SEO

The business that ignores SEO is the business that leaves serious money on the table. According to Google, 53% of shoppers make a purchase after completing a search.

Creating an effective SEO content strategy is essential to any business that wants to rank higher in search engine results and get more traffic (and customers!).

This can be easier said than done and we’ve realized that some companies are failing miserably. That’s why we’ve put together this comprehensive guide on how to create an SEO content strategy that works. Keep reading to see if you’re missing any elements of SEO that are hampering your success.

What Is SEO?

The first step is understanding what SEO is and how it can benefit your business. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of your website in search engine results pages (SERPs).

This is achieved through content, structure, and on-page components such as titles, metatags, and anchor text optimization.

By doing this, you can attract more visitors from organic search traffic and improve your chances of ranking higher for keywords that are relevant to your business.

The second step is to understand what kind of content performs well in SEO. This includes understanding what users are searching for. You also need to know why they’re searching for these keywords so you can create content that meets their needs.

Creating SEO-Friendly Content

The third step is to create SEO-friendly content. This means creating content that is both keyword-rich and user-friendly.

To do this, you’ll need to research keywords that are relevant to your business and use them throughout your website. You should also create informative and well-written articles, blog posts, and web pages that will appeal to your target audience.

When creating SEO content, it’s important to be thorough and include all the relevant information that users are looking for.

This includes using proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It also means using easy-to-understand language and avoiding business jargon. Additionally, your content should be well-organized and structured in a way that makes it easy for users to find the information they’re looking for.

And finally, your content should be keyword-rich without being overly keyword stuffed. This means using keywords throughout your content in a way that sounds natural and flows smoothly.

If you can do all of this, then you’ll be well on your way to creating SEO-friendly content that both users and search engines will love.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO is the fourth and final step in creating an effective SEO content strategy. This step is all about making sure your website is mobile, accessible, and easy to crawl for search engine spiders.

To do this, you’ll need to ensure that your website’s code is clean and well-written. You should also have a robots.txt file that tells search engines which pages on your website they can and cannot crawl.

And finally, you’ll need to set up Google Analytics and submit a sitemap to Google so they can index your website more effectively.

There are other aspects of this type of SEO that may be too technical for the average business to implement. This is why we recommend leaving your website development to professionals skilled in all types of SEO.

SEO Content Marketing Strategy

SEO is only one part of your overall content marketing. Your content marketing strategy should also include other aspects like social media, email marketing, and paid advertising.

Each of these channels can be used to promote your website and attract more visitors. But they should all be working together to create a cohesive content marketing strategy that drives results.

A well-rounded content marketing strategy will help you attract more traffic, leads, and customers from organic search. And it will also give you the opportunity to build relationships with your target audience. Plus you’ll establish your brand as an authority in your industry.

How to Choose a Web Design Service

If you’ve decided to go the route of hiring a professional to design your website, you may be wondering how to choose a web design service that’s right for you.

There are a few things you should keep in mind when making your decision. The first is to make sure the company you’re considering specializes in SEO-friendly web design. Be sure to ask about their years of experience in the business and any case studies that show increased traffic for their clients.

The second is to look at their portfolio and see if their style aligns with your vision for your website. And finally, you’ll want to get a sense of their customer service and support before making your final decision.

Turn Your Website Visitors into Sales

Once you have a high-performing website, how do you convert that traffic into sales? That’s where lead generation comes in.

Lead generation is the process of turning website visitors into leads, or potential customers. There are a number of ways to generate leads, but the most effective method is to offer something of value in exchange for contact information.

This could be a free e-book, an exclusive coupon code, or access to a webinar or video series. Once you have someone’s contact information, you can then follow up with them through email marketing and other channels to turn them into paying customers.

SEO Content Strategy Done Right

Use this article as a guide to creating an effective SEO content strategy for your business website. Remember to focus on creating quality, keyword-rich content that both users and search engines will love. Don’t forget to implement other aspects of your overall content marketing strategy.

Need help?

At Fishhook Marketing, we specialize in helping businesses create an effective SEO content strategy. This starts with building a website that’s much more than being pretty to look at. We understand the importance of site speed and a seamless user experience.

We can help you optimize your website for better visibility in organic search results. Contact us today to learn more about our SEO marketing services and how we can help you grow your business.

The years roll on, and one thing that never stands still is SEO trends. We’re always looking to improve organic traffic and get first-page status on Google. This involves keeping up with changing tech and marketing spaces.

You also need to keep up with faster speeds and figure out the needs of changing demographics. New data privacy requirements are also a factor. Finally, you need to provide content that leads to conversions.

All of this and more is necessary to appease the SEO algorithm gods. For a breakdown of 7 SEO trends to follow in 2022, read on.

1. A Need for Speed

One SEO trend that will never go out of style is fast loading speed. We expect convenience, speed, and uncomplicated experiences, especially when browsing online.

Tech is also evolving every year. Our phones are getting faster, and internet content is becoming higher quality. This places heavy loads on older infrastructure and a need to keep up.

Research has suggested that most users expect a page to load in 2 seconds or less. Every millisecond of delay your sites and services have hurt conversion and traffic. If you’re trying to get into Google’s good graces, it’s important to remember this.

Loading speed is an important consideration when they rank sites on search results.

2. Target What Your Audience Needs

Good search engine marketing involves knowing what the user wants, and then trying to provide that. This is now more important than ever in a world of increasing competition and limited time. No one has time for empty filler or long backstories to a recipe or tech guide.

You have to find out what your audience wants and cater to it while maintaining a balance. If your content is too short, it won’t help the user find what they are looking for. If your content is too long, they’ll get bored and go elsewhere.

