Marketing 4 Real Results

Nia S Pearson Featured in Copybrighters

Sat, 07 Nov 2026 05:32:53 GMT

The interview highlights the core philosophy that Nia S. Pearson, MBA has used to build Marketing 4 Real Results ( M4RR) , that can be strategically applied to scale any business.

The M4RR Playbook: Focused Action, Strategic Planning, and the Spirit of Entrepreneurship

Recently, our founder, Nia S. Pearson, MBA sat down with CopyBrighters to discuss the intersection of entrepreneurship, marketing strategy and staying driven.

M4RR, has successfully worked with small business owners and entrepreneurs in the U.S. across vertical markets in B2B and B2C. Some industries include, residential real estate , construction, cleaning and restoration , consumer packaged products and retail.

M4RR: combines high-level growth strategies with three core pillars: Consistency in branding, Concentrated efforts on specific target audiences, and Customer-Centric messaging and authenticity to build long-term loyalty. Read the full blog here .

KEY TAKEAWAY

Whether you are building a new brand or looking to scale your business to reach a wider target audience , consider M4RR’s playbook: strategy, planning, and systems with clearly defined targeting, actions, timelines, costs, and revenue.

Is your business is ready for growth and in need of a strategic overhaul? Contact M4RR today for a consultation to review your path to success.

4 Reasons To Shift Your Retail Strategy

Sat, 07 Nov 2026 05:26:54 GMT

If you’re a retailer who has traditionally relied on Amazon as your primary search engine to drive sales, the ground is shifting in a big way.

At Marketing 4 Real Results ( M4RR ), we’ve spent years helping business owners and SMBs nationwide bridge the gap between “being online” and driving revenue for their businesses.

Although the marketing strategy varies for every business with considerations for, culture, value proposition, the number of years in business, the number of team members and marketing budget, there are many factors that are similar.

In 2026, being “on Amazon” isn’t the flex it used to be. As we have always told our clients, the primary hub for driving new business should have always been your website. For SMB’s in retail in addition to the goal to be found, now with the shift of AI, the new goal is to be the answer.

Below we’ve listed the top 3 reasons Amazon is losing grip on the search journey and what your small business should do to stay competitive.

1. No more “Search & Scroll” now “Ask & Act

Amazon was built for keywords, but today’s customers are using AI Answer Engines. So instead of typing “ best pillows ” into a search bar and scrolling past five rows of advertisements, they are asking AI: “I need eco-friendly pillows for a 5,000 sq. ft. house in Sherman Oaks” or “What’s the most cost-effective local option?”

Amazon is still number one at fulfillment, but is currently struggling to provide these nuanced, conversational answers.

At M4RR, we are leading with what consumers want and that is why we focus on AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). This helps to ensure your business is the top ranking AI recommended product when a customer asks a complex question.

To learn more about AEO , you can tell us about your project here .

2. Trust Gap: Ads vs. Authenticity

Consider this: Amazon search results have become a pay-to-play billboard. For an SMB, competing with massive national brands on ad spend is a losing battle. As with most of the online advertising platforms which is why we focus our clients on customer service .

The M4RR Approach: We believe in Customer-Centric Marketing. While Amazon prioritizes the highest bidder, AI Engines prioritize E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). This process is about building online authority, quantitative and qualitative data, and localized SEO efforts, not just a ppc budget.

3. The Rise of Visual and Social Discovery

For baby boomer shoppers the #1, “search” starts on Google.

Visual Search: Someone sees a style they love, snaps a photo with Google Lens, and expects to find the source instantly.
Social Search: Gen Z and Millennials, treat social media like a search engine also, seeking answers on reddit.

Relying on a “set it and forget it” Amazon strategy creates a blind spot, overlooking the critical spaces where modern consumers actually discover and engage with new brands. At Marketing 4 Real Results, we specialize in aligning your Social Media Marketing and Content Strategy to the best platform not just to get followers. Therefore, we target the audiences, not random account, so you’re present where it matters most. Keep in mind that not every marketing platform is your “vibe”.

4. The Strategy Advantage

Amazon is the “Everything Store,” which makes it the “Specific to Nothing Store.” In 2026, consumers are craving niche expertise. Whether it’s residential Real Estate or specialized services like, Plumbing or Restoration services, customers want a partner, not a platform.

However, by moving your “search” focus to a tailored, SEO -focused website and a strong CRM- driven email strategy, the goal is to own the relationship and currently Amazon doesn’t.

Strategy for Real Results: Your AEO Checklist

If you’re ready to move beyond the Amazon search bar, here is how we help our SMB partners pivot:

Own Your Data: Don’t let Amazon own your customer list. Use Email and Text Marketing to stay top-of-mind with your target audience. If you need certified prospect lists, contact us here .
Optimize for Natural Language: Write content that answers the real questions that your customers ask during a consultation. Contact us for help here .
Focus on Impact: We help you define your Unique Value Proposition and target audiences so you don’t have to compete in a “race to the bottom” on a marketplace grid.

Stop being just another listing. At Marketing 4 Real Results , we love seeing small businesses succeed by being authentic and strategic. If you’re ready to take your retail business to the next level with a tailored marketing strategy, let’s talk.

Request a Free Consultation at m4rr.com or call 818.824.4479

How a One Stop Marketing Agency Helps Your Business Grow

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 17:05:15 GMT

Marketing 4 Real Results is a one stop marketing agency helps small and midsize businesses manage strategy, branding, websites, SEO, content, advertising, and lead generation through one connected team. Because we take the time to learn how your business operates, we are able to create consistent marketing, reduce duplicate efforts, and make better business decisions.

Why do small businesses choose a one stop marketing agency?

Small-business owners often know they need marketing help but do not have the time or staff to coordinate several specialists. One provider can bring all the major pieces together:

Marketing strategy and consulting
Brand positioning and messaging
Website design and conversion improvements
Search engine optimization and local visibility
Content, social media, email, paid advertising, and lead generation

This model gives the business one central marketing partner instead of separate vendors working from different assumptions. It can also make simplify communication. Rather than explaining your business goals repeatedly, you build an ongoing relationship with one team that already understands your market, services, customers, and priorities.

For an overview of integrated support, explore Marketing 4 Real Result’s services .

What does “one stop marketing” include?

One stop marketing is not simply a long list of services. The value comes from connecting those services around clear business objectives.

For example, a campaign for a local carpet cleaning company might include:

Positioning that explains why the company is different.
A service page written for the right customer and specific city/location.
Local SEO improvements that support visibility in search.
Helpful content that answers common customer questions.
Follow up messaging that helps turn inquiries into appointments.
Reporting that shows which activities are producing opportunities.

Every level or activity supports the others. The website reflects the brand, the content supports search visibility, and the follow up process helps the business respond to demand. These connections are often more valuable than isolated marketing activity.

How does Marketing 4 Real Results get to know your business?

Effective marketing begins with understanding your target audience and business goals. A strong agency, like Marketing 4 Real Results takes time to learn how your business actually works, including:

Your products or services and most profitable opportunities
The customers you want to attract
Your sales process and typical buying journey
Seasonal patterns, capacity, and service areas
Competitors and alternatives that customers consider
Your current marketing, technology, and internal resources
The business goals behind each marketing investment

This discovery may involve conversations with business owners and key staff, reviewing existing marketing materials, examining customer inquires, and studying current business performance. The goal is to understand not only what you sell, but also how customers choose you and what happens after they make contact.

That context leads to more realistic recommendations. A strategy designed for a national ecommerce retail company will not automatically fit a local construction business, real estate agent or restoration business.

The advantage of business specific marketing

When an agency like Marketing 4 Real Results knows your business inside and out, marketing can be more authentic and become more useful. Instead of relying on generic claims, the team can communicate the details customers actually care about:

What problems you solve
Who benefits most from your offer
What the process looks like to do business with you
What makes your approach different from your competitors
What action a prospective customer should take next

This understanding also helps an agency like Marketing 4 Real Results recognize when a recommended tactic does not fit. For example, increasing website traffic may not be the best priority if the business cannot respond to leads quickly. A campaign may need better qualification, clearer pricing guidance, or a stronger follow-up process first.

For strategic guidance before selecting services, visit M4RR Consulting .

How can one partner improve marketing consistency?

Consistency is easier when one team coordinates the customer experience across multiple channels. Your brand voice, visual identity, offers, and calls to action should make sense whether someone finds you through Google, a social post, an email, an advertisement, or a referral.

A connected agency like Marketing 4 Real Results can help align:

Website pages and landing pages
Google Business Profile and local search information
Social media content
Email campaigns and follow-up messages
Sales materials and lead forms
Advertising creative and offers

Consistency does not mean repeating the same message everywhere. It means reinforcing the same positioning while adapting the format to each channel. That makes the business easier to recognize and easier to trust.

Why is coordination important for SEO and lead generation?

SEO works best when it is connected to business goals. Ranking for a keyword is less useful if the resulting visitors are unlikely to become customers or if the page does not explain the next step clearly.

An integrated marketing partner like Marketing 4 Real Results can connect search visibility with conversion by reviewing:

Whether the target topic matches customer intent.
Whether the page answers the visitor’s question clearly.
Whether the offer fits the audience and service area.
Whether the call to action is easy to find.
Whether inquiries are tracked and followed up consistently.

This is especially important for small businesses with limited budgets. A connected plan helps prioritize the pages, campaigns, and customer journeys most likely to support practical growth. See the SEO resources for more guidance on search visibility.

What are the benefits of using one marketing partner?

The best reason to use a one stop marketing agency is not convenience alone. It is the ability to make coordinated decisions with a partner that understands the full picture of your business.

Fewer handoffs

You spend less time briefing multiple vendors, comparing recommendations, and resolving gaps between responsibilities.

Clearer priorities

An agency can help distinguish between urgent needs, useful improvements, and activities that can wait. This keeps the plan connected to available budget and capacity.

Stronger brand continuity

The same understanding guides your website, content, campaigns, and customer communications.

Better institutional knowledge

As the relationship develops, the agency learns what has worked, what has not, and how your business makes decisions. That knowledge can improve future planning.

Easier measurement

When related activities are managed together, it is easier to review the path from visibility to inquiry to customer conversation.

When should you consider a one stop marketing agency?

This model may be a good fit if:

Marketing tasks are scattered across several people or vendors.
Your website, branding, or messaging feels inconsistent.
You are unsure which marketing activity deserves your next investment.
Leads come in, but follow-up or tracking is unreliable.
You want a long-term partner rather than one off production.
Your business is growing and marketing needs to become more organized.

It may not be necessary to outsource everything immediately. A thoughtful agency should help identify the right starting point and build from there.

How do you choose the right marketing agency?

Look for a partner that asks detailed questions before recommending a solution. Understands your business and during an initial conversation, asks:

How will you learn about our business and customers?
How do you connect strategy with execution?
Which services do we need first, and why?
How will progress be measured?
Who will manage communication and approvals?
Can the plan change as our business changes?

Pay attention to whether the agency listens, explains its reasoning, and acknowledges their limitations. A good fit should understand your goals without promising guaranteed rankings, instant results, or a universal formula.

You can start a conversation through M4RR’s contact page or submit a project inquiry .

A practical way to get started

Begin with a focused assessment rather than trying to launch every service at once. Share your business goals, best customers, current challenges, sales process, and existing marketing assets. Then ask the agency to recommend a priority sequence.

A practical first phase might include:

Clarifying positioning and core messages
Reviewing the website and customer journey
Identifying high-value SEO and local search opportunities
Improving lead capture and follow-up
Establishing a simple measurement plan
An outline of priorities

The right sequence depends on your business. A new company may need foundational branding and a website. An established company may need better conversions, visibility, or campaign coordination.

Key takeaway

A one stop marketing agency like Marketing 4 Real Results can help small and midsize businesses replace disconnected marketing with a coordinated plan. The greatest benefit comes from working with a team that understands your business, customers, sales process, and growth goals not from collecting the most services.

Start by identifying the biggest barrier between your business and its next opportunity. Then choose a partner that can explain what to prioritize, connect the work across multiple channels, and measure progress honestly.

With the right relationship, marketing becomes easier to manage, more consistent, and more closely aligned with the way your business actually operates.

4 Reasons To Shift Your Retail Strategy

Thu, 07 May 2026 00:33:00 GMT

At Marketing 4 Real Results ( M4RR ), we’ve spent years helping Sherman Oaks business owners and SMBs nationwide bridge the gap between “being online” and driving revenue for their businesses.

Although the marketing strategy varies for every business with considerations for, culture, value proposition, the number of years in business, the number of team members and marketing budget, there are many factors that are similar.

If you’re a retailer who has traditionally relied on Amazon as your primary search engine to drive sales, the ground is shifting in a big way.

Below we’ve listed the top 3 reasons Amazon is losing grip on the search journey and what your small business should do to stay competitive.

1. No more “Search & Scroll” now “Ask & Act

Amazon was built for keywords, but today’s customers are using AI Answer Engines. So instead of typing “ best pillows ” into a search bar and scrolling past five rows of advertisements, they are asking AI: “I need eco-friendly pillows for a 5,000 sq. ft. house in Sherman Oaks” or “What’s the most cost-effective local option?”

Amazon is still number one at fulfillment, but is currently struggling to provide these nuanced, conversational answers.

To learn more about AEO , you can tell us about your project here .

2. Trust Gap: Ads vs. Authenticity

The M4RR Approach: We believe in Customer-Centric Marketing. While Amazon prioritizes the highest bidder, AI Engines prioritize E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). This process is about building online authority, quantitative and qualitative data, and localized SEO efforts, not just a ppc budget.

3. The Rise of Visual and Social Discovery

For baby boomer shoppers the #1, “search” starts on Google.

Visual Search: Someone sees a style they love, snaps a photo with Google Lens, and expects to find the source instantly.
Social Search: Gen Z and Millennials, treat social media like a search engine also, seeking answers on reddit.

4. The Strategy Advantage

However, by moving your “search” focus to a tailored, SEO -focused website and a strong CRM- driven email strategy, the goal is to own the relationship and currently Amazon doesn’t.

Strategy for Real Results: Your AEO Checklist

If you’re ready to move beyond the Amazon search bar, here is how we help our SMB partners pivot:

Own Your Data: Don’t let Amazon own your customer list. Use Email and Text Marketing to stay top-of-mind with your target audience. If you need certified prospect lists, contact us here .
Optimize for Natural Language: Write content that answers the real questions that your customers ask during a consultation. Contact us for help here .
Focus on Impact: We help you define your Unique Value Proposition and target audiences so you don’t have to compete in a “race to the bottom” on a marketplace grid.

Request a Free Consultation at m4rr.com or call 818.824.4479

The post 4 Reasons To Shift Your Retail Strategy appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Nia S Pearson Featured in Copybrighters

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:32:00 GMT

The M4RR Playbook: Focused Action, Strategic Planning, and the Spirit of Entrepreneurship

Recently, our founder, Nia Pearson , sat down with CopyBrighters to discuss the intersection of entrepreneurship, marketing strategy and staying driven.

The interview highlights the core philosophy that Nia has used to build Marketing 4 Real Results ( M4RR) , that can be strategically applied to scale any business.

KEY TAKEAWAY

Whether you are building a new brand or looking to scale your business to reach a wider target audience , consider M4RR’s playbook: strategy, planning, and systems with clearly defined targeting, actions, timelines, costs, and revenue.

Is your business is ready for growth and in need of a strategic overhaul? Contact M4RR today for a consultation to review your path to success.

The post Nia S Pearson Featured in Copybrighters appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Is Your POS System a Silent Profit Killer?

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:08:00 GMT

In the fast-paced world of AI , your retail Point of Sale (POS) system is the heartbeat of your business. It’s where every transaction happens, where inventory is tracked, and where your customer data is born and lives.

Why a Free Audit is Your Best Business Move

For many business owners, that “heartbeat” is actually a slow leak.

If you haven’t looked closely at your merchant statements or tech efficiency lately, you might be losing a significant percentage of your hard-earned revenue to outdated hardware and “vampire” fees.

Here are three ways to tell if your system is draining your profits, and how to fix it for free.

1. Red Flags of an Outdated POS

Technology moves fast. If your system is more than three years old, you’re likely dealing with issues that should be resolved:

Hidden Processing Fees: Many providers “bundle” rates that look low on paper but include sneaky surcharges for certain card types.
Slow Checkout Times: A three-second lag might not seem like much, but during a lunch rush or a holiday sale, it can lead to abandoned carts and frustrated customers.
Lack of Integration: If your POS doesn’t talk to your accounting software, such as Quickbooks or inventory management, you’re losing hours of labor to manual data entry.

2. Efficiency = Revenue

A modern POS isn’t just a digital cash register; it’s a revenue engine . Modern upgrades allow for:

Contactless & Mobile Payments: Meeting customers where they are (Apple Pay, Google Wallet, etc.).
Advanced Analytics: Knowing exactly which products are your “loss leaders” versus your “high-margin heroes.”
Cloud Access: Checking your sales data from your phone while you’re at home or on the go.
Integrated Marketing: At Marketing 4 Real Results , we work with our retail clients to help them boost their marketing efficiency by capturing customer data at the point of sale. This allows them to launch automated email and text marketing campaigns that drive repeat business with zero additional effort. Learn more about how we can help you scale your business, schedule a free audit here.

3. Why our “Free Audit” is a Game Changer

Most business owners avoid switching systems because the process feels overwhelming.

This is exactly why we’ve partnered with Fintech 5 .

Fintech 5, provides a comprehensive, zero-cost audit of your current POS system setup. They don’t just look at the hardware, they will dive into your merchant statements to identify where you are being overcharged.

If your current system is the best fit, they’ll tell you. But if there’s any way to save you thousands of dollars per year and modernize your workflow, they’ll show you exactly what that looks like with no obligation to make changes.

Stop Guessing & Start Growing.

You wouldn’t let a leak in your roof go unfixed, so don’t let a leak in your revenue continue.

It’s time to ensure your technology is working as hard as you are.

#POSSystem #SmallBusinessGrowth #Fintech5 #RevenueOptimization #Marketing4RealResults

The post Is Your POS System a Silent Profit Killer? appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

5 R’s Of Marketing

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 20:47:00 GMT

Your Roadmap to Real Results in Sherman Oaks.

In the current economy, it’s easy to get lost in the complex glamour of success. Keep in mind that vanity metrics and what your competitors are doing should not be the focus on your marketing.

Therefore, at Marketing 4 Real Results , we help our clients to focus on the fundamentals of marketing that will grow their business. Placing a high focus on being authentic, consistent and intentional.

The Importance of a Marketing Mindset

To achieve Real Results, SMBs (Small to Mid-Size Businesses) should embrace a sales and marketing alignment mindset.

This focus can ensure that your core value proposition is not just a marketing slogan.

Therefore, since your “service” is your expertise, your time, and your reputation, the 5 R’s of Marketing aren’t just concepts to know, they are your framework.

What Are The 5 R’s of Marketing

Recognition, Relevance, Reward, Relationships and Real Results, can transform your local service into a community staple.

Recognition: Become More Than a Logo

In a service business, Recognition is about mental real estate.

When someone in Sherman Oaks needs a realtor, plumber, a personal trainer, or a consultant, you want your name to be the first one that pops up.

Top-of-Mind Awareness: This process requires consistency across your entire digital footprint. This can be a wrapped vehicle, your Instagram stories, and most importantly your Google Profile.

Relevance: Solve Problems

You can be the most recognizable service business in the San Fernando Valley, California, but if you don’t address a seasonal or common local issue you may not get the call.

Hyper-Local Focus : If you’re a Contractor, Realtor or Consultant, relevance means talking about the specific aspects of your service that a prospective client will need to know. Having a seasonal focus helps.

Reward: Value Beyond Payment

For every service business, the Reward isn’t just about doing the job right, it’s more about the experience of your clients.

The “Ease” Factor: A seamless booking process or a follow-up “thank you” note acts as a reward.

Relationships: The Forever Service

“Real Results” happen when the sale doesn’t end at the invoice. A Relationship transforms a one-time client into a lifelong brand advocate.

Nurture: Stay connected with your clients through helpful tips. Remind them to stretch before and after exercise—to maintain a bond beyond the transaction.

Real Results: The Reliability Foundation

Reliability is the “R” that proves, your reputation is built on doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it. As an agency we focus on real results to elevate our clients to the next level.

Consistency Matters : Whether it’s arriving on time or maintaining the same high quality of work throughout the entire process, reliability turns a one-time win into a revenue stream standard.

Why the 5 R’s Matter for SMB’s

When you align your service strategy with these five pillars of marketing, you stop “guessing” and start strategically growing.

At Marketing 4 Real Results , we specialize in strategy, planning and systems, which includes weaving the 5 R’s of marketing into every campaign to ensure your service isn’t just seen, you are hired.

To accomplish success, having a marketing plan is crucial to ensure a neighbor in Sherman Oaks that needs your specific service, your name is the first they recall.

5-Week “Real Results” Campaign

Week 1: Recognition

Action Step: Launch a “Meet the Team” social media series to put a local face to your brand.

Week 2: Relevance

Action Step: Send a targeted email or post a blog on your website addressing a specific and current problem that your Sherman Oaks clients could be currently facing.

Week 3: Real Results

Action Step: Share a “Case Study’ or that demonstrates your consistent performance.

Week 4: Reward

Action Step: Send a “Thank You” reward to your top 10 clients from the past year. Run contest campaigns.

Week 5: Relationships

Action Step: Host a small local “appreciation” event or start a monthly “Insider” newsletter to stay connected with your clients and prospects.

Furthermore, to achieve Real Results in the ever-shifting Sherman Oaks, California market, your business can embrace a holistic ecosystem built on 5 R’s: Recognition, Relevance, Real Results , Reward , and Relationships .

However, at Marketing 4 Real Results , we align your core email marketing , social media , and advertising efforts under a rigorous framework of strategy, planning, and systems designed to keep you organized and proactive.

Navigating the modern service economy requires a nimble mindset that aligns your strategy to business goals while meeting environmental changes.

Moreover, by integrating this high-touch 5 P’s marketing system, your business in the best possible position for success. Need marketing help, tell us about your project here.

The post 5 R’s Of Marketing appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Empowering the Next Generation

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 18:39:00 GMT

Nia S. Pearson and the Baron Jay Foundation Launch a 6 Week Program at Grace Hopper STEM Academy

Tuesday, January 27th, 2026 a unique kind of magic was launched, when corporate expertise met community heart. That magic is taking center stage in Inglewood, California .

Nia S. Pearson , a serial entrepreneur and active board member of the Baron J Foundation, spearheaded a transformative 6-week program at Grace Hopper Stem Academy with Baron J Littleton Jr and Dr. C Francis.

As CEO and Founder of Marketing 4 Real Results and the visionary behind the wellness brand Love 4 Essentials , Nia is no stranger to building brands from the ground up. Now, she’s bringing that same “results-driven” mindset to the classroom.

Working alongside the Baron Jay Foundation , where Nia serves as a dedicated and active board member, this initiative is designed to bridge the gap between STEM education and real-world career readiness.

Impact in Inglewood: The 6-Week Journey

The program at Grace Hopper STEM Academy focuses on:

Entrepreneurial Mindset: Teaching students how to view challenges as opportunities.
Marketing Principles: Understanding how to package ideas, tell stories and communicate effectively, all skills that Nia holds at a very high regard.
Real Estate Fundamentals: Introducing the power of tangible assets. Students will learn how real estate ownership serves as a cornerstone for building generational wealth.

AI/STEM Integration: Showing how technology and marketing intersect in the modern workforce.
Personal Wellness: Drawing from the philosophy of Love 4 Essentials , emphasizing that a strong mind and body are essential for any “CEO” in the making.

Why It Matters

For the students in Inglewood, having a board member like Nia S. Pearson physically present in the school, makes a world of difference. It transforms “success” from an abstract concept into a tangible reality.

The Baron Jay Foundation has long been a pillar of support for underserved youth, and with Nia’s marketing power and wellness-focused leadership, this 6-week program is setting a new standard for how we prepare the next generation.

Follow the Journey

As the program progresses and black history month begins additional speakers will join the workshops.

A key part of this initiative is ensuring that Black history is accessible beyond the classroom. To support this, the Baron Jay Foundation has a curated set of Black History books available for sale.

These books are a vital resource for families and educators, offering a comprehensive look at the figures and movements that shaped our world.

How You Can Help:

If you are moved by the work being done at Grace Hopper STEM Academy and want to support the foundation’s ongoing efforts to provide scholarships and educational programming, there are two impactful ways to contribute:

Purchase the Black History Book Set: Empower your own household or gift a set to a local library or family here.
Make a Donation: Your tax deductible financial contributions directly fund programs that provide mentorship and STEM resources to students in Inglewood and beyond. Donate here.

Want to learn more about Nia’s work?

Marketing Solutions: Marketing 4 Real Results
Wellness & Activewear: Love 4 Essentials
Community Impact: Baron Jay Foundation

True to her own advice, Nia remains committed to “constant improvement.” Whether she’s consulting for a high-level firm or teaching students about Black history, her focus is always on”results”.

The post Empowering the Next Generation appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

3 Ways to Grow Your Business with an AI Focus

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:22:00 GMT

My objective in this blog post is to help our audiences of small businesses in the vertical markets of real estate , cleaning and restoration , retail to stay visible by moving from “ranking #1” to “being the answer.”

While traditional SEO gets you indexed a combination of the three elements of generative engine optimization ( GEO ), user generated content ( UGC ) and short form videos, will help you focus your marketing activities for 2026.

Keep in mind, nothing has changed from a foundational perspective on marketing planning such as the importance of small businesses to have in place strategy, planning and systems.

What has changed since AI is at the forefront of digital marketing is updating the framework for your strategy with a focus on 3 major strategic pillars that will drive visibility and trust.

The 3 key marketing activities:

Watch a quick YouTube short video here .

Generative Engine Optimization ( GEO ): Strengthening your brand’s presence in AI-driven search results by providing structured, authoritative data that generative engines prioritize.
User Generated Content ( UGC ): Leveraging authentic customer experiences and testimonials to build social proof and foster community trust.
Short Form Videos: Capturing attention through high-energy, concise video content designed for rapid engagement across social platforms.

Go Beyond the Search Bar

If 2025 was the year we started talking about AI , 2026 is the year we stop talking and start implementing . The “wait and see” era is officially over. Today, growing your business isn’t just about being found; it’s about being the trusted answer across a fragmented digital landscape.

As we navigate this new era together, the three clear pillars outlined above, will separate the businesses that thrive from those that merely survive.

Whether you’re a realtor in Los Angeles, a contractor in Texas, or a service provider anywhere in the US, we highly recommend you double down on these three areas.

