Online Marketing Strategies Should be Affected by Consumer Behavior

E-Commerce has changed dramatically over the last 5 years.  Spending in particular has increased significantly during that same period of time.  Everything that you have ever wanted is online now and the convenience of the purchase is one of the reasons that more are flocking towards it.  Companies are now making shipping and delivery a priority which has made the time to receive your purchase drop as well.

The study of the consumer in the digital age will help your business improve your marketing strategies.  By researching why purchasers of goods and services are going online as opposed to going to a store or office, you can tweak your marketing plan according.  It can save you advertising dollars by just spending some time.  There are a several key factors to look for when creating a marketing plan that influences a consumer.

• The understanding of how consumers feel, rationale and selection of  products for their use
• In what way consumers are influenced by their environment, culture, media
• What is the attitude of the consumer while they shop

For the experienced marketing consultant, but for the business it can change the entire scope of their reach if they have never taken these factors into account and have now implemented a strategy on using the factors to their advantage.

Let’s take a look at how these factors can impact your bottom line. Consumers want convenience and the ability to make things easy throughout the entire process of the sale of your product or service. Now if you’re an online shopping site (E-Commerce) that offers the newest herbal cosmetic product, you’re in a position to sell a significant amount of this healthy product online. Consider giving the customer what they want, through tactical marketing. The questions that must be asked is, “What does the consumer want?” They want the herbal hair product, yes, but their online personality also wants a few other things first.  Savvy online shoppers the majority of the time base their decision on how they feel, or the reason they need this product. This is a deal breaker right off the bat if your consumer walks away before they even get to the product specifications. Your marketing catch must include a reason the buyer needs the product, but more importantly, why they need to buy it online, with you of course.

Consumers are influenced by their environment. This environment could be a family member who recently purchased a similar herbal product say at Trader Joe’s, reading rave reviews about the product or watching a television commercial.  There are several thoughts on the behavior of consumers while they shop. Some consumers are said to be information gatherers. Information gatherers are when this type of purchaser gathers all the information they can on the top products in their buying category, and makes a decision based on research, while the other purchasers of products are ready to purchase immediately.

As business owners, we want the impulse purchaser to come immediately to our site, however there is something to be said about the research consumer. This is a point in online marketing where you need to recognize how far into your site the consumer is reaching. If you notice that several of your potential buyers make it to the product details page and then leave, you may have found your next marketing project. Always give the consumer all the information that a researched consumer would use in order to make a determinate on a purchase.  That way you will be covering all your consumers and your reach will double.  You will therefore know what you should be changing and revising on your website to attract the customers that will purchase your product or service from you.  Using this technique will also give you a more vibrant website that is proactive to consumer behavior and needs.

Shopping online is becoming more prevalent and most of us will be doing more of it in the days, months and years ahead.  Sure, it is always important to market to the right consumer but to understand why the purchase is essential in building your brand and implementing your marketing strategy.

If you have any questions, you can contact Falcon Consulting & Marketing.  We are New York City based full service digital marketing agency that assists small businesses one client at a time.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/online-marketing-strategies-affected-consumer-behavior/

Visit us at www.falconconsultingandmarketing.com

Yelp and Managing Your Business Reputation Online

Yelp is becoming a go to website when it comes to local reviews of businesses.  It is also becoming a key cog in the reputation management of your business.  Yelp if you are not familiar is a review site for specific locations that rates restaurants, bars, stores and other businesses. Consumers are now using Yelp desktop and Yelp mobile in order to make decisions to spend their money.  With nearly 149 million unique visitors each month, and 115 million reviews and growing, Yelp has now become a leader in reviews and it will continue to grow.  As such, it is important for the small business owner to take advantage of Yelp and try to stay on top of the current climate of your business there.

What is the gist of Yelp?

Yelp uses a 5-star rating system in which registered users can review businesses. Also, in order for your business to receive Yelp reviews your business must be first listed on the site.  Sit down for a couple of minutes and take the time to claim your listing.  Once you have claimed your business, you can put up your listing. There are plenty of features that you can add onto your listing.  It includes uploading your photos, add a detailed description, and make sure your business information is always up to date. Try to put up photos as the consumer loves to interact with the business online and once they are able to see your business from the inside, they are much more inclined to spend dollars with you.