Google considers how long users spend on your site and how often they visit. Therefore, the key to growing your organic traffic is to be clear, concise, and targeted. Focusing on your user’s needs will result in repeat visitors and higher SEO rankings.

3. Moving Away from Relying on Third-Party Cookies

When it comes to SEO trends in 2022, this is one you shouldn’t sleep on. SEO has relied on third-party cookies and data collection to help drive traffic for the longest time.

Even Google is getting involved. Every SEO-minded company is finding ways to transition to a “first-party” approach. Enabling users to share data with their knowledge and consent will help drive traffic.

A common way this happens is through offering quotes or asking users to sign up for emails. You have to be careful not to come off as annoying or intrusive. A good strategy is to offer deals such as a discount at check-out if they subscribe to emails.

Any freebie or incentive can help drive and convert traffic.

4. Keep Your User Experience Fresh, Updated, and Relevant

You need to work on your site and articles to keep everything fresh, updated, and relevant. No one likes outdated or inaccurate content, and Google hates dead or broken links. A good strategy is to try and produce more content that remains accurate in perpetuity, or at least update them often as new info comes out.

You want your site to impress users and build a positive reputation of trust. This drives more traffic, which helps in SEO rankings. You don’t want janky code or poor UI design to drive people away.

You also don’t want old or ugly designs to make a bad impression. Comfort is important for long-time users, but integrating your site into the modern era is vital. A good SEO marketing and website design company can help you make all the difference.

5. Keep All Your Campaigns Cohesive

When it comes to good SEO for business, you need all your marketing campaigns on the same page. Gone are the days of targeting different audiences based on media use. These days, everyone is everywhere at the same time.

Facebook users also use Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Reddit. They watch YouTube and TV, read online newspapers, and listen to podcasts. The internet ties all user experiences together, meaning the average user will run into you on multiple platforms.

This is why you need a cohesive approach so that the user knows you when they see you. If you try to change your look to target a particular group too much, you’ll lose recognizability.

6. Don’t Rely Too Much on Text

This sounds anathema to traditional SEO approaches. We’re used to focusing on keywords and backlinks. The thing is, SEO is becoming more AI-driven, with Google leading the way.

Pictures, videos, and other non-traditional content now rank high in search rankings. Not everyone likes to read long posts or even medium ones. Offering video or interactive alternatives helps drive and keep more traffic.

This is why most major news sites attach a video clip to their articles. A diverse approach to content consumption is the future of SEO.

7. Take Advantage of Google Discover

In an attempt to level the playing field and flex what the algorithm is capable of, Google came up with Discover. In essence, it tries to use a user’s personal and local trends to suggest links to their searches. It’s a sort of super-specific alternate ranking.

Every good SEO company should be trying to make use of this. If you’re running a small business in your local area, you can take advantage of Discover. You can increase the chances that you’ll show up on the first page of a resident’s search.

If done right, someone searching for services near them will see you before anyone else.

Keep Up With SEO Trends

Keeping up with the latest SEO trends is essential for business success. If you can’t drive traffic, you won’t get customers. You need to optimize your content for SEO and the users themselves.

It helps to have friends who know how to play the game. At Fishhook Marketing, we specialize in building optimized websites to grow your business. Give us a shout today and see what a difference proper design and SEO make.

Did you know that 53% of all website traffic comes from organic search? 

One of the benefits of SEO is its power to influence organic search results (in a way that’s more cost-effective than the average PPC). Plus, it can boost your business revenue!

If you’re asking ”What is SEO?” and ”Why should I invest in it?”, you’re in the right place. Continue to read to find the key benefits of using this strategy. 

1. Brings in More Customers

Many marketers claim that their top-notch leads come from SEO-engaged consumers. It makes sense: when a customer searches for a solution and finds an answer in one of the top results, their need is fulfilled. 

Ranking on Google’s first page is a must to be seen by consumers. Climbing to the top position may be difficult, but it’s rewarding, as it can nearly double your CTR over the number two spot. 

Plus, if your page ends up as a ”Featured Snippet” you’ll have more chances to reach the number one spot while potentially seeing more customers checking your website.  

Overall, by ranking for certain search terms, you’ll attract your ideal audience. Also, by getting your website on Google’s front page, your brand will become highly visible, and perhaps, appear more trustworthy to customers.  

2. More Trustworthy Web Experience for Consumers

Getting to the front page and occupying the number one spot in Google’s search results fully relies on the authority you build. Perhaps you have the best resource available or the best answer, but that’s not enough. You need to provide users with a quality experience on your website. Otherwise, they’ll quickly leave. 

Hence why the technical aspects of SEO (e.g., backlinks, page speed, mobile-friendliness) are so crucial for the successful performance of your company online. 

Abiding by search engine’ rules will help you keep your website in a top-notch shape. Ultimately, it’s more than just allowing you to rank better (and therefore gaining more exposure); it’s about making it easier for consumers to trust you. That’s the power of a functional website. 

Therefore, ensure you have an automated customer service portal, security measures, and fast pages. 

3. Improves Brand Awareness

Improving your rankings will not only allow you to convert users into consumers. It will help your overall brand awareness too. 

Reaching the front page and being closer to the top spot is already helpful to your business. Think about it: even if a potential customer doesn’t click into your webpage, they will still see your brand name and begin to link it with the solutions they’re looking for. 

This is crucial when competing with other businesses for certain search terms. You want to be in customers’ minds when they search for the service or product you offer. Ultimately, the company that owns those searches will be the one benefiting from those organic sales. 

Here’s a tip: If you’re an SEO newbie, try using longer variations of a search term. You can even add local SEO in the process! For instance, rather than trying ”real estate services”, you’d go after terms like ”real estate services in Los Angeles” (but with the name of the city your business is located).