Short-Form Video: The New “Storefront”

In 2026, your “About Us” page isn’t a block of text; it’s a 45-second video about who you are, what you do and an example of how you do it.

Short-form videos is no longer just for Gen Z and Millennials. This is now the primary way consumers vet your personality and expertise before they ever pick up the phone.

For Realtors: No more static post “Just Listed” photos.
- Instead, create a “3 Things I Love (and 3 Things I Hate) About This Neighborhood, Listing etc.” video. Right now, authenticity wins over polished professional videos.
For Contractors: No more just showing the finished kitchen.
- Instead, show the 5-second “ugly middle” of the demolition followed by the transformation. This builds trust and shows proof of hard work and results.

Nia’s Growth Tip: Repurpose one 60-second video into a YouTube Short or Instagram or Facebook Reel or both to maximize your reach. Check out my example here .

User-Generated Content ( UGC ): Social Proof

Traditional ads are facing a massive trust deficit. In 2026, your prospects and customers are your best marketers. UGC, is content that is created by your clients instead of posted by you or your business.

The Strategy: Incentivize your clients to film a quick video of your service.
For Service Businesses: If you’re a carpet cleaner or a restorer, ask the client to film a 10-second clip of them walking onto their “new” floors or into their “new” kitchen.
Why it works: It’s raw, it’s real, and it bypasses the “skepticism filter” that most consumers have for corporate-produced content.

GEO & AEO: Winning the “Zero-Click” Search

This is the biggest shift of 2026. We are moving from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) .

People are no longer just typing keywords into Google; they are asking Gemini and ChatGPT, questions like, “Who is the most reliable “fill in your service” near me?” If your data isn’t structured to be an “answer,” you don’t exist to the new prospect.

How to Optimize for AEO (Answer Engine Optimization):

AEO is about being the direct answer to a specific question.

Real Estate Example: Create a list of FAQs titled “ What are the closing costs for a $1m home in [your city, your state]? “ Be sure to use clear, bold headers and provide the answer in the first 50 words.
Contractor Example: Write a blog post: “ How long does a bathroom remodel take after water damage ?” Breakdown the timeline in a bulleted list. AI engines love lists because they are easy to “scrape” and present as a direct answer.

The GEO Edge:

To win in Generative Engine Optimization , you need citations. AI models look for brand mentions across the web to verify you are a “real result.”

Action Step: Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone) is identical on your website, Google Business Profile , and local chamber of commerce directories. The more “nodes” of consistent information the AI finds, the more likely it is to recommend you.

Building Your Marketing “Strength”

Scaling in 2026 requires more than just a “post and pray” mentality. It requires the Strength to be consistent and the agility to adapt to how people actually find information today.

At Marketing 4 Real Results , we focus on these technical foundations so you can focus on what you do best, serving your clients.

If you are ready to take your business to AEO-ready for 2026? Schedule a FREE audit of your website here .

To scale going forward your small business must adapt to the new digital reality where AI-driven answers and authentic social proof dictates market share.

About Nia S. Pearson & Marketing 4 Real Results ( M4RR )

Nia S. Pearson is a senior marketing consultant and CEO of Marketing 4 Real Results a full-service strategic marketing agency based in Sherman Oaks, California established in 2015.

Nia has over a decade of B2B & B2C, corporate and entrepreneurial marketing experience. She helps small businesses with consulting and implementation in the restoration, real estate, and retail sectors to align their sales objectives with marketing tactics to achieve measurable success.

#BusinessGrowth2026 #NiaSPearson #Marketing4RealResults #GEO #UGC #ShortFormVideo #AEO #SmallBusinessMarketing #M4RR

The post 3 Ways to Grow Your Business with an AI Focus appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Nia S. Pearson Featured in VoyageLA!

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 18:02:00 GMT

We are proud to announce that our founder, Nia S. Pearson , has been featured in VoyageLA .

The article highlights Nia’s journey in building Marketing 4 Real Results, (M4RR) and her unique approach to combining strategic business growth with personal discipline.

At M4RR , we believe that “optimal efficiency through focused action” is the key to scaling any business. Whether we are building a brand foundation or helping a client reach their target audience, we apply the same playbook, strategy, planning and systems with personal passion and consistency that Nia brings to every facet of her professional life.

Highlights:

Brand Vision: Seeing a client’s face when they realize their brand is finally speaking the same language as their vision.
Success: It’s all about focused strategy, planning and systems to build a foundation that lasts and outperforms your competitors.
Wellness: Why physical and mental strength is the engine that powers professional growth.

Quote from Nia:

“My journey has always been fueled by two things: a love for results and a passion for people.” -NIA S.PEARSON

[Click here to read the full “Hidden Gems” feature]

#marketingagency #niaspearson #shermanoaksca #losangeles #voyagela #smallbusiness #smallbusinessstrategy #marketing #marketingusa

The post Nia S. Pearson Featured in VoyageLA! appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Capsule CRM & Marketing 4 Real Results Partnership

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 15:54:00 GMT

We’re thrilled to announce a dynamic new partnership that will bring together the strengths of Capsule CRM and Marketing 4 Real Results , to create a powerful synergy designed to fuel business growth for small and mid-sized businesses.

What This Partnership Means

This collaboration unites Capsule’s intuitive, easy-to-use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform with the strategic, results-driven expertise of Marketing 4 Real Results Strategic Marketing Agency, based in Sherman Oaks, California.

An Enhanced Customer Experience

Seamless Integration of Data and Strategy: Marketing campaigns designed by Marketing 4 Real Results will be directly informed by the rich customer data stored within Capsule CRM .
Actionable Insights: The combined offering will provide a 360-degree view of the customer journey, from initial lead generation (marketing) right through to deal closure and ongoing service (CRM).
Maximized ROI: By aligning marketing spend with robust CRM tracking, small businesses can ensure every dollar is focused on high-potential leads and improving customer lifetime value. This drives true “real results” at a lower cost of acquisition.

“This partnership is a game-changer for our clients,” says Nia S. Pearson the CEO of Marketing 4 Real Results . “By leveraging the simplicity and power of Capsule CRM, we can create hyper-targeted strategies that deliver measurable growth.”

Looking Ahead: Simplified Success

The goal of this partnership is to create an easy-to-use sales and marketing process that is effective for growing small businesses across the vertical markets we service: Real Estate, Cleaning & Restoration, Legal, Education and Retail.

Key Features of Capsule CRM

Capsule is built to centralize your business information and streamline your sales process without unnecessary complexity.

1. Contact Management (The Core)

360° View: A single record for every contact and organization that houses all related activity, including notes, files, emails, tasks, and sales opportunities.
Email Integration: Seamlessly log emails from Gmail or Outlook into the contact record using the provided add-ins or by forwarding emails to your unique Capsule dropbox address (BCC functionality).
Customization: Use Custom Fields and Tags to organize and segment your contacts based on criteria unique to your business (e.g., industry, service level, product interest).

2. Sales Pipeline Management

Visual Sales Pipeline (Kanban): Track your opportunities through a customizable, visual pipeline using a drag-and-drop interface. This gives you a clear, immediate view of your sales process.
Custom Milestones: Easily tailor the pipeline stages to match your actual sales process for different products or services.
Sales Analytics & Forecasting: Get a clear dashboard view of your pipeline value, conversion rates, and forecasts to help you make data-driven decisions.

3. Task and Project Management

Unified Tasks & Calendar: Create tasks directly linked to contacts, opportunities, or projects. Tasks are organized by deadline and can be viewed in a list or calendar format.
Tracks (Automation): Create repeatable sets of tasks (like a checklist or template) for standard processes, such as customer onboarding, service delivery, or renewals. This ensures consistency and improves efficiency.
Project Boards (Higher Plans): Dedicated boards to manage post-sale activities or complex client delivery projects, keeping all project-related communication in one place.

4. Team Collaboration and Efficiency

Sharing and Permissions: Assign ownership of contacts and opportunities, delegate tasks, and ensure everyone on the team has access to the most current customer data.
Mobile App: Full functionality on iOS and Android, allowing your team to access and update customer information on the go—a great feature for sales and service staff.
Reporting: Simple, yet powerful reports on sales activity, task completion, and performance metrics to help you monitor team efficiency and sales health.

5. Connectivity and Integrations

Robust Integrations: Capsule connects seamlessly with some of the most popular business tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Xero, QuickBooks, and Zapier.
Marketing Integration: The recent partnership will especially leverage their integration with marketing tools (like their own email marketing platform, Transpond, or the expertise of Marketing 4 Real Results) for targeted campaigns.

Capsule’s main appeal is its ease of use and fast adoption rate, making it an excellent platform for small businesses that prioritize an organized customer view and a streamlined accountability and sales process.

Key Benefits of Capsule CRM

By combining the power of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system with marketing automation strengths is the foundation of a modern, efficient sales process.

Smarter Campaigns: Marketing informed by real-time CRM data.
Unified View: A complete 360° understanding of every customer journey.
Real ROI: Focused strategy to maximize conversions and customer lifetime value.

Here are 4 strong sales process ideas to leverage CRM and marketing strengths:

Prospect/Customer Management

This is the most critical step for aligning your sales cycle.

Lead Capture: All leads (from website forms, landing pages, paid ads, events) flow directly into the CRM and the marketing automation platform simultaneously.
Lead Scoring: The marketing platform automatically scores leads based on their engagement (website visits, content downloads, email opens/clicks, etc.). The CRM displays this real-time lead score .
“Sales-Ready” Threshold (MQL to SQL): Marketing and Sales agree on the specific lead score and behavioral triggers that automatically change a lead’s status from a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) to a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) in the CRM.
Sales Notification: When the SQL threshold is met, the system automatically triggers a task or notification for the assigned Sales Rep in the CRM. This ensures a fast “speed to lead”, which is proven to increase conversion rates significantly.

Personalized Marketing

Behavior-Driven Drip Campaigns: If a prospect gets lost in the sales pipeline, the Capsule CRM will trigger a marketing automation workflow to send targeted, non-sales content (case studies, infographics and educational videos) that are relevant to their current stage or previously tracked interests.
Sales Context Personalization: Marketing emails can automatically be sent from the assigned person/sales rep’s name and email address, using data pulled from the CRM.
Segmentation: The CRM data on purchase history, product usage, and support tickets allows for creating segments for cross-sell and upsell campaigns.

360-Degree Customer View

Break down the silos between Marketing and Sales data.

Centralized Interaction Log: The Capsule CRM becomes the single source of truth, logging every interaction:
- Marketing data: Email open/click history, website pages visited, whitepapers downloaded.
- Sales data: Call logs, meeting notes, email exchanges, and deal progress.
Sales Enablement with Marketing Collateral: Sales People can access and send the most recent, most effective marketing collateral (presentations, price sheets) directly from the CRM, ensuring they use consistent, on-brand messaging. The system can even track if the prospect opens the document.
Closed-Loop Reporting: Connect the final revenue/deal-closed data from the CRM back to the Marketing automation system to determine which specific marketing campaigns, channels, and content drove the highest-quality leads and ultimately resulted in revenue . This makes Marketing ROI visible and informs future marketing strategy.

Automation

Automated Task Creation: The CRM automatically creates follow-up tasks for Sales Reps based on Marketing triggers (e.g., “Lead just watched a product demo video; call within 1 hour”).
Workflow for Data Integrity: Automate tasks like checking for duplicate entries or updating contact information based on form submissions, ensuring clean and accurate data for both teams.
Win/Loss Analysis Trigger: Once a deal is won or lost in the CRM, it can trigger an automated post-sale or re-engagement marketing survey or campaign to gather feedback and nurture the lost lead back into the funnel.

If you would like to learn more about specific use cases for implementing Capsule CRM? Connect with us or call 818.824.4479 to schedule a FREE Consultation.

The post Capsule CRM & Marketing 4 Real Results Partnership appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

🚀 Why Small Business Owners Shouldn’t Ignore Tech and Economic Trends

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 02:18:00 GMT

As a small business owner, you’re a master juggler. You manage inventory, handle customer service, drive sales, and probably fix the leaky faucet in the back, if needed during your lunchtime.

With so much on your plate, it’s tempting to put off keeping up with “big-picture” factors like new technology and global economics.

But here’s the reality from Marketing 4 Real Results : your competitive edge, and perhaps your very survival as a small business, depends on staying current on rapidly evolving technological and economic factors.

Ignoring these shifts isn’t just risky; it’s a guaranteed way to lose ground to competitors who are paying attention. If you have not hired Marketing 4 Real Results, as your outsourced USA based marketing team, here are a few factors to consider for your small business.

The Tech Tsunami: Adopt, Adapt, or Drown

Technology moves at breakneck speed, and it’s no longer just for Silicon Valley giants. Today’s technology tools have completely leveled the playing field, making them critical for efficiency , marketing , and customer experience .

To be clear, you will not need to embrace all technology changes, just the ones that can have the most advantageous positive impact on your growth.

Small businesses often run lean. New technologies like AI-powered tools, project management software, and cloud-based accounting systems are a few examples of ways to automate repetitive tasks.

The Benefit: By adopting a new CRM or an AI assistant for basic customer queries, you will free up hours of time. This means less time on data entry and more time on building relationships.
The Danger of Ignorance: Consider the possibility that all your competitors are lowering their operational costs and speeding more time with customer facing activities. We don’t think you have to kick out all the old, but we do want you to be aware of ways to stay competitive.

The way customers find and interact with your business is constantly evolving. Staying current on technology ensures your message reaches the right people at the right time and reviewing marketing insights from month to month.

Must-Monitor Tech: Social Media insights, website traffic and any SEO algorithm changes. For example, knowing how to leverage personalized email campaigns based on prospect/customer data can be a real game-changer.
The Danger of Ignorance: Missing a shift in social media trends or a major Google algorithm update can make your entire online presence invisible overnight. In the digital age, it’s important to do this work yourself, or hire an agency, like Marketing 4 Real Results to do this work for you.

With all the talk about new tools, it’s easy to overlook security. Modern technology is not just about features, it’s also about privacy and protection.

The Benefit: Keep your operating systems and software updated provides crucial cybersecurity patches. This protects your business and, more importantly, your customers’ sensitive data.
The Danger of Ignorance: Outdated software is a sitting duck for cyberattacks, which can lead to costly downtime and a devastating loss of trust.

Economic Headwinds: Prepare for the Unpredictable

You might not control global markets, but you must understand them. Economic factors influence the decision-making process and cost to do business.

The cost of money and materials directly impacts your profit margins and growth plans.

Inflation: Tracking the Consumer Price Index ( CPI ) helps you anticipate rising costs for supplies and labor. This allows you to strategically adjust your pricing or find alternative suppliers before your margins are completely squeezed.
Interest Rates: Monitoring central bank interest rates is crucial if you rely on business loans for inventory or expansion. Higher rates make borrowing more expensive, which might mean shelving that big expansion plan until rates stabilize.
The Benefit: Proactive financial planning based on economic forecasts gives you a resilient financial foundation.

Economic confidence and consumer behavior are two sides of the same coin. A looming recession or a surge in consumer confidence changes your prospects/customers’ priorities.

The Indicator: A change in the unemployment rate or consumer confidence index can signal whether your prospects/clients /customers are tightening their wallets or ready to spend.
The Adaption: If spending is down, it’s best to you might shift your marketing efforts to focus on value . If spending is up, it’s the perfect time to launch premium services/products.

Even a local business is part of a global supply chain and a national labor market.

Supply Chain: Global events can cause price spikes or delays. Knowing this helps you diversify your suppliers for critical items.
Labor Market: A low unemployment rate means you’ll have to offer competitive wages for services to keep top talent.

Key Takeaway: Flexibility is Your Greatest Asset

The mantra for the modern small business owner is simple: Flexibility is the path to scale.

By dedicating time weekly too best understand new technology and economic indicators, you are not you’re getting ahead of it.

Set aside time for professional development and reading industry news. Consider a Marketing Consultation with Marketing 4 Real Results .
Talk to your banker and accountant, they have their finger on the economic pulse.
Experiment with new, cost-effective technologies like AI tools or a new scheduling app to stay efficient. Keep in mind, no contracts, only sign up for month-to-month commitments, unless you absolutely must. Connect with Marketing 4 Real Results for a list of business vendors.

Your commitment will be rewarded with profitability, and a future-proof business that can weather any storm. Best of luck on your business journey!

“ Strategy, Planning and Systems are the best way to predict business growth”. – Nia S Pearson

If you are ready to embrace the changes of AI and streamline an efficient workflow, that focuses on customer lifetime value, contact Marketing 4 Real Results today for a comprehensive strategy session. Call 818.824.4479 or submit your project request here.

The post �� Why Small Business Owners Shouldn’t Ignore Tech and Economic Trends appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Social Proof is Power: The Importance of Client Reviews & Case Studies

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 02:15:00 GMT

In today’s crowded digital landscape, your word about your own business only goes so far. Consumers are doing a lot of research to find the best solution to their needs. What truly moves the needle is social proof, this is evidence from real, satisfied clients.

Every business is searching for real results, and client reviews and case studies aren’t just a nice-to-have; they are essential marketing assets. In this blog, we break down two forms of customer advocacy critical for growth, credibility, and conversion based on the success of our clients many vertical markets in the United States of America.

Client Reviews: Build Trust

Client reviews, are golden. Whether they’re 5 star ratings on Google, a short testimonial on your website, or detailed feedback on a third-party platform, these are all excellent ways to build your online reputation, often called ORM for online reputation management . This pertains to the digital version of a word-of-mouth recommendation, which is highly regarded by clients/consumers.

Before a prospect considers doing business with you, they are very likely looking to first trust you. According to a study conducted by BrightLocal , up to 98% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase. A significant majority of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation from a friend or family member. This instills immediate confidence.

2. Boosting Search Visibility ( SEO )

Search engines like Bing or Google use customer reviews as high-ranking signals. Businesses with a higher volume of positive reviews often see improved organic local search rankings that drives traffic and high-intent leads. This amount of advertising would cost thousands of dollars in advertising dollars to match. Also, keep in mind, the keywords that are used by your customers in their reviews also help your business appear in more relevant search results.

3. Increasing Conversions and Sales

Reviews are a direct decision-making tool. When a potential client/customer is viewing your service or product pages, positive feedback acts as the final nudge to make the purchase happen which is why we highly recommend adding reviews to your website and linking any online reviews directly to your website. High-quality reviews which targeted keywords can significantly boost your conversion rates because they directly address the buyer’s common doubts and potential questions. Keep in mind having a few reviews can dramatically increase your online visibility. Another important factor in how much boost your will get in conversions has to do with your competitors online position.

4. Gaining Invaluable Feedback

Even negative reviews serve a purpose! They provide genuine, actionable feedback that helps you identify and fix pain points in your service, product or customer experience experiences. When you publicly and politely respond to negative feedback, you show prospects that you are transparent, accountable, and committed to customer satisfaction, which also builds trust.

Case Studies: The Proof-of-Concept Powerhouse

While reviews are great for social proof and rapid trust-building, case studies offer a deeper, more detailed look at the results you deliver. These are a powerful mid-to-lower-funnel marketing tool, speaking directly to prospects who are serious about finding a solution.

A great case study follows a clear narrative arc:

The Challenge: Introduce the client and the specific, relatable problem they were facing.
The Solution: Detail the product, service, or strategy you implemented.
The Results: Showcase the measurable, tangible outcomes using hard data and metrics.

By putting the client as the hero and your business as the guide, prospects can easily see themselves in the story, visualizing the success you can deliver for them .

2. Provides Concrete, Measurable Evidence

Case studies move beyond subjective praise. They use quantifiable metrics—like a 75% increase in lead generation , a 30% reduction in operating costs , or a doubling of website traffic —to prove your value. This data-backed evidence is incredibly compelling to decision-makers, especially in B2B markets.

Case studies are invaluable tools for your sales team. A sales rep can use a relevant case study to directly address a prospect’s objections or demonstrate success in their specific industry. It moves the conversation from “What do you do?” to “Here is exactly how we solved a problem just like yours for a similar company.”

4. Positions You as an Industry Expert

Creating a detailed case study requires you to clearly articulate your unique approach and solution. By showcasing your ability to diagnose a complex problem and deliver a specific, successful outcome, you solidify your position as a thought leader and a trusted authority in your field.

The Takeaway for Real Results

Today, your customers can be your best sales people. By actively collecting and strategically showcasing both client reviews (for broad trust and SEO ) and detailed case studies (for specific proof and sales enablement), you create an airtight, compelling narrative that drives real business growth.

Your next action: Don’t just wait for reviews to appear. Implement a system to proactively request feedback from satisfied customers and start identifying your most successful clients to turn their win into your next powerful case study.

If you are ready to build your social proof, contact Marketing 4 Real Results today for a comprehensive marketing strategy session. You can reach us by calling, 818.824.4479 or by submitting your project request here.

This blog was written by Aamirah Gober and supported by AI software. Aamirah, is the Marketing Assistant and Content Manager at # Marketing 4 Real Results Sherman Oaks, CA Marketing Agency.

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Why Your Digital Presence is the Ultimate Driver for Real Results

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 02:12:00 GMT

In today’s market, your business doesn’t just compete on the high street or in the local services directory. It competes on the digital shelf, in the search results, and in the endless scroll of social media feeds. Your Digital Presence is not a ‘nice to have’, it is the modern-day storefront, reception area, and sales team rolled into one.

At Marketing 4 Real Results, we know that true growth comes from a unified, powerful online strategy. Here is a breakdown of the three non-negotiable pillars that create an effective digital presence and, more importantly, deliver real results .

Pillar 1: Your Home Base—Developing and Maintaining an Effective Website

Think of your website as your business’s permanent digital headquarters. It is the one asset you own entirely and control absolutely. A poorly built, outdated, or slow website doesn’t just look bad; it actively drives customers away.

Key Strategies for an Effective Website:

User-Centric Design ( UX )
- Your website must be easy to navigate, with a clear flow that guides visitors toward your key goals, whether that’s making a purchase, requesting a quote, or signing up for a newsletter.
Mobile-First Responsiveness
- If your site doesn’t load quickly on a smartphone, you may be losing a massive portion of your audience because search, Google or Bing prioritizes mobile-friendly sites in search rankings.
Clear Calls-to-Action ( CTAs )
- Don’t make people guess what to do next. Use prominent, action-oriented buttons like “Book a Consultation,” “Get a Free Quote,” or “Get Started Now.” These options guide your visitors from browsing to becoming a valuable lead or customer in the future.
Regular Maintenance and Security
- A functional website requires ongoing updates. This includes content updates, software security patches, and monitoring performance. An unmaintained site is vulnerable to security breaches and slow-downs, both of which erode customer trust.

Pillar 2: The Compass – Utilizing SEO for Visibility

A brilliant website is useless if no one can find it. That’s where Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ) comes in. SEO is the process of optimizing your site to rank higher in search engine results (like Google), making you visible exactly when a potential customer is looking for your products or services.

The Power of Being Found: Imagine a user searches for “ best real estate agent near me ” or “ emergency water restoration in Sherman Oaks, California .” If your business appears on the first page, you win the click, the lead, and the business. If you’re on page two or three, you are practically invisible.
Targeted Keyword Research: Effective SEO begins with understanding what your target audience is actually searching for. At Marketing 4 Real Results, we focus on identifying high-intent keywords, especially local SEO terms, to ensure your content directly addresses customer needs and captures local foot traffic or service inquiries.
Quality Content is King: Search engines reward websites that provide genuine value. This means creating helpful, authoritative, and trustworthy content (like blog posts, guides, or detailed service pages) that fully answers a user’s query. This naturally builds your authority and makes you a trusted resource online.
Technical Health: Beyond the content, SEO involves technical fixes like improving site speed, ensuring mobile-friendliness, and using proper structural data. A fast, clean website is non-negotiable for high rankings.

Pillar 3: The Conversation Starter—Managing an Active Social Media Presence

While your website is your home, social media is the bustling town square where conversations happen, relationships are built, and brand personality shines. A well-managed social media presence drives traffic to your website and cultivates a loyal community.

Know Your Audience, Pick Your Platform: You don’t need to be everywhere. Focus your energy on the 1-3 platforms where your ideal customer spends the most time. For B2B, that might be LinkedIn; for a visually-driven product, it’s likely Instagram or TikTok.
The 80/20 Rule of Content: Avoid using social media as a non-stop sales pitch. A good rule of thumb is 80% engaging, valuable, or entertaining content and only 20% promotional content. This builds trust and keeps followers from tuning you out.
Engagement is Everything: Social Media is a two-way street. Promptly responding to comments, replying to direct messages, and participating in industry-relevant conversations shows that you are an active, human brand. This consistent interaction builds lasting customer loyalty.
Content Consistency: A sporadic presence is just as damaging as no presence at all. Maintaining a regular posting schedule, even if it’s just a few high-quality posts a week, keeps your brand top-of-mind and signals to both customers and platform algorithms that you are actively invested.

The Takeaway for Real Results

Developing a dominant digital presence is a continuous cycle, not a one-time project. It requires a thoughtful investment in your website, a strategic approach to SEO , and consistent, authentic engagement on social media.

Stop viewing your digital assets as isolated tools. When the pillars of an effective website, focused SEO, and active social media work together, they form a powerful system that attracts, engages, and converts—delivering the real results your business needs to thrive.

If you are ready to build a digital presence that actually works, contact Marketing 4 Real Results today for a comprehensive strategy session. Call 818.824.4479 or submit your project request here.

The post Why Your Digital Presence is the Ultimate Driver for Real Results appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Don’t Hit Send Without It: The Email Marketing Checklist

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 15:33:00 GMT

From our vantage point here in Sherman Oaks, we see businesses of all sizes striving for one thing: real results. In the fast-paced world of AI and digital marketing, where every click counts, email marketing remains one of the most powerful and profitable marketing channels.

As competition for products and services continually increase, the stakes are higher than ever. If you own a business based in the United States, in some cases you are competition on a global scale which can be challenging without the proper marketing strategy, planning and systems.

Target Audiences are demanding more personalized value and authenticity, and a single mistake can damage your brand’s reputation and your bottom line.

This is where your email marketing checklist comes in. It’s not a suggestion; it’s an essential piece of your marketing toolkit offering both value and success. It’s the disciplined, systematic approach that ensures every email you send is a powerful, professional asset, not a potential liability.

Start with a pre-send email marketing checklist as your new best friend:

1. Prevent Embarrassing (and Costly) Mistakes.

The “undo” button doesn’t exist for email marketing. A broken link, a typo in a subject line, or a misconfigured personalization field can instantly undermine your credibility. A checklist acts as your final quality assurance pass, forcing you to double-check every critical element. Did you proofread the copy? Are all the links working and correctly tracked with UTM parameters? Does the mobile version of the email render correctly? Answering these questions before you hit send can save you from a major, irreversible brand faux pas.