Responding to Reviews and the Cautions of saying negative things about Customers

As soon as your listing is up, with your photos and profile description, you will now be able to communicate with the consumer and respond to their reviews.  You have two options when it comes to the response.  You can either respond publicly or privately.  Public comments are great when there are positive reviews.  It shows that you are aware of what customers are saying about your business and appreciate the feedback.  With respect to negative reviews, it is probably best to say little publicly and attempt to respond privately with concerns from former patrons of your establishment.  If you are inclined to respond to a negative review publicly you should try to communicate that you are aware of their problem and would immediately attempt to rectify the situation.  Also a response on a negative review should be done to clarify any inaccuracies to the comment.  Once again, this shows that you are very responsive to customer concerns.  Present and future customers will see your level of engagement and will appreciate it in the long run.  Public comments can be seen directly below the Yelper’s review, whereas private messages are sent only to the Yelper, like an email.

Stickers, Deals & Gift Certificates important to promoting yourself to future customers

Yelp stickers are great for promoting Yelp reviews without actually having to ask your customers to post their feedback. Yelp has two different stickers which you can display prominently and proudly on your door or window, “Find Us on Yelp” and “People Love Us on Yelp.”   “People Love Us on Yelp” is a sticker along with a letter of recommendation from Yelp’s founders. The stickers are sent out once a year to businesses that qualify based on their history and rating on Yelp.  A Deal is giving a discount or something free drink with a Yelp Check In. Both Deals and Gift Certificates are free to set up, and only cost a percentage of the sale if they are purchased.  Yelp does however collect payment from the purchaser and retains a share of the purchase (30% for deals, 10% for gift certificates). The remainder is paid to you each month.

Being proactive on your yelp account will save you money and headaches in the long run.  You will be able to combat negative reviews quickly and show your customers that their opinions are important to you.  If you have any questions about Yelp reviews or Reputation Management please feel free to contact Falcon Consulting & Marketing.  We are a New York City based digital marketing agency assisting small businesses one client at a time.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/yelp-and-managing-your-business-reputation-online/

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The Long-term Costs of Using Cheap SEO Companies

As a consumer, I am always looking for a deal or discount.  Whether if I’m shopping for curtains for my house or purchasing a condo in Manhattan I am always on the hunt for the best and cheapest deal.  Of course I do a lot of research when I’m purchasing a higher end product but in the end of the day I enjoy to save money.  And who doesn’t?  Family members still clip out coupons and they swear that they save hundreds of dollars per month on groceries.  Also I always receive anecdotes about scouring the local papers for the cheapest electronic device and then going to the local store to match it.  It’s an awesome thing.   When it comes to pricing not everything should be measured the same though.  Sometimes, you have to be looking for the best quality item.  I recently purchased a new washer and dryer and I went for the highest quality one I can find.  The reason being I didn’t want to have to pay for repairs later on and the higher quality appliances like the one I purchased are extremely energy efficient saving me money in the long run.

Small business owners should use this rationale when they are investing into their business.  For example, many businesses spend premium money for their office space and furnishing it.  Why? Because the appearance of your office and also where it is located is a direct reflection of your entire brand.  Your customers look at this when they decide whether they want to purchase from you.  Also, first impressions are always important to consumers.

However, there are many small businesses that decide that they want to use the cheapest companies when they are attempting to increase their online presence.  Going to my example earlier about the purchase of the washer and dryer, this can be extremely costly and harmful to your company.  Here are the reasons why this is so:

SEO or Search Engine Optimization has changed dramatically over the past couple years.  What has been working in the past will not work today.  That’s is because the search engines have gotten smarter and understand that some companies try to game the system.  Many of the “cheaper” SEO companies use what we call black hat tactics that although may work for some time can get you penalized or banned from the search results altogether.  If that happens, you will have a hard time remediating the issues on your website or will have to start from scratch with a new one.

Before Google’s algorithm updates, SEOs would utilize inexpensive software that would blast links to your site all over the internet.  This is what we call backlinks and there is software out there where you can put in your link and they will blast it all over as spam.  Google would consider every link pointing to your site as something to increase your domain authority and would deem your website more credible making your site rank higher.  Unfortunately this now doesn’t work for the lower priced SEO companies that would use this system.  Google has gotten smart and now takes more things into consideration than the amount of backlinks you have.  Also, if Google decides that your links is spam you can be penalized for this and it would create havoc for you.  Google is now more successful in reducing internet spam and the companies that were using these methods realize that they would have to use more working hours to get the results they previously cheated to get.