4. You Can Do It on a Budget

SEO can be an affordable marketing strategy to implement. If you want to save your time and reach your goals quicker, it’s best to hire a specialist to implement the latest SEO trends. They have professional experience, and they’ll know what works best for your brand. 

Plus, SEO will benefit your business in the long term. Sure, there are new trends all the time, but the main strategies and processes linked to SEO are likely to continue to be the same for years to come and likely, only require a few tweaks.  

Overall, search engine optimization is one of the best long-term marketing investments you can make for your business. Why? Because it provides a constant ROI. 

5. Easily Trackable

Unlike traditional marketing, SEO is totally quantifiable. With Google Analytics, you can set up trackable conversions. It can be based on click-to-call, on-site ad clicks, order completions, page views, and so on. 

If you’re looking to optimize your SEO efforts, tools like Google Search Console can help you understand how people find your brand, what your business is ranking for, and what can be improved. 

6. SEO Helps PR

When SEO and PR are used together, you can see maximized results from each. Think of link building!

Earning links from trustworthy websites is a key factor of any SEO strategy. Since a PR strategy is about getting influencers and relevant publications to mention your business, this presents a massive opportunity. 

Ultimately, link building can help your brand be exposed to more people and provide better content distribution to potential clients and customers. 

7. SEO Keeps You Informed

You must stay informed about changes, solutions, and best practices for successful SEO. While it’s time-consuming, it helps keep you informed. 

SEO is linked to digital tech, so it can help you keep track of online trends and address any changes that may come up. Also, during site updates and the research process, you’ll learn more about your competitors, your consumers, and the digital experience you provide.  

Benefits of SEO: Worth Investing?

There are several benefits of SEO, but here’s one to keep in mind: after hiring a digital marketing agency to create high-quality content for you, there’s no ongoing cost to keep attracting traffic to your website or content.

Sure, some updates every few months can be beneficial, but that’s it. You won’t have to pay for showing up on a great spot in search results.

Overall, if you want a marketing strategy that will bring long-term benefits while only requiring a short-term investment, you can’t go wrong with investing in SEO. 

Do you need to improve your business SEO? Book a call with us! We can help you!

Staying on top of follow-ups can change customer perception of your business and trigger them to buy. They allow for continuous nurturing and bonding with customers. 

If you’re looking to build stronger relationships, follow-up is the key. Keep reading for eleven ways to improve customer follow-up responses.

1. Design a User-Friendly Website

It’s no surprise why web experts insist on investing in a responsive website. A user-friendly website leaves customers happier and satisfied. They’re likely to return for more business or to continue to interact with your business.

A responsive website is a foundation for offering a great customer experience. We all love it when a site loads fast on any device and the design grabs all our attention.

The goal of a customer follow-up is to boost satisfaction and build loyalty. These customers have an experience interacting with your business. If they had a bad web experience, you’ll need to up your game to gain back their trust. 

The best thing for customers is that your website is accessible, usable, and an info hub. They have to find what they want fast, face no usability hoops, and feel empowered. Get a website revamp today to activate one of the keys to successful follow-ups and improved sales. 

2. Be Responsive and Present on Your Sales Channels

Speed is non-negotiable in customer service today. Once customers join your brand, they expect swift service and zero disappointments. 82% of customers rate immediate responses as a crucial factor when they ask a question. 

Customers’ patience is also at an all-time low. Their definition for an immediate response is 10 minutes or less. Basically, they want help─ and fast. If you let them down, you can’t expect them to continue interacting with your business. 

So, you have to dance to their tune to improve follow-up responses. Make responsive customer service part of your brand. Be there with a helpful answer when customers pop up a question or ask for help.

Being responsive shows customers that you value their time. Customers will open your emails because they’re sure of getting quick help. Also, be present on social media chats and reduce response times.

Go with a website design that highlights your calls to action, contacts, and live chatbox. Customers shouldn’t struggle to reach you. These actions help to create consumer behaviors that can help your business build longevity.

3. Provide Customers With Self-Service Options

Business building is a challenge that has many levels to it. As your business grows, so do customers and their issues. At some point, things can be overwhelming and efficient service be mere talk. 

Providing self-service options is an effective solution for both growing and established businesses. Instead of asking questions, customers can use self-help tools to find answers. 

Self-help options can speed up service and boost satisfaction. Studies show customers don’t want to make phone calls but prefer helping themselves. 53% reported that they should be able to help themselves rather than rely on customer service reps. 

A great way to introduce self-service and boost client follow-up responses is to build a knowledge base on your site. Provide in-depth information to your customers and answer their common questions.

4. Test Different Customer Follow-Up Methods

A client follow-up can be as intimidating as cold calling them the first time. You might toggle between methods of follow-up because you don’t want to appear pushy. Sometimes, you’re not sure which method or tactic will bring the best results.

Take time to qualify your prospects from the beginning of the buying process. Try to understand their buying habits and how they make decisions. Some prospects need a high level of engagement while others will buy after a simple reminder. 

Whether it’s a client or sales follow-up, you need to reach out to a client more than once. Some sales follow-ups deliver results after more than 30 calls or messages. One method may not work so you’ll need to test different approaches. 

Marketing studies show that a customer has to see a message up to seven times before acting on it. Don’t give up after a follow-up email. The target prospect might be an active user of a different channel so keep an eye on response data.

5. Create Valuable Content to Spike Open Rates

Your prospect’s time is precious. In every follow-up, they expect value in exchange for their time. You want to close engagements knowing you’ve empowered them. 

Creating valuable content nurtures prospects and allows you to discover their pain points. It encourages visitors to interact with your business and discover other products. It also improves the brand image leading to more open or click-through rates. 