2. Boost Deliverability and ROI.

In 2025, inbox providers are more sophisticated than ever. They analyze everything from your sender reputation to your content’s relevance to determine if your email belongs in the inbox or the spam folder. Your checklist should include best practices that directly impact deliverability, such as:

List Hygiene: Are you regularly removing unengaged subscribers?
Consent: Did every person on this list explicitly opt-in?
Compliance: Are you adhering to regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act?

By systematically checking these items, you increase the chances that your emails land where they belong: in the hands of your audience.

3. Ensure Consistency and Brand Integrity.

Your emails are a direct reflection of your brand. A checklist ensures every communication is on-brand, from the tone of the copy to the placement of your logo. It standardizes your process, so that regardless of who on your team is building the campaign, the final product is consistent and professional. This builds trust with your audience and reinforces your brand identity with every single send.

4. Forces You to Focus on Strategy, Not Just Tasks.

Before you even start writing, your checklist should include strategic questions: What is the single goal of this email? Is the audience segmented correctly? What’s the key call-to-action? By starting with strategy, you transform your email workflow from a series of disjointed tasks into a focused, results-driven process. This ensures every email has a purpose and a clear path to generating a measurable return.

5. Foundation for Continuous Improvement.

The marketing landscape is always changing. Your checklist isn’t a rigid document; it’s a living tool that evolves with your strategy. As you test new subject lines, optimize your send times, or experiment with different content formats, you can add those learnings to your checklist. This makes it a powerful tool for A/B testing and analysis, helping you refine your approach and consistently improve your email performance over time.

For a Sherman Oaks, California marketing agency like Marketing 4 Real Results, we focus our activity on producing real results. By having an email marketing checklist, you will have a foundation to your email marketing campaign success.

Small business owners should keep in mind that consistent, simple and small steps have the ability to deliver a tremendous marketing return . So, the next time you’re thinking about sending an email, take a deep breath, and run through your marketing checklist. (if you do not have a checklist, we can help). This is the most effective way to ensure your email marketing doesn’t just get sent, it gets your business real results.

The post Don’t Hit Send Without It: The Email Marketing Checklist appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Small Business Marketing Secret Weapon: The Humble Checklist

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 15:11:00 GMT

The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving into a more dynamic and complex environment.

From AI-driven analytics and automations to evolving government privacy regulations and new social media platforms, the marketing strategies that worked a year ago might already be outdated.

In this environment of constant change, how do you ensure that your marketing efforts aren’t just busy work, and instead focus on truly driving real results?

The answer is surprisingly simple: a marketing checklist .

It may sound like a basic, old-school tool, but there is no better way to achieve small business success except, a well-crafted marketing checklist . This is your secret weapon for success. It’s the blueprint that transforms chaotic ideas from various sources into a streamlined, high-performance revenue generating power engine for your business.

5 Reasons a marketing checklist is more important than ever:

1. Battles Information Overload. Every day, the increase of apps available, AI solutions and CRM platforms, Phone services come to market seeking our attention. We’re swimming in a sea of data and trends.

A marketing checklist forces you to cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters. It helps you prioritize high-impact activities, like optimizing for voice search or developing a targeted short-form video strategy, and ensures you don’t get sidetracked by fleeting fads. By creating a clear, actionable marketing list, you can ensure every action is aligned with your core business objectives.

2. Ensures Consistency and Quality. Your brand is built on consistency. A marketing checklist acts as a quality control system, ensuring every piece of content, every social media post, and every email marketing campaign is aligned with your brand guidelines and business objectives. (you should have a branding strategy)

Your marketing checklist can include simple but critical steps, such as font style, proofreading, checking for mobile-friendliness, and ensuring every post has a clear call-to-action. This is crucial for building the trust and credibility that turn one-time visitors into long-term customers.

3. Drives Data-Driven Decisions . The guesswork is over. In 2025, successful marketing is entirely data-driven. Your checklist should include key performance indicators (KPIs) and a reminder to regularly review your analytics. For every campaign, you should be able to check off tasks like “Set up conversion tracking,” “Monitor CTR and engagement,” and “Adjust strategy based on ROI.” This structured approach makes it impossible to ignore the numbers and ensures you’re constantly optimizing for what works.

4. Fosters Team Collaboration . For many businesses, marketing involves multiple people, from content creators and designers to ad specialists. A checklist provides a single source of truth for every project. It clearly assigns ownership for each task and defines what “done” looks like. This minimizes confusion, prevents missed steps, and keeps the entire team aligned and accountable, no matter how complex the campaign.

5. Future-Proofs Your Strategy. The marketing landscape will continue to evolve and competition will continue to come and go. Keep in mind that your marketing checklist isn’t a static document; it’s a living tool that you refine and update based on success and failures and the competitive landscape. (you should have a competitive analysis)

By regularly reviewing your marketing checklist and adding new steps such as integrating a new AI tool or automation that adjusts to the latest search algorithm changes or updating outdated steps, you ensure your marketing strategy remains relevant and effective.

At Marketing 4 Real Results we speak to hundreds of business owners monthly and we understand that busy work, lack of structure and hiring the wrong people are three factors that get in the way of business success.

To prevent stagnant growth from happening to your small business, we highly recommend you start with a FREE consultation from us before making the decision to outsource your marketing.

Keep in mind, that having a marketing checklist isn’t a luxury, it’s very necessary. Consider your marketing checklist as the day-to-day framework that every small business needs to provide the strength and structure to achieve real results.

So, before your next big marketing campaign, take the time to build your marketing list. This will transform your marketing efforts from a series of reactive tasks into a proactive, powerful marketing system that delivers tangible business growth.

The post Small Business Marketing Secret Weapon: The Humble Checklist appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The AI and Automation Playbook for Small Businesses

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 16:29:00 GMT

For small business owners across the United States, time is a precious commodity. Juggling the demands of family and business can feel like a constant balancing act.

You’re juggling everything from day-to-day operations to customer service, and finding the time to execute a truly effective digital marketing strategy can feel like an impossible task.

If you have not explored the benefits of working with an outsourced marketing team , to help you outperform your competition, and are managing all task in-house this blog will support your small business success.

This is where the power of AI and automation comes in, not to replace you, but to empower you to do more with less.

At Marketing 4 Real Results, we know that your marketing budget and time are limited as with all businesses. That’s why we’re focused on leveraging AI and automation to deliver a competitive advantage that’s both smart and scalable.

Here’s how these technologies are revolutionizing the digital marketing game for small businesses like yours.

Email Marketing: Building Relationships on Autopilot

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools for building customer loyalty and driving repeat business. With AI and automation, you can transform a basic email list into a dynamic, personalized communication channel.

Hyper-Personalization at Scale: Instead of sending the same generic email to your entire list, AI analyzes customer behavior—what they’ve clicked on, what they’ve purchased, and what they’ve browsed—to automatically create highly personalized content.

Imagine an email that recommends products a customer will genuinely love, or an offer that’s perfectly timed for their next purchase. This level of personalization drives higher open rates and conversions.

Automated Campaigns That Convert: Automation allows you to set up sophisticated email workflows that trigger based on customer actions. A new subscriber receives a welcome series, a customer who hasn’t purchased in a while gets a re-engagement offer, and a shopper who left items in their cart receives a friendly reminder.

These campaigns work around the clock, nurturing leads and driving sales without you lifting a finger.

Predictive Analytics for Optimal Timing: AI can analyze data to predict the best time to send an email to each individual on your list, ensuring your message lands in their inbox when they are most likely to open it.

Social Media: Creating a Buzz with Intelligence and Efficiency

Social media is essential for building brand awareness and connecting with your community, but it can be a significant time sink. AI and automation help small businesses maintain a strong social presence strategically and efficiently.

A key challenge for many businesses, especially small ones is understanding that social media is essential for building brand awareness and connecting with your community, but it can be a significant time sink. Chasing viral trends is a high-risk, high-reward game that can drain resources and often doesn’t lead to a tangible return on investment.

As a strategic marketing agency, we understand there’s a more strategic and efficient way to use social media that goes beyond the quest for viral fame. Leveraging social media for search engine optimization (SEO).

While social media doesn’t directly influence your search rankings on Google, its impact is powerful and indirect. It’s about building a digital ecosystem where social media supports and amplifies your website, creating a virtuous cycle of visibility and authority.

Here’s a breakdown of how to use social media as an SEO powerhouse without it becoming a time sink:

1. Social Media as a Search Engine

Don’t just think of Google as a search engine . Platforms like YouTube and Instagram are increasingly used by consumers to search for products, services, and information.

Optimize Your Profiles: Treat your social media profiles like you would a web page. Use relevant keywords in your bio, your “About Us” section, and your name. This makes it easier for potential customers to find you when they’re searching for specific terms on social platforms.
Create Keyword-Rich Content: Use keywords and hashtags strategically in your posts and videos. For example, if you’re a local realtor, a post about “best way to stage a home in Sherman Oaks” can help you appear in both social and traditional search results.

2. Driving High-Quality Traffic to Your Website

The more traffic your website gets from different sources, the more authority it signals to search engines like Google. Social media is an excellent way to drive this traffic.

Promote Your Content: Use your social channels to share your latest blog posts, guides, or videos. This gives your content a longer lifespan and increases the chances of it being discovered and linked to by others.
Link in Bios and Posts: Always include a link to your website, a specific landing page, or a recent piece of content in your social media bios and relevant posts. This directs your social media community to your digital home base, improving your site’s traffic and engagement metrics.

3. Building Brand Authority and E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)

Social media is a powerful tool for establishing your brand as a credible expert in your field. This is a crucial, though indirect, SEO ranking factor.

Consistent, Valuable Content: By consistently sharing helpful tips, industry insights, and educational content, you build trust with your audiences. When people see your brand as an authority, they are more likely to search for you by name, increasing your “branded search” traffic.
Encourage Backlinks: Content that performs well on social media (getting lots of shares, comments, and engagement) is more likely to be seen by bloggers, journalists, or other businesses who might then link back to it from their websites. These high-quality backlinks are a major ranking factor for SEO.

How to Do It Efficiently and Avoid the “Time Sink”

Focus on a Few Key Platforms: You don’t need to be everywhere. Choose the one or two social media platforms where your target audiences are most active and focus your efforts there.
Repurpose Your Content: Turn a single blog post into multiple social media assets. A single article can become a series of Instagram carousels, a few short video clips and several different posts for LinkedIn. This saves you from having to create brand new content every day and build on the content that resonates most with your target audiences.
Use Automation Tools: Leverage scheduling tools to plan and schedule your content in advance. This allows you to batch your social media workload and free up significant time to focus on relationship building, attending events and maintaining the financial prudency of your business.

By focusing on these strategic elements, you can turn social media from a time-consuming gamble on virality into a reliable engine for building brand awareness, driving website traffic, and boosting your long-term search engine visibility.

Smarter Content Creation: AI-powered tools can help you brainstorm content ideas, draft engaging captions, and even repurpose your blog posts into bite-sized social media snippets. This frees you from the daily grind of content creation, allowing you to focus on the big-picture strategy .
Data-Driven Targeting: AI is a game-changer for social media advertising. It can analyze audience data to identify your ideal customers and create highly targeted ad campaigns that reach the people most likely to be interested in your products or services. This means your advertising dollars go further, resulting in a higher return on investment.
Streamlined Management: Automation tools can handle the repetitive tasks, like scheduling posts at the optimal times for engagement, so you can maintain a consistent and active social media presence without being tied to your screen.

For a business, especially a small one, understanding and implementing Nia Pearson’s 3-step process Strategy , Planning , and Systems which has been shared across Construction , Real Estate and Retail is crucial because it provides a clear, actionable framework for growth.

This methodology moves a business beyond simply reacting to day-to-day challenges and instead focuses on building a stable, predictable, and scalable foundation for long-term success.

1. Strategy: The “What” and the “Why”

Strategy is the foundational step. It’s about defining your business’s overall purpose, vision, and long-term goals.

This is where a small business owner should determine their unique value proposition (UVP), this includes, identifying target audiences and performing a SWOT analysis analyzes to best understand the competitive landscape.

A strong strategy answers the below fundamental question:

What problem do you solve for your customers?
Who is your ideal customer?
Why should they choose you over a competitor?

1A – SWOT Analysis

1. Strengths (Internal, Positive)

What do we do exceptionally well?
- This question helps you pinpoint your company’s core competencies, unique advantages, and internal resources. It forces you to look inward and identify what truly sets you apart from the competition.

2. Weaknesses (Internal, Negative)

What areas do we need to improve?
- This question encourages an honest self-assessment of your business’s shortcomings. It could be anything from a lack of staff expertise, an outdated process, or a weak brand presence. Identifying these areas is the first step toward addressing them.

3. Opportunities (External, Positive)

What external trends can we leverage for growth?
- This question prompts you to look at the broader market and identify favorable external conditions. These could be new technologies, emerging market segments, or shifts in consumer behavior that your business can capitalize on.

4. Threats (External, Negative)

What external factors could harm our business?
- This question focuses on potential risks from outside your organization. It helps you prepare for challenges such as new competitors entering the market, changing government regulations like tariffs, or economic downturns.

5. Strategy (Connecting the Elements)

How can we use our strengths to capitalize on opportunities and minimize threats?
- While this is technically a synthesis question, it’s the most critical part of the analysis. It turns the SWOT framework from a simple list into a powerful strategic tool. By asking this, you move from mere analysis to actionable planning.

Keep in mind that without a clear strategy , your business is likely to drift, wasting time and resources on tactics that don’t align with its core purpose and resort to copying your competitors which is a dangerous and misleading business game to play.

For small businesses in competitive spaces, this is particularly important service or product development, should be focused and intentional.

2. Planning: The “How”

Planning is the bridge between the high-level strategy and daily operations. This step involves breaking down the long-term goals from the strategy phase into smaller, actionable weekly, monthly and annual steps with specific timelines and key performance indicators (KPIs).

Actionable Goals: A plan translates a strategic goal like “increase market share” into concrete tasks, such as “launch a new social media campaign in Q3″ or “develop a new service or product feature by year-end.”
Resource Allocation: Planning helps a small business owner allocate limited resources—time, money, and staff—effectively. It ensures that efforts are directed toward the most impactful activities that will drive the business toward its strategic objectives.

Planning is the detailed roadmap that prevents a business from getting lost on its journey. It provides a clear path forward and allows for progress to be measured and adjusted as needed.

3. Systems: The “Who” and the “When”

Systems are the operational framework that allows the plan to be executed consistently and efficiently. This step is about creating repeatable processes and protocols for every aspect of the business, from sales and customer service to accounting and marketing.

Repeatability and Scalability: Systems ensure that tasks are performed the same way every time, regardless of who is doing them. This is essential for a small business that wants to grow without its quality or efficiency suffering.
Automation: This step often involves using technology and software to automate routine tasks, such as email marketing campaigns, social media scheduling, or invoicing. By automating these processes, a small business owner frees up valuable time to focus on strategy and growth.

Systems are the engine that powers the entire process and ensure that your business can operate smoothly, even when the operator or owner is not directly involved in the day-to-day operations. By making your business more valuable and less dependent on one person’s constant attention.

By focusing on strategy , planning, and then building the systems to support them, a small business can build a resilient and thriving operation.

The Bottom Line for Small Business Owners

The goal of using AI and automation isn’t to make your sales, marketing or customer service efforts feel robotic. On the contrary, these technologies are designed to provide a more personalized, timely, and relevant experience for your prospects and customers.

They are tools are designed to handle the heavy lifting and data analysis, giving you the time and insights, you need to focus on what you do best: running and growing your business.

At Marketing 4 Real Results , we specialize in building and refining smart systems by focusing on the best and most effective strategy, planning and systems for small businesses.

We’re here to help you harness the power of AI and automation to deliver tangible results using the best and most effective marketing channels to achieve your business goals.

The post The AI and Automation Playbook for Small Businesses appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How AI and Automation Are Reshaping Digital Marketing

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 16:22:00 GMT

In the fast-paced world of digital marketing , staying ahead means constantly adapting. The landscape is evolving at a breakneck speed, and at the heart of this transformation are two powerful forces: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation.

Since 2015 Marketing 4 Real Results has trained hundreds of businesses to best understand and leverage marketing technologies as well as deliver a competitive edge for our clients.

AI and automation are not just buzzwords; they are the engines that are driving a new era of efficiency, personalization, and results. This does not mean that AI is taking over, it just means that AI is here to help us do business better.

As a framework, here’s a look at how these technologies are fundamentally changing the way we approach key digital marketing channels email and social media .

The AI and Automation Advantage in Email Marketing

Email marketing has for many years been a cornerstone of digital marketing strategy, but AI is taking it to a whole new level. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all email blasts. Now, with AI and automation, we can deliver hyper-personalized experiences at scale and the rewards are astounding.

Smarter Personalization: AI has the ability to analyze vast amounts of customer data quickly, starting from past purchase history to browsing behaviors, to create personalized content, product recommendations, and offers for each individual subscriber.

This means higher open rates, increased click-through rates, and a stronger connection with your audience.

Predictive Send Times: Ever wonder when the best time to send an email is? AI-powered email marketing tools can analyze individual recipient behavior to determine the optimal send time for each person, ensuring your message lands in their inbox when they’re most likely to engage.

The mindset: “ Right message, right person, right time. That’s not just a strategy—it’s the only strategy that works”.

Automated Campaigns: Automation allows us to set up sophisticated email sequences that trigger based on user actions. A welcome series for new subscribers is extremely important because that allows you to ask critical questions that will help you to best understand specific subscriber needs.

Long term strategies include, a re-engagement email for inactive prospects and customers, or a cart abandonment reminder, also work well that can all run automatically and simultaneously, freeing up valuable time for your marketing team to focus on strategy.

Transforming Social Media with AI and Automation

Social media is a very crowded space, and cutting through the noise requires more than just a consistent posting schedule. AI and automation have allowed companies, like Marketing 4 Real Results the tools to be more strategic, responsive, and effective.

Content Creation and Curation: AI can assist in generating creative content ideas, writing compelling captions, and even repurposing blog posts into social media snippets. Automation tools can then schedule these posts across multiple platforms, ensuring a steady stream of content without manual effort.
Advanced Analytics and Insights: AI-driven analytics go beyond basic metrics. They can analyze sentiment, identify emerging trends, and provide deep insights into what your audience is talking about. This allows for data-driven decisions and the ability to refine your strategy in real-time.
Optimized Advertising: AI is a game-changer for social media advertising. It can optimize ad placements, refine audience targeting, and even create dynamic ads that adapt based on user behavior. This leads to better ad performance, lower costs, and a higher return on investment.

Competitive intelligence (CI) is a vital function in modern marketing, acting as your company’s eyes and ears in the marketplace.

It’s the process of ethically and legally gathering, analyzing, and using the right information about your competitors and the broader market to gain a competitive advantage.

It’s not just about knowing what your rivals are up to; it’s about understanding why they’re doing it, how their customers are responding, and what it means for your own business.

Over the years we’ve noticed that this is a critical point that many businesses overlook. It’s not just “not smart” to copy competitors blindly, it can be a recipe for disaster unless you are aware of their full marketing strategy.

Keep in mind, that surface-level imitation is a dangerous business game.

Here’s a breakdown of why this is such a key principle:

You’re Only Seeing the Tip of the Iceberg: A competitor’s successful ad campaign, social media post, or pricing model is just the visible part of their strategy. You don’t see the months of research, the audience testing, the failed campaigns, or the internal resources they’ve committed to it. By copying only what’s visible, you’re missing the context that made it successful (or perhaps, a costly failure).
Your Competitors Strategy is Built for Their Business: A competitor’s marketing strategy is specifically tailored to their unique business goals, target audience, brand identity, and available resources. A strategy that works for a large, established brand with a massive budget and a certain brand voice will likely fail for a small business with limited resources and a different brand personality. Copying their tactics without understanding their goals is like trying to use a map for a different city.
It Prevents You from Finding Your Unique Value: When you’re focused on copying others, you’re not focused on what makes your business special. Your brand’s unique selling proposition (USP) is what truly sets you apart and attracts loyal customers. Blindly copying your competitors leads to a “me-too” mentality, making it harder for customers to see why they should choose you. You become a follower, not a leader.
The Risk of Copying a Failing Strategy: What if the campaign you’re copying is actually performing poorly? Competitors often test and iterate their strategies. The ad you’re trying to replicate might be part of an A/B test that’s losing, or a campaign they’re about to scrap. Without knowing their full strategy and results, you could be replicating their mistakes and throwing away your own time and money.
It Ignores the Evolving Market: A competitor’s strategy might have been successful six months ago, but the market, technology, and customer preferences are constantly changing. A successful strategy is dynamic. If you simply copy what a competitor is doing today, you’re already behind the curve.

In short, a smart marketing strategy uses competitive intelligence not for blind imitation, but for informed inspiration. It’s about understanding why a competitor’s strategy works for them , so you can develop a strategy that works even better for you .

Here’s a deeper look into the importance of competitive intelligence in marketing:

Refining Your Marketing Strategy: Without CI, your marketing is based on assumptions. With it, you can create a strategy based on data. By analyzing your competitors’ messaging, ad campaigns, and content, you can identify what resonates with your shared audience and what doesn’t. This allows you to refine your own messaging to directly address customer pain points, highlight your unique selling proposition, and fill gaps in the market that your competitors are missing.
Understanding Your Customers Better: Competitive intelligence gives you a more complete picture of your customers’ motivations. By examining competitor reviews, social media comments, and customer feedback, you can uncover what customers love and hate about a product or service. This insight helps you understand why some customers choose a competitor over you, allowing you to improve your product, service, or messaging to better meet their needs.
Anticipating Competitor Moves: CI is a proactive tool, not just a reactive one. By continuously monitoring competitor activities—such as new product launches, pricing changes, or even job postings—you can often predict their next moves. This allows you to prepare a response, whether it’s a counter-campaign, a new product feature, or a pricing adjustment, giving you a crucial head start.
Informing Product Development: Competitive intelligence isn’t just for the marketing department. Insights from CI can guide product teams by showing them what features customers are demanding, what’s working well for competitors, and what weaknesses your product can exploit. This ensures that you’re building products that are truly innovative and address real market needs.
Benchmarking and Goal Setting: By tracking your competitors’ performance, market share, and growth, you can establish realistic benchmarks for your own business. CI helps you understand where you stand in the competitive landscape, providing the context needed to set ambitious yet achievable goals for your marketing efforts.

Having a solid plan is far more important than blindly copying what a competitor is doing. The success you see from a competitor is often just the tip of the iceberg, and without understanding the full strategy beneath the surface, imitation can be a costly mistake.

In essence, competitive intelligence empowers you to make informed, strategic decisions. It moves you from simply participating in the market and being a copycat to actively shaping your business position within your industry and ensuring, your marketing efforts are as effective and impactful as possible.

The Future is Now

The integration of AI and automation isn’t about replacing human marketers; it’s about empowering them. By handling the repetitive, data-heavy tasks, Ai and Automation technologies allow marketing teams, like Marketing 4 Real Results to focus on what we do best which is creative authentic strategie and build relationships, and crafting compelling brand narratives.

At Marketing 4 Real Results , we are committed to staying on the cutting edge of marketing developments, as we have since our inception in 2015. We leverage the power of AI and automation as we have with all other versions of new marketing, like social media to deliver smarter, more effective marketing campaigns that get real results for our clients.

While also adding a human component which is our favorite part of marketing to embrace the unique value proposition of our clients. The future of digital marketing is moving at a fast pace, and it’s powered by intelligence and efficiency which is smart for business.

The post How AI and Automation Are Reshaping Digital Marketing appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Power Your Marketing with Multiple Channels

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:06:00 GMT

A comprehensive multi-channel marketing strategy directly translates to broader customer engagement and increased business profitability. In today’s competitive landscape, creating a winning marketing strategy requires being nimble and diversifying marketing efforts.

Marketing Terminology To Consider:

A marketing platform is a software or a suite of integrated tools to plan, execute, manage, automate, and analyze marketing activities across various channels. IE: HubSpot

A marketing channel is a medium that allows a business to communicate with its target audience. IE: Social Media

7 Advantages to Multi Channel/Platform Marketing

1. Increased Reach and Target Audience Diversification

By being present on various marketing platforms, you are able to tap into different segments of your target audience. Not everyone spends their time on social media, so by using multiple marketing platforms, you are best equipped to communicate value to a more diverse pool of potential customers.

2. Enhanced Brand Awareness and Recognition

Consistent branding across multiple touchpoints reinforces your message and increases brand visibility. When your target audience encounters your brand on different platforms, it builds familiarity and increase brand vitality and brand stature.

3. Improved Customer Engagement

Marketing is the science and art of finding, keeping and growing profitable customers. Multiple platforms gives you the ability to cater to different communication styles and content formats. After defining the target market, by strategically using each platform, you can engage with your audience in ways that resonate with them best. For example, visual platforms like Instagram are great for showcasing products, while Twitter is great for quick or urgent updates.

4. More Effective Lead Generation and Conversion

A multi-platform approach to business allows you to nurture leads through different stages of the customer journey. You might attract initial interest on a social media platform, provide more in-depth information on your website, and then engage in direct communication via email marketing . This holistic approach can lead to higher conversion rates.

5. Deeper Customer Insights

Data is the lifeblood of modern marketing. Primary data is information collected firsthand, such as surveys and questionnaires. Secondary data is information that has already been collected by someone else, such as website analytics, social media engagement metrics or email marketing performance. By analyzing performance data across various platforms, you gain a more comprehensive understanding of your audience’s behavior, preferences, and pain points.

6. Improved SEO (Indirectly)

A strong presence on social media can indirectly boost your SEO by increasing brand visibility, driving traffic to your website, and generating more social shares and mentions. It’s about building relationships, providing value, and fostering conversations that subtly lead to brand awareness and trust.

7. Stronger Brand Storytelling

Different platforms offer different ways to tell your brand story. You can use visuals on Instagram, engage in discussions on Twitter, share in-depth content on a blog, and build a community on Facebook. Stronger brand storytelling goes beyond simply stating facts about your product or service. The goal is to connect with audiences on an emotional level, builds trust, and creates a memorable experience that resonates long after they’ve encountered your brand.

Key Takeaways:

In essence, a well-executed multi-platform marketing strategy creates a more robust and resilient online presence, allowing you to connect with a broader audience, build stronger relationships, and ultimately achieve your marketing goals more effectively. A key factor is to make sure your brand experiences match your brand image.

If you have questions about setting up marketing platforms, schedule a call .

