Don’t go crazy when it comes to decorating. Whether you are chasing sales leads, seeing patients, answering phones, or updating mailing lists, it is important that your surroundings reflect your professionalism. Sure, a few decorations are fine, but leave the blinking lights, scented candles, and musical figurines at home.
  2. Try not to overindulge in office goodies. Putting on a few pounds over the holidays is normal but if you overindulge all day, every day you are going to end up feeling sluggish and unable to concentrate. Bring some healthy snacks and keep them at your desk if necessary to keep yourself from being tempted.
  3. It may be better to give than to receive but don’t go overboard. Giving gifts to all or even a few of your co-workers or boss can get tricky. Most people are stretched thin this time of year and if you are giving out gifts, they may feel like they must reciprocate. If you do feel the need to hand out gifts, be sure to keep them very inexpensive. Expensive gifts are rarely – if ever – appropriate in the workplace.
  4. Get some fresh air. Although the weather outside may be frightful, if at all possible try to get outdoors during the workday and take a short, brisk walk. This will do wonders for your energy level and help to reduce stress.
  5. Remember the Golden Rule. Take your cue from your co-workers. If a fellow employee doesn’t share your exuberance for the holidays, don’t try to force him or her into the holiday spirit. There is nothing worse than an overbearing co-worker. Likewise, try to be patient if you are the one who thinks holiday cheer has no place in the office. Don’t be Scrooge, and as much as possible, try to go with the flow this time of year. After all, it won’t last forever.

 

 

 

 

When Thanking Clients, Think Outside of the Box

One of the best way to connect with your customers is to thank them for their business. While there are tried and true methods – a handwritten note or a box of candy, for example – it is important to mix things up.

If you are struggling to come up with unique ways to thank your clients, we’ve compiled a list of ideas that will help to set you apart from the competition.

  1. Ask clients what their favorite charity is and make a donation to that charity. Along the same lines, if a client has lost a loved one to a particular disease or has a child with a chronic disease, consider making a donation to a relevant charity.
  2. Give your best client a shout-out on social media. Not only does this acknowledge their business, it gives them some free advertising and potential sales leads.
  3. Invite them to come speak to your employees about their area of expertise. Do you have a financial planner for a client? Let them speak to your employees about investing or saving for retirement.
  4. Send them referrals. Nothing says thank you like sending business their way.
  5. Throw a customer-appreciation party. Summer barbeques or football tailgates are just two fun ideas.
  6. Acknowledge significant business anniversaries. Opened their doors five years ago? Just grew their staff to 100? These are all great reasons to congratulate them.
  7. Offer them a deep discount on your product or service. Imagine sending your monthly invoice with a zero balance and a note that says, “This month is on us – thanks for your business.” Talk about making an impression.
  8. Send them a book that you think they would be interested in or that is related to their business. Remember, it’s the thought that counts and this type of gift shows you put a lot of thought into it.
  9. Send a client two gift cards. Ask them to keep one and use the other one to make someone else’s day.
  10. Take them out to lunch at a nice restaurant and talk everything but business. This tells your client that you are willing to spend time and money on them – no strings attached.

Customer loyalty goes a long way. Competitors are always going to try to steal your clients. When your customers know how much you value them, it will make them much harder to lure away.

How Business Owners Can Save Time on Social Media

If you own your own business, a strong social media presence is a must. Too often, however, small business owners find themselves spending so much time managing their social media sites, they begin to wonder if it is really worth the effort.

Social media has become complex. Each social platform has more features and the learning curve is steeper. There are hundreds of ways to use social media for business, but not all of those ways will work for every business.

Here are some tips for saving time on social media:
  • Target and master a couple of platforms, rather than dabbling in many. Social media has become complex. Each social platform has more features and the learning curve is steeper.
  • Focus on the platforms your customers spend the most time on or that fit your industry. The 80/20 rule applies here. By focusing on just two or three, you use your time efficiently and you’ll have a bigger impact on the platforms because you can learn more about how to use them.
  • Measure results – but only those that count. Pick a few metrics that directly impact your business. For example, track which types of posts get the most click-throughs to your product pages or lead capture form. When deciding which metrics to track, ask yourself: how does this benefit my business?
  • Schedule posts, set up brand alerts, and continue to try out new approaches.
  • Consider outsourcing social media management.
At GoLeads, we help businesses manage their social media sites every day. This allows our clients to concentrate on their core businesses while we make sure their business has an active and engaging presence on social media.