Think about your customer when creating content. Your content should address their struggles and match their interests. Avoid being pushy and focus on educating, entertaining, and adding more value to conversations. Your goal is to get to the root of their problems. 

Remember that compelling copy or content is the magnet that drives engagement. Customers say valuable content is a sign of a caring company or business. So focus on fulfilling their content needs to boost follow-ups and improve sales. 

6. Personalize Messaging and Replies

Messaging is one of the most effective forms of communication. People read and respond to 95% of messages within three minutes. 48% of customers prefer brand communication to be in the form of messages.

But exposure to messaging is increasing every day which is watering down its effectiveness. Studies show an average American comes across up to 4000 messages daily. At this rate, your open rates could be poor if you’re sending bulks of impersonal messages. 

Personalized messaging can make your customers feel special. It has high open rates and is best for conducting sales follow-ups. Personalized emails done after audience segmentation can boost sales revenues by 50%. 

Personalization marketing is data-intensive. You need to collect user information, including their names to create effective messaging. Then, separate or segregate the audience based on the collected data.

Refer to customers by their names and history during interactions. Make engagements feel friendly and casual. Customers are likely to share and open up more when you humanize the conversation. 

7. Offer Omnichannel Customer Follow-Up Support

Accessibility is a crucial consideration when building a business both online and offline. Customers don’t need to send messages on all channels to find you. They expect a quick response to their first question or message. 

Accessibility matters when you want to boost customer follow-up response rates. You might chat with a customer on one medium one day and the next day they’re spending time on another.

Offer omnichannel customer service support for a seamless feedback process. Regardless of which channel they’re using, you should be relevant. Use their history to provide a smooth, fast, consistent experience through different channels. 

An omnichannel customer follow-up support means being present and active on every channel. It’s a strategy that considers that customers can shop from any device or app. If you cover all, you make it easy and convenient for them which boosts your brand image. 

An effective omnichannel presence can mean being available via mediums including:

• Telephone
• Live chat
• Mobile phone
• Emails
• Social media
• Text messaging
• Messaging apps

Make it known to your clients which channels you use on your website.

8. Identify and Solve Recurring Complaints

Customer complaints are inevitable when growing a business. Some can stem from a customer’s misunderstanding and some may actually be your fault. The worst mistake you can make is to ignore them─ especially the recurring ones. 

Frequent unresolved complaints can damage your reputation and put off loyal customers. Few customers will stay committed to a brand that doesn’t listen to customers.

Ask your team to go through the complaints and identify the top ten most recurring. Rank them based on the frequency of occurrence then ask relevant departments to find solutions. This approach helps you create a perception of a listening brand.

The goal is to increase follow-up responses. You have to show you can act and make customer lives better. Besides, having fewer complaints boosts your confidence and trust in your customer relationships.

9. Ask Customers for Feedback 

Proactiveness in customer service can bring more out of follow-up interactions. Rather than wait for customers to bring up issues, start the conversation. This will allow you to measure satisfaction and take action before customers ditch you. 

Every client follow-up campaign is an opportunity to improve your business and products. Follow-ups should focus on growing solid relationships with customers. The beauty of it is customers will feel valued when you respect their opinion. 

Launch a customer follow-up process after they register, leave or buy a product. Find more about their interests and expectations about your business. This sort of attention can help you convert dropping clients and make the most of loyal ones.

Run social media contests and surveys to gauge your user experience. Ask customers to comment about the improvements they expect to see or what they like about your brand. Use their feedback to improve your business.

10. Introduce Automated Responses to Help Customers When You’re Away

As much as you want to be available for your customers, staying consistent can be a challenge. Rush hours may mean an overwhelmed customer service team. System failures may slow down responses or disrupt communication. 

For efficiency guarantees, you have to consider introducing automated responses. Customers need an instant response when they respond to your follow-up. They might think you’ve ignored them when they don’t receive any feedback or confirmation. 

Automated replies will help boost responsiveness and engagement rates. They help clients understand that you’ve seen their message and you’re working on an answer. They can also give satisfaction when you’re away and boost the experience.

An excellent example of automated replies is the integrated live chat app on a website. Sometimes the app is linked to the FAQ section or knowledge base to automate help to visitors. This can reduce bounce rates by helping customers save time. 

11. Send Value Packed Sales Follow-up Messages and Emails

The majority of marketing messages get ignored. Only 8.5% of outreach messages gain a response. This is why following up with customers with value-packed emails is crucial.

Follow-up emails have two times more response success rates than the first email. They are usually a marketer’s best bet to improve sales. Yet, sometimes they can sound nagging, desperate, or pushy.

For success, you have to make customers look forward to the following message. Create strong emails or messages that interest and engage your customers. Add more value by integrating some social proof and helpful links.

Try adding some attachments or links that can capture your readers’ interest. Show customers that you’ve done your research. And go the extra mile to help them. 

You want to have a pool of curiosity-generating information. This way, you can lead conversations and stay relevant when following up with customers. Keep an eye on industry trends and news to arm yourself with noteworthy items for your message. 

If there’s a new and exciting blog, you want to ensure customers know about it. Consider adding a link to a new blog when sending your message. If it matches their interest it could take them to your site for further nurturing. 

For dormant customers, you have to look at their search habits and hit them with a personalized email. Remind them about your product’s features and benefits. Also, ask them if they have suggestions that can help improve your products. 

Are You Leveraging the Power of Customer Follow-Up in Your Business? 

The power of customer follow-up is often overlooked in business. But it can also be one of the best ways to add to building a successful business.

Most customers convert after many failed attempts of follow-up. So don’t make the mistake of giving up because each follow-up reinforces your brand into their mind. Are you looking to build a website or marketing systems that effectively nurture leads for your business? Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

If you were to guess how many follow-up connections it takes with a potential customer before a sale occurs, what would be your answer? Two times? Three times?