Content written by Nia S. Pearson, MBA, Founder of Marketing 4 Real Results and Aamirah Gober, content manager at Marketing 4 Real Results, supported by Gemini language model from Google AI.

Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results , a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia.

The post Power Your Marketing with Multiple Channels appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Key Factors for GEO Strategy

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 01:27:00 GMT

Generative Engine Optimization, GEO is the AI approach to optimizing content for AI-powered search engines, to understand, process, and generate information that answers user questions.

This is a shift from search engine optimization which primarily targets human understanding and keyword matching to focusing on how AI models process information to generate direct answers.

GEO involves 3 strategies that help AI search engines:

Understand the context and nuances of your content.
Process the information effectively to identify key facts and relationships.
Generate accurate and comprehensive answers that satisfy user queries directly.

Key Factors About GEO

Focus on AI: GEO prioritizes making your content understandable and useful for AI models, which goes beyond keyword matching to analyze context, relationships.
Influence over Generation: As a trusted source of generative AI, can lead to brand mentions, citations, and increased authority even if the user doesn’t directly click through to your site.
Beyond Keywords: While keywords still matter a huge deal, GEO is a focus on comprehensive, high-quality content that directly answers user questions and provides valuable information in a clear and concise manner.
Brand Authority and Trust: Build a strong brand reputation and establish yourself as a credible source is crucial for GEO. Consider industry affiliations/associations.
Adaptability: Generative AI models are constantly evolving, so GEO requires continuous monitoring and adaptation of your optimization strategies.

Why is GEO important?

As an AI-powered search experience GEO helps you:

Maintain and Increase Visibility: Be present in the new formats of search results.
Build Brand Authority: Become a recognized and trusted source of information for AI.
Reach Users in New Ways: Connect with users directly through AI-generated answers.
Gain a Competitive Edge: Early adoption of GEO strategies can position you ahead of competitors.

Elements of a GEO Strategy:

In-depth Content Creation: Produce comprehensive, accurate, and well-structured content.
Keyword and Semantic Relevance: Target relevant keywords while also focusing on the broader semantic context of the topic.
Structured Data Markup: Using schema markup to help AI understand the meaning and relationship of your content.
E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Build and showcase your expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness on your subject matter that you have extensive and provable expertise.
Citations and References: Include citations reputable sources to enhance credibility.
Content Freshness: Regularly update your content to ensure accuracy and relevance.
Technical SEO : Ensure your website is crawlable and indexable by AI models.

Key Takeaways:

Track how AI platforms refer to your brand within analytics tools, by running quarterly reports.
Analyze your website engagement and keyword rankings for AI-driven search.
Evaluate and test AI strategies to improve performance.
Strategically leverage your website content across social media and email marketing to amplify your message, reach a wider audience, and drive traffic back to your site.
Connect with Marketing 4 Real Results, to stay up to date on best practices in generative AI and GEO .

As AI continues to play a larger role in search, understanding and implementing GEO principles will become increasingly important for content visibility and effectiveness.

If you have questions about generative engine optimization, or want to optimize your website content for AI search engine, schedule a call .

Content written by Nia S. Pearson, MBA, Founder of Marketing 4 Real Results and Aamirah Gober, content manager at Marketing 4 Real Results, supported by Gemini language model from Google AI.

Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results , a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia.

The post Key Factors for GEO Strategy appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How To Improve GEO Rankings

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 00:23:00 GMT

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the process of optimizing website content and structure to improve its visibility to AI-powered search engines and other generative AI applications.

Think of it this way: traditional SEO focuses on ranking high in a list of search results provided by search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing. GEO , on the other hand, aims to have your brand, content, and information directly included and cited within the AI-generated answers and summaries.

To improve your generative engine optimization (GEO) and increase the likelihood of your content being featured for your customer or potential customers, that use AI-powered search results, focus on these 5 key strategies:

1. Understand AI and Customer/Prospect Intent:

Analyze how users ask questions in English and tailor your content to match.
Think beyond keywords and focus on user experience and intent.
Research the queries that trigger AI overviews in your specific niche.
Use AI tools to help you understand content priorities.
Focus on concise and clear information sharing.

2. Create Comprehensive Content:

Produce content that thoroughly answers user questions.
Ensure contextual accuracy by thinking through the user’s query and intent.
Update information often, to ensure accuracy and relevance as things change in your business.
Make your content simple and easy to understandable for both humans and AI.
Incorporate text, images, and videos, as generative engines can synthesize multimodal information.

3. Structure Content for AI Consumption:

Organize content with clear headings and subheadings.
Use lists and bullet points to break down information.
Start with a clear and concise introductory sentence that highlights the main topic.
Design your website with the HTML that align with your service/product.
Implement schema markup (structured data) using JSON-LD to explicitly define your content’s type and context for search engines and AI.
Focus on relevant schemas like FAQs, How To Articles, Service/Product improvements, and GEO Targeting.
Ensure your website is crawlable and indexable by AI.
Check your robots.txt files and firewall protective rules to ensure they allow GPTBot, Google-Extended to crawl your website.

4. Enhance Credibility and Authority:

Cite your sources to back up claims and enhance trustworthiness.
Include statistics and data where applicable to strengthen arguments.
Add quotations from credible subject matter experts to provide depth and authority
Become a credible expert which will allow you to drive backlinks to your website to showcase expertise and trustworthiness.

5. Refine Your Keyword Strategy for AI:

Focus on long-tail keywords and natural language queries that reflect how people speak to AI.
Prioritize search intent over exact keyword matches. Understand the “why” behind user questions.
Incorporate semantically related terms and key entities to provide comprehensive context.

By implementing these strategies, you can optimize your online authority to become a valuable and citable source for generative AI engines.

Key Takeaways:

Track how AI platforms refer to your brand within analytics tools, by running quarterly reports.
Assess your website engagement and keyword rankings in the context of AI-driven search.
Continuously test and iterate your strategies based on AI developments and performance data.
Strategically leverage your website content across social media and email marketing to amplify your message, reach a wider audience, and drive traffic back to your site.
Connect with Marketing 4 Real Results, to stay up to date on best practices in generative AI and GEO.

If you have questions about generative engine optimization, or want to optimize your website content for AI search engine, schedule a call .

Content written by Nia S. Pearson, MBA, Founder of Marketing 4 Real Results and Aamirah Gober, content manager at Marketing 4 Real Results, supported by Gemini language model from Google AI.

Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia.

The post How To Improve GEO Rankings appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How To Improve Search Rankings

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 01:17:00 GMT

Written by Nia S. Pearson

Improving search engine rankings is a marathon that requires consistency and strategy to work well.

Important Considerations:

WordPress website, recommended.
SEO is a long-term strategy: It takes time and effort to see results from your SEO efforts.
SEO is an ongoing process: This is not a one and done strategy, consistency really matters here.
Focus on user experience: Ultimately, the goal of SEO is to improve user experiences on your website.
Use competitive intelligence to identify top competitors online ranking.
Avoid using any unethical or spammy SEO companies, this can harm your website’s rankings in the long run.
Employ additional marketing tactics simultaneously, while working on SEO efforts.

How To Get Started with Search Engine Optimization

From all the services that we offer, SEO is by far the most demanded. In most scenarios we combine an SEO campaign with a social media campaign to maximize marketing efforts and boost revenue potential.

Over the years we have helped many small business owners to build and sustain a viable online presence with a focus on search engine optimization as a key digital marketing technique. We always approach the first step selecting budgets, keywords, key word phrases and top competitors.

How To Use Keywords Strategically:

This is an important step in building an SEO campaign and one of the reasons we start building websites for our clients to ensure the backend/html coding has the right keywords and content, including page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and body text.

One of the misconceptions that many people have about SEO is to stuff keywords, which is incorrect instead the focus should be on readability. This is your chance to ensure the content added to your website and in your marketing flyers, brochures etc. has value to the audience you are targeting.

Following this simple step, can lead to an effective marketing strategy that will strengthen your online presence. Key points to keep in mind is very specific content targeted to a niche audience.

SEO or Advertising Which Is Better

By now we all know that ranking online has become very competitive. Throughout this blog we will share why an SEO campaign done right, can be an effective marketing strategy and more cost effective than advertising. If done right and with the same amount of money spent on a year of pay per click ads. SEO is a smarter path to business growth than an advertising budget.

General rule of thumb for advertising on Google or Paid Social , Facebook ads, which require an advertising budget for the ad spend and management fee. $1,000 per month $12,000 per year. You can target a specific customer.

The key difference is the minute that you stop running ads, you’re gone completely and you have not built an online presence. You will have zero residual, although you spent the money.

With SEO, even if you stop short term, you will still rank online. You don’t disappear immediately because you’re ranking is organic. Google isn’t going to drop you off just because you stopped blogging for one or two months. If your content is relevant it will continue to rank online.

The alternative to this is, if you run ads, you may get more immediate results, although you’re not building any residual. It’s almost like an interest on a loan, you’re just paying, paying, paying, paying, without really gaining any equity.

Understanding How SEO Supports Business Growth

Building your online footprint using an SEO strategy may take a little longer to rank and that is why we recommend that you do a combination of different marketing strategies short term to build up your ranking. After a minimum of 90 days you can modify your marketing strategy based on insights from the new business by asking each prospect, “How You Heard About Us”.

The success of your SEO marketing campaign will also depend on the specific target market that you’re after, if you’re after homeowners, they don’t really care whether they click on an ad or not although a property management company will look for the organic ranking business. If you’re goal is to get more business from homeowners, then we recommend a focus on SEO and some other form of marketing maybe direct mail, hosting and event or running a Google advertising campaign.

So if you have the patience and the budget and understand that you’re going to reap the benefits, SEO is a great way to capture leads and expand your online presence. You’re basically investing until, once you start showing up, on the first page of Google search for your services. Keep in mind that even if you stop paying for SEO work, you’re still going to rank online for days, weeks and months.

The worst thing that can happen is you might slip down a notch or two if your competitors get really aggressive with their SEO efforts. Unlike advertising, when you stop, you’re gone completely, with zero residual.

Marketing 4 Real Results – SEO Program Options

Since we work with companies from all levels, we offer three different SEO options to grow your business.

All SEO campaigns include setup & strategy includes the following:

Keyword & competitor research to determine the top 10-12 key keywords and phrases to use for your SEO campaign;
An benchmark report;
An optimization report of 5-10 existing pages on the site;
Setup on Google Business Profile, Yahoo and Bing Places;

Monthly Packages

Our SEO monthly package options primarily have the same inclusions with the difference being “content” whether it is included or not/ the quantity of the content to be added to the site.

SEO VIP

Includes a 2500-word Ultimate SEO Content Page each month;
Backlink building for the content page;
Additional optimization work each month based on data/reporting;
Ranking and traffic report;
Directory submission/ syncing of your Google Business Profile to over 20 of the most important online directories;
A microsite;
Lead capture page with downloadable content;

SEO Premier

Everything from VIP except that the content page is reduced to a 1000-word article with less graphics/ visuals;

SEO Starter

Does not include any content articles, backlinking , additional optimization, or ranking/ traffic reports;
Highly recommended, to supplement this package with an a la carte version of the content page used in Premier above.

If you are not getting the results you want from your marketing, it’s time to try something different. Contact us for a consultation.

The post How To Improve Search Rankings appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Instagram’s Profile Grid Shakeup: What You Need to Know

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 03:44:00 GMT

January 2025, Instagram significantly changed the profile grid layout which will significantly impact the more than 500 million daily active Instagram users.

This update will have a direct impact on the way content appears on the Instagram grid. The new content focuses on taller, portrait-oriented posts.

In our opinion, the update creates a more visually appealing aesthetic, which is better suited for the evolving nature of quick scrolling on Instagram.

Here’s what specifically changed:

Square to Rectangular: The iconic square grid was replaced with a taller, rectangular grid format.
Portrait Orientation: This change accommodates portrait-oriented images and videos, which have become increasingly popular on the Instagram platform.
Existing Content: Existing square posts will appear differently on your Instagram page, which will impact the content layout.

Key Changes:

New Instagram Feed Content Size: 1080 x 1350

New Instagram Reel Content Size: 1080 x 1920

New Instagram Preview Grid Size: 4:5 Ratio

New Instagram Preview Grid Size: 3:4 Ratio

How Instagram User React To The Updates:

- Some welcomed the change as a more modern and visually appealing approach.
- Others expressed frustration, feeling that it disrupted their carefully curated grid.

Implications:

Content Creation Strategies: The update presents new opportunities for more visual appealing grid layouts. Contact us to get updated content templates?

What You Should Do If You Have An Instagram Page:

- Start to use more portrait-oriented content: Shoot and edit photos and videos with a taller aspect ratio 4:5.
- Repurpose existing content: Crop or resize existing square images to fit the new format.
- Plan grid layouts: Update content for new posts to fit within the rectangular grid and maintain visual appeal.

Before Jan 2025 vs After January 2025: What Changed?

Before January 2025

Instagram prioritized the square 1:1 ratio for grid posts. This means that images uploaded as 1080 x 1080 pixels.

After January 2025

Instagram changed the portrait-oriented posts to a 4:5 aspect ratio into the grid posts. This means that images should be uploaded as 1080×1030 pixels.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the changes:

Old Size/Ratio : 1080 x 1080 pixels (1:1 ratio)
New Size/Ratio : 1080 x 1350 pixels (4:5 ratio)

How to move forward? If you would like to clean up your profile you have three option, archive post or delete post and update your profile grid.

Use the workaround to help your older posts fit the new grid style.

Click the three dots in the top-right corner of the post
Select Adjust Preview
Choose Fit and pick a black or white background to fill the space
Hit Done

How Marketing 4 Real Results Can Help

At Marketing 4 Real Results, we are committed to ensure our clients, stay ahead of the curve, so we have adapted quickly to these changes to stay competitive. To learn more, contact us.

Keep in mind, these change aren’t just about aesthetics, it’s about increasing engagement, maintaining your brand awareness and a consistent focus on keeping your business relevant.

#socialmediamarketing #instagrammarketing #instagram

The post Instagram’s Profile Grid Shakeup: What You Need to Know appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Top 5 Winning Strategies to Supercharge Your SEO

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 00:19:00 GMT

Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ), success isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing what matters most consistently.

Our team at Marketing 4 Real Results has put together this handy guide of the Top 5 winning strategies to supercharge your SEO and help you achieve faster results. Keep in mind, that SEO is an ongoing process, so be patient and persistent.

Step 1: Fix Technical Issues and Improve Speed
Run a site crawl to spot errors like broken links or duplicate content. Fixing these issues improves user experience and improves website rankings.

Slow pages? Use Google PageSpeed Insights for actionable tips on how to speed things up.

Remember to focus on Desktop & Mobile.

Step 2: Set Up and Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile ( GBP ) is a must-have if you want to gain local traffic to your website.

Claim your GBP , verify it, add your phone number, address and and make sure your contact information is accurate and consistent across all online platforms.

Add photos, post regularly and get reviews and respond to reviews.

Step 3: Build Local Citations

Local citations, also know as online directories (your business name, address, and telephone number) on industry sites and listing sites, Yahoo, Bing and others to build online authority.

Step 4: Optimize Website Site Layout

A clear, organized website that guides user experiences and helps to improve search engines rankings.

Check mobile-friendliness, and make sure your navigation is smooth and accessible on all devices and ADA compliant .

Step 5: Create Customer Journeys with geo targeted content focused on converting site visitors. Pro Tip : Include downloadable content to obtain email addresses.

It’s important to stay on top of seo tactics to drive RESULTS. Review reporting monthly and make adjustments as needed.

By implementing these five strategies , you can significantly improve your website’s search engine rankings and drive more organic traffic.

To get help on establishing and achieving your seo goals, and gain a competitive advantage over your competitors, schedule a FREE consultation .

This blog was written by Nia S Pearson, MBA and supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI. Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results , a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia. Nia is a strategic and creative leader that supports business growth through multi-channel integrated marketing techniques.

The post Top 5 Winning Strategies to Supercharge Your SEO appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing Tips for Realtors to Attract New Business

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 22:53:00 GMT

Digital Marketing Tips for Realtors to Attract New Business

If you do not have a network of unlimited millionaires, looking to buy real estate from you, having an effective marketing plan, talent, skill, consistency and a passion to help people are key attributes to become a top producer in real estate.

The most common place to find new business is your sphere of influence, family, friends and neighbors.

Here’s why:

Get quick referrals
Repeat Business Potential

If you do not have a strong sphere of influence, here are the first steps to consider.

Select a niche and network: Consider attorneys, doctors, pharmacist, teacher, veterans, investors
Select a farm and network: Your home zip code is the best place to start. Expand your farm by connecting with a title rep for mailing list, phone numbers and addresses
Leverage Digital Marketing, see the list below

Stay on top of top buying, selling and investing questions in your target zip codes.

Buying: “What are the steps involved in buying a home?”
Selling: “What are the steps to prepare my home for sale?”
Investing: “Where is the best place and type of property to purchase?”
Market Trends: “How is the housing market in “Farm” you are currently serving?”

Once you have decided on the above, here are some of the best strategies to consider:

Online Presence and Digital Marketing

Optimize Your Website:
- Ensure your website has Google Analytics is user-friendly and has a buyer and seller journey.
  - Visually appealing
  - Branded with your unique value proposition
  - Optimized for search engines ( SEO ) and include Google Analytics
  - Share blog content that is relevant to your audience

Social Media : Regularly post engaging content on platforms like Google Business, Facebook, and Instagram. The platform that you select should focus on your target demographics.
- Share local property listings
- Share market insights
- Share behind-the-scenes of the real estate process
- Personal interest

Email Marketing : Build an email list and send email newsletters monthly.
- Share property updates
- Share market trends
- Share community resources
Here’s a general guideline for Email Marketing:
- For new subscribers or infrequent buyers: Start by sending weekly emails to introduce your service.
- For engaged customers: Consider sending emails every 4-5 days with new and relevant city specific events, updates, political seat changes in city council, school district, etc. or personalized recommendations.
- For high-value Luxury clients: Offer a more personalized service and targeted emails, perhaps 2x per week, depending on their predetermined preferences.
***Remember, that quality is always more important than quantity. Focus on sending valuable and engaging content that your subscribers will appreciate. Tell them about some things, they may have missed, or that is coming soon.

Paid Advertising: Consider ONLY specific advertising platforms were your target demographic is. DO NOT advertise on generic platforms that do not cater to a specific audience where you can specify, target clients, target zip codes and personal interests.

Video Marketing:
- Connect based on personal interest, pets, fishing, hiking, etc.
- Create professional authentic videos consistently that showcase your expertise
- Share home tours
- Neighborhood highlights
- Infographics and other educational content

Local Networking and Community Involvement

Attend Industry Events: Consistently network smart and build relationships with:
- Other Realtors, mortgage lenders, hard money lenders, home inspectors, title reps, home improvement and IICRC Certified mold contractors, t industry conferences and events.

Join Local Organizations: Get involved with active community organizations and volunteer to share your expertise.

Start a Community Organization: Establish yourself as a trusted local expert and become a leader in your community.

Host Open Houses: Showcase your listings and build your list of buyers by hosting an open house in your farm.

Partner with Local Businesses: Collaborate with new and existing local businesses, to offer joint promotions and referrals.
- Consider restaurants, gyms, home improvement stores, moving companies and contractors.

Personal Branding and Reputation Management

Develop Your Personal Brand: Create a strong personal brand that reflects your values, expertise, unique value proposition, lifestyle and hobbies.

Build Relationships: Focus on building strong relationships. Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals and testimonials.

Manage Your Online Reputation: Ask for reviews and monitor your online reputation.

Critical Tips

Share Weekly Market Trends: Provide valuable market insights, by sharing local market trends, interest rates updates, and regulations.

Offer Exceptional Service: Deliver exceptional customer service to every client throughout the entire buying or selling process to build trust and get referrals.

Leverage Technology: Utilize the best technology to streamline your workflow. Communicate often with your sphere of influence often.

This blog was written by Nia S Pearson, MBA and supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI. Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia. Nia is a strategic and creative leader that supports business growth through multi-channel integrated marketing techniques.

The post Marketing Tips for Realtors to Attract New Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing Tips For Cleaning and Restoration Business Owners

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 04:14:00 GMT

Small businesses across all vertical markets often face unique challenges when it comes to marketing, but restoration business owners have a unique challenge because the restoration industry is extremely competitive.

How Much Money Do Restoration Companies Make?

After reading this blog you will have a basic understanding of your restoration marketing needs. Equally as important, you will know that marketing is not sales. Finally, you will have the confidence to make better marketing decisions for your restoration business.

Essentially, marketing is the art and science of building and maintaining client and customer relationships.

Top 3 Competitive Factors To Consider:

1-Market Saturation:
- Across the United States there are thousands of cleaning and restoration companies. According to a 2015 study, California has the most cleaning and restoration companies followed by Florida, Virginia and Texas .
2-Low Barriers to Entry:
- The relatively low barriers to entry allow new businesses to enter the market easily with minimal capital. Overcoming these barriers require careful planning, significant investment, and a deep understanding of the cleaning and restoration industry.
  - - Top 5 Barriers To Successfully Grow Your Restoration Business
      - 1) Financial Investment: Equipment, Licensing and Certifications and Insurance.
      - 2) Competition: Established Businesses and Local Market Saturation.
      - 3) Insurance Claims Process: Complex Procedures and Payment Delays.
      - 4) Customer Acquisition and Retention: Building a Reputation.
      - 5) Economic Fluctuations: Natural Disasters and Market Cycles.

3-Restoration Specialized Skills:
- The first certification to start your restoration career is the Water Restoration Technician, (WRT) Certification, which you can obtain online at The Academy Of Textiles and Flooring .
- The first certification to start a cleaning company is Carpet Cleaning Technician, CCT .
  - IMPORTANT NOTE: most advanced restoration business owners hold IICRC Master Designations.

Despite the competition, there are many opportunities for cleaning and restoration businesses to differentiate themselves by having a unique value proposition (UVP), exceptional service standards and top tier, customer experiences. This equates to going above and beyond.

Technique: Purchase and giveaway, BRANDED STARBUCKS GIFT CARDS .

The Basics Of Restoration Marketing

What is marketing?
- Marketing is the bridge between a restoration business and its customers. This process requires the understanding of customers needs and wants and creating the value they are in search. The more unique your service the more memorable the experience will be lead to referral business, and online google reviews.
How is marketing different from sales?
- Marketing is the focus on creating demand, while sales focuses on converting that demand into new customers or repeat customers.

Market research:
- Understand your target audience, their preferences, and behaviors through surveys. |Consider, Survey Monkey.
Pricing:
- The ability to build a pricing model that attract a larger audience. (Consider: Xactimate ).
Promotion:
- Create brand awareness by offering a unique service, in addition to your standard services list of water restoration, mold remediation, odor removal, carpet cleaning, etc.

Customer Relationship Management ( CRM )

What is CRM?
- CRM stands for customer relationship management and is a system for managing customer information including all interactions across email, text, phone, orders, etc.
How can CRM benefit my small business?
- CRM can help you improve your overall business efficiency, customer satisfaction, increase your sales, and build customer loyalty.

What is the Best Way To Use a CRM?
- Build and maintain a database of strong and current relationships. | Consider Salesforce or Hubspot

Develop a Marketing Strategy

Key aspects of marketing to consider:

Where should I start?
- Begin by best understanding your target market/s. and creating customer profiles.
  - I.E. If you target property management companies, it’s best to fully understand their needs and requirement to do business with them.
  - Next, present to them a unique value proposition (UVP), and a well-defined list of why your restoration company should be at the top of their vendor list.
How do I create a restoration marketing plan ?
- A marketing plan is very necessary for restoration companies to help you outline your week-to-week, month-to-month and year-to-year marketing efforts.
  - With a marketing plan you can determine which roles need to be filled.
    - Top Marketing skills
      - Graphic Design
      - Website Management
      - Content Manager/Copywriter
      - SEO Specialist
      - Brand Manager
      - Data Analyst
      - Be sure to take the most important step which is to align your marketing efforts to a business goal.

What are some of the most effective digital marketing strategies for restoration businesses? This is a very unique question and will depend entirely on how many team members you have and your marketing budget.
- Focus on digital marketing start here:
  - Content Marketing
  - Social Media Marketing
  - Google Business Profile / For Social Media & SEO
  - Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  - Online directories , paid and unpaid.

How To Measure Marketing Success

How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
- Track key performance indicators (KPIs) from your website with Google Analytics , social media insights, email data and actual sales. Most marketing platforms offer some level of marketing insights for business accounts including, Instagram and Google Business.
What are some common marketing mistakes to avoid?
- The most common mistakes
  - include inconsistent branding
  - lack of proper customer profiling
  - neglecting to survey customers
  - not tracking results.
- Unrealistic business goals. Most people get into the restoration industry with a goal to make $1,000,000.00 in the first year. Although that is certainly possible, there are many factors needed, to make that happen. Primarily having a background in construction is helpful. Read more about how much money restoration companies make here.

Marketing Budget and Resources

How much money should I allocate to marketing?
General Guidelines:
- Startups: Allocate 10-20% of your revenue to marketing.
- Small businesses: Aim for 5-10% of your revenue.
- Established businesses: Consider allocating 3-5% of your revenue.
Note: Depending on the number of competitors in your market, this number could be higher or lower.
Can I do marketing on a tight budget? Yes, you are can always do marketing cheaper, by doing most of the work yourself, just be sure to have a marketing plan. As with any other DIY process, it’s important to stay consistent with your efforts to gain traction in your month-to-month restoration marketing efforts.

Build Brand Awareness

How can I increase the brand awareness of my restoration business?
- Consider partnering with local community based organizations, fire departments, city hall and local schools.
How can I make my restoration business stand out?
- Develop a colorful and creative logo design, have fun on social media campaigns, sponsor community events and get noticed annually in a public relations campaign.
What is the importance of branding for a small business?
- A strong brand helps you differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Digital Marketing

What is digital marketing ?
- Digital marketing involves using online digital channels to reach and engage current and prospective customers.
How can I leverage social media for marketing?
- Create informative and engaging content that will provides value to your target audience.

3 tips to build your brand on social media:

Be authentic. Let your true personality shine through in your business posts.
Engage with your audience. Respond to comments, messages, and mentions.
Use high-quality visuals. Images and videos are more likely to catch attention. Allocate a budget for photography and graphic design.

Should I pay for advertising?
- Yes, you can consider, a combination of both organic and paid advertising options, short term. Long term you can establish relationships that will provide a consistent stream of business and build your brand’s authority online.

Need expert marketing help, contact Marketing 4 Real Results for a FREE , no obligation consultation.

This blog was written by Nia S Pearson, MBA and supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI. Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia. Nia is a strategic and creative leader that supports business growth through multi-channel integrated marketing techniques.

