Archives for April 2018

Digital marketing generally means getting the word out online about your brand and getting customers to see why they should buy from your business.

But in today’s hyperconnected world, your customers can also shape the reputation of your business online in (nearly) real time. This is very important as 77% of consumers read online reviews before making a decision.

While talking about how good your products and services are is of course useful and necessary, what your customers say about your company can also be used as a marketing tool. This is called Reputation Marketing. What makes this strategy different from other types is that it puts the “voice of the customer” as the central focus.

What your customers say about your business is not something you can control, buy, or make them do, but you can use the positive reviews they do leave to shape the narrative of your business’ reputation.

It’s amazing how many business owners are keen on running all sorts of online marketing campaigns, yet they don’t take the time to have their customers write a comprehensive review about their products.

Can you imagine how many of your “would-be customers” end up buying from your competitors, all because they couldn’t find any reviews about your product or service?

It’s essential for potential customers to know that others have used your business and had a good experience doing so, giving your business a reputation of trustworthiness.

Reputation marketing today is a must.

How do you get these positive reviews for your business and strengthen your reputation? There are many ways and we’d be glad to help.

Reach out to us for a 5-Day Proof of Concept at johnny@johnnymurray.com.
Johnny Murray
ICU Marketing Associates

1. Sixty-three percent of local businesses said they were going to invest in a mobile-friendly website. Why? Because 80% of internet users browse on their smartphones. If your site is not mobile responsive, then you are not in the game.

Get a mobile-friendly website now!

2. Ninety-three percent of customer buying decisions are influenced by Social Media. Customers trust peer recommendations. Positive comments on Social Media work! You should be connected with your best customers in social media so they can easily recommend you.

Set up your social media accounts now and get active!

3. Active blogs generate 67% more leads! Blog sites are perfect for interacting with your customers on a more personal level. Are you actively blogging?

Start blogging right now!

4. Four times as many potential customers would rather watch a video about your service/product than reading about it. Videos work because they are more interesting and easier to absorb, in addition to being easily shared! How many videos are on your site? Do you have a YouTube Channel?

Get into video marketing now!

5. Thirty percent of small businesses do not bother to measure their return-on-investment (ROI) following their digital marketing campaigns. That’s madness! How do you know if you are doing the right thing?

Contact me at johnny@johnnymurray.com and I’ll show you not only how to measure ROI, but to make your digital marketing work to produce ROI in the first place!

What is it? Remarketing is a type of online advertising that allows you to recapture the interest of a customer who has previously visited your website.

After someone visits your website, remarketing allows you to follow them around as they continue to browse and then position your ads right in front of them! That’s a very effective marketing technique!

Five Benefits of Remarketing:

1. It provides a high return on investment. Costs for remarketing have reduced considerably in the last few years.
2. It is a very efficient and cost-effective method for small businesses with a tighter budget.
3. It continually reinforces your service or product to a likely buyer you know is interested.
4. It is a brand awareness tool as it keeps your brand in front of a potential buyer’s mind.
5. You can measure the effectiveness of your remarketing, so there are no surprises. You will receive reports on how your campaigns are performing, where your ads are popping up and what price you are paying.

Contact us at johnny@johnnymurray.com if you want to learn more about Remarketing.
https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2453998?hl=en

A Harvard Business Review Survey found that only 36% of organizations use some advanced tools and practices, but they are mostly underutilized or disconnected.

And that only 15% of companies use advanced marketing tools, analytics, and practices widely for more effective marketing and sales efforts.

Are you in the 15%, or are you having trouble integrating advanced marketing tools and practices to your business?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, at what extent do you use advanced tools to maximize your marketing?

Let us know. Shoot us an email johnny@johnnymurray.com.

Are you looking to grow your business? Are you hoping to bring in new customers? Do you want to see that bottom line grow?

Successful business owners with an eye to the future should be able to answer yes to all those questions.

Here at ICU Marketing Associates, we understand the value of growth to a business, and we want to help you achieve those goals through your marketing strategy.

Fast and Measurable Results

Google AdWords can give you top-notch measurable results, quickly and reliably. With these results, you know you are reaching the right audience. AdWords also provides unique functionality and reporting, so you can learn more about the wants and needs of your audience.