No, even after the fourth time, 80% of potential customers still say they’re not interested. By this fourth follow-up, 92% of salespeople have given up on the sale. This is a shame because that group of potential customers that denied the sale four times actually end up making the sale after the fifth time!

Don’t be a part of the majority that loses 80% of sales because you give up too soon. Read on to learn how automated follow-up software can help you take advantage of this insider information. Then, you can streamline your efforts in improving conversions. 

Why Don’t Customers Buy?

It’s nothing personal. There are a lot of reasons why customers don’t purchase at the moment. It isn’t always because they aren’t interested in the product or because you’re bad at selling.

Want to better understand your potential customer and improve your marketing and sales tactics? You must first assess why they are unmotivated. 

For example, many people are very busy and lack the time to think things over. They might have too many other things on their mind, or want to relax instead of mull over products. It’s possible that they’re also not feeling motivated enough to go through with the sale.

When it comes to money, they might worry about price or their financial situation. They could have budget constraints and they aren’t convinced they should buy.

These are factors that, as a salesperson, you can’t change. You can’t help your customers with money problems or busy schedules. You can improve your strategies so that the act of purchasing makes sense.

How? You need to build a relationship of trust and loyalty that sticks around for when that customer decides to buy.

Building Trust Through Follow-Ups

It’s in human nature to give up after a few rejections. The last thing most people want to do is keep asking the same question just to get the same answer. It can feel hopeless, and even sometimes too persistent, and you don’t want to cause that person to have negative feelings towards you.

A salesperson’s responsibility is to turn this negative into a positive. Never take “no” for an answer, but also be charming enough that your methods aren’t perceived as annoying.

In other words, be creative in finding different ways to keep connecting with that prospect. Don’t give up until you’ve been rejected at least five times, if not more.

Each time you ask, your connection should be more than a sales pitch. Remember that people are much more likely to buy when they feel they have a connection with the brand. Take advantage of each attempt by turning it into a positive interaction.

How Can Automated Follow-Up Software Help?

Now that you’ve committed to improving your follow-up game, you’re probably realizing that your workflow will significantly slow down. Increasing the number of times you have to manually follow up with a customer can double or triple the amount of time you spend on leads. This is a huge slowdown for your businesses, even if it’s worth it to improve conversions.

Automated follow-ups are your solution. Here are 11 reasons why.

1. Save Time on Follow-Ups

Follow-up strategies can be greatly improved by using automated software because suddenly each connection won’t require manual action. Great marketing software for automated tasks will handle leads from the first connection all the way to the sale without the need for you to lift a finger. 

You won’t have to set up each email from scratch or even manually input leads into your system. To set up the software, you only have to build the campaign once and then walk away. Once the software is given tasks, it will automatically carry out those tasks without any further prompting.

Not only will you not suffer from the extra time-consuming follow-ups, but you’ll also be saving even more time than you ever did before.

2. Full Integration

Great follow-up automation software can integrate into your customer relationship management systems (CRM). While your CRM is tracking and managing all your interactions and relationships with customers, your automation software can use that database as a source for leads with which to follow up automatically. 

There are many complicated campaigns you can build with marketing automation software integration, but you can also keep it very simple while still getting staggering results. Full integration of your CRM and marketing automation software can help you build a powerful sales machine, starting with lead collection and nurturing those leads until they convert.

For example, you could center your lead generation around a campaign that starts with a lead magnet. You offer a digital product, for instance, in exchange for email addresses. Your CRM can log this interaction, and your automation software can use this information to start following up with the lead.

3. Expand Your Reach

While human workers are great, they have limits. They clock in and clock out with a restricted amount of hours and can get bogged down by heavy workloads. Using robotics in the marketing and sales industry lifts those limitations so that your business can have limitless potential.

With marketing automation software, you’ll see this potential best in your customer reach. You can support endless amounts of interactions and customer prospects without worrying about if you have enough people to handle it. Calls and emails, for instance, can become fully automated so that you’ll never be overwhelmed by the number of leads you get.

4. No Room For Human Error

With automated follow-up software, your ability to make mistakes begins and ends with setting up campaigns. Because automation follows tasks exactly as you set them, you’ll never have issues with missed connections or human error. This streamlined system allows you to remove mistakes from the equation.

In addition, setting up campaigns fully from the start allows you to evaluate your entire follow-up process as a whole. Any redundancies or issues in the system will be found by the full evaluation, and you’ll be able to perfect the process before you set it in motion. Once that process is in motion, it will be followed exactly as planned.

5. Lower Overhead Costs

As with all automation efforts, tiresome and redundant tasks are taken off the shoulders of your employees. Computers can take over time-consuming responsibilities so that human employees can spend more time on improving processes and running the human side of the business. 

Automation software allows your business to exponentially grow without your costs rising. One salesperson equipped with automation software can compete with fifty salespeople working fully manually. Over time, you’ll be saving significant amounts of money on overhead and salaries.

6. Accountability Becomes Clear

Not all employees will want to hear this, but adding automation software to your marketing efforts will make the productivity and effectiveness of each employee very clear. As the software takes over campaigns and provides real-time reports and defined processes, you’ll be able to see your entire company’s system in one glance.

The software will offer several different options for reviewing progress and success, including general overviews and comprehensive analysis of specific aspects. A glance at an overview report can offer a red flag for a specific problem, which you can then investigate further.

For example, if your software is showing that your lead generation is fantastic but none of the leads are converting, you’ll be able to pinpoint that the marketing department isn’t doing a great job of nurturing interested prospects. 

