Designing a Web Presence

Understanding web presence is like riding a bike; it is hard to grasp at first but once you understand the mechanics behind it you are flying.

Below is a diagram of the best practice steps towards creating a web presence for your business. This is one of the processes we will cover at our Learn + Do Online Marketing Series. Additionally at the series, we will not only explain what steps you need to take, but walk you through them in the session right then and there. If you like what you read and want to know more about the series call us at 519-265-4933 or email us at info@intrigueme.ca.

Designing a Web Presence looks something like this:



The first step of creating a web presence is narrowing down your focus point; what do you want your company to be known for? To go about this, pick 5 words that you want your company to be found for when people are searching online (these will be your keyword groups). These words can be any of the different services or products your company has to offer.

For example, a sporting goods store may have the following keyword groups: tennis, running, hockey, baseball and Underarmour (if you carry a specific brand you can make this into a keyword group too). Make sure whatever you choose for your keyword groups that you have matching content on your website so you are not leading people to your site looking for something that you do not offer.

Then within each of these groups, create tightly related keywords (try and have at least 5 keywords in each group). For the sporting goods store and the tennis keyword group it may look like this:
Tennis Gear
Tennis Shoes
Tennis Racquets
Tennis Apparel
Tennis Balls
The next thing to do is to create a Google Profile (you must have a Google account in order to create a listing). With the majority of people moving away from Yellow Pages and towards Google to find local businesses it is important to have a listing. To create a Google Profile simply Google "Google Places", click on the appropriate link and follow the steps - it is easy. Below is an example of Intrigue's Google Profile.



The next step is to add Google Analytics into your business' website. Google Analytics is a tracking program that shows data from your site such as how many people come to your site, how many pages were viewed, and how long the average viewer is on your website. Google Analytics can give you good insight on how your website is being used and what pages need work. To sign up for Google Analytics, once again Google "Google Analytics" and follow the steps.

Below is an example of the kind of information Google Analytics has to offer.



After you add Google Analytics, wait about a month to allow the software to collect data for you. After 30 days it is time to analyze your information. For example, if the average time on a page is less than you expect, review the content on the page. Ask yourself questions like "Is the proper information displayed on this page?" or "Should I add visual aids on the page to increase engagement?"

Once you analyze all the results and make the adjustments, wait another time period and get ready to refine your strategy. Marketing is very much based on experimentation. One must consistently try new things until you find what works.

Visit us at www.intrigueme.ca

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Getting New Customers - Balancing Advertising with Search Marketing

There is no question that times have changed and advertising is not what it used to be. That said, we now have an opportunity to do things differently. So, how do we do that?

In order for us to have a well balanced Marketing Plan, we need to combine Advertising with Search Marketing. Traditional Advertising such as Newspapers, Magazines, and Radio can help with this, but they are expensive and not as cost effective as they once were. The Intrigue Video Network is a great way to maintain a cost effective visual presence in your community.

Yellow Pages and other Directory Pages used to be the only way for someone to seek out a product or service locally. This is definitely the area with the most drastic change over the last 5 - 10 years. Google is the number one way people look for what they should purchase. 88% of Canadians reported starting their Christmas Shopping Online in 2010. Therefore, being found on Google is critical for acquiring new customers. It should also be noted that 98% of searchers do not go past the first page of search results.

Google Places and Google Adwords are great ways to create visibility on the first page of Google searches related to your business. One of the most powerful tools available to local businesses today is Google Analytics. This tool gives you the ability to track what online initiatives are bringing you qualified traffic and eventually sales. We now live in a world where we can bring accountability to our ad dollars!

There are thousands of videos on the three Google Tools we referenced above for you to watch and learn. If you would like an expert to help you with these initiatives, give us a call and we can discuss how that might happen.

Intrigue Media, Connect With Us!

What do you want people to Google?

What do you want people to Google?

Local Consumers have more information available for them to make decisions with today than ever before. Online reviews give consumers a chance to hear what others have to say about places around the city before even looking at the store front.

Google generates 3 billion searches every day, and 20% of searches are for local business.

So the question becomes, “What do you want people to Google?”

Of course, we can implement some Search Engine Optimization tactics and make our website get found for some search terms, but what if we could get local consumers to Google our business name instead of a general term describing our products and services.

For example, what if instead of “Tile Restoration”, someone Googles, “Strassburger Tile Perfection” or instead of Restaurants Guelph, someone Google, “Artisanale Bistro”. The point here is that people are looking for something they are familiar with instead of looking within a competitive set. So now the questions becomes, “How do we become familiar with our target market?”

This answer obviously depends on the business. But the answer still remains the same; we need to get ourselves out there, in front of the people we want to come visit us. Newspapers, Magazines, Direct Mail, Radio, TV can all prove to be expensive and do not have the same effect as they did 10 years ago.

So, alternatives are necessary in order for us to communicate cost effectively within a local community.

Intrigue’s TV Network provides local and regional businesses with the most cost effective visibility in the tri-cities. For $300, the price of a small ad in a newspaper for one day, you can have a High Definition Video playing every 20 minutes for a an entire month in up to 15 high traffic, local consumer environments in your community.

Visit www.intrigueme.ca to find out more about where you can have your message played and who you can play it in front of.

Intrigue Media, Connect With Us!