The only way now to achieve the results is to have more content that is both stimulating and responsive to your audience.  Also you must be able to have more experienced SEO professionals write more content that will be relevant to the masses. There is no software that can accomplish this for you.  It takes relationships with high authority bloggers and editorial publication managers in your niche that will either feature your business.

It now takes time and to be consistent with producing high quality content for your blog.  It takes skill and the knowledge of SEO to create and distribute status updates for your company and industry news to engage your audience.  The present state of SEO is that if you’re going to position yourself as an industry leader and rank higher in search results  you will need to spend the time necessary to get there.  Depending on the specific nature of your business, and the geographic area you’re targeting, this could take you anywhere from 20 to 120 hours or more per month. Even if you had the time to do it yourself, it would take you months to establish relationships with authoritative websites that would help your rankings.  Any service that is doing SEO for say $350/mth would send red flags to you that something is not right and their services will probably hamper you in the long run.

The so called cheaper SEO becomes expensive SEO when it takes you longer to generate a positive return on your investment than it would if you spent more but achieved high rankings more quickly.  For instance if you pay an SEO company $800/mth and it takes you only 4 months to get the results you want in comparison to cheap company that charges $400 but it takes over a year or more with lower quality content, you will now have the benefit of over 8 months or more of the results you wanted plus your blog content won’t make you look less insightful or knowledgeable.  You would be saving thousands of dollars and would obtain business opportunities from leads that you would never receive from the cheaper SEO for months.  The cost to some small businesses may result in them deciding to withdraw from their SEO campaign as well because of the time to get the results.  Now that would be a total waste of money as well!!!

At the end of the day it is always a good idea to use a reputable service that may charge a little more but will get you results in a professional way.  It is always a great idea to get an article or writing sample to see the quality of the content they are producing.  If the SEO professional is a reputable one, they will gladly send you in the right direction for you to review.

At Falcon Consulting & Marketing we do not use black hat methods in getting results for our clients.  We have staff writers that will write articles for your business that will be considered of the top quality.  We are a NYC based digital marketing agency that handles one business at a time and will put extra attention to your company’s needs.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/the-long-term-cost-of-using-cheap-seo-companies/

Visit us at www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com

The Cart Before the Horse? Whether the Design or SEO is More Important for the Business

The strain for the small business to get up the money for making decisions  has always been huge.  Normally the money for marketing and promotion is limited and decision makers have to make tough decisions about how to spend their money.  One question that small business owners often ask is whether it’s better to invest in web design or SEO.  We all want to do both.  Trust me in an ideal world we would have a money tree and be able to spend money like how we would like. However, if you have to choose, which should be your priority? Falcon Consulting & Marketing has been able to review this decision with our clients for several years now.  Through trial and error we can tell you why each has importance and then tell you what we believe should be your priority.

Web Design

A website is often the way people are introduced to a new business.  Especially in today’s marketplace, consumers are using their smartphones or tablets to go quickly online and scout out companies that have their product or service interested in. Today, people are more likely to look into the company before they actually walk into their store or office.  That is why having an easy to use warm website will make a good first impression on potential customers automatically.  Having a poorly designed and hard to navigate website will turn the visitors off and they will leave almost immediately as well.  That is why web design should be important.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) makes it easier for people to find your website.  It is a tool to make your website rank higher in the search engines so when someone types in a particular keyword like say “new york city doctors”, the company will be able to be found quickly on a page.   No matter how well your website looks, if it can’t be found on the web then it serves very little function. There are many SEO tactics, from focusing on keywords to getting quality links from other sites to getting ranked locally by Google.

 Web Design Should be the first Priority

It is indeed true from the SEO standpoint that if they can’t find you then it doesn’t matter that you have a website in a sense.  The bigger issue is even if you optimized your website with SEO and people came to it in droves, it would be more than likely that they would not be impressed with the design and functionality and just leave your site.  If that does indeed happen you don’t gain anything and you have spent months to an SEO professional for their services.

Another aspect of web design is you know what you are getting.  You have plenty of control over the project if you would like to and the design is based on your recommendations.  Graphics, pictures, Content will all be up to your discretion.  Google has also recently rewarding websites that provide quality content and that give visitors a good experience. This means sites that are easy to navigate and that load quickly. This means that if you build your website correctly with great initial content you can have an SEO advantage.  SEO has its importance but just like everything else in life if you do not lay the correct foundation as in this case the website, then everything will sink.  Website design should be the first priority when a small business starts thinking about online marketing.