In addition, this software will allow everyone to continually check their progress and make immediate changes to fix problems. It will never be a surprise report at the end of the month, leading to lost time and sales. You won’t even have to have those tough conversations, because automated warnings will alert specific departments with impartial feedback.

7. Deal Size and Revenue Improve

With automated follow-up marketing software, you’ll also be able to automate cross-sells and up-sells that can improve the lifetime value of your customers. Instead of relying on salespeople to remember to up-sell or cross-sell, you can set up rules for your software that will automate them. For example, every time a customer checks out with a purchase for their car, you could have the software remind them to get new tires or windshield wipers. 

In addition, improving your lead management can help improve the return on investment. 

By managing your leads better, you’ll be able to especially prioritize those that will lead to bigger sales. You can nurture them more and continue to build a strong relationship past the first sale. As a result, your businesses will enjoy increased revenue with much less effort.

8. Allows For More Creativity

When you take away the time-consuming tasks of marketing and sales, your professionals can spend more time evaluating the big picture and being creative. Productivity will go up at the same time that marketing and sales professionals are coming up with new ideas, uninhibited by the thought of increasing workload or taking on more difficult tasks.

While your automation software takes care of follow-up campaigns, your teams can meet to discuss flaws in current campaigns, how to fix them, and how to create better campaigns in the future.

9. Targeting Made Easier

It’s basic marketing: the more targeted your campaign to a specific need and audience, the better the campaign. Ultra-targeting campaigns on a large scale, however, is very burdensome without the help of automation. With automated follow-up software, you can set different campaigns based on niches and interests.

Without the burden of doing carrying out all those different campaigns manually, you can create more target campaigns to reach more potential customers. In addition, you’ll be able to target campaigns using multiple channels of communication. You can set up your automation systems to send texts, postcards, emails, and more all according to which actions have been taken or which goals have been reached.

10. A/B Testing Becomes Automated

A/B testing can be tedious because it requires you to create different versions of the same campaign and test it before you release the full campaign. You won’t be able to get around creating different versions, but you will be able to fully automate this A/B testing. You can set up your automated follow-up software to deploy different versions of campaigns and track the results. 

Doing A/B testing on a large scale will be much easier with automation, and you’ll never have to stop the testing either. Your automated follow-up software can continue A/B testing throughout the entire marketing process. As a result, you’ll get more results much faster and be able to improve your marketing activity dramatically.

11. Increase Lifespan of Content

Last but not least, the content your business creates can get a longer lifespan and be repurposed in limitless ways. For example, if your business puts out resources like blogs to draw in customers, it’s common to share them on social media and never look at them again. However, you can use these blogs in several ways beyond just social media posts.

For example, automated follow-up software can be tasked to contact leads when they’ve viewed certain blog posts. You can set up a message that specifically thanks a visitor for reading that blog post and talking about how it can help them. Finally, you can include a call to action to directs them to revisit the website or check out a related product.

This type of follow-up is highly personalized and targeted, making it much more likely for potential customers to trust you and follow through on purchases. 

Improve Sales With Automated Follow-Ups

There are so many ways that automated follow-up software can improve your sales and marketing performance that we couldn’t fit them all in this article. By now, however, you should be convinced that automating your sales tasks is the best move for your business. 

If you’d like to get started with automation, Fishhook Marketing can set up your website with a lead magnet, drip campaign, and further automation. To find out exactly how automation can help your business, contact us today!

Work smart, not hard: This idea is the focus of many business strategies in 2021. Business processes and tasks now need a faster approach without sacrificing work quality.

How do companies do that now?

Nowadays, over 51% of businesses processes use business automation. Business automation is crucial in ensuring business success.

On the fence about automating your business? This article covers the benefits of business automation. Read on to discover more.

Business Automation Software: What Is It and Why You Need Them

Something to consider with business automation software is to understand what it does. Next is how do they work and why you would need them. By doing this, you’ll be able to get a better grasp of which software you’ll be availing of.

Business process automation refers to the use of technology that automizes repetitive tasks. The software automates these tasks with minimal effort.

Some businesses use BPA to perform processes like record keeping and form filling. However, keep in mind that business automation can perform more advanced functions. You can also use BPA to automate your marketing processes.

The rise of BPA also makes the company more competitive, meaning they can profit more than before. There are a lot more advantages to using business automation software at work. Here are seven of the biggest advantages you get when you use business automation software in your company.

1. Saves Time and Lessens Errors

One of the biggest benefits of business automation is that you can save time. Oftentimes, employees find themselves spending most of their work time doing administrative tasks. This leaves them with lesser time to do their actual duties and projects.

By using business automation software, employees can complete their tasks quicker. Another benefit is that automated tasks can lessen the risks of errors. No matter how skilled, capable, and experienced your employees are, errors are inevitable.

These delays and manual slip-ups are inevitable when you do redundant operations. Business process automation solves the likelihood of these mistakes from happening. They also make your processes move much smoother.

2. It Increases Employee Productivity

A crucial benefit of BPA software is its positive effect on morale and productivity. Automation in business gives your work environment less tension. This helps workers get their tasks and duties done in an efficient and fast manner.

You can get document processing and approvals done quicker by having these tasks automated. With BPA software, you can automate repetitive and dragged-out processes. In doing so, workers can take on and finish more tasks, leading to an increase in work productivity.

3. Higher Business Process Efficiency With Reduced Costs

The most efficient processes offer the best results without making too much effort. When a set of pre-planned tasks have consistent quality performance, the chances of error decrease.

By automating tasks, you can improve employee communication and performance. This is a big factor in increasing business efficiency and market competitiveness. It’s a plus to have a company dashboard where employees can check task progress.

That way, deadlines, and other collaborations are easier to manage. BPA can help ensure that tasks are progressing in the time and quality that clients expect.