The post Marketing Tips For Cleaning and Restoration Business Owners appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Elevate Your Business: A Comprehensive Marketing Strategy

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 01:40:00 GMT

Over the years our team at Marketing 4 Real Results, has worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and companies across various vertical markets and a key takeaway is creating a customer-focused business that understands the significance of relationships is the best path to achieve dynamic business growth.

As a marketing agency we train our clients on how to best understand that Marketing is the lifeblood of their business, regardless of size or industry.

Instead of avoiding the dynamic nature of marketing, we suggest a marketing blueprint to understand how to make the best marketing decisions for your business.

Here are the essential concepts:

Basic Marketing Principles

There are 4 fundamental principles that remain essential for every business.

The 4 Ps of Marketing

Classic framework:

Product: A service or product that meets the needs and desires of a specific target audience.
Price: Determine the optimal pricing strategy that will maximize revenue and profitability.
Place: Ensure the service or product is available where and when customers want or need it.
Promotion: Communicate the value proposition to the target audience/s.

Core Marketing Concepts 1-4

1: Customer-Focus/Customer Acquisition

Place your target audience at the heart of all marketing decisions.

Understand your target customer: Conduct thorough market research to identify needs and preferences.
Build relationships: Foster loyalty and advocacy through exceptional customer service.
Personalize the experience: Tailor marketing experience and messages that offer individual customers a favorable engagement.
- Understanding and meeting customer needs, wants, and desires is the foundation for building lasting relationships and driving business growth.
  
  A customer-centric approach leads to:
  - Deeper customer understanding
  - Increased customer satisfaction
  - Stronger brand loyalty
  - Higher customer lifetime value
  - Improved business performance

2: Brand Building

Create a strong and memorable brand identity that includes your unique value proposition.

Develop a unique value proposition: Clearly articulate what sets your business apart.
Consistent messaging: Maintain a consistent brand voice and visual identity across all channels.
Build brand equity : Invest in brand awareness and reputation management.

3: Data-Driven Marketing

Using data to make informed marketing decisions.

Collect and analyze data: Gather insights on
customer behavior, market trends, and campaign performance.
Measure and optimize: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate marketing effectiveness.
Make data-driven decisions: Use insights to refine marketing strategies.

4: Digital Marketing

Utilize online channels to reach and engage your current and prospective audience/s. Here’s a breakdown of key steps:

Steps to Effective Digital Marketing

1. Define Your Target Audience/s

Create detailed buyer personas.
Conduct market research.

2. Set Clear Business Goals

What do you want to achieve with your digital marketing efforts?
Establish key performance indicators (KPIs).

3. Build a Strong Online Presence

Ensure your website is user-friendly and mobile-responsive.
Consistently improve your website’s visibility with search engine optimization ( SEO ) with a Hyper local focus.
Create, manage and consistently post content on relevant social media platforms.

4. Content Creation

Create blog posts, share articles videos, and infographics.
Use relevant keywords and meta descriptions.
Share your content in email marketing, social media marketing, etc.

5. Email Marketing

Collect subscriber information and send emails.
Create and send valuable content and offers.
Measure open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

6. Social Media Marketing

Choose the right social media platforms where your target audience is active.
Create and share, relevant and engaging content.
Build a community.

7. Paid Advertising

Use platforms like Google Ads to reach potential customers.
Social media advertising can help you target specific audiences.
Display advertising: Showcase your ads on relevant channels, like YOUTUBE.

8. Analytics and Measurement

Use Google Analytics to track website traffic and monitor visitor behavior.
Evaluate all campaign effectiveness.
Make data-driven decisions to improve results.

9. Continuously Learn and Make Improvements

Stay updated on the latest digital marketing developments.
Test to find what works best.
Analyze and refine to optimize strategies based on performance.

Should You Include Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) in Your Marketing Plans?

Short answer: It depends.

AI is a powerful tool that can revolutionize your business, h owever, it’s essential to carefully assess your specific business needs before diving in.

While the 4P’s of marketing , product, price, place, and promotion are vital, they all revolve around the customer. To avoid a negative impact on your customers, the direction you take with AI matters.

Business Goals: Does AI initiatives help your overall business goals.

Efficiency: Are you able to a utomate repetitive tasks that can free up human resources.

Data Analysis: Can you u ncover valuable insights to make more informed business decisions.

Customer Experience: Can you provide improved customer interactions through personalized recommendations and support.

Business Case:

Business Goals: Align AI initiatives with your overall business objectives.
Data Availability: Ensure you have sufficient data to train AI models.
Budget: Consider the best AI implementation based on hardware, software, and human capital.
Skills and Expertise: Evaluate your team’s capabilities to execute.
Ethical Considerations: Address potential plagiarism, biases and privacy concerns.

Marketing Blueprint Key Takeaways:

Having a marketing blueprint is essentially a roadmap for your marketing efforts. It outlines your goals, target audiences, online and offline strategies, marketing tactics, and steps to measure success:

Content By Nia S. Pearson, MBA and Aamirah Gober, content manager at Marketing 4 Real Results, supported by Gemini language model from Google AI. Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia. Nia is a strategic and creative leader that supports business growth through multi-channel integrated marketing techniques.

The post Elevate Your Business: A Comprehensive Marketing Strategy appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

2024 Contractor Connection RESTORE Expo

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 03:33:00 GMT

Here’s a recap of what you missed at the- 2024 Contractor Connection RESTORE Expo in Anaheim California, June 17-19, 2024.

Workshops, Networking and NEW products. YouTube video

KLEENRITE

Extraction Pylon makes flood extraction easier. Simply attach to the MegaXL and position on the floor, one or more technicians can squeegee in any direction of the pylon allowing for rapid water removal.

High Quality & Light Weight & Flexible

Rotationally molded, giving it a durable yet lightweight design. If needed the Pylon can be filled with water or sand to weigh the unit down allowing to extract the toughest jobs.

DERECHO is a durable air mover that provides a comfortable working experience and ease of use. Designed to fit in any working environment, both efficient and portable.

Light Weight & Flexible, under 20 pounds.

High Quality, meticulously designed for balanced carry, easy stack-ability. ETL Tested and UL and CSA Standards.

Elevate Wand is a durable wand that provides a comfortable working experience and ease of use with its light weight and ergonomic design, weighing just half of a traditional stainless steel floor wand.

Light Weight & Flexible, only 7 pounds.

The elevate wand makes switching glides as simple as sliding on and off. The included black glide is constructed of a Derlin material for an easy glide on floors & durability.

Phone: 800.241.4865 | www.kleenritemfg.com | sales@kleenritemfg.com

C.L.E.A.R.S . – Continuous Liquid Extraction and Recovery Systems

Flood Pumper Extractor

Testimonial: “There is no other machine on the market that can do what this flood machine does to expedite the job”.

Discounted Show Price: $2,999

Matterport

Property Intelligence is a collection of insight-driven features, representing years of advancements in AI and data science to quickly create detailed information about a property. From automatically calculating square footage of a room, to determining ceiling height and wall dimensions, and exporting the data to a variety of 3rd party systems.

Print ready view of useful new property information including the layout and a complete analysis by room, floor, and total property area.

AIRBOTX

The New Generation of Advanced UV-C Disinfection & Odor Removal Technology.

Top 5 Features:

Hydroxyl and Hepa in ONE Machine
MORE POWERFUL with 4-UV-C Lamps
Stackable – Space & Logistics Saver
Easy Transport with Wheels and Handle
Built-In Fan – No Lugging Extra Air Movers

Audience:

Contractors -Insurance Carriers -Adjusters -Service Providers

Learn more: Email info@m4rr.com and include “2024 Contractor Connection Expo” in the subject line.

ABOUT US:

Marketing 4 Real Results is a Full-Service Marketing Agency that specializes in consulting and integrated digital marketing services for restore contractors.

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/marketing4rr/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/marketing4rr

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/marketing-4-real-results/https://m4rr.com

Marketing Resources https://m4rr.com/marketing-resources/

The post 2024 Contractor Connection RESTORE Expo appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The Marketing Playbook for Cleaning & Restoration Businesses

Thu, 30 May 2024 01:33:00 GMT

In the competitive world of restoration services, standing out from the crowd is crucial.

Marketing expert, Nia S. Pearson knows this well based on her experience working with Restoration Companies over the past 10 years and she is sharing tips with Jeff Cross.

Nia created The Marketing Playbook to align a strategic conversation to restoration marketing. Nia also shares a more robust aspect of The Marketing Playbook in her Restoration Marketing Workshops. To thrive in business, some aspects are straight forward, but most require a powerful step-by-step guide. View the YouTube video .

What To Expect

Nia explains the importance of some key elements to put in place that will support business growth.

Mindset – Have a plan while also being nimble.
IICRC certifications for trust and credibility.
Google Business Profile / Hyper Local SEO focus.
Social Media /Instagram for high resolution images: SEO benefits.
Email and Text Marketing to stay top of mind and so much more.

Nia’s Strategies

Competitive Advantage

Standing out from the crowd: Effective marketing will help you differentiate your business from your competitors. With so many companies offering restoration services, water damage restoration, fire and smoke, mold remediation, odor etc. it’s important to know what makes your business different.
Capturing market share: By positioning your business effectively, with the proper branding, networking and digital marketing strategy you can attract more customers and increase market share. This is not an easy task and with so many established businesses, understanding how to take market share from your competitors is key.

Having a competitive advantage should not be overlooked, although this is the area that most businesses struggle when asked this question.

IMPORTANT NOTE : The marketing tactics mentioned in this video should be associated with a proper marketing plan, keyword strategy, etc. as well as IICRC Certifications. Keep in mind the cleaning and restoration industry is extremely competitive environment with many owners having triple master certifications while some others have one or two certifications.

Key Marketing Takeaways:

Understand Your Target Customer : The importance of identifying your target audience will help to personalize content that will resonate with that specific audience. This is called niche marketing.

Using The Right Marketing Platforms: Where to share your targeted content matters, the location should be a space that your target audience uses.

Building Trust and Authority: IICRC Certified companies should embrace the importance of establishing trust and credibility with potential customers through ongoing certifications, networking, Google customer reviews and extensive community engagement.

To learn more about restoration marketing, sign up for a free consultation or get downloadable marketing resources, where you can delve deeper into marketing strategies.

The post The Marketing Playbook for Cleaning & Restoration Businesses appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Honoring Sacrifice: The True Meaning of Memorial Day

Mon, 27 May 2024 04:50:00 GMT

Memorial Day, is often associated with barbecues, vacations, beach trips, the end of the school semester, and the unofficial start of summer. The true meaning is it’s a day dedicated to remembering the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces who died while serving our country.

The Significance of Remembrance

Memorial Day serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made to preserve the freedom that we have in the United States Of America.

A Look Back in History: From Decoration Day to Memorial Day

Equally important, Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, which served as the observance time after the Civil War. Military families, decorated the graves of fallen soldiers in their families with flowers and flags and memories. Over time, the day evolved into a national holiday that honors all American service members who died in service.

Things To Do on Memorial Day

Honor the Fallen Soldiers
- Pay tribute to the courage and dedication of fallen soldiers by sharing their stories to keep their memories alive.
Reflect on the Cost of Freedom
- Reflect on the freedoms we enjoy and understand the cost.
Show Gratitude to Veterans and Families
- Express gratitude to living veterans and their families.
- Consider volunteering for veteran organizations or reaching out to veterans in your community.

Showing Appreciation After the Holiday

Furthermore, while Memorial Day is a designated day of remembrance, honoring our fallen heroes we can extend our thanks throughout the year.

Here are some ways to show your respect:

Visit a National Cemetery:
- Place flags on graves or attend a Memorial Day ceremony.
Learn More About Military History:
- Understand the sacrifices made throughout history.
Support Veterans Organizations: Assist veterans in need. Consider volunteering your time or donating to a worthy cause.

Finally, below is a list of some veteran organizations in Los Angeles & Orange County, California. Reach out and show your appreciation and support.

Los Angeles County Veteran Organizations:

Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs ( MVA ): The MVA provides a variety of services to veterans and their families, including assistance with benefits claims, employment, education, and housing. They also have a network of field offices throughout LA County.
American Legion ( AL ): The American Legion is the nation’s largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth, sponsoring community events, advocating for veterans’ rights, and commemorating fallen soldiers.
American Veterans ( AMVETS ): AMVETS is a national organization of veterans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War. They focus on helping veterans reintegrate into civilian life and securing their earned benefits.

Orange County Veterans Organizations:

Tierney Center for Veterans Services ( TCVS ): The TCVS provides a variety of services to veterans and their families in Orange County, including employment assistance, educational counseling, financial aid assistance, healthcare navigation, and mental health services.
The Orange County Veterans & Military Families ( OCVMFC ): A coalition of service organizations, facilitates access to comprehensive services for veterans , service members and their families

About the Author: This blog was written by Nia S. Pearson, MBA and supported by AI software. Nia has 20+ years of business, marketing, sales and management experience and is the senior consulting adviser at Marketing 4 Real Results.

The post Honoring Sacrifice: The True Meaning of Memorial Day appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

A Trusted Choice for Restoration: How to Leverage Google For Business Growth

Sun, 19 May 2024 23:10:00 GMT

There are a number of reasons why focusing on Google is a smart strategy to grow your restoration business: The most significant reason is that Google owns over 90% of the global search engine market, at the time of this blog post.

Key Factors To Consider:

Reach: Google is the world’s most popular search engine, with billions of users searching for services every day. By optimizing your online presence for Google search (Search Engine Optimization or SEO ), you can reach more potential customers.
Local Focus: Google Business Profile is one of the most robust free tools to attract local customers. You can manage your online presence across Google Search and Maps .
Customer Insights: Google Analytics provides valuable data about your website traffic, such as where your visitors are coming from, what they’re interested in, and how they’re converting. Use this information to improve your website landing pages.
Brand Credibility: Positive Google reviews significantly boosts your credibility and trustworthiness with potential customers.
- 93% to 97% of customers say they read online reviews before making a purchase decision. (Source*Dixa and TrustPulse).

Overall, focusing on Google can be a powerful way to reach new customers, grow your brand awareness, and ultimately boost your bottom line.

Area To Focus: From the above list, the primary area to focus is “Local search” . Here’s why:

Targeted Audience: People searching locally are actively looking for a service provider in their area. This means you’re reaching people who are most likely to become a customer.
Increased Visibility: A strong local search presence can put your business at the top of search results for relevant keywords in your area.
Competition: Most restoration service businesses face competition from local providers. A strong local search presence can help you outrank your competitors and capture more leads.
Cost-Effective: Claim your free Google My Business listing and start optimizing your website for local keywords.

Here are some statistics to emphasize the importance of local search for restoration service businesses:

“Near me” searches have grown 150% faster than searches that don’t include location ( https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en )
78% of people search for local businesses on their phones at least weekly ( https://www.webfx.com/blog/seo/what-is-local-seo/ )
46% of all Google searches have local intent ( https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-seo/introduction-to-local-seo/what-is-local-seo/ )

By investing in local SEO, you can ensure that your restoration business is visible to the people who need you most.

What To Keep In Mind:

Consider your target audience and how they are most likely to search.
- Answer the public is a great tool to discover what people are searching for.

Optimize all your website landing pages for SEO by using data from a direct line to your customers’ thought and insights, survey etc.

Here are some exceptions:

Businesses that operate entirely offline: If your restoration business has no online presence and doesn’t take online leads, then you may not benefit as much from Google.
Very niche businesses with a small target audience: In some rare cases, a restoration business might have a highly specific target audience that doesn’t use Google for research.

Overall, Google offers a wide range of tools to reach new customers, making it a valuable resource for most businesses.

Note: Market share can fluctuate slightly depending on the source and timeframe.

Here are the top 3 reasons why Google remains the most popular search engine.

Massive reach: Google indexes a vast amount of webpages, offering the most comprehensive search possible. This means you’re more likely to find the information you’re looking for, even on obscure topics.

Smart search algorithms: Google’s algorithms are constantly evolving to understand user intent and deliver the most relevant results.

Speed and efficiency: Google delivers results incredibly fast, often within fractions of a second. This makes it a very user-friendly experience, especially when researching on the go.

To learn more about how Google can help your specific restoration business, the first start should be analyzing your website landing pages and competitive analysis .

This blog was written by Nia S. Pearson, MBA and supported by AI software. Nia has 20+ years of business, marketing, sales and management experience and is the senior consulting adviser at Marketing 4 Real Results.

The post A Trusted Choice for Restoration: How to Leverage Google For Business Growth appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

AI Report: Measuring trends in AI

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 06:05:00 GMT

“ The Policy Challenge of AI Safety Conference ” took place on Monday, April 15, 2024 at the Hoover Institute on the Stanford University campus. YouTube video recap here .

AI safety is an ongoing policy challenge that has prompted a wide spectrum of views ranging from existential fears to skeptical dismissals.

AI Advantage For Businesses:

AI is a powerful tool that offers a wide range of benefits from boosting efficiency to improving customer experiences efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

AI Safety For All:

The Hoover Institution has taken a leading position by hosting The Policy Challenge of AI Safety Conference to explore the catastrophic risk and benefits and tracking the actual policy.

All speakers listed below are currently working on policy initiatives, conducting initial risk assessments, and developing methods to evaluate frontier models.

Get the 2024 Stanford AI Index here.

Key Policy Challenges Surrounding AI Safety:

Accountability and Transparency: Ensure that AI systems are accountable to humans, and that their decision-making processes are transparent and understandable.

Fairness, Ethics, and Human Rights: Mitigate bias in AI systems, and ensure that they are used in a way that respects human rights and ethics
Global Governance and International Cooperation: Develop international policies and regulations that address the safety risks of AI.

Advanced AI Risk Factors: Presented by Yoshua Bengio

Can be deployed at scale: resulting harm could be global with no warning.
Safety evaluation not mature and can require significant effort
AI developers have little understanding of how capabilities are achieved
Failed attempts to prevent overtly harmful behaviors
Some capabilities are particularly concerning:
- Autonomous goal-pursuit
- Persuasion and manipulation
- Hacking
- R&D capabilities, helping develop (possibly harmful) AI

Risk may increase as models use tools: Presented by AI Safety Institute (The First Nine Months)

Automous systems, replication and improvement test
- Very simple tasks: Find a specific piece of information in a paper/article
- Medium tasks: Debug harder code/infrastructure issues
- Hard tasks: Create a simple software project
- Very hard tasks: Improve and agent codebase

These are just a few of the many challenges that policymakers are grappling with as AI technology continues to develop.

There are a number of organizations working on AI content safety issues, to stay connected follow https://hai.stanford.edu/ & https://aiindex.stanford.edu

Session One: The Emerging Global Agendas for AI Safety

Speakers:

Marietje Schaake, International policy director, Stanford University Cyber Policy Center; International policy fellow, Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
Philip Zelikow, Botha-Chan Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution

Session Two: The Evolving Understanding of Possible Concerns

Speakers:

Yoshua Bengio, Full Professor at Université de Montréal; Founder and Scientific Director of Mila – Quebec AI Institute
Elizabeth Kelly, Director of the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce

Session Three: Theory to Practice: A Report from the World’s First AI Safety Institute

Speakers:

Henry De Zoete, Adviser to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister on AI
Ollie Ilott, Director of the AI Safety Institute
Jade Leung, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the AI Safety Institute

Session Four: AI Safety and the Private Sector

Speakers:

Reid Hoffman , Co-Founder Of LinkedIn, Co-Founder Of inflection AI, Partner at Greylock
Eric Schmidt , Former CEO & Chairman Of Google

The post AI Report: Measuring trends in AI appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

7 Step Blog Plan For Restoration Businesses

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 19:17:00 GMT

Blogging can be a powerful tool for restoration companies to enhance their online presence and drive business growth. Here’s how:

Integrating SEO Goals with Other Marketing Efforts

To maximize the impact of your SEO efforts, it’s essential to align your SEO strategy across other marketing channels. By integrating SEO with your overall marketing strategy, you can create synergy that drives better results.

Blog Content Marketing:
- Create high-quality, SEO-optimized content that aligns with your target audience’s interests.
- Distribute content through multiple channels (blog, social media and email marketing) to increase visibility.

Blogging has the ability to boost your restoration business as a trusted authority in the communities you serve in the business case, digital marketing meets Hyper Local SEO. Blog writing linked to additional marketing like email and social media can generate leads for your business.

By consistently producing high-quality blog content, restoration companies can effectively reach their target audience, build brand awareness, and drive business growth.

7 Ways Blogging Can Boost Your Restoration Business:

Build Trust and Credibility: Building trust takes time and effort, but the long term rewards are invaluable.

By consistently providing valuable content related to your specific restoration services you position your company as a reliable resource.
People that you do not know personally are more likely to choose your restoration company based on the they perceive as an expert, especially in stressful situations after a disaster.

Educate Potential Customers: Customer Education is a very powerful process for building trust and loyalty with your target audience.

Many people don’t know what to do after experiencing a restoration related incident such as water damage, fire damage, or mold issues. Your restoration company blog can educate potential customers about the start to finish restoration process.
You can elaborate on the different types of water damage, and share prevention tips, the process of working with insurance companies, quick solutions, etc.
By providing informative content you are able to establish your restoration business as helpful guide and trusted advisor.
Consider educating plumbing contractors in your local area can be essential to business growth. Yes you can get direct leads from plumbers, by educating them you can become their largest referral source for water damage leads.

Target Local Customers: Local SEO is a digital marketing tactic to optimize your online digital footprint and help your restoration business shine online and connect deeper in a community. (Contact M4rr for local Seo service)

By focusing on local zip codes, keywords and addressing common restoration questions in your immediate area, you are able to attract potential customers when they actively search for restoration help.
By having a targeted approach, you are better aligned to reach the people who are most likely to need your restoration services. ( Contact M4rr to discuss Google 3 Pack and Google Guaranteed)

Generate Leads: It is critical for a restoration business to generate leads to succeed.

The business goal to generate leads can be achieved by delivering value.
Restoration businesses should offer downloadable checklists or guides to each of their target audiences: plumbers, homeowners, property managers, real estate agents, insurance agents, etc.
The download form should request name, address, email and phone number in exchange for the content. Be sure to include a call to action within your blog posts that encourages readers to contact you for a free consultation or estimate.

Improve SEO and Search Ranking: SEO and blogging go hand-in-hand for restoration businesses, creating a powerful one-two punch to attract customers during their time of need. Here’s how they work together:

By regularly posting fresh content on your blog using relevant keywords, zip codes and specific services will help to improve your website’s search engine ranking ( SEO ).
This means that when people search for a restoration service in your area, your restoration company is more likely to show up on the search results. Your goal is to get your company to the first page of search results in your area for each service.
This can be done organically or by paid advertising. ( Contact M4rr to learn more about SEO )

Position Your Restoration Business as a Local Leader: Leadership is not about titles, it is about influence.

Sharing projects and success stories with your target audiences allow you to build social proof.
Consistently showcase recent galleries of images on your website, in blog post and on social media to establish credibility.
Partner with local active Chambers Of Commerce and community based organizations.
Consider public relations efforts with a community based affiliation.

Cost-Effective Organic Marketing: Connect long-term with target audiences by building brand awareness, engaging and educating with a lead generation goal.

Blogging is a relatively inexpensive way to reach potential customers. The content you create has the potential to attract leads for months or even years to come. Be sure to personalize the content and SEO keyword strategy. ( Contact m4rr to learn more about SEO )

In conclusion, this 7-step blog plan can be a very powerful tool for restoration businesses. If you do not have a content writer on your team, contact M4rr.com to discuss content marketing services.

By consistently providing value to a specific target audience, overtime you can position your restoration business as a local authority and consistently attract customers who want to use your restoration services.

This blog was written by Nia S Pearson, MBA and supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI. Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia. Nia is a strategic and creative leader that supports business growth through multi-channel integrated marketing techniques.

The post 7 Step Blog Plan For Restoration Businesses appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing Buzzwords To Know

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 19:45:00 GMT

Marketing Buzzwords To Know

Below is a list of marketing buzzwords to help you stay informed about marketing trends and help you to create an effective marketing strategies. Remember that while buzzwords come and go, the core principles of understanding them provide value and build confidence to grow your business.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is an outsourced sales process that consist of a marketing agreement between an affiliate and a business in which the business will pay the affiliate a commission for either a sale, form signup or another call to action.

What is ADA compliance/web accessibility?

Ada compliance/web accessibility ensures that content on websites is accessible to people with disabilities.

What is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities.

What is algorithm-friendly content?

Algorithm-friendly content is content that is optimized to perform well on various platform algorithms by focusing on consistency, relevance, and encouraging interaction.

What is answer engine optimization (AEO):

Answer Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing content to directly answer questions that users are asking in search engines and voice assistants.

What is B2B (Business-to-Business)

B2B refers to a transaction model where one business sells products or services to another business. The focus is on providing tools, raw materials, or services that help another company operate or grow.

Example: A software company selling a CRM system to a marketing agency.

What is B2C (Business-to-Consumer)

B2C refers to a retail model where a business sells products or services directly to individual end-users. The focus is on personal utility, lifestyle, and immediate needs.

Example: A clothing brand selling a jacket to a person through an online store.

What is branding?

Branding is the identity of a business products or services.

Visual Identity: Logos, color palettes (e.g., “M4RR 4 colors”), and font/typography.
Voice & Tone: Brand tone of voice (how your brand speaks: professional, authoritative, witty and rebellious).
Values & Promise: What the company stands for (e.g., growth, luxury, or affordability).

What is brick and mortar?

Brick and mortar is a customer facing physical office or store.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is the process of creating content for a target audience/s.

Relevance: Speak directly to specific “pain points” or interests of a niche group.
Consistency: A continuous flow of information that keeps the brand top-of-mind.
Utility: The audience should walk away having learned something or solved a problem.

What is content repurposing?

Content repurposing is the process of strategically using existing content in different formats and across multiple channels to maximize its reach and impact.

Example: Turning a blog post into a series of social media carousels and a short video.

What is customer experience (CX)?

Customer experience is the perspective your clients/customers have about their interactions with your business as a client/customer.

What is customer-centricity?

Customer centricity is a business strategy that places the clients/customers at the core of the business in order to provide positive experiences and build long-term relationships.

What are demographics?

Demographics are attributes of a group categorized by distinct criteria, such as —such as age, race, sex, education, employment status, income, etc.

What are the common Cs of marketing?

The common Cs of the marketing mix provide a framework for marketing success which include company, customers and competitors, cost, convenience and communication.

What is CPM?

CPM stands for cost per million and is the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of a specific advertisement.

