Online Marketing For Service Businesses
Online Marketing For Service Businesses
In fact, many service providers, professionals, and technical specialists think that if they need to promote their business to get clients, they can’t be very good.
After all, successful businesses are built on word of mouth and referrals, right? And that should be enough to make you a success.
Sorry if I’m about to offend you... but those old-fashioned ideas about marketing your business just don’t wash anymore.
Times have changed – and so has the way your clients choose a service provider
Receiving referrals and attracting clients via word of mouth is still very important. But if you don’t promote your business, you are neglecting it.
And these days, online marketing should be an essential part of your marketing strategy.
Online marketing can be used to:
Enhance your professional standing.
Educate prospects and clients about your services.
Generate new business.
Attract media attention.
Attract the right sort of staff for your firm.
Launch new services.
When I talk about online marketing I don’t mean those cheap and nasty emails you see selling everything from shares, health products, and body parts! That’s called unsolicited email, or junk mail.
Professional online marketing means you have a website that is designed to educate and attract clients. And also that you are using modern (and ethical) promotional strategies to get your message to your preferred audience.
Here is a summary of the main online marketing tactics you can use.
Website Optimisation
Your website must be optimised so that the key pages are easily read by the major search engines. After all, research shows that over 70% of people check online sources before making a serious decision – especially when it comes to business.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is still a growing field. It combines the ‘science’ of search engine algorithms, with the ‘art’ of presenting your information in a unique manner.
Email Communication
Are you using a planned series of email contacts with your clients and prospects? Many service firms forget to communicate with previous clients. They just focus on the matters at hand. Don’t fall into that trap.
The world is much more competitive than it used to be and you need to have a relevant way of remaining in contact with clients. After all, they are most likely to refer others to you – if they remember you and think you care.
There are numerous options for using existing email service providers to create and send your own special email communications – call them newsletters, briefs, or updates, it doesn’t matter.
Pay Per Click Advertising
All the major search engines offer the opportunity to advertise on their search results pages. This works by showing your ad only when people are searching for the key words you have specified as being relevant.
This is vastly different from standard print advertising where your ad is shown to everyone who reads the paper.
Using Pay Per Click (PPC) adverting allows you to create multiple versions of your ad so you can easily see which ones work best. Your ad’s only appear on pages that list relevant search results. This means the people who see your ad are already ‘in the market’ for your services. And you only pay when people click on your ad to visit your site. You don’t pay for everyone who just sees your ad.
There are certain techniques and processes that should be used with PPC campaigns. Such as creating a special landing page for your ad’s, rather than just sending visitors to your home page.
Banner and Newsletter Advertisements
You can buy advertising space on other web sites, and when people click those ad’s they come back to your website. You can also advertise in email newsletters sent by other parties. Usually you will pay ‘per impression’ for this type of advertising, so you need to make sure you have a compelling message in your ad, and that you are presenting it to the right audience.
Keep up with the world your clients live in... and use online marketing effectively to attract more clients, increase revenue, and stay a step ahead of your competitors.
Online Marketing For Service Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Stuart Ayling's Website.
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I know… you have a service-based business, or a professional services firm, and you probably don’t like the idea of marketing (or advertising, or selling).
In fact, many service providers, professionals, and technical specialists think that if they need to promote their business to get clients, they can’t be very good.
After all, successful businesses are built on word of mouth and referrals, right? And that should be enough to make you a success.
Sorry if I’m about to offend you... but those old-fashioned ideas about marketing your business just don’t wash anymore.
Times have changed – and so has the way your clients choose a service provider
Receiving referrals and attracting clients via word of mouth is still very important. But if you don’t promote your business, you are neglecting it.
And these days, online marketing should be an essential part of your marketing strategy.
Online marketing can be used to:
Enhance your professional standing.
Educate prospects and clients about your services.
Generate new business.
Attract media attention.
Attract the right sort of staff for your firm.
Launch new services.
When I talk about online marketing I don’t mean those cheap and nasty emails you see selling everything from shares, health products, and body parts! That’s called unsolicited email, or junk mail.
Professional online marketing means you have a website that is designed to educate and attract clients. And also that you are using modern (and ethical) promotional strategies to get your message to your preferred audience.
Here is a summary of the main online marketing tactics you can use.
Website Optimisation
Your website must be optimised so that the key pages are easily read by the major search engines. After all, research shows that over 70% of people check online sources before making a serious decision – especially when it comes to business.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is still a growing field. It combines the ‘science’ of search engine algorithms, with the ‘art’ of presenting your information in a unique manner.
Email Communication
Are you using a planned series of email contacts with your clients and prospects? Many service firms forget to communicate with previous clients. They just focus on the matters at hand. Don’t fall into that trap.
The world is much more competitive than it used to be and you need to have a relevant way of remaining in contact with clients. After all, they are most likely to refer others to you – if they remember you and think you care.
There are numerous options for using existing email service providers to create and send your own special email communications – call them newsletters, briefs, or updates, it doesn’t matter.
Pay Per Click Advertising
All the major search engines offer the opportunity to advertise on their search results pages. This works by showing your ad only when people are searching for the key words you have specified as being relevant.
This is vastly different from standard print advertising where your ad is shown to everyone who reads the paper.
Using Pay Per Click (PPC) adverting allows you to create multiple versions of your ad so you can easily see which ones work best. Your ad’s only appear on pages that list relevant search results. This means the people who see your ad are already ‘in the market’ for your services. And you only pay when people click on your ad to visit your site. You don’t pay for everyone who just sees your ad.
There are certain techniques and processes that should be used with PPC campaigns. Such as creating a special landing page for your ad’s, rather than just sending visitors to your home page.
Banner and Newsletter Advertisements
You can buy advertising space on other web sites, and when people click those ad’s they come back to your website. You can also advertise in email newsletters sent by other parties. Usually you will pay ‘per impression’ for this type of advertising, so you need to make sure you have a compelling message in your ad, and that you are presenting it to the right audience.
Keep up with the world your clients live in... and use online marketing effectively to attract more clients, increase revenue, and stay a step ahead of your competitors.
Online Marketing For Service Businesses - To learn more about this author, visit Stuart Ayling's Website.
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Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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