Are Testimonials Important…

Are Testimonials Important…

Why It Is Important to Receive Testimonials for your Business!

Testimonials and reviews are extremely important to the success of any business. They help you to build relationships and are the basis of a potential new customer’s first engagement with your company. Having customer reviews for your business every step of the way is vital to improve traffic and enquiries – this leads to more sales – especially Google Reviews.

A testimonial or review is a recorded statement of a customer’s reflection on how credible your level of expertise is. They also build your reputation by mentioning the services you have given them and how trustworthy you are by saying if they would recommend you to others. This helps other potential customers see a bit about you before they contact you about your services.

A good testimonial can go a long way to set your business apart from competitors 

Dealing with Negative reviews:

Testimonials are an extremely powerful tool in a positive way even when the review isn’t what you were hoping for. I think it’s definitely a strong argument that you can’t please everyone when it comes to business. Negative reviews are a learning opportunity that a lot of companies miss. 

When a customer is not overly pleased with your product / service then it shows what kind of company you are with the way in which you deal with the negative complaint. It might seem like a massive kick in the teeth when you get a bad review. When you first see the review, you may get defensive about it, but the worst thing you can do is to start a dispute even if you believe you did everything right. Working to apologise and make sure processes are in place to respond correctly to negative reviews can really help boost your customer service journey.

How to ask for Testimonials…

Getting a customer to leave a review can sometimes be tricky as most are not sure of the process on how to leave their feedback on your services. So, making this process simple for them could be somewhere to start. Here are 5 simple ideas:

  1. Use the back of your Business Card to give them some direction. List the options that they have to leave a review.
  2. Create a Feedback Form that you could give them when you finish the job or send through the post with a prepaid envelope for them to return it.
  3. Follow Up Emails can also be a form of feedback. Asking them how they like your product and how it’s made their life easier in some way.
  4. Use Social Media to publicise your feedback capability and share pictures of work you a have done. Be sure to ask the clients permission first.
  5. Your Website is another place you could use. If you don’t have a leave feedback section, then talk to your developer as you could be missing a trick.

I hope this give you an idea of the importance of reviews for your business. No matter the size of your company, gaining a testimonial from a customer can show other potential clients who you are and what you are like.

Kickstart your testimonial process today and see the results!

Claire & Chris

Do you know your numbers???

Do you know your numbers???

You are all geared up for marketing your business in 2019, everything is in place – BUT….

Do you know where you are at today? 

Have you taken a benchmark of your numbers today – followers, engagement rates, web traffic, email list etc. 

It is vital that you make a most of your numbers on a regular basis so that you can assess your activity and work out if it is successful or not.  Don’t waste money on activities that are not working! In today’s marketing world, it is easy to spend time and effort in the wrong place if you are not careful.

We see a number of businesses wanting to hit the ground running with their marketing activity which is great, but they do not know their numbers and within a few months they cannot truly define if something is working or not. Often than not, marketing activity is continued over long periods of time as there is no way to see if it is working.

Take lead magnets as an activity – you could spend a lot of time and money creating fantastic guides & checklists and email landing pages but not knowing how many people are already on your email marketing list, it is not going to tell you how successful it is. Could your time and effort be better spent elsewhere? 

Creationz Marketing offers a marketing support programme to help businesses really get to grips with their marketing – could your business benefit from an extra pair of hands where marketing is concerned? If so, visit our Marketing Consultancy page or call us on 0115 8376 260

Our top tip would be to spend 10 minutes just writing down where you are at today with your numbers and then this give you something to assess future activity – it will help you work out if it is successful or not.

We spent time yesterday doing exactly this exercise and we were very surprised at the results. Whilst some activities had grown considerably over the past 12 months, other areas need work, or our attention needs to be focused elsewhere. This will certainly be something we review on a monthly basis and it will help us to shape our marketing plan and be more effective.

Training

If you would like to put together a 12 month Marketing Plan that gives you clarity and action points then check out our Marketing Masterclass Training Programme

FREE Template

If you would like a FREE Benchmarking Template then just email claire@creationzmarketing.co.uk with FREE Benchmarking Sheet as the subject – together let’s shake up marketing in 2019.