What is CRM?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – acronym for Customer relationship management and is the process of storing customer and prospect data in an organized system that can produce reporting and data about a service or product. Note: For a CRM to be effective, the information should be managed consistently and cleaned up annually.

What is CTA?

CTA stands for call to action and is designed to prompt an action or immediate response. A CTA most often used to compel an audience to act in a very specific way.

What is core web vitals?

Core web vitals is a set of metrics used to ensure a great website user experience that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page.

What is data democratization?

Data democratization is the process of making data accessible to various teams within an organization to empower employees to make informed decisions and personalize their interactions with customers.

What is direct mail?

Direct mail marketing is a form of marketing communication that is mailed to a pre-selected group of prospects or clients/customers with a goal for them to take some action.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is commonly known as online marketing and consists of the promotion of a business using the internet. There are many forms of digital communication some of the top and most common chatbots, ominichannel, search engine optimization, email, social media, text, blog, web-based advertising etc.

What is E-A-T?

E-A-T is Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness: These are key factors that Google uses to evaluate the quality of content.

What is ecommerce?

E-commerce is the process of buying or selling over the internet.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing that is emailed to a targeted group of prospects or clients/customers to make them aware of something about your service. Email marketing is commonly used as a soft sell, education, value add to keep your audience engaged with your service.

What are FAQs?

FAQ stands for frequently asked questions which consist of a list of questions and answers about a particular subject, usually posted on a website or on marketing brochure.

What is farming?

Farming is a marketing strategy that focuses on a specific neighborhood in your geographic area, usually identified by zip codes or city.

What is first-party data strategy?

First-party data strategy involves building robust systems to collect and utilize data directly from customers to create more personalized and effective marketing campaigns.

What is generative AI?

Generative AI can create content like text, images, and videos that integrate into marketing workflows. For example, AI could assist in drafting personalized email campaigns or generating social media visuals.

What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?

GEO is the process of optimizing online content and the structure of website landing pages to improve its visibility and influence within the responses generated by AI-powered search engines and other generative AI applications.

What is human-first approach?

Human-first approach is the rise of AI, there’s a renewed emphasis on creating marketing content and experiences that feel authentic, relatable, and genuinely human, that avoid overly robotic or algorithm-driven communication.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing allows a business to connect with influencers that will endorse a service or product based on expert knowledge and social influence.

What are insights and analytics?

Insights and analytics is the process of organizing and examining data to determine patterns to help make better business decisions and provide customized reporting based on a specific goal.

What are KPIs?

KPIs are performance indicator that measures the success of a particular activity.

What is marketing?

Marketing is the process of understanding, creating, communicating, and delivering value to a customer or prospective customer. Marketing is an ongoing process with a range of activities aimed at attracting, engaging, and retaining customers by satisfying their needs and wants. Important: Marketing is not selling.

What is a marketing channel?

A marketing channel is a medium that allows a business to communicate with its target audience. IE: Social Media

What is a marketing brochure?

A marketing brochure is a printed or digital promotional material designed for current and potential customers, with details about a company’s services, products or events, also commonly known as flyers.

What is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a very specific outline of various different marketing tactics and cost that support a business plan.

What is a marketing platform?

A marketing platform is a software or a suite of integrated tools to plan, execute, manage, automate, and analyze marketing activities across various channels. IE: Mailchimp

What is marketing segmentation?

Marketing segmentation is the process is dividing existing and prospective audiences from a broad audience into sub-group based on industry, share the same age, gender, income, interest, buying behaviors, location, etc.

What is niche marketing?

Niche marketing is a small market segment audience with a focus on satisfying a specific market need.

What is mcommerce?

M-commerce is a form of e-commerce that enables us to shop online from a mobile device.

What is Micro-Influencers?

Micro-Influencers have small, engaged audiences, often seen as more authentic and trustworthy than mega-influencers. A boutique real estate brokerage might partner with a pet blogger who has a dedicated following in their city.

What is online reputation management? (ORM)

Online reputation management is the process of managing the online presence of a company. This includes website, social media, online directories, etc.

What is omnichannel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is to a combination of all marketing channels connecting to create a unified message and experience for one specific target audience. Omnichannel includes a combination of digital and traditional marketing efforts.

What are the Ps of marketing?

The common Ps of the marketing mix provide a framework for marketing success which include, product, price, promotion, people, process and place.

What is personalization?

Personalization is the process of tailoring content, information, service or product for a specific segment of individuals.

What is people also ask?

People also ask, (PAA) is a Google SERP feature that provides users with additional questions related to their original search query. The People Also Ask section contains a featured snippet for that query with answers that can be used in blogs and FAQ’s.

What is performance marketing?

Performance marketing refers to a form of digital marketing that is only paid after a service has been rendered or a specific action has been taken, such as a click, sale, or new lead.

What is predictive analytics?

Predicative analytics uses AI and machine learning to forecast future trends, customer behavior, and campaign performance to optimize marketing strategies proactively.

What is retargeting?

Retargeting is the second stage of targeting to the same user that has previously interacted with a website or advertisement.

What is short-form video content?

Short-form video content is content that engages audiences with concise and attention-grabbing videos on social media platforms like Instagram Reels , and YouTube Shorts.

What is search engine optimization?

Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ), is the process of increasing your website visibility to search engines, Google, Bing , Yahoo , etc.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to promote a service or product. Common social media platforms are Instagram, Google Business, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, etc.

What is social proof?

Social proof is leveraging reviews, testimonials, and case studies to demonstrate the value and trustworthiness of a product or service. Example: Feature customer ratings prominently on a website.

What is Social SEO?

Social SEO is optimizing content for searchability not just on traditional search engines but also on social media platforms, as these are increasingly used for service/product and brand discovery. The process involves using relevant keywords and hashtags in social media posts.

What is storyselling?

Storyselling involves engaging audiences by telling compelling narratives around a brand or product, focusing on emotions and experiences rather than direct selling.

What is strategic marketing?

Strategic marketing is the process of designing a well-planned series of marketing actions.

What is structured data markup?

Structured data markup is a standardized format for providing information about a webpage and classifying its content.

What is a target audience?

Target audience is a subset of people that will most likely want your service or product. Your target audience can be a group that shares the same age, gender, income, interest, buying behaviors, location, etc.

What is text marketing?

Text marketing is the process of sending electronic messages to a mobile device, that consists of alphabetic and numeric characters.

What is traditional marketing?

Traditional marketing is any form of marketing that uses offline media to reach a specific audience. Common examples of traditional marketing include magazine advertisements, direct mail, newspaper ads and other print ads, as well as television and radio advertisements.

What is user-generated content (UGC)?

UGC refers to authentic content created by customers themselves, such as reviews, testimonials, and social media posts. Seen as highly trustworthy and impactful.

What is unified martech stacks?

Unified martech stacks integrates various marketing technology tools and platforms to create a seamless flow of data and workflows, improving efficiency and providing a consistent customer experience.

What is a website?

A website is a collection of web pages published on a web server and linked to a domain, used to engage customers and prospects to a business service or product.

What is Zero-Party Data?

Zero-Party Data is data that customers willingly and directly share with a brand, such as preferences, interests, and purchase intentions, often through quizzes or forms. It’s considered more valuable and privacy-friendly than third-party data. An example could be a brand asking customers about their personalized product recommendations.

Did you notice a term we are missing? Contact us today.

The post Marketing Buzzwords To Know appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Real Estate Marketing Workshop

Sun, 04 Feb 2024 02:39:00 GMT

Online Marketing is no longer an option for Realtors. To grow your real estate business, it’s crucial to expand beyond social media marketing and adapt to ominichannel real estate marketing strategies to get more sellers and buyers in a niche market.

In this 2 hour jam packed Nia S. Pearson, MBA, Residential Real Estate Marketing Consultant with 20+ years of marketing experience will help you align your understanding of the people business to the right omnichannel marketing activities.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Successful online marketing is the systematic way of using internet-based tools to help clients find you and do business with you.

During this workshop, Realtors will learn the NST Strategy, to align strategy, planning and systems to digital marketing fundamentals, content marketing , social media marketing , email marketing , mobile versus desktop, SEO and analytics.

WHAT IS NST

Niche – Strategy – Technology

IMPORTANT NOTES

Everyone in your sphere should see you as an market expert.

Sellers are looking for agents in every market & buyers are searching the internet.

MARKETING MINDSET

By learning the benefits of having an integrated marketing plan that expands across online marketing/search engine marketing and traditional marketing you can reach your full potential.

WHAT MATTERS MOST

Building your personal brand

Creating memorable experiences

Adding value to one of the largest financial transactions that sellers and buyers will make.

MARKETING STRATEGY

A marketing strategy is a long-term plan that nurtures business goals through understanding needs, expectations, competition and market opportunities.

If you are ready to take your real estate business to the next level, this workshop is for you.

If you do not have an established online marketing strategy, this workshop is for you.

If you are only using social media to drive business, this workshop is for you.

If you do not have a website, seo strategy or up to date real estate photos, this workshop is for you.

If you do not have an integrated marketing strategy for your business, this workshop is for you.

If you have not had a marketing audit for your business, this workshop is for you.

WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE PURCHASING A TICKET:

THE IMPORTANCE OF:

Branding – the identity of a business products or services.

Marketing plan – a very specific outline of various different marketing tactics and cost that support a business plan.

Niche marketing -a small market segment audience with a focus on satisfying a specific market need.

All types of Video content, long form, short form, Podcasting (property tours, informational videos, local videos)

Website – a collection of web pages published on a web server and linked to a domain.

Segmenting sellers and buyer’s

Time Management – the process of allocating time for different tasks and activities.

Marketing Budget Allocation

Top Trending Marketing Initiatives

The post Real Estate Marketing Workshop appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

AI Generated Content For Marketing

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 03:37:00 GMT

The future of AI content generation offers exciting possibilities in marketing to personalize content and reshape the way we create and consume information.

Here’s a glimpse into the future of content marketing with AI:

Enhanced Creativity and Personalization:

There are AI tools that can collaborate with human writers and artists, brainstorming ideas, generating different creative variations and tailoring content to specific audiences that can adapt to your mood!

Revolutionizing Education and Training:

Personalized learning experiences tailored to individual strengths and weaknesses will become easier. AI tutors can adapt teaching styles, provide immediate feedback, and generate custom learning materials to make education more efficient and engaging for your team or your target clients/customers.

Boosting Scientific Discovery and Innovation:

AI can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and predict outcomes, accelerating scientific research and development. AI will play a crucial role in pushing the boundaries of information and knowledge. Annual marketing audits can be produced quickly and more efficiently across multiple platforms.

Democratizing Content Creation:

User-friendly AI tools empowers anyone to create high-quality content, regardless of the level of technical expertise. The goal for content creation with AI should focus on your target audiences , unique value proposition and differentiation in the marketplace. There are endless possibilities that could lead to a surge in storytelling, artistic expression and new business.

Ethical Considerations:

As AI content generation becomes more sophisticated, concerns around plagiarism and misinformation, will need careful consideration. To ensure accuracy will require a human oversight from a content writer .

The future of AI content generation is not without its challenges, but the potential benefits are undeniable. By harnessing the power of AI responsibly and creatively, you can improve your marketing by unlocking a new era of information accessibility, personalized experiences, and groundbreaking advancements.

It’s important to remember that AI is a tool, and like any tool, the impact depends on how we use it in our marketing. ( 8 Questions About AI )

By fostering responsible development and ethical considerations, AI content generation can serve as a force for good content quality across multiple marketing platforms. We can all look forward to improved creativity, enriched communication, and propelled human experiences.

Learn best practices on adding AI to your marketing plan , contact us today. 818.824.4479

This blog was written by Nia S. Pearson, MBA and supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI.

The post AI Generated Content For Marketing appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How To Create An SEO Strategy

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 02:49:00 GMT

In today’s fast-paced digital world, having a strong online presence is one of the most important marketing decisions you can make to increase your visibility. But with countless websites competing for attention, how can you ensure that your business stands out? That’s where an SEO (Search Engine Optimization), strategy comes into play.

The search landscape has changed to include AI generated content , but the basics of SEO remains the same to stay ahead of unprecedented competitive challenges.

Focus on helping them, always, and not just gaming the algorithm. Your goal isn’t just to rank highly — it’s to get the right content in front of the right people.

Why is an SEO strategy Important?

An SEO strategy, helps you stay ahead of the competition and ensures that your target audience can easily find you online. Keep in mind that higher search rankings, lead to increased website traffic, and ultimately more new business.

Framework: Your services are listed on a sleek website, but your potential customers are struggling to find you online. That may be frustrating, to hear since most small business owners, assume that just having a website will get more business with no consideration given to competition, and unfortunately that is not the case.

An effective SEO strategy ensures that your website appears in local search engine results on Google, Bing and Yahoo. By optimizing your website’s content, loading time, structure, and performance, you can significantly improve your search engine rankings.

Since 75% of online users do not look past the first page of search results, getting to the first page for a specific service, will require patience and a plan. Note: Before you start, claim your Google Business Page.

“Before starting a new advertising campaign, claim your Google Business Page, set up Google Analytics and create an SEO strategy”. Nia S. Pearson

The good news is that your SEO strategy should can also be beneficial in content planning for email and social media marketing. This is you will discover opportunities to answer questions prospective customers will have about your industry and specific service.

Before you start the planning process, it’s important to note, there are three kinds of SEO:

On-page SEO – All information on your website. Blogs, service content and all landing page copy.

Off-page SEO – All things that happen off your website, backlinks.

Technical SEO – All technical undertaken to improve Search Rankings – site indexing to help bot crawling.

Step one, in developing an SEO keyword strategy is conducting a comprehensive website audit. This involves analyzing your google analytics organic keywords, compiling keywords from your most visited website landing pages, identify areas that need improvement, and setting goals for enhancing your online visibility. (sources: Wordstream & Adsby )

Step two, conduct a thorough keyword research to identify the most relevant and highly searched terms that your potential customers are typing into search engines. You can also conduct a survey from your current customers to find out, how they heard about your service and turn that information into relevant keywords. By strategically incorporating relevant keywords into your website’s content, you will attract more qualified traffic to your website.

On-page Search Engine Optimization , includes optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, URL structures, and creating valuable, user-focused content. By making your website more appealing to both search engines and visitors, you will increase your chances of ranking higher in search results.

Off-page Search Engine Optimization , includes building high-quality backlinks and engaging social media post, that influence your website’s authority and reputation in the eyes of search engines and your target customers.

Technical Search Engine Optimization , allows search engines to crawl your website based on site structure, landing page loading time, SSL certificate, Ada compliance, case studies and FAQ.

Throughout the implementation of your SEO strategy, continuous monitoring and analysis are crucial. SEO is not a one and done process. By analyzing website metrics monthly and taking actions on user behaviors reporting, you can make data-driven decisions by refining your SEO strategy as needed to maximize results.

Don’t let your business get lost in the vast digital landscape. Invest time and resources into building an effective SEO strategy, and watch your online visibility soar.

Additional Areas To Focus:

Search For Your Company’s Head Term on Google

The most important keyword for every business will be your business name, so you should find your company’s head term on Google.

Keywords –

Long-tail keywords are search phrases that are more specific and have lower search volume than head terms or short keywords. They typically consist of three or more words and are often used by people who are further along in the buying journey and know exactly what they’re looking for.

For example, someone searching for “buy a home” is using a head term, while someone searching for “best places to live in Sherman Oaks ” is using a long-tail keyword.

There are a number of benefits to using long-tail keywords in your SEO and marketing efforts:

Less competition: Because they are more specific, long-tail keywords are generally less competitive than head terms. This means that it is easier to rank for them in search results, which can lead to more website traffic.

Higher conversion rates: People who use long-tail keywords are typically more qualified leads, as they are closer to making a purchase decision. This means that they are more likely to convert when they click on your website.

More targeted traffic: Long-tail keywords can help you attract more targeted traffic to your website.This is because they are more specific, so people who find your site are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

Lower cost-per-click (CPC): If you are running pay-per-click (PPC) ads, you will typically pay less for clicks on long-tail keywords than you will for head terms. This is because there is less competition for these keywords.

Here are some tips for finding long-tail keywords:

Use keyword research tools: There are a number of keyword research tools available that can help you find long-tail keywords. Some popular options include Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush.

Think like your customers: What would your ideal customer search for online? Try to come up with a list of long-tail keywords that they might use.

Look at your search queries: You can also find long-tail keywords by looking at the search queries that people are already using to find your website. You can see this data in Google Search Console.

Use long-tail keyword generators: There are a number of online tools that can help you generate long-tail keyword ideas.

Once you have a list of long-tail keywords, you can start incorporating them into your SEO and marketing efforts. Here are a few tips for how to do this:

Use them in your website content: Write blog posts, articles, and other content that targets your long-tail keywords.

Optimize your website pages for your keywords: Make sure that your website pages are optimized for the long-tail keywords that you are targeting. This includes using the keywords in your title tags,meta descriptions, and throughout the body of your content.

Use them in your PPC ads: If you are running PPC ads, you can target your long-tail keywords to reach people who are searching for them.

By using long-tail keywords in your SEO and marketing efforts, you can attract more qualified traffic to your website and lower your marketing costs.

What are search queries?

Search queries, also known as search terms or keywords, are the words and phrases that people enter into search engines to get a list of results.
They represent the actual words and phrases that people use to express their needs and interests.

Key characteristics:

Variety: Search queries can range from single words to complex phrases and questions.
Specificity: They can be broad or highly specific, depending on the user’s intent.
Dynamic: Search queries constantly evolve with trends, language, and user behavior.

Types of search queries:

Navigational queries: Aim to reach a specific website or page (e.g., “Facebook login”).
Informational queries: Seek information or answers to questions (e.g., “How to make lasagna”).
Transactional queries: Express intent to complete a transaction or purchase (e.g., “buy running shoes”).
Commercial investigation queries: Research products or services before buying (e.g., “best laptops for gaming”).
Local queries: Seek information related to a specific location (e.g., “pizza near me”).

Importance in SEO and marketing:

Understanding search queries is crucial for search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing because it allows you to:
- Create content that aligns with what people are searching for.
- Optimize your website’s structure and content to match user intent.
- Target relevant keywords in your paid advertising campaigns.
- Understand user behavior and preferences.

Tools for analyzing search queries:

Google Search Console: Provides data on search queries that lead to your website.
Google Keyword Planner: Helps discover new keywords and estimate search volume.
Third-party tools: Wordstream, Adsby, and others offer comprehensive keyword research and analysis features.

Additional considerations:

User intent: Understanding the intent behind search queries is essential for providing relevant results.
Search query length: Long-tail keywords (more specific phrases) often have lower competition and higher conversion rates.
Voice search: Optimize content for natural language queries and conversational tone.
Personalization: Search engines tailor results based on user location, search history, and other factors.

This blog was written by Nia S Pearson, MBA and supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI. Nia S. Pearson , MBA is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, a full-service marketing agency based in Los Angeles, California. Nia has two decades of B2B and B2C marketing experience and is frequently sought out for her expertise in marketing through seminars, workshops and academia. Nia is a strategic and creative leader that supports business growth through multi-channel integrated marketing techniques.

The post How To Create An SEO Strategy appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The Importance Of Market Research

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 01:41:00 GMT

If you manage task that involve marketing, understanding who to target will require identifying your target audience or audiences.

Keep in mind when targeting multiple audiences, the funnels to drive traffic will likely vary.

This essential step is overlooked by a large percentage of small businesses which leads to the staggering statistic… 75% of businesses fail within the first year due to a lack of market research? Astonishing, isn’t it? Don’t become a part of that statistic – be a smart entrepreneur!

In this blog you will gain insights on:

How to conduct regular market research to better understand your target customers/clients.
Since needs and preferences change often, we recommend an annual market audit which includes market research and consumer insights.

What is Market Research?

Simply put, market research involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting relevant data about a specific market, potential customers, and competitors.

Market research provides valuable insights that can positively shape marketing strategies, service development, and overall business decisions.

So for example, if you run a business that offers one service and your targeting commercial businesses and residential homeowners with the same content, you should reconsider and separate your marketing plans and create a funnels for each audience.

The Process Of Market Research

The key to this process being successful is to identify consumer problems and pinpoint realistic opportunities.

Market research should not be underestimated and should be considered before executing new marketing campaigns. To keep it simple, you need the right data to grow your business, period.

It’s the simplest way for entrepreneurs to keep up with market trends and maintain a competitive edge by carefully reviewing the market.

To fully understand a business opportunity, requires an evaluation of your market position and resources compared to the overall market and your competition in a swot analysis.

The Execution Of Market Research

Market research can be carried out at various stages of a business life cycle, but should start at the beginning of each year.

For small businesses with limited resources, consider a survey .
For small businesses with larger budgets, consider obtaining data from a marketing agency or research firm.
Consider, local, regional and national market data as three parameters when possible. In many cases comparing different markets can help with predictive market analysis.
Having a greater understanding of the total market share is the foundation for sound business planning.

In this ever-evolving business world, understanding your clients/customers needs is crucial for staying ahead of the game.

Market research is the tool to drive your business towards greater heights.

Identifying Target Market & Consumer Needs

Market research helps identify the individuals most likely to be interested in your service. By understanding their preferences, desires, and challenges, you can tailor your offerings to meet their needs effectively.

Take a deep dive by building customer personas .
Armed with this knowledge, you can fine-tune your and gain a competitive edge.

Service Development & Innovation

Another significant aspect of market research is its power to drive service development and innovation.

By understanding your audiences you are best equipped to provide the a customer centric experiences since you have know them well. This also allows you to refine your services as needed and even create new ones that align with their expectations. By thinking outside the box you are able to consider complimentary services for your target clients.

Maximizing Marketing Efforts

Moreover, market research helps you maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Market research guides messages, which results in cost savings, improved conversions, and increased client/customer satisfaction.

Mitigating Risks

Lastly, market research acts as a shield against potential risks. By identifying emerging trends, customer preferences, or disruptive technologies, you can adapt your business strategy accordingly, minimizing risks and seizing opportunities.

Conclusion

To sum it all up, market research is not just an option; it’s a necessity for every business that wants to operate efficiently. Understanding your target market, analyzing your competitors, driving innovation, maximizing marketing efforts, and mitigating risks are all achievable goals through proper market research.

Remember, being informed is the key to success. So, invest in market research today and watch your business thrive!

To learn more about effective ways to grow your business using market research, schedule a call with Nia Pearson .

Nia is F ounder, and senior consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results , a full-service consulting agency that acts as an outsourced marketing team for small businesses.

This blog was supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI.

The post The Importance Of Market Research appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Top 5 Reasons To Work with a Marketing Agency

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 00:03:00 GMT

Whether you’re a new or existing business, having a marketing team can help you achieve your business goals faster. By investing in effective marketing resources, you can drive business growth, build a strong brand, and achieve long-term success.

It’s not just about expertise, it’s also about the ability to execute a comprehensive marketing plan in a timely manner.

Factors To Consider:

Strategic Marketing Manager: Responsible for executing strategies that increase business, build brand awareness, analyze marketing data and implement best practices.

SEO Specialist: Essential for driving traffic to your website. This role helps your business to improve online ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs, Google , Bing , Yahoo ).

Content Writer: Create consistent high-quality content that is informative and engaging. This content can be used across your website, blog, email, social media and other marketing channels.

Email Marketing Specialist: Create, manage and send email campaigns.

Social Media Manager : Create social media content and manage social media accounts.

Building and maintaining a marketing team with diversified skills can be very expensive if you hire one person for each role needed. By partnering with Marketing 4 Real Results you will have access to a team of experts across all marketing dimension, including Marketing Planning, AI, Blog Writing, Email Marketing, Customer Service, etc.

We help hundreds of businesses every year to stay ahead of their competition. Our unique and strategic approach to business includes using data to make decisions and always leading with a customer centric approach.

Why Choose Marketing 4 Real Results

We are committed to our clients success. Since 2015 we’ve helped small businesses grow through consulting and implementation of marketing activities.

We deliver unified messaging across all marketing channels for brand consistency.

We scale brands with unique and personalized marketing campaigns.

We align your business goals with your unique value proposition to create impactful and targeted marketing campaigns.

Our Success Planning Structures:
- NST, Niche – Strategy – Technology
- SPS, Strategy – Planning – Systems

“Marketing is an ongoing process. Review it, improve it, change it. But never stop it.” – Nia Pearson

Industries We specialize In

We specialize in: Real Estate, Cleaning & Restoration and start up SMB’s .

Top 5 Reasons to Hire a Marketing Agency

We understand that in today’s competitive business landscape, effective marketing is crucial to thrive and stay ahead of the game. We help you to stand out from the crowd. Whether you’re a startup looking to establish your brand or an established company seeking to expand your services to more clients/customers we’ve got you covered.

Reason 1: Expertise.

Marketing 4 Real Results is equipped with a team of experts who possess a wealth of knowledge. We understand the latest trends, consumer behaviors, and industry insights, which allows us to develop tailored marketing campaigns that truly resonate with your target audiences.

Our team can help with consulting and implementation of marketing services, marketing audit , marketing plan development, branding (very important-see below), email marketing , digital/online marketing (local search engine optimization , content marketing , text marketing, customer loyalty programs and social media marketing . (social media services for legacy account only)

Reason 2: Time-Saving.

Running a successful business requires time and dedication. By outsourcing your marketing efforts to a professional agency, like Marketing 4 Real Results you can focus on what you do best while we strategically plan, execute, and monitor marketing campaigns on your behalf. This not only saves you time but also ensures your marketing activities are consistent, efficient and effective.

Reason 3: Cost-Effective.

Contrary to common belief, hiring a marketing agency can actually be cost-effective. Instead of hiring and training an in-house marketing team and investing in costly tools and software, partnering with an agency allows you to access a wide range of marketing expertise at a fraction of the cost.

Reason 4: Fresh Perspectives.

Sometimes, we all get stuck in a rut and run out of creative ideas. Marketing 4 Real Results brings fresh perspectives and innovative approaches to the table. Our team of professionals study marketing trends, analyze data, and think outside the box to create captivating campaigns that drive brand awareness, engagement, and conversions.

Reason 5: Measurable Results.

Working with Marketing 4 Real Results, you can expect smart marketing with measurable results. You’ll get clear insights into ROI, conversion rates, customer engagement, and more, empowering you to make data-driven decisions for the growth of your business online and offline.

A Customer Centric Approach

According to Gartner, the companies where every area of the business is focused on improving/managing the customer experience are more likely to flourish. (explore customer personas )

A Powerful Way To Drive Brand Awareness and Trust

Amplify your business reputation, redefine your brand’s uniqueness and maximize credibility with Marketing 4 Real Results, branding services.