Developing Target Markets

Often, people describe target markets using descriptors like male or female, or families or couples, sometimes people use age, proximity or type of business, maybe even industry types. This is a good start, but we need to look deeper.

Many times, we witness ourselves targeting anyone that might want to use what we offer, and we forget that we want to focus our time and energy on finding the RIGHT customers, not just any customer. I am sure that you have some great customers ‘A clients’ and some not so great customers ‘C clients’.

So, what do those great customers look like?

Here are three methods you can use to profile your target markets to help you understand what your RIGHT customer looks like.

1) Demographics
This is probably the most used method for trying to create a target market. Characteristics like gender, age, income, education, geography, ethnicity and so on are used to filter out who do not want to speak to. The thing is, this dos tell us much at all with regard to our target market. Picture this; two mothers of two children each, each making the same amount of money, in the same community, with the same education, and both the same age. Now picture that one mother prefers to be frozen dinners and the other shops at the farmer’s market. Demographically identical, yet complete opposites from a consumer perspective. This means we need more.

2) Attitudes

This helps us understand how our RIGHT customers think. Think about your IDEAL customer, someone that works with you now, what do they look like? How do they think? What value do they perceive about you and your product or service? Do they value professional advice? Do they want the least expensive option? Do they want quick delivery? Are they too busy to do it themselves? Do they want special attention?

We need to ask them, “Why do you work with us?” and then write it down and ask the next IDEAL customer. Once we understand why our customers work with us, and who they are, we can begin to understand how to speak to them.

3) Situations

Typically, they are action triggers that put people into decision making processes regarding a purchase. A couple might by a new home and need to fill it with furniture. A high school student might be graduating, and need a dress for Prom. What are your action triggers? What situations are your RIGHT customers in, when they decide to buy from you?

Once we understand what action trigger makes someone want to buy, we can begin aligning ourselves with groups, events, or other businesses that deal with those action triggers.

A furniture store might create alliances with banks, real estate agents, or mortgage brokers. A dress boutique may approach the school board with a proposal for their students, or align with banquet halls in the area.

The idea here is that we need to spend time trying to understand our target Market. So much so, that we can determine where and how to communicate with our potential RIGHT customers. Not just any potential customer. The more time and energy we waste on targeting potential ‘C’ clients, the harder it is for us to grow our businesses the way we want to.

The Value of a Brand

Creating and maintaining a brand can be difficult to do properly. What many forget is that all businesses have a brand. However, some are stronger than others. If one has planned a positioning strategy and designed a brand to reflect that position, as well as reinforced the brand to create clear expectations and familiarity in the marketplace, then one is maintaining a brand well.

On the other hand, one may decide not to place any resources into designing and maintaining a brand. One may operate their business daily, focusing on the daily transactions and customer encounters with little to no energy focused on brand strategy or planning. This also creates a brand, a very weak brand.

This article explains 3 benefits to creating and maintaining a strong brand. It should be noted that these benefits pertain to local businesses just as much as they do for larger organizations.
1. Familiarity & Confidence (Reduced Risk)
2. Clear Expectations (Value as Perceived from the Consumer)
3. T.O.M.A. (Being a part of the Consumers Decision Making Process)
Familiarity & Confidence (Reduced Risk)

As a start up or a 15 year old business, creating and maintaining a brand is critical to business success. Consumers need to know who we are in order to decide whether or not to inquire with us. Creating a brand that reflects our position in the marketplace and then reinforcing that message throughout our community is key to becoming familiar with consumers and reducing the perceived risk to buy from us.

We may be running a retail shop downtown, and we may position ourselves as a boutique, service oriented retailer with exclusive brand suppliers to the area. If no one knows that, how will they know to visit us. If they see us once or twice, they may not want to risk the time and energy to see us when it comes time to make a purchase. But, if over time they see us, hear about us, and ask about us, then they might visit us. The kicker here is to ensure that when they do visit us, their experience matches their expectations.

Clear Expectations (Value as Perceived from the Consumer)
As we design our brand to reflect our position in the marketplace, we must keep in mind that it must be consistent with the experience people will have with our business. Our brand is used in all of our communication to the marketplace, and that communication must create clear expectations of what to expect from us when you deal with our business. The communication also needs to be customer focused, not product or service focused. Meaning we need to communicate value to our target market from their perspective. Using the retailer from above, we might state that one can come to us to find the brands that are typically found in Toronto or New York without having to go there, communicating convenience for our target market.

T.O.M.A. (Being a part of the Consumers Decision Making Process)

Top of Mind Awareness refers to what a consumer thinks of first for any given offering. For example, I say Toothpaste, you think... well whatever it was; that brand has your Top of Mind Awareness. Now everyone uses toothpaste, at least we all hope so, which makes this an extreme example, but the concept runs true. Think of a clothing retailer, what is the first name to mind? Understanding this, we must design a marketing plan to communicate to our target market so that over time, we begin to creep into the minds of our potential customers/clients. This gives us the opportunity to be a part of their decision making process when it comes time to buy. When someone needs what we have and they are weighing their options of where to get it, we need to be the first business they think of in order to capture as much market share as possible.

The Value of a Brand

A strong brand will lead to more sales and is the beginning to creating business success. Once your brand has been developed and maintained, you must ensure that you live and breathe the brand from every point that your customer/client connects with it, from your advertising, to your customer experience, to your follow up. Consistency will help you develop loyalty, and loyalty will bring you the business you dreamed of to begin with.