While many business owners are leery of handing off their social media management, it is important to remember that they still have ultimate control. The key is to pick an experienced firm that will be able to quickly get up to speed on your business and will require the least amount of hand-holding.

The Advantages of Outsourcing Your Content Curation

Now, more than ever, the key to getting your website noticed by the search engines is high quality content. And this content must be so engaging that people want to comment on it and share it with others.

If you are a small business owner, chances are that even if you could write such quality content, it is unlikely that you could find the time to produce the amount necessary to gain significant traction. The kind of traction that results in things like increased sales leads.

Many business owners, however, have a difficult time turning over the reins of their content writing tasks. If you fall into that category, here are some things to keep in mind:

  1. Professional writers have a keen understanding of grammar and style. Therefore, they are able to produce copy at a much faster clip than someone who does not write full time.
  2. Professional writers know how to write. It may seem obvious but well-written content that flows well and speaks to readers will help to establish you as a thought leader in your industry. Poorly written content will do just the opposite. It can take years to become a great writer and chances are you have spent your time building a business, not perfecting your writing skills.
  3. Professional writers know when to say when. When it comes to writing their own content, small business owners can struggle with wanting to document every detail about their product or service. This is almost never a good idea, however, and such writing turns readers off (if it doesn’t bore them to death first). A professional writer is able to look at the message you are trying to convey and make sure that you don’t overload your readers with minutia that won’t matter to them.
  4. Professional writers get to know their audience. It can be tough for an engineering firm, for example, to write in a way that a layperson will understand. Often times, business owners use too much industry lingo that is hard for its customers to decipher.
  5. Professional writers are trained to meet deadlines. When you hire a reputable writer to complete your content writing tasks, you can be sure it will get done on time. That’s because they won’t get sidetracked by the many responsibilities of running a business.

Many business owners see hiring a professional writer or content curation firm as an unnecessary expense. The truth is, not hiring one can cost a business a great deal more.

Retargeting the Right Way

Big data allows businesses to do some amazing things. One of these things is to retarget customers. Research tells us that retargeting helps turn shoppers who are just looking into buyers. Approximately two percent of shoppers will convert on their first visit to an online store and retargeting brings back the remaining 98 percent.

Through the use of retargeting, visitors to a website or online store are tracked and ads are then placed for that website or online store on other online sites they visit.

Retargeting can be achieved in a variety of ways. Here are some of the most common:

  • Email retargeting allows a customer to be targeted based on how they have responded to one of your emails.
  • Site retargeting allows you to show ads to visitors to your website.
  • Facebook retargeting displays banners on Facebook to visitors to your Facebook page.
  • Search retargeting involves pursuing consumer leads who have searched for particular keywords or phrases.

Another advantage of retargeting is that you are able to tell when to stop pursuing customers who are unlikely to purchase from you. The best marketers are able to analyze how many times a consumer needs to be exposed to your product or service before they make a purchase. If a prospect has received that specific number of ads or touches and still is not interested, it’s time to stop pursuing that prospect.

It is no secret, however, that when consumers are retargeted by a company, some of them have a tough time shaking the feeling that they are somehow being spied on. Therefore, it is important that you retarget in a way that doesn’t make prospects uncomfortable. Here are some ways to do just that:

  1. Don’t place your ad on so many of the websites a prospect visits that it becomes annoying. When customers get annoyed with a company, even if they need its product or service, they most likely won’t buy it.
  2. Always offer an opt-out. There is no reason to make a customer who doesn’t want to see your ad see it.
  3. Avoid static banners. The best banner ads are animated ones. It also is a good idea to change up your ad on a regular basis.

Retargeting is an effective tool for increasing your sales. However, if not done correctly, retargeting can definitely backfire.