Develop a strong brand identity through curated messaging and segmented content.
Create customizable email, powerpoint and social media templates.
Develop branded postcard templates and targeted email and direct mailing lists.
Digital Exposure through focused landing pages, link building, and high value content.
Print Exposure – How to get in the news by creating a press release with a unique or noteworthy topic, or involve a celebrity or public figure. We can not promise media placement. We can however promise every effort to get your story in front of the media.
+ so much more.

The Secret Weapon Against Disruption

In context of today’s competitive landscape, the businesses who want to not only survive but thrive, are constantly looking over their shoulders at what their competition is doing and making the necessary adjustments to gain market share.

The consumer battlefield has shifted, it is now business critical to put the client/customer at the center of everything you do. To win, it’s important that businesses have an innate understanding of their evolving customer/client needs.

Consumer Demand & Technology Advances

Working with a marketing agency can fulfill the digital experience demands and help you scale high quality, relevant content at every touchpoint across all marketing platforms.

“As a company grows, everything needs to scale, including the size of your failed experiments.” – Jeff Bezos

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, let us be your trusted partner. Contact us today to get started.

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New California Employment Laws

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Are you aware of the new California employment laws that go into effect Jan 1, 2024 that can greatly impact your business?

As the business landscape continues to evolve, it is crucial for employers to understand the latest regulations that affect the way you manage your workforce.

Below is a quick cheat sheet of the new California employment laws that go into effect on January 1, 2024 that demand your attention. See the full list here.

Get comprehensive HR solutions from our friends at Jennings Human Resource Solutions.

Together, let’s create thriving workplaces that embrace change and fosters business success.

State Minimum Wage Increase: The state minimum wage will increase to $16 per hour. California’s minimum wage previously stood at $15.50. Some cities and counties have a higher local minimum wage, according to the Department of Industrial Relations .

Paid Sick Leave: Introduced by State Sen. Lena Gonzalez, SB 616 would apply to employees who have been working in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within their starting year. The bill will require an employee to have no less than 40 hours or five days of accrued sick leave or paid time off by the 200th calendar day of employment, or in each 12-month period.

Reproductive Leave: Introduced by State Sen. Susan Rubio, SB 848 would require employers to offer reproductive leave. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse or grant a request by an employee to take up to five days upon the death of a family member. This bill would allow reproductive leave within three months of the event and will use other leave balances otherwise available to the employee. An employer may deny leave for more than one reproductive loss within 12 months.

Work From Home: Introduced by State Sen. Angelique Ashby, SB 731 requires an employer to provide a 30-day advance written notice before requiring remote employees to return to an in-person setting. The notice would also explain the employee’s right to remain remote as an accommodation, if applicable, to their disabilities.

Penalizing Cannabis: Introduced by State Sen. Steven Bradford, SB 700 would make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment.
- (A) The person’s use of cannabis off the job and away from the workplace.
- (B) An employer-required drug screening test that has found the person to have nonpsychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine, or other bodily fluids.

Don’t let the complexity of the new California employment laws jeopardize your business’s success. Stay informed, stay compliant, and stay ahead of the curve and out of litigation.

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It’s Time For A Marketing Audit

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 19:59:00 GMT

We are excited to announce our limited-time offer of a free marketing audit through December 31, 2023. Once this offer expires, the standard marketing audit rate will apply.

Are you struggling to fully understand the effectiveness of your marketing efforts? It’s time to unlock the secrets to business success with a professional marketing audit to give your business the competitive edge it deserves.

Our team of experienced marketing professionals will review your current marketing initiatives, reporting, data and systems to identify areas that need attention.

Let the new year, bring new marketing energy to your business by targeting the right audiences, using the right systems, creating customer centric marketing funnels and building integrated marketing campaigns.

What Is A Marketing Audit

A marketing audit is an analysis of your overall marketing activities, evaluating everything from your branding to client/customer engagement strategies. Think of it as a thorough health check-up for your marketing department.

Benefits Of A Marketing Audit

Conducting a marketing audit allows you to identify your strengths and weaknesses, providing you with valuable insights into areas that need improvement. By analyzing your current marketing initiatives, you can understand what’s working and what isn’t, making data-driven decisions for future business success.

Key Features Of A Marketing Audit

After a marketing audit, you are armed with valuable information, to help you make informed decisions on how to optimize your marketing efforts, saving both time and money. Whether it’s adjusting your email marketing strategy, refining your website design, updating your branding, or fine-tuning your blog content, a marketing audit enables you to align your marketing objectives with your business goals .

So why wait? Take control of your marketing strategies today and leverage the power of a marketing audit .

Contact us today to schedule your personalized marketing audit ! Together, let’s unlock your business’s true potential. Schedule your marketing audit here .

The post It’s Time For A Marketing Audit appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Real Estate Email Marketing Content

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 02:48:00 GMT

Sending Targeted Emails to your sphere and prospects will help to increase email engagement rates and grow your real estate business. Below are samples of email marketing content to get you started on the days when you can’t find the words.

What You Should Know About Email Marketing:

An email marketing funnel is the journey your subscribers take through email marketing as they move through the business cycle. An email funnel has the same 5 stages of consideration as a marketing funnel .

By having your subscribed contacts on a funnel you only send content that targets their pain points and goals. It’s not as important to send more emails instead its best to send targeted emails. This will require asking more questions upfront before adding a contact to your email contact list.

Sample Email Content To Sellers;

The home selling journey can be intimidating for many first time home sellers, so I put together a list of 10 tips for selling your home quickly. (link this section to your website list)

Every home selling transaction has its own set of challenges, which I will support throughout the process. I will hold your hand as much as needed to ensure we overcome any challenges.

So i f you ever have a residential home-selling question, d on’t hesitate to call, text or email me. (note: text is the preferred communication channel for consumers.)

Sample Email Content To Buyers;

The home buying process has many steps in the first phase that cause first time home buyers frustration like : · 1 · how much to save for a downpayment · 2· the importance of a pre-approval and · 3 . selecting the right lender, · 4· paperwork required.

I am only a text away at every corner of the home buying process.

I want to express my goal to always provide top-tier service. Having this level of prestige as my landmark, leads me to network with the best in the real estate business for escrow, title and inspections services.

Sample Email Content on the Home buying Process;

The home buying process can easily become overwhelming. Manage expectations with your buyers about the home buying process.

Email Subject line: Steps To Homeowners

Home Buyer Tips

Save for a Down Payment:

This should be done at the beginning of your home search.
This process will set the foundation for the home buying process.
Understand how much home you can afford and are willing to spend and how much money you will need for the down payment.

Get Pre-Qualified / Pre-Approved:

Many homeowners would like to see that potential buyers are either pre-qualified or pro-approved before showing their home.
Having this qualification met will let homeowner know that you are a serious and qualified buyer.
Without a pre-qualification or pre-approval, you may not be granted access to view properties.

Residential Realtor Focus:

This is the area to promote your unique value proposition.
Include your expertise, client testimonials, google reviews, and how you plan to guide the home buying process.
Manage expectations by explaining the process for showings, escrow requirements and inspections to make the process, less stressful.

Neighborhood & Home Highlights:

Highlight different zip codes, cities and neighborhood history. (consider: niche )
Explain the variation in equity appreciation, different styles of homes, local entertainment, parks and schools.
Explain the process of open houses and pre-requisite instructions for viewing homes.
Explain list pricing and negotiable factors.

Always remind your home buying audience to text you. ( text is the preferred communication channel for consumers.)

If you’re ready to take your email marketing to the next level, let us be your trusted partner. Contact us today to get started.

The post Real Estate Email Marketing Content appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

New Email Marketing Protections

Sun, 24 Dec 2023 01:27:00 GMT

In today’s digital world, email is the lifeblood of marketing communication. As one of the top trending marketing channels, it’s unfortunate that our digital sanctuary is open to unwanted guests that bring danger from spoofing and phishing.

Since October, 2022 there has been a staggering 61% increase in the rate of phishing, causing a high level of stress for many consumers and businesses.

Due to the increase in phishing emails, Gmail and Yahoo recently announced new requirements to add a DMARC records to website domains before February 1, 2024. DMARC is not the same as DKIM which also provides email authentication . If you miss this deadline, you risk having your emails marked as spam or being blocked. Note: DMARC is not a new email function, although now we can consider DMARC the email authentication hero.

Phishing is the single most common form of cyber-crime.

The alarming increase of phishing attacks are getting more sophisticated and several factors have contributed to this rise:

Increased online activity: With more people working, shopping, and socializing online due to lockdowns and social distancing, scammers have a larger pool of potential victims.
Financial vulnerabilities: The economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic has made people more susceptible to scams that promise quick financial gains or relief.
Urgency and fear: Scammers often exploit people’s anxieties and fears surrounding the pandemic, such as concerns about health, finances, or job security, to manipulate them into giving up personal information or money.
Shifting attack vectors: As people become more aware of traditional phishing tactics via email, scammers are increasingly turning to text messages, social media, and even phone calls to launch their attacks. ( stats on phishing).

Sending bulk emails through third-party email marketing platforms (e.g., Constant Contact , Mailchimp , Marketo , or Zoho and others, check your email and domain provider, Godaddy , Ionos , etc.) now require you to take action before February 1, 2024.

What is DMARC:

DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance. It’s like a digital bouncer for your inbox, ensuring only authorized emails enter your mailbox. But before you can get this protection, let’s unpack the how it works and the basic requirements for a DMARC record:

Here’s how DMARC works:

Authentication: DMARC builds on top of existing email authentication protocols like SPF and DKIM.SPF checks the IP address of the email sender against a list of authorized servers, while DKIM adds a digital signature to the email that can be verified by the recipient.

Policy: Once DMARC has determined whether an email is authenticated, it checks the policy that the domain owner has set for handling unauthenticated emails. There are three main policy options:

Reject: This tells receiving servers to reject any emails that fail DMARC authentication.
Quarantine: This tells receiving servers to quarantine unauthenticated emails, so that the recipient can decide whether to accept them or not.
Monitor: This tells receiving servers to simply monitor unauthenticated emails and report them to the domain owner.

Check the status of your DMARC record added here.

Reporting: DMARC also provides a way for receiving mail servers to send reports back to the domain owner about emails that fail authentication. These reports can help the domain owner identify potential spoofing attempts and take action to protect their domain.

Benefits of using DMARC:

Prevents email spoofing: DMARC makes it much more difficult for attackers to spoof your email address and send phishing emails.
Protects your brand reputation: Stop scammers from using your domain for phishing attacks.
Improves email deliverability: Emails that pass DMARC authentication are more likely to be delivered to the recipient’s inbox, rather than being sent to spam.
Provides valuable insights: DMARC reports provide actionable data to improve email security.
The reports that DMARC generates can provide valuable insights into how your email domain is being used, which can help you to improve your email security posture.

Ready to take control of your email security? Dive deeper into DMARC with these resources:

DMARC.org : The official website with comprehensive information and tools.
Google’s DMARC Guide: A beginner-friendly guide from the email authentication experts.
EasyDMARC : A DMARC reporting and analysis platform to simplify monitoring.

Get help with DMARC:

The steps involved in the authentication process may vary depending on your website host. Remember, DMARC is not a magic bullet, but a powerful tool that will give your email security arsenal.

Recommended DMARC policy implementation:
Host: _dmarc.m4rr.com (you may or may not need the m4rr.com extension, your IT team will advise).
Text record: v=Dmarc1; p=none; (you may or may not need capital (D), your IT team will advise).

Confirm your DMARC record here.

Check who owns your domain here.

By following these requirements and best practices, you can shield your inbox from spoofing and phishing, protecting your business and your clients/customers.

Can’t find the right documentation for your platform? Reach out for support .

DMARC doesn’t just act, it informs. Receiving servers send reports detailing email authentication attempts, highlighting successes and failures. Analyze these reports regularly to identify any suspicious activity and adjust your DMARC policy accordingly.

The post New Email Marketing Protections appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How To Create A Social Media Calendar

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 00:24:00 GMT

Are you a social media manager or business owner that would like to stay ahead of the game? Look no further! We have the perfect solution for you. A step-by-step guide on how to create your very own social media calendar.

What Is A Social Media Calendar?

A social media calendar is a strategic plan for organizing and sharing content across your social media channels. In the fast-paced world of social media, having a well-planned calendar is crucial to your success. It helps you organize your content and stay consistent in your social media marketing.

What Are The Benefits Of A Social Media Calendar?

Help you stay organized
Helps you engage with your audience effectively
Ensures consistency of messaging
Tracks your progress toward social media business goals

Before you create your social media calendar, start by understanding your target audience. This will help you brainstorm content ideas that align with your business objectives.

Consider creating a mix of post types, such as educational, entertaining, promotional, and inspirational content, video, questions, testimonials, behind the scenes, customers, events, etc. The below questions will guide you in crafting engaging content for your social media followers.

Most Popular Social Media Channels

According to Stacy Jo Dixon , Facebook was the first social network to surpass one billion registered accounts and currently sits at more than three billion monthly active users. Meta Platforms owns four of the biggest social media platforms, all with over one billion monthly active users each: Facebook (core platform), WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram.

Questions To Answer About Your Target Audience

What type of content will resonate with them?
What are their demographics, location, preferences, pain points, and interests?
What tone of voice will you employ, Professional, Casual, Serious, Funny, Informative or Flirtatious?
What languages, English, Spanish, Portugese, French, Italian,

Steps to create a social media calendar:

Step 1: Define your social media goals

What do you want to achieve with your social media marketing? Once you know your goals, you can start to create content that will help you reach them.

Are you trying to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, or generate leads?

Step 2: Choose your social media platforms

All social media platforms are not the same. For example, Instagram is a great platform for sharing visual content, while LinkedIn will help you showcase your professional story. Selecting the best social media platforms is about being where your target audience is.

Step 3: Create a content mix

Your social media content should be a mix of different types of content, such as:

Images: Images are a great way to capture attention and make your posts more visually appealing.
Videos: Video has become increasingly popular on social media. Use video to tell a story and engage your audience more intimately.
T e xt posts: Text posts has become increasingly popular. Text post can be used to share news, updates, and industry insights.
Links: Links can be used to drive traffic to your website or blog.

Step 4: Schedule your posts

Once you have created content or had content created from an outsourced marketing team, you can start to schedule your posts. Many social media platforms currently offer options to schedule post, for those platforms that do not, you can use a free platform like, Hootsuite and Buffer. These tools allow you to automate your posting schedule. To get help with social media , schedule a call with Marketing 4 Real Results.

Step 5: Track your results

Lastly, track your performance throughout the year so that you can see what’s working and what’s not working. Analyze which content resonates most with your audience and adjust your content calendar and strategy accordingly. Keep an eye on engagement metrics, follower growth, and conversion rates.

Additional tips for creating a social media calendar:

Use a template : Download this free template designed by Marketing 4 Real Results to help you stay organized with separate tabs for each week of the month.
Involve your team: If you have a team, get each person involved in the creation of your social media calendar. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and that you are creating content that is relevant to your target audience.
Be flexible: Things don’t always go according to plan, so it’s important to be flexible and make changes to your social media calendar as needed.
Don’t be afraid to experiment: Try new things and see what works best for your audience. It’s also a good idea to talk about trending topics. The key to success is to be willing to change direction and pay attention to comments and algorithms.

Creating a social media calendar can take some time and effort, but it’s worth it in the long run. A well-crafted social media calendar will help you achieve focus your marketing messages and grow your business.

So, whether you’re a social media manager or a business owner, take control of your social media presence by creating a well-planned social media calendar .

Stay consistent, engage with your audience, and watch your brand thrive. Start planning today!

The post How To Create A Social Media Calendar appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

2024 Small Business Marketing Forecast

Sat, 18 Nov 2023 23:29:00 GMT

To accomplish 2024 marketing goals, you’ll need to embrace emerging trends and adapt your marketing strategies to meet the evolving needs of your target audience/s.

This blog post will delve into the most effective marketing strategies designed to help your business achieve goals in the most efficient way possible. The techniques outlined here include a client focus with a look at the trajectory, growth and potential to drive new business.

Keep in mind that not every marketing tactic will drive business in the same way for every business regardless of industry, company size, number of team members, and marketing resources.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Understanding your target audience is an important first step in marketing planning .

As you embrace new trending marketing tactics remember to make customer service a priority and give each marketing campaign an adequate amount of planning.

Embrace AI: Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the marketing landscape, enabling efficient bulk personalized interactions and automated 24/7 customer support.

By effectively using AI you can engage with more customers in real-time to address their queries and guide them through the sales funnel.

Embrace Technology for Marketing Automation and Optimization: Utilize marketing automation tools to streamline tasks, manage workflows, and optimize campaign performance.

Use data-driven insights to make informed decisions and continuously improve your marketing efforts.

Prioritize Customer Experience and Engagement: It’s very important to focus on creating positive customer experiences across all touchpoints. Starting with your website and social media presence to all customer service interactions and business processes.

An excellent way to secure an intimate relationship with your customer/client base is to encourage more face-to-face interactions, loyalty programs, customer engagement through interactive content and community forums.

Personalization Marketing through Data and Analytics: Gather and analyze customer/client data to create hyper-personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors.

Use data-driven insights to tailor messaging, product recommendations, and offers to each customer, enhancing their overall experience.

Measure and Analyze Results: Regularly track and analyze your marketing performance to identify what’s working and what needs improvement.

Use data-driven insights to refine your strategies and optimize your campaigns for maximum impact.

Dominate with Video Marketing and Short-Form Content: Video remains one of the most powerful marketing tools and short-form content is captivating audiences across social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube .

Create engaging videos that showcase your products, services, or brand story, and utilize short-form content to capture attention and drive engagement.

Stay Agile and Adaptable: The marketing landscape is constantly evolving, so stay informed about emerging trends and adapt your strategies accordingly.

Be prepared to experiment with new platforms, technologies, and creative content to stay ahead of the curve.

Invest in Influencer Marketing: Influencer marketing continues to be an effective way to reach target audiences and build brand credibility.

Partner with influencers who align with your brand values and target audiences to amplify your message and reach a wider audience.

9. Leverage Virtual Reality (VR) to gain traction in marketing, offering immersive experiences that bring products and services to life.

Use VR to transport customers to virtual for demonstrations.

To learn more about effective ways to adopt these marketing strategies into your business, schedule a call with Nia Pearson . Nia is CEO, founder, and senior consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results , a full-service consulting agency that acts as an outsourced marketing agency and provides marketing consulting services.

This blog was supported by Bard, a large language model from Google AI.

The post 2024 Small Business Marketing Forecast appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

ALM Globe St. MultiFamily Fall Conference 2023

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:39:00 GMT

ALM Globe St . MultiFamily Fall at JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live on October 16-17, 2023. The MULTIFAMILY Event Of The Year Returned With A NEW Format, MORE Networking & NEW Perspectives!

For three decades, GlobeSt. MULTIFAMILY has been the most influential networking platform in the U.S. multifamily real estate market, bringing together key industry stakeholders to network and exchange ideas in the current as well as future challenges and opportunities.

Vendor Highlights

Inquires: Email info@m4rr.com and include “ 2023 ALM Globe St. ” in the subject line. Check out the YouTube video recap here .

Visit m4rr.com to learn more about our Real Estate Marketing Services.

The post ALM Globe St. MultiFamily Fall Conference 2023 appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

ReImagine Conference and Expo Recap

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:32:00 GMT

REimagine 2023, the premier tradeshow for the California Real Estate Industry, happened on September 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center .

The Real Estate Conference was packed with timely and relevant real estate information with a focus on five important elements.

Real estate as a relationship business.
Digital marketing is ever-increasing and video is very important and content should include 3 factors: (a) local spotlight (b) expert advice and (c) property tours.
Adopting the right marketing, technology and systems.
Importance of networking and continued education.
Business planning and goal settings.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Whether you’re a new agent or an industry veteran, REimagine is a great place to find new actionable takeaways, fresh perspective and a wealth of up-to-date real estate information. This one-of-a-kind highly recommended event offers education, networking, exhibits, and professional development opportunities to strengthen and grow your business.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Real estate professional from CEOs, VPs, thought leaders, top producers and subject matter experts.

WHAT YOU MISSED:

Latest and greatest products and services in the exhibit hall of 250+ exhibitors in the booth hall.

2023 Market Forecast by C.A.R.’s Chief Economist, Jordan Levine. According to Levine, consumer desire for homeownership remains high.

Tons of free C.A.R. Swag, Who’s Your REALTOR ^® T-shirts, hats and water bottles. Daily prize giveaways of MacBook Pros, iPads Pros Apple Watches, AirPods and more.

EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS:

Pivo Real Estate – Game changing technology to live stream property previews to help b uild your personal brand and market your properties. Pivo is like having your own camera crew in the palm of your hand.

Agents across the country are killing it using Pivo to become the next viral online real estate expert in their market. Create unlimited content for you and your properties with ZERO subscription fees.

Acra Lending – Leading private mortgage lender

Freemodel – Win more listings with FREEMODEL. Help clients sell their homes for more using presale remodeling services.

C.A.R. Scholarship Foundation – CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships up to $4,000 for students enrolled in four-year Universities and $2,000 for students enrolled in two-year Colleges.

C.A.R. Education Foundation – CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Education Foundation provides real estate related grants to California Realtors and California real estate students who strive to gain new skills, increase their existing education, and attain a higher level of professionalism.

Golden State Finance Authority – Leader in housing finance in California for the past 30 years. Be your client’s link to down payment assistance. Connect with participating lenders .

Guild Mortgage – Leading independent mortgage lender in the United States, specializing in residential home loans for more than 60 years. Special programs, CalPLUS with zip, CALFHA MyHome Assistance, VA Financing and more .

Transaction Rescue – Down Payment Resources Directory. Potential first time-buyers can become homeowners with your guidance. Fill out the 3-step pre-screening form, in order to find out if your client is eligible for any of the 400+ down payment assistance programs available in California.

Smart Zone – One-Stop Shop to help you navigate the current market. Get latest market updates and trends, shareable infographics, social media content studio, smart scripts, homeowners insurance resources, legal tools, wellness resources, safety resources and more.

The California Association Of Realtors – Now has a list of certified home inspectors for Realtor members.

Modern Property Management – Become an affiliate and turn rentals into residuals! For Real Estate Agents, Mortgage Brokers and Insurance Agents to generate additional revenue and retain clients.

Opendoor – Buy and sell real estate quickly.

Spokeo – Make trust a little easier with a transparent world. People increasingly mistrust companies, technologies, and each other. Leverage data to make the world around us more transparent—making trust a little easier.

If you missed REimagine and have questions, email us at info@m4rr.com.

The post ReImagine Conference and Expo Recap appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Disaster Expo USA PREPARE RESPOND RECOVER

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 17:59:00 GMT

The highly anticipated Disaster Expo USA 2023 in beautiful Anaheim, California, on September 27th and 28th 2023 was a great place to learn about innovative technologies, and groundbreaking solutions to tackle the challenges posed by disasters.

For new disaster professionals this event was a chance to learn how to market your restoration business, expand your professional network, forge collaborations, and become part of a global community dedicated to creating a safer, more resilient world.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Valuable insights on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Nia S. Pearson, founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, attended specifically for water and fire restoration specific highlights.

The Tech On Fire Trail was one of the most exciting features. The highlight being, improved detection, protection and recovery rates from the destructive force of fire based on transformative technologies. Check out the YouTube video highlights here.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Professionals in emergency management, disaster mitigation or public safety. The Disaster Expo USA meets a unique need that equips the industry with the tools necessary to face uncertain times.

WHAT YOU MISSED:

Access to an extensive array of exhibitors, representing leading companies and organizations from across the globe. These exhibitors showcased state-of-the-art equipment, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative solutions that ensure effective disaster management and mitigate the impacts of future disasters and minimize devastation.

FIRE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS – The Industry’s First and Only Owner-Maintained, Multi-Purpose, Rechargeable Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher.

RescALERT – Stay Connected to Emergency Officials, FREE. Next Generation Emergency Response Solutions.

Overwatch Fusion – 4 Essentials Steps To Deployment

BIOTESTING INC – ENVIRONMENTAL Consulting, Monitoring and Testing.

PREMIER PORTABLE SOLUTIONS – North America’s Number One Provider Of Portable Buildings For All Your Storage Needs. FREE DELIVERY AND FREE SETUP

AVIUM OCULUS – Digital 3D Modeling. Capture, Process and Host 3D Models.

NUCONCEPTS – Very Impressive Portable Restrooms.

CALIFORNIA MOBILE KITCHENS – Mobile Kitchen Rentals Delivered Nationwide for Disaster Relief.

POWERMOON® – Worldwide leading manufacturer of LED lighting balloons for fire rescue lighting, disasters and more.

EDUCATION TRACK:

As we look to the future, we recognize the urgency to embrace sustainability and resilience in disaster management. That’s why the Disaster Expo 2023 was an excellent event to shed light on eco-friendly and sustainable practices that ensure a better and safer future.

If you missed the Disaster Expo 2023 Expo, and have questions, email us at info@m4rr.com . To learn more about how to market your restoration business for success, check out 5 Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Restoration Business, written by Nia Pearson , founder of Marketing 4 Real Results.

The post Disaster Expo USA PREPARE RESPOND RECOVER appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Restoration Marketing Workshop in Anaheim California

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 01:19:00 GMT

Join Nia Pearson for an immersive Restoration Marketing Worksho p in Anaheim, California. Nia is IICRC Certified in Water and Odor and has worked in the restoration industry since 2013. Over the years, Nia has worked with distributors, manufacturers and IICRC training schools in a marketing capacity.

Nia’s goal with the restoration marketing workshop is to help cleaners and restorers that want to build a sustainable business, stay up to date on the latest marketing trends. With the advancement of technology, the marketing channels that drive business often change. So just like with any other industry, restorers and carpet cleaners that want to move beyond social media to grow a sustainable business, this workshop is designed for you.

By making marketing a priority you will better understand your target audience , This will help your cleaning and restoration business to gain the ability to drive business using smart marketing techniques that will save you money over time, while also improving business performance.

During this 2 hour workshop, you will be able to ask questions about how to market your restoration business, based on the number of team members, location and resources. This can include any topic across marketing in digital marketing and traditional methods to grow a sustainable restoration business.

If you are interested in buying leads from Google without building a strategy for growth, this is not the workshop for you. (make sure to claim your google business page )

If you want to build an organic business as a leader in your local area and share valuable content, increase leads and take the steps necessary to build and grow your restoration business, this workshop will be an excellent guide.

Marketing is an art and science that requires strategy, planning and systems. It’s important to spend time on the areas that matter and apply basic marketing principles to grow your business.