Budget-friendly

One common excuse heard in marketing is “We can’t afford to advertise.” My friend, you can’t afford not to. With Google AdWords, you know that your money is being put in the right place. With a pay-per-click model, you only pay for those internet users who click through to your site.

Build Brand Recognition

Even though you are only paying for the audience who clicks on your ad, you are getting a lot more eyeballs. That means you are working up the number of people who know about your business. Brand recognition carries a lot of weight and is something that must be built up in small increments.

There are many benefits to using Google’s AdWords, let us start helping your company grow today!

It is recommended that you invest about 15% to 20% of your monthly profit into online marketing. Internet marketing agency pricing varies, as does the online marketing cost for different strategies and packages.

Why do companies engage in digital marketing? Companies invest a lot in online marketing, mainly because it is effective in more ways than one. It leads to better and faster return on investment, enhances the company’s overall image, and increases your customer base on the Web.

Your budget will depend on my factors:

– What you are selling
– How intense the competition is
– How easy or difficult it is to find potential customers
– How important brand exposure is to you
– Your business type
– Your profit margin
– Your growth plans

It will take much testing to determine an optimum online marketing cost, and it is best to consult an expert. However, spending less than 10% of your available monthly profit is not going to make much of an impact on your competition. This is especially true if your business is in its growth stage when you need to invest heavily in the strategy and tools that will promote, sell and create revenue.

How much of your available profit do you re-invest in digital marketing? Shoot me an email at johnny@johnnymurray.com.

Consumers are quickly shifting their reliance on digital channels for all of their travel preparation, from researching to booking.

Adobe Digital Insights forecasts online revenue growth for the travel industry, with spending expected to hit $98.02 billion.

The typical customer-traveler spent an average of 53 days browsing 28 different sites over 76 online sessions, with more than 50% of travelers checking social media for travel tips, according to a study by Nielsen.

The digital travel space worldwide will expand at an annual rate of 3.8% to reach $11.4 trillion over the next 10 years, as predicted by travel industry experts.

How’s your revenue forecast?

Need help boosting digital marketing for your travel or hotel business?

What’s your plan of action? Contact us through http://icumarketplace.com, or shoot us an email at johnny@johnnymurray.com.

Your website is your online shop window. It is the first impression you are giving to your new visitor regarding the credibility of your business. If a customer cannot navigate your website to find what they are looking for, they will have no faith in buying from you. You should want it to provide a good experience for your customers. Does it function correctly? Is anything broken? Have you checked lately?

1. What is your site speed? How long does it take for your website to load? If it takes too long, you may have just lost multiple visitors. If it’s not as quick as your competitors, you have just made a bad first impression.

2. Does the content on your site accurately describe what you are selling? This is not only important for your site visitors; even before anyone else sees it, Google has to value your website to ‘rank’ your business site in the search results.

3. Does your site work properly on mobile devices? Have you checked? If not, you are losing a lot of potential customers interested in your services.

4. Are parts of your site broken? Obsolete? What effect are these broken bits having on the overall performance of your site?

Want to find out what else may be improved? Hit me up at johnny@johnnymurray.com.

Keyword Research allows you to gain intelligence on the actual queries of your potential customers are using and how big the monthly search volume is for those terms. Through this research, it is easy to determine the keywords for your SEO campaign.

More than 80% of buyers research online before making a big purchase. If you have no idea what search terms they are using, then you don’t know what keywords to optimize for.

Keyword Research is a crucial process for any successful SEO campaign. Connect with us to learn more.

Do you have a set rule for marketing budget allotment?

Or do you just place funds in marketing whatever is left after all of the projected business expenses for the year have been set?

USBA suggests 7% to 8% for small businesses. However, you can shoot for up to 20% if you really want to smash it hard in the marketplace.

A survey from the CMO Council, on the other hand, comes with similar results with 74% percent of marketers allocating 4% to 6% of their annual gross revenue to marketing, while only 2% apportion more than 20%.

The size of your marketing budget will fuel your marketing efforts, and so if you’re in a very competitive industry, and most especially if you’re in the early stages of your business, then you should really have a strong budget.

How do you structure your marketing budget?

Reach out to us and get some advice.