Hope you can pop back soon

Claire

p.s We run a FREE Facebook Group called Marketing for Success Club so if you are serious about getting to grips with your marketing and keeping up with all the latest developments then pop over and join our community – Marketing for Success Club

Social Media – Not just a numbers game

Social Media – Not just a numbers game

As with all marketing activity, you need to be able to monitor the return on investment and where Social Media is concerned this has usually been by recording the number of followers etc. for each account.

But, it is not just a numbers game!

In recent months I have lost count of a number of times I have heard “I have 1,000+ followers on social media” when asking if social media is working.  That’s great, but how many are you actually engaging with and how many are promoting your brand & sharing your content?

Whilst I appreciate you need to have a certain level of followers to be seen as credible by other users, if there is no engagement then you are in effectively talking to yourself.

Hands up if you have followed Facebook pages and twitter accounts but then not visited again?  We all have, it is normal behaviour but we must remember that Social Media is all about joining in conversations & being social so this is why engagement is so important.

You can still monitor the number of followers but make sure you add a metric to record the number of people who have engaged with your posts in the past week/month as this will show you how you can grow and develop a successful campaign.

Further Tips:

  • Make sure you know what channels your client base use on social media and spend efforts on these channels
  • Don’t just follow everyone to boost your own followers.
  • Follow related accounts that add a benefit to your business
  • Engage, Engage, Engage – make your social media count!  
  • You need to engage with others as this helps raise your profile!

Still unsure how you can improve your engagement? Our next article “How to Create Engaging Social Media Posts” will share tips and tricks that get results.

Further Reading:

Social Media Management – How can it help?
Are you a Marketing Magpie?
Marketing Training Courses – Nottingham, Derby & Leicester

Do I Really Need a Marketing Plan?

Do I Really Need a Marketing Plan?

We are often asked if it is important for a business to have a marketing plan and the honest answer is YES!  

How do you know if your marketing efforts are successful if there is no plan or any monitoring of the return on investment?  

Time and money spent on marketing to promote the business are just as vital as any other business expenditure but there are so many ways that the resource can be spent – you need to be clear or have a very large budget!!!

Every day, your business will be approached to take advertising, write an article, sponsorship of local events etc – it is hard to say no if you do not have a plan.  Make sure anything you do is done for the right reasons and for your benefit. Plan, plan, plan!

A well thought out plan can give you clarity on your marketing efforts and ensure you are spending money and resources in the right places. You will also be more proactive as opposed to reactive.

So why do you need a Marketing Plan:

1: Clarity

Every business needs a clear plan on what marketing activity they are going to do to promote the business.  Marketing is moving at a very fast pace with new tools and techniques being launched every month – if you are not careful you can easily spend time and money on tools that just won’t work for your business – trust me I have been there and done it!  Take the time to get clarity and marketing will become an easier more successful process.

Get clear – be focused.

2: Focus

Remember, time is at a premium and by having a well-thought-out plan, you can ensure your time is spent wisely.  By knowing what your monthly plans and activities are, you can allocate your time accordingly ensuring you are spending time where you need to, not reacting to the latest fad.  Also, your plan can help you identify and allocated your resources too – this could be outsourced time or pulling employees from other tasks.

Remain focused – boost efforts

3: Understanding your Numbers

If you are clear on where you are spending your time and money you can also set clear goals to monitor the return on your investment.  Whether you are placing an advert, using social media, email newsletters etc you still need to know how each activity is performing as this will drive your marketing efforts.  It is much easier to cut activities that are not working and spend more money where it does work.

Don’t waste time on marketing activities that do not perform for you.Still NOT sure…

Book a FREE 30 minute audit and Creationz Marketing will review your current position and give you clear ideas to move your marketing forward. Book yours today – Contact Creationz Marketing

Further Information:

Give us a call on 0115 8376 260 and Claire and Chris can explain how a Marketing Plan can really make a difference to your business

Claire

p.s. Have you seen our latest Marketing Training Courses – designed to help you and your staff get ahead in marketing. Our courses can really make a difference

Further Reading:

Are you a Marketing Magpie?
Marketing Planning – How Creationz Marketing Can Help You…
Social Media Management