If you are having difficulty making your website or needs some suggestions, then you may need assistance.  A digital marketing agency will have a marketing plan for you to expand your company’s brand.  They will speak with you about the design of your website and how to build great content onto your site that rivals your competitors.  Falcon Consulting & Marketing is they type of company that can assist the small business.  If you have any questions about website design contact us at sales@falconconsultingandmarketing.com or call at 855-445-9530.  We are a digital marketing agency located in NYC assisting small businesses one client at a time.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/cart-horse-whether-design-seo-important-business/

Visit us at www.blueharbourpropertymanagement.com

7 Content Marketing Tips for Your Blog

Over the years we at Falcon Consulting & Marketing have been able to work with many small and medium sized businesses developing and nurturing their online marketing.  Besides developing the website, one of the more important aspects is writing kick-ass content that will engage your audience and be precise enough to be picked up by the search engines so your website can be ranking higher in the search engine optimization (SEO) phase of your marketing journey.   Content marketing as some would call it has become a very important aspect of the marketing strategy.   Through trial and error we have decided there are a few things that are absolutely necessary for you to do in order to eventually drive the traffic that you want to your website and eventually increase leads and sales.  Below are 7 tips that we believe are vital in writing website content:

1.  Do not under any circumstances plagiarize someone else’s work. Eventually, copying content from other sites will get you penalized with the search engines.  Try your best to spend time gathering your thoughts, researching material and write your own content.
2. When you are writing your material, do not make it too technical.  Using technical complex terms may seem appropriate depending on your particular business but most people have difficulties handling longer prose.  Try to keep the language simple and understandable to the layman.
3. I know this might sound like a high school tip, but try to use an outline of your thoughts before starting to write out your article.  The reason this will be important is you will be able to get organized and believe it or not by being organized your thoughts become clearer and many more ideas come into fruition.
4. At all costs, try not to overpromote your brand when writing your article.  The purpose of the content should be to inform your audience of something that may be of quality interest to them.  By doing so you will eventually become a thought leader in your field of business.  We understand that the purpose of the website is to promote your business but it shouldn’t be at the detriment of the reader.  Your audience will figure out what you are doing pretty quickly and you will lose that potential customer forever.  Provide them with informative content and they will appreciate you and come back whenever you have something new to offer.
5. The length of the article is important. If the article takes too long to get to the point, then the reader is likely to stop move on. Getting your article to be appreciated and insightful for your readers is a tall task for anyone and ruin your chances by having your articles being too long. The best articles have a word count between 350 and 1100 words we have seen.
6. Keywords need to be incorporated somehow into your article.  You have to be crafty and it take some effort in the beginning to craft your articles in a manner that the keywords stand out.  The reasons why keywords need to be incorporated is for the search engines can rank your article.  Having keywords and phrase will refine searches and having rich articles with keywords planted are primary tools in having your website rank higher.
7. Try to be consistent with your writing.  Try to maintain and schedule when you are writing your content.  Say if your writing on Monday and Thursday, try to maintain that schedule.  That way your audience will begin to have your routine down pat and come back more often to see what you have new on your site.

Writing content can be a glorious task for the business owner.  It keeps you abreast in everything that is new and fresh in your field that you would like to communicate to your audience.  Doing so can make you an industry leader if you can maintain a consistent stream of writing.  The problem with most business owners is that they do not have the time to invest in the research, planning and execution of writing articles.  This is where a digital marketing agency can come into play.  Hiring a company that can maintain a schedule and doing all the requisite research for you to review can be accomplished.  A professional company can also have your articles drafted and posted consistently.  At Falcon Consulting & Marketing, we have specialists that will be able to meet your goals when to writing great content and having your website reach the top of the rankings.

Falcon Consulting & Marketing is a New York City based digital marketing agency assisting small businesses one client at a time.  They can be reached at sales@falconconsultingandmarketing.com or 855-445-9530.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/7-tips-writing-website-content-blog/

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How Branding Became Big Business for the Small Business

To succeed in branding, you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. This is achieved by integrating your brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact. Think of branding as the expression of who you are as a company or organization and what you offer.  Once customers believe in your brand it become a living breathing entity.