By automating tasks, companies can reduce their costs of operation. This is possible due to the low number of wasted resources. Unlike the processes executed manually, BPA makes use of resources well to gain more profits.

4. Better Customer Service

Quick response and time convenience are the key qualities clients look for when comparing providers. By using automation, businesses can give faster and more accurate services. It can enable your customer service team to retrieve necessary information faster.

This increases your company’s level of customer service excellence, which will earn customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Automated business processes are a competitive marketing edge. It also helps meet and retain the service level agreements you and your clients agreed upon.

5. Guarantees Greater Compliance

If there’s a lack of compliance within the industry regulations, your company can pay a hefty sum to correct them. Automating business processes can help companies and businesses to comply without fuss.

Automated processes can log records of your employees. This can include information like their names, tasks, and timelines that they finished. Automating these will help in audit trails and can help you prove business compliance.

6. Better Document Management

Managing many documents using the manual process can be messy, error-filled, and time-consuming. To have an effective document management process, you need to get it done in one consistent way.

Business software can perform this in a standardized and systemic method that gives you the best outcome. Managing documents are effortless and complete when you let automation do it. You can also get your data organized and easier to retrieve because they’re easy to access.

7. Increases Scalability and Transparency

Automation in business helps in the improvement of process visibility and transparency. Customizable dashboards can always keep teams updated and informed. Be it about task assignments as well as duty alterations.

This helps in providing process performance reports while encouraging accountability within the workplace. Also, keep in mind that when you get more clients, your employees’ scope of work also increases.

Unless you hire more workers, the extra workload can lower your employees’ productivity. by availing of BPA, you can address the increase of clientele. You will have to sacrifice neither productivity nor efficiency. Because it’ll help improve and maintain your scalability performance.

The 7 Advantages of Getting a Business Automation Software

Saving time, increasing productivity and efficiency, and reducing costs and errors. Not to mention greater compliance, document management, and scalability, and transparency. These are the 7 key gains in using business automation software.

Not only will you lessen the stressful workload, but you’re also investing in a method to gain more profit. Find more marketing solutions by booking a call with us now.

Did you know that it takes eight cold calls to reach a prospective client, with 72 percent of all sales calls not being answered? Cold calling may sound like an outdated sales approach, but it’s still a common practice around the world.

But once you’ve connected to a potential customer and eventually made a sale, what’s next? Follow-up marketing is an invaluable tool that develops your relationship with the client and encourages future sales.

But what are some unique ways to do a sales follow-up with a client? What steps can you take to ensure that your number doesn’t get blocked, and your emails don’t go straight to the junk folder? To discover the answers to these questions and more, keep on reading as we explore some sales strategies.

1. Mix Up Your Methods

This may sound obvious but mixing up your communication methods can keep your interactions with a client fresh. Maybe you sold them the product or service over the phone, and so now you’re sending them a follow-up email. Another option would be sending them a message via social media.

Different channels of communication offer different sales strategies. Emails can include links and images which may interest the client.

Phone calls allow real-time interaction while social media messaging can serve as a middle ground between the two, but some people won’t appreciate the intrusion.

Try switching to another communication method post-sale.

2. Show Them You Care

You want the client to know that your relationship doesn’t end just because they’ve purchased something from you. You don’t want them to feel like they’ve been used or hustled, so why not send them a follow-up message that highlights your interest in their personal life.

If they voiced any concerns previously, discuss how you plan to address these in the future. If they mentioned any specific interests, discuss this, and share some information that they may appreciate.

If they are a business owner, is their business running as expected?

The balance between discussing their interests and discussing your product or services is challenging to find. They don’t want to feel like they’re being stalked, but they also don’t want another sales pitch. Whatever you send to them post-sale, make sure it is personal and not a copy and paste job.

3. Create a Schedule

Making any sales follow-up personal is essential! One way to do this is to schedule contact with the client to best suit them. A recent study found that most people check their emails at 11 am on Tuesday, so this is a good place to start.

But by asking the client the best times to contact them, you can demonstrate that you value their time and respect their personal life. Nobody wants to be bothered while they’re out with family or in the middle of a meal.

Be patient – if they need more time, give them as much as they need.

When you follow-up with clients, a little note showing the times and days they prefer to be contacted will work in your favor. An email campaign is one way to do this.

4. Follow-Up After Every Conversation

As far as sales strategies go, doing a sales follow-up is common. A simple email or social media message to thank the client for their purchase helps them feel valued as a customer.

A personalized message goes one step further. You want them to feel like you wrote the message yourself, not because you had to, but because you wanted to. You enjoyed the interaction so much that sending a thank you message was an obvious next step.

But just because you made a sale that time, doesn’t mean the same client will purchase something again next time. You don’t want to put too much pressure on an existing customer.

A great approach is to follow up every interaction (with or without a sale) with a short message. Something as simple as, “Thank you for your time today!”

You could take this a step further and arrange your next call or exchange within this.

Would the same time next week work? Would two weeks be better? You’re trying to develop a professional, long-lasting relationship with them, not force them to buy something, so be respectful of their preferences.

5. What’s for lunch?

Timing is everything with a sales follow-up. Add that personal touch by including something that will make the client feel special. If the follow-up is happening around lunchtime, why not ask them what they’re having?

Put something in the subject line to this effect, such as: “What’s for lunch?” And then acknowledge in the email or message that they may be busy with lunch right now, but you hope they enjoy it. You can try and arrange a future call within this message.

This type of follow-up doesn’t work with phone calls as you may disrupt their meal, and nobody wants that.

6. Trial And Error

As with many other business tasks, you’re going to have to take some risks. There isn’t a template for a sales follow-up that will work with every client. You’ll need to try different approaches, see how they play out, and then make changes where necessary.