Branding develops an image of a company’s products in the minds of consumers, attributing goods with certain unique qualities or characteristics that, if done effectively, are attractive to the target audience.  A brand widely known in the market has brand recognition and builds up positive sentiment which further strengthens the company position amongst competitors.  Benefits of a strong brand include: being able to command higher prices, speeding up new product acceptance, enabling market share penetration by advertising, and resisting price erosion.  Both the medium chosen and demographic targeted for advertisements builds a brand. Too narrow an advertising focus, and a company risks being “pigeon holed” and losing their ability to expand into new markets. Too broad a focus, and the company fails to create a definable impression of the company in the minds of would be customers. Furthermore, a professional appearance builds credibility and trust. People are more likely to purchase from a business that appears polished and legitimate. Emotional reactions are hardwired into our brains, and those reactions are very real influencers.

Last but not least, branding enables your company to get referral business. Would it be possible for you to tell a friend about the new sunglases you love if you couldn’t remember the brand? A large reason ‘brand’ is the word used for this concept is that the goal is an unforgettable impression. As the most profitable advertising source, word of mouth referrals are only possible in a situation where your company has delivered a memorable experience with your customer.

The most profitable companies, small and large, have a single thing in common. They have established themselves as a leader in their particular industry by building a strong brand.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/how-branding-became-big-business-for-the-small-business/

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Local SEO and SEM Marketing for Attorneys

When it’s time to call a lawyer, the majority of  people turn to the Internet to find the information they want. Besides referrals, which are the bread and butter for most law firms, internet marketing has become a key marketing strategy.  For the younger law firms and attorneys, local SEO and SEM is the best avenue for marketing.  The first thing clients look for is high-quality attorney web site design that contains plenty of knowledgeable information and an inviting look and feel.  If you specialize in a particular field of law, you should always try to be as specific with reference to statutes and code that are commonly used.  Also putting up a video or articles in your particular field seems to work tremendously as well.

A successful  legal web site must be first of all accessible to people who are searching.  It is necessary to be ranked high in the ranking and for people to see your law firm before the local competition.

Here are more little steps that can be done in order to drive traffic to your website and convert the leads into high-paying clients.

The first step to starting a local SEO campaign is for your law firm is to create a Google Business Page.  If you’ve ever searched Google for a local business, you’ve probably seen the results at the very top of the page, listing several nearby businesses along with their phone numbers, websites, and their locations on a map. Local businesses are usually the first that potential clients would contact.

The data in these search results comes from your Google My Business page, so filling it out is a critical step in your local SEO efforts. Here are some tips to optimize your law firm’s listing in Google:

• Include a long, keyword rich description of your law practice and the types of services you provide
• Upload as many photos as possible
• Choose the correct categories for your law practice
• Include a local phone number
• Include a link to your website
• Include your complete address, in the exact same format as you have it listed on your website (more on this later)
• Make sure the info is accurate and always kept up to date

Once you’ve created your Google listing, Google also provides some helpful stats on how many website visits you get from it, how many people call you by directly clicking the phone number you have listed, how many reviews you’re getting, and more.

The next thing to focus on in your local SEO campaign is optimizing your law firm website. You want to add local keyword data to each and every page so that Google knows your website is for a local business.

For example, if you are a patent attorney in New York City, you should use the words “New York City patent attorney” and similar terms strategically across key areas of your website.

Google naturally favors the websites of companies that use Google tools, and one of them which has become very important to local SEO is Google Reviews. So building up some positive, authentic customer reviews on your Google My Business page is the next step in our guide on local SEO for law firms.  Google reviews as well as reviews from third party review sites such as Yelp, Avvo, Yellowbook, Foursquare all will help with your statistics.

Positive reviews are not only good for SEO, they’re also a great way to establish credibility for your firm. Testimonials from happy clients provide social proof that you are a quality service provider worthy of consideration, and that’s why showing off your reviews are an important step.

Lawyers are very busy by the nature of the professional.  Also, the retention of clients that actually pay the bills instead of paying a retainer and having the attorney or law firm pay for the rest of litigation has been more of a problem than ever in the profession.  That is why you would need the most amount of prospective clients in order to determine who you should take on.  It will make you law firm more profitable in the end and you will have a better piece of mind.  Local SEO is a powerful marketing strategy for small businesses that target customers in their area. Should you need any help with your marketing strategy feel free to contact us at Falcon Consulting & Marketing.  We are a digital marketing agency assisting small businesses one client at a time.

https://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/local-seo-and-sem-marketing-for-attorneys/

Visit us at www.falconconsultingandmarketing.com