Every client is different, but one strategy that will always fail is playing it safe. Nobody wants to receive bland, repetitive communications from a company that’s trying to sell them something.

Make each interaction unique, and allow your personality to shine within every message, email, or phone call.

7. Follow-Up a Voicemail

So, you’ve made a sale and tried to carry out a follow-up phone call, but the client hasn’t answered. You’ve left them a message on their voicemail, but now what? Chances are the client will listen to the first few seconds and then delete it.

After you’ve left a voicemail, send them an email to let them know. This allows you to connect with them across different modes of communication, but it can also show that you tried your best to reach out. This is the perfect opportunity to arrange a future call at a time that best suits them.

Got Sales Follow-Up Questions?

We’ve covered seven ways you can improve your sales follow-up techniques. Being personal and creative will always work better than being repetitive and uninteresting. Respect the client’s time and personal life, and you’ll remain on good terms.

Do you need a website that generates leads? Book your free consultation with Fishhook Marketing today!

Are you struggling with low digital sales even when you have decent traffic? Chances are that your user interface doesn’t compel customers into buying your products. It’s also likely that most of your site’s visitors aren’t interested in the products.

Global online sales are expected to rise to $4.921 trillion in 2021 from $4.213 trillion in 2020. It’s thus evident that selling online helps improve your reach and profitability. Your store can sell across borders and cater to consumers who shop when physical stores are closed.

There’s a way to grow your company’s digital sales. Here are seven techniques you should include in your online marketing strategy for business growth.

1. Create Urgency in Your Sales Cycle

Incentives such as limited-edition products and time-sensitive offers can create urgency. Most consumers respond well to these incentives when executed properly.

You may offer a discount or free shipping to customers who buy your product at a given time. Offer an end date for your product launches or promotions to create a sense of urgency. Your sales message should also provide a compelling reason for buyers to get the product.

Adding gifts on orders with a limited timeframe may work as an incentive. Give your buyers a reason to save extra cash when they are shopping in your store. You can also send email newsletters that remind your subscribers about the sale periods.

2. Optimize Content for the Right Audience

Create content that maximizes customers’ experiences across different devices. You should also target your audience with content that will be valuable to them. For instance, you may add hashtags on your social media posts to target a younger audience.

Be honest in sales messages posted across your blog and social media pages. Honesty encourages trust in your company and improves your brand’s reputation. Since consumers are more sensitive to sales messages, avoid making claims you can’t substantiate.

Add high-quality images showing your products’ main features for credibility. A photographer may help give the photos a professional touch if you can’t take them by yourself. You should also post three to four pictures of a single product to improve its visibility.

3. Give Social Proof

Use testimonials from your satisfied customers as social proof to drive your digital sales. Include these gushing reviews on your homepages and digital marketing campaign. You may also post them on your pricing page, landing pages, and product pages to sound credible.

Add trust signals on your websites/blogs to assure your customers of quality products or services. Trust signals may feature logos that indicate your affiliation with professional associations. For instance, you may add a BBB (Better Business Bureau) membership or certification logo to your site as a trust signal.

You may use screenshots of customer reviews from sites such as Yelp as social proof trust signals. Adding logos of well-established brands on your site may also improve your trustworthiness. Either way, these signals offer familiarity and comfort that can compel consumers to buy your products/services.

4. Include Detailed Contact Information

Your potential customers may fail to buy a product/service on your site if your contact information is missing. Add your email address, complete mailing address, and phone number as part of your call to action on every webpage.

Make inquiry and contact forms on your site easily accessible to address any concerns or queries. The site should allow visitors to find valuable answers that may convince them to shop with you.

Include a clear “Contact-Us” page in your site’s navigation options to gather feedback. You may also add forms that visitors can use to request quotes on your service/product pages.

5. Optimize the Checkout Process

Consumers expect a swift checkout process when buying a product or service online. Confirm whether your checkout pages make it easier for customers to complete a purchase.

Remove any unnecessary requirements or steps in the checkout process to improve the buyer’s experience. For instance, your checkout pages may require new users to create an account before buying anything.

Put all checkout forms on a single page to keep your customers’ orders visible. Your site should also save their information to simplify the checkout process when they’re shopping again.

Add several modes of payment on your checkout pages for convenience. Your company may accept credit cards, debit cards, and other online payment services.

6. Give a Money-Back Guarantee

Remove potential financial risks in the purchasing processes to attract more purchases. With a money-back guarantee, you’ll assure your customers of a refund if they are dissatisfied with a product. However, the purchase must meet certain conditions for you to make the refund.

Only give money-back guarantees that you can deliver to avoid losing trust. This type of assurance can help buyers overcome risks that come with online purchases. Once fear is out of the equation, consumers are likely to transact with your company.

7. Leverage on Analytical Data

Use analytical tools to find out the amount of traffic your campaigns bring to your site. Rely on them for insights on your average returns on paid advertising. With this data, you’ll have insights into areas you need to improve to drive digital sales.

Analytical data can help you learn how potential customers locate your online store. Use this data to target the right audience with different types of content. Create more content on topics that seem to drive more traffic to your product pages.

Analytical tools such as Google Analytics can help you identify unique features of a product that you should market the most. You can include this information in your email newsletters, social media ads, homepage, and tagline for a sales increase.

Grow Your Company’s Digital Sales Today

Always create value for your customers to keep them coming back and grow your digital sales. Cater to their unique needs adequately to reduce the likelihood of your digital marketing efforts going to waste. Your company’s future profitability and growth depend on these simple steps.

We help businesses create effective marketing systems and websites for lead generation. Our sole mission is to help you capture the attention of your customers and get them to convert. Allow us to review your marketing strategy once you book an interactive consultation with our experts.