You will learn:

You will get:

Our 3 Step Marketing Process:

Step 1 – Strategy

Step 2 – Planning

Step 3 – Systems

– Simplify repetitive tasks

– Analyze consumer behavior pattern

– Personalize customer experiences

– Automate marketing campaigns across various platforms

Digital Marketing:

Digital marketing is a component of marketing that uses the internet and online-based digital systems like online directories, google business, social media, blogs, etc.

Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing is offline media like magazine ads, print ads, sales packets, billboards, direct mail, TV, radio etc.

Benefits of employing AI and automation

– Enables restoration businesses to gather actionable insights in real-time, aiding in making more informed decisions.

– Provides personalized recommendations and predictions, ensuring that marketing efforts are tailored to individual customers’ preferences.

– Save significant time and resources by automating repetitive tasks such as data analysis, campaign management, and lead nurturing. View our partners page for vetted automation options.

Growing you restoration business is all about increased engagement which translates into higher conversion rates and bigger bottom line.

(TeleprompterAI, 2023)

The post Restoration Marketing Workshop in Anaheim California appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Google Business Profile

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 13:57:00 GMT

Welcome to week 4, Service Business Series on Google Business Profile with Nia Pearson. ( YouTube Video )

My goal is to support your Digital Marketing success by strengthening your online presence, attract more prospects and take your business to new heights with Google Business Profile.

What is Google Business Profile?

Google Business Profile is a free Google tool that allows businesses to instantly appear on Google Search and Maps.

A Google Business Profile is an essential Digital Marketing tool for every business. Google Business Profile enhances your online visibility, local SEO , establishes trust with customers, and provides valuable data insights to help you make better business decisions to support business growth.

This is the best online opportunity to leverage the power of Google to expand your reach.

Day To Day Workflow

Benefits of having a Google Business Profile

When someone searches google for your service near your business zip code, your company will populate on the search engine results, (SERP) as an option increasing your chances of being noticed.

Depending on the competition for a specific keyword or service, there are likely other businesses that will populate on the search engine results as well, so getting to the first page will require a strategic keyword strategy and plan.

With a Google Business Profile, you are able to showcase all the essential information about your business. From contact details, operating hours, website links and customer reviews which are all very important. Overall, Your Google Business Profile, makes it convenient for customers to find and contact you.

Engaging with Customers

Engagement is a vital component of any successful business. With a Google Business Profile, you can respond to customer reviews and answer questions to help build trust and demonstrate your commitment to customer service. You can also use your Google Business Profile to directly communicate relevant and timely information to your customers.

Share updates, special offers, and events directly to your profile, keeping your customers informed and connected.

Insightful Analytics

Google Business Profile provides insightful analytics to help you understand your customers better. By analyzing back end data such as how customers found you and started to engage with your profile.

Data is very important marketing asset that will can help you make better business decisions to meet your prospects and customer where they are.

VERY IMPORTANT***Google Business Profile photos & videos policy and posts content policy

Google Business Profile Set Up

Creating a Google Business Profile is quick and easy. Simply go to the Google My Business website and follow the step-by-step instructions to set up your profile.

Get Help Getting Started!

Get help from Marketing 4 Real Results.

I have successfully helped many businesses to set up their Google Business Profile and would love to help you as well. Keep in mind, online success is about strategy and proper execution.

To have success online a SEO strategy per landing page is critical to improve search rankings and increase lead conversions.

Verify Your Business On Google

Many small business owners get stuck in the verification status with Google. This can be frustrating so, be sure to get it right the first time, to avoid issues.

Your business can be automatically verified by Google, or by postcard or video chat. To avoid delays, make sure your address meets Google guidelines. Learn about address entry guidelines .

Verification Steps To Consider:

Your workspace.
Your business logo.
If you meet customers at your premises, Google will want to check your public space as well.
If you use a vehicle for your business, to verify from your vehicle, you need to show our specialist.
The number plate of your registered motor vehicle
Your business logo on the vehicle
Any tools or other instruments of your trade that you carry

Important: Once you turn on video verification, use only this method to verify. If you try to complete verification through a different method, you may have to re-enable video verification.

Learn more about Google Business Profile here .

This exclusive Summer Series, is designed to enhance your service business in preparation for a big boom this Fall and beyond.

The post Google Business Profile appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Off-Page SEO

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 04:13:00 GMT

Hello and welcome to week 3, Service Business Summer Series with Nia Pearson.

When it comes to marketing your business, there are so many options in the marketplace. What I have noticed most common over the years as a marketing consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results is there are 3 common types of small business owners:

Small Business Owner, that gets overwhelmed with the vast marketing options and decide not to do anything new.
Small Business Owner, that has their marketing plan in their heads, but have not put anything in motion.
Small Business Owner, that does a lot of research online, watches a lot of Youtube videos and is willing to try new marketing medians to find their marketing sweet spot.

Which Small Business Owner are you?

Regardless of your service or small business owner status, being smart about marketing and being open to change are critical to business growth in the new digital era. My goal in this Summer series is to shed some insight based on the calls we get at Marketing 4 Real Results.

Let’s jump right in!

This week’s focus is “Off-Page SEO” which stands for Search Engine Optimization.

In 2020 there were 58 billion unique indexed webpages in Google search

So, how is SEO connected to the world wide web?

When a user searches for a specific service, search engines use a very quick query search/algorithm to determine the location of the request and the best possible website with the most relevant content to answer the search query.

SEO techniques are designed to enhance a website’s credibility and enable search engines to recognize the website as an authority leading to organic rankings and online brand authority.

By investing in SEO services, you are investing in the long-term organic growth of your business. Many people are willing to pay thousands of dollars a month in pay per click ads, which will give you quick results in many cases, unfortunately that is not sustainable and will results in disappointment and lost of a lot of resources.

Ways to improve Off-Page SEO Rankings:

Link building ( backlinks )
Social Media Marketing
Guest Blogging
Local SEO
Public Relations
Reviews

Link building, social media marketing and blogging are three of the most common and effective organic off-page seo techniques.

Public Relations (PR), is by far the platform to share your opinion as an expert that can offer huge exposure. Important factors to keep in mind with PR medians are to align with the audience you are targeting. It does not make sense to appear or advertise on a radio station that targets children, if your service is not for children.

Coordinating an effective PR campaign can be very effective as with other marketing tactics that take into account planning, focus and coordinated efforts. Reach out to local radio, podcast, magazine or cable shows to offer your expertise on a subject matter. Learn more about PR here.

5 Factors every PR campaign should include:

Identify a specific target audience.
Identity a specific goal.
Outline a tone of voice and point of view.
Craft messages that focus on the specific goal.
Effectively communicate your message to your target audience.

Another excellent source to boost off-page seo is to have an industry related local guest blog spot. This option will introduce you to a new audience. One placement to consider is your local Chamber Of Commerce . Do not attempt to be all things to everyone, instead be the expert in your local community on one specific topic.

The process of off-page seo link building is an ongoing process that should be reviewed multiple times per year or once per quarter each year. We do this to ensure that we are improving across multiple aspects of our business. In the areas that we do not see improvement, we should create a new goal, new messaging and new benchmarks.

High-quality industry backlinks from reputable websites work well to drive organic traffic.

All SEO options should be considered as a part of your long term marketing initiatives, since expanding your digital footprint is no easy task. Hence, why partnering with other industry related online platforms is a good move to expand your online presence. To check where you appear in the SERP consider a free rank tracking tool.

Knowing where you appear in the SERP results will help you improve search engine optimization and get more leads to your website. Before you get started: Combine a keyword list from a reputable and trusted keyword research database.

Off-page SEO techniques is the ability to enhance your website’s credibility and visibility in the digital ecosystem.

This exclusive Summer Series, is designed to enhance every aspect of your service business in preparation for a big boom this Fall and beyond.

The post Off-Page SEO appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

On-Page SEO

Sun, 30 Jul 2023 03:14:00 GMT

Hello and welcome to week 2, Service Business Summer Series with Nia Pearson. ( YouTube )

When it comes to marketing your business, there are so many options in the marketplace. What I have noticed over the years as a marketing consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results is that most small business owners can get overwhelmed with so many options which in many cases result in no new marketing movement.

Regardless of your niche, being smart about marketing is critical to business growth and that is why I started this series.

So, let’s jump right in!

This week’s focus is “On-Page SEO” which stands for Search Engine Optimization.

68 % of online experiences start with a search engine.

Since SEO has two components in this blog I will cover on-page SEO . Keep in mind, an SEO strategy is solely focused on building a robust online presence.

So, how is SEO connected to the world wide web?

When a user searches for a specific service, search engines use a lightening bolt speed algorithm to determine the location of the request and list the best possible websites that have the most relevant information to answer the search query.

Utilizing on-page SEO techniques to enhance your website’s credibility will enable search engines to recognize your website as an authority in your industry, leading to higher organic rankings for a specific keyword. Which keywords to rank for, will require a comprehensive planning process and is different for each business. Two main factors are location and competitors.

Ways to improve On-Page SEO Rankings:

Focus on key factors that search engines rank.

Post titles
Meta description
Header tags
High quality images
User experiences
Internal links
Page load time
Content quality

TIP: Consider an SEO keyword analysis for every service landing page.

Remember to focus on aligning your website content to questions that your prospects and customers will want to know. Think of SEO as an extended frequently asked questions (FAQ), format.

SEO strategies are designed to generate targeted leads that result in higher conversion rates and improved revenue streams. This can be done by strategically setting up dedicated landing pages that are optimized with key factors to support each different marketing campaign.

Effective marketing is not one size fits all. Each business category and each target audience should have a separate content marketing plan, messaging, strategy and budget.

Remember, it’s not just about being found online, it’s about being found by the right people.

This exclusive Summer Series, is designed to enhance your online digital footprint in preparation for a big boom this Fall and beyond.

The post On-Page SEO appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

CRM Customer Relationship Management

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 22:11:00 GMT

Hello and welcome to the Service Business Summer Series with Nia Pearson.

When it comes to marketing your business, there are numerous paths and tasks. What I have noticed over the years as a marketing consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results is that most small business owners, get easily overwhelmed by the many marketing options available in the marketplace and many decide to either do no marketing or very little.

“By simply being consistent you are able to establish trust with your target audience. Trust is critical for any path you decide to take to get qualified leads”.

Regardless of your niche, beating your competition, tracking your efforts and prioritizing your ideal target audiences is very important to grow your business.

My goal over the next several weeks is to share valuable marketing tips to help you elevate your business.

So, let’s jump right in!

This week’s focus is “CRM” which stands for Customer Relationship Management.

Realtors – Check out my CRM article published by the National Association Of Realtors.

On average, small businesses see a 17 % increase in lead conversion from actively using a CRM.

Notice that I said actively using CRM, so if you have a CRM but are not using it, now is your time to take action. CRM platforms are designed to improve business relationships, increase awareness, improves success rates, increase value and increase sales.

CRM is a direct link to your sales funnel. Being comfortable using a CRM can push you a step further towards your revenue goals.
CRM is a software used to manage all activity with a contact including email , text, phone calls and social media activity.
CRM is the largest business software sold.
The best CRM to consider is an internet-based system, with automation features that have the ability to deliver leads to sales teams, track sales activity and set appointments and task. (CRM software, to consider, Saleforce , Zoho or Hubspot ).

Imagine a sunny day lounging on the sandy beach of Malibu with the gentle ocean waves at your feet. To make your beach experience even more enjoyable, you get a call from Karen Martin, a contact that you have been following up with over the past 16 months with emails , text and phone calls. During your last phone call with Karen, you remembered to tell her happy birthday because that information was in your CRM notes.

Karen appreciated your birthday wish so much that she decides to do business with you over your competition that had no clue it was her birthday. This is an example of how actively using your CRM to build better relationships can grow your business. Now you can continue to relax under the shade knowing that when you return to work you have new business to pursue.

What to do:

Organize your way to success by tracking sales activity, recording appointments, schedule tasks, making notes and managing tasks.
Create customized reports with specific criteria like industry, city, zip code, etc.

5 reasons to have an up-to-date and organized contact list:

Be organized and stay in touch with all contacts and prospects.
Connect a prospect based on their specific needs outlined in CRM notes.
Create more meaningful relationships, by documenting life changing family events and life experiences.
Ensure marketing information sent via postcards, email or social media are delivered to the correct person.
Create personalized marketing campaigns.

Re-engage your contacts at any time with national industry related information.

It’s very important to know your contacts preferred communication method. You can get this information by asking them directly “what is your preferred communication channel” Most people will not have a problem with you asking this question. Besides if they are not open to answering simple questions, they are not likely to do business in the future with you, so you may be wasting your time keeping them in your database. Focus. Focus. Focus.

Keep in mind that your CRM’s sole purpose is to make your life easier. Consider your CRM database as your most valuable system. Practice using your database/CRM as an integral step to build repeat and referral business relationships with the quickest path to real estate transactions.

Block time to make consistent updates. Take time to understand your contact data and identify unique buying patterns.

Be sure to ask prospects/clients the right questions. Listen and pay attention to who engages and who does not. Use your CRM to facilitate calls, make notes, set appointments, assign task and follow-up call activity.

Once you’ve closed a deal or booked a face-to-face appointment you may think your job is done. Not at all. Keep in contact with everyone in your database on a regular basis to ensure that you are always top of mind to fill their real estate needs. Start with the people you know and continue to build your CRM over time. – Best of luck to you.

This exclusive Summer Series, is designed to enhance every aspect of your business in preparation for a big boom this Fall and beyond.

Sign up for our newsletter today here and discover how marketing can help to elevate your summer experience. Happy Summer!

The post CRM Customer Relationship Management appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

10 Small Business Marketing Growth Tips

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 15:58:00 GMT

10 TIPS TO GROW A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
By Nia Pearson

Do you want to grow your small business? After successfully helping hundreds of small business owners grow their business, I have put together an easy to follow guide with 10 tips to grow a successful small business.

Objective Areas: Sales & Profitability. Branding . Influence. Target Audiences .

As with all aspects of life having a well-thought-out plan will more likely bring success. Before we set sail on the ten tips to grow your business, let’s review four categories you need to run any business, Service/Product, Value, Clients/Customers and Sales.

The number 1 tip to grow a successful business is to begin with a marketing plan .

Too often, small business owners get too caught up in day-to-day operations or lack of sales and neglect to have a short term plan for week to week marketing activities. A marketing plan offers both short term and long-term planning options with a sole purpose to clearly define goals, provide strategy and tactics.

Before you get started it’s critical to know the answer to this question. What do you want to achieve in your marketing efforts? ( Link to Resources).

Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate more leads, or get more business? These are three different paths and they all can lead to sales at some point but not directly.

Once you have your goals outlined, you can start to develop strategies to achieve each goal. If your business has more than one target audience, I recommend to have a separate marketing plan for each audience. Your marketing plan can start with one sheet of information that breaks down customer profiles and data and insights from market research .

If you already have a marketing plan and are not getting the results you want, you may need to update your marketing plan to reflect a new set of key performance indicators and tactics.
If you’ve never written a marketing plan, you will be happy to know that once you have a plan it will be easier for you to create success for your business.

Benefit Of A Marketing Plan:

Outline the day-to-day marketing tasks. This can serve as your marketing checklist for hiring a social media manager , email marketing manager, events manager, outbound sales rep, etc. The specific strategies and tactics that will create success are solely based on goals, target market, and budget.

The person that works with you to create your marketing plan should have a good understanding of the target audiences, competitive landscape, and industry specific marketing business acumen.

Define your goals : The first step in creating a marketing plan is to define your goals . What do you want to achieve with your marketing efforts? Align each task with a process to accomplish it (Get resources to help here ).

What To Include In Your Marketing Plan:

i. Situational Analysis: The situational analysis section of your marketing plan will provide an overview of your company’s current situation, including its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This information will be used to develop specific marketing goals and strategies.

ii. Marketing Goals: The marketing goals for 2023 should be specific and include a breakdown to increase brand awareness, generate more leads, and customer loyalty. Each goal should include a very specific customer/client journey which will start from stage one to closing new business.

The combination of marketing strategies will include online and offline activity, advertising, public relations, social media , email marketing, relationship marketing and more. See the below top 5 ways to win business when using an integrated marketing strategy.

1. Marketing Strategies: The marketing strategies that will be most effective are industry specific.

2. Advertising : Run a series of print ads, digital ads, podcast ads, to increase brand awareness and generate leads.

3. Public Relations: Generate positive media coverage around your brand with press releases, industry articles and blogs.

4. Relationship Marketing: Build relationships with industry specific key influencers.

5. Social Media Marketing: This will depend heavily on your target audience. Social media platforms are free but very time consuming. Content should not be duplicated, instead it should be based off the audience. (Consider platforms like, Instagram Facebook, LinkedIn….)

Example: REALTORS® – Instagram is one of the best online visual social media platforms. By 2025 Instagram is forecasted to have 1.44 billion monthly users. That is 31.2 percent of global internet users, making Instagram a great place for REALTORS® to help homebuyers see the options that are available to help them find their dream home and live the American dream of homeownership.

What content to share on Instagram:

Coming soon listings photos
Walkthrough videos
Neighborhood photos
Local parks, farmers markets, grocery stores, schools, coffee shops, city buildings, fire stations, etc.

6. Email Marketing : As a top performing channel for marketing, email allows you to nurture prospects and customers by sharing valuable content to stay at the top of their minds for your service. Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals or barter services to generate more leads. Consider Automation when possible.

What To Include In Your Marketing Budget:
Marketing cost change over time, but the general rule is 3-10 percent of your profit should be spent on marketing. This will include, advertising, public relations, customer service team, social media marketing team, video production, etc.

Marketing Evaluation: Evaluate the success of your marketing often in a marketing audit to identify what is working and what is not working and highlight the channels that are driving new business.

Brand awareness: This is the path to building equity for your brand. Identify improvements, through surveys and social media analytics.

Lead generation: Create customer journeys on your website that link to your Customer Relationship Management, (CRM) system like, Salesforce or, Zoho and Email.

Sales: Track sales through Sales Automation, Point Of Sale, (POS) systems, Zoom, Quick Books, Intuit,or Paypal. It’s very important to tag every new prospect so you can best track marketing spend.

**Remember to review and update your marketing plan on a yearly basis to ensure that what you want to happen is happening.**

2) Take Action: Don’t put that business plan in a drawer and forget about it. No matter how busy you are, set aside at least one hour a week to review your progress. This should be done with all business partners and all employees. A quarterly meeting should be scheduled with key vendors, marketing team, human resource team and all other key teams. The goal is to review process, modify action steps and set deadlines for accomplishing them.

3) Update Your Website: Update blog content and frequently asked questions, (FAQs). Add new photos from recent events, and projects, create new customer journeys. **Make the necessary changes to modernize your website.**

a. Does your business’s website answer questions of prospective clients/customers?
b. Does it look current, or is it sporting an old design?
c. Does it load quickly from desktop and mobile devices so clients/customers can access your business wherever they are.
d. Add ADA Compliance
e. Add SSL Certificate

4) Take Charge Of Your Finances: Consider an accounting software, like Melio, Intuit or Quickbooks to help with budgeting, sales and expenses.

5) Plan Ahead For Financing: How will you finance your business growth plans? If you are unable to fund growth from profits in a cash business, explore outside financing at the lowest possible rate. Consider credit unions and community banks, big banks or private investors such as angel capital groups or hard money lenders are much higher. Do not overlook family and friends, that might be willing to invest in your success.

6) Get Social: No matter what industry you operate your business, consider social media at a minimum for brand awareness. Every every business can benefit from social media, .

According to google however, link sharing across social media platforms increases brand exposure and influences SEO . The search engine optimization component helps as well with ranking on search engines. If you aren’t currently using at least one social media channel to stay connected with your target audiences, you are missing out on the ability to rank higher on search engine.

If you are active on social media and not seeing the results an improvement in your results, evaluate your content and consider the below items:

Be more authentic
Speak to a specific audience
Include a mix of education and fun behind the scenes
Share videos and photos of your service, partners and team

7) Delegate: It’s tough for small business owners to give up control, since most tasks can be done best by the business owner, but delegation is critical for business growth. By hiring an outsourced marketing team, you can have more focus on sales, sales, sales which is going to keep you in business longer.

Once a task has been assigned to a new person, get weekly and monthly updates to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. It’s important to give team members autonomy to make business decisions and stay up-to-date in weekly meetings. Structure operations so you can focus on your strengths and delegate the rest.

8) Human Resource: Does your team have the skills needed to grow your business? Whether someone may need more training, or not the right fit, consider hiring independent contractors short term to keep all gaps closed.

9) Upgrade Your Systems, Software and Equipment: Whether it’s technology like artificial intelligence (AI), email marketing , text marketing, CRM, content marketing making your business as efficient as possible should remain your number one goal. You can make a big difference in your bottom line by having standard operating procedures in place. Decide which investments will have the biggest impact and stack rank the options and execute with efficiency.

10) Celebrate Success: No matter how busy you are, be sure to celebrate your wins with your team. Every win should be celebrated. Making time to recognize results will re-energize you and your team for more wins.

M4RR works with small businesses from all sectors, while specializing in the vertical markets of real estate, cleaning and restoration, retail and legal. Nia is a licensed California Realtor, IICRC Certified in Water and Odor and holds formal University degrees in Marketing and International Business.

The post 10 Small Business Marketing Growth Tips appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Restoration Marketing Workshop in Anaheim, California

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 19:06:00 GMT

The post Restoration Marketing Workshop in Anaheim, California appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Restoration Marketing Fundamentals

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 18:56:00 GMT

What You Need To Know About Restoration Marketing

When it’s time to market your restoration business, it’s important to not only focus on the promotion of restoration services, (restore property to its original condition, and/or prevent further damage), which is critical, but to include the benefits of such services to families, businesses and communities.

Consider this, a large percentage of restoration services are repair or replacement of damaged property, caused by either water damage which can turn into mold remediation if the water is not quickly extracted or fire damage. As we dive deeper into the marketing psychology there is an opportunity to align content to human behavioral patterns in a storytelling format.

By humanizing our business services we are able to connect and engage better with target audiences , while communicating effective messaging in fact and narrative format. The homeowner that lost everything, should not be overlooked and instead should be embraced as an opportunity to connect better with customer.

The emotional impact of the restoration process can be divesting and cause an emotional toll. By embracing this aspect of the process in your content marketing, will offer a level of support and humility to your brand messages.

What Your Restoration Website Should Include

Affiliations: Local and national. Consider an accredited organization like, IICRC
Outline of different ways you perform each restoration service
A list of what customers can expect during the restoration process, include time and procedures
Increase odds of earning new customers, by adding photos of your team to humanize your business

5 Effective Restoration Marketing Tips

Request the social media content planner.

. Use high-quality images and videos to accurately showcase your projects.

2. Get involved in the community by sponsoring local events and donating to local charities. Use every opportunity to build exposure for your brand while also being authentic.

3. Become a thought leader. Every community needs strong leadership. Be the voice of your community by positioning yourself as an expert. This will help attract potential customers and referrals. Publish how-to articles and speak at industry events.

4. Embrace social media effectively to reach a large audience with a clear strategy.

5. Offer promotions and discounts as incentives to attract new customers and generate interest.1

Track Restoration Marketing Results

To ensure you are on the right track and gaining momentum, it is important to track all results. You should track your results from website traffic, social media insists and events leads.

Follow these tips to effectively market your restoration services, increase your brand exposure and attract new customers and friends in your community.

The post Restoration Marketing Fundamentals appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

CRM Clean-Up Benefits for Realtors

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 17:29:00 GMT

This blog expands on a recent National Association Of Realtors article , CRM Clean Up-Time. Nia Pearson, contributed her thoughts with freelance writer, Lee Nelson on the fundamentals Realtors should consider pertaining to CRM .

Throughout this blog we will share both reasons and benefits for Realtors that clean up and organize the contacts in their CRM (customer relationship management).

Let’s begin with a fact. According to MyOutDesk , 82% of all real estate transactions come from repeat and referral clients. This huge percentage makes contact list an essential part of a Realtors success. At Marketing 4 Real Results , we refer to CRM as the growth station and house of leads, communication, personal information and purchase history.

Top 5 Reasons Realtors Should Have An Up-To-Date and Organized Client List

Stay top of mind. Inaccurate details diminish the contact value.
The ability to create successful personalized and relatable marketing campaigns.
The ability to quickly connect sellers and buyers based on specific needs that can be outlined in contact/CRM notes.
The ability to create more meaningful relationships, by documenting, family events and career changes.
The ability to ensure marketing information sent via postcards, email or social media are sent and received.

What Happens To Old CRM Data?

If a Realtor does not clean up their list often, they are not accurately targeting prospects and likely wasting marketing resources.
This process should be done at the end of each year calendar year. The end of the year is a great time, because of the holiday season. This offers an added opportunity to make a personal holiday call while also updating database contact details and start the new year in the right direction.

Quick Steps to Clean Up Customer List

Download a full report of all contacts.
Review the information and create subcategories, groups and/or tags to easily define the group.
Set a task to call each contact in the near future, potentially 30-60 days.
Make the calls as they are assigned by the tasks.
Update your customer list with any new information received during the calls.

What Are The Best CRM Categories for Realtors?

Keep in mind that niche marketing is more effective in reaching new clients because of the ability to craft a very specific marketing message that speaks directly to your target contact. Suggested segmented categories for Realtors:
- Target: Price Point, Zip Code, Hobbies, Buyer, Seller, Investor, Developer, Doctor, Nurse, Teacher, First Responders, etc.

What Should Be Considered Before Deleting Contacts?

Before fully deleting a contact, its best to consider, moving the contact to an inactive status. Prospects in an inactive status require very minimal touch points per year. By saving the contact you have an opportunity in the future to re-engage. In a circumstance such as this, be sure to add a inactive tag to their contact to prevent them from unsubscribing all together from further communication.

How Should a Realtor Re-engage CRM Contacts?

Realtors should schedule time at the end of each calendar year around the holidays, to make personal calls to each person in their CRM. In addition to wishing contacts a prosperous new year, this will be a great time to ask contacts about the below:
Preferred communication method
Wedding Anniversaries
New birth of children and or/ grandchildren
Real Estate /Investment goals

It’s crucial to keep good notes about any personal changes like marriage or pregnancy which are likely to buy signs that may require additional touch points. Tip: Type notes simultaneously while on the phone or immediately after the call.

Does Duplicate Data Negatively Impact a Realtors CRM?

Duplicate data can be a huge disadvantage to a Realtors database, creating a waste of time and resources. In real estate every minute matters, so searching through duplicate records when looking for the right buyer or seller is not a productive way to spend time. The job of a CRM it to make getting more business easier, by building relationships through meaningful engagement and conversations, duplicate records prevent that process and waste marketing campaign resources.
To identify duplicate data, its best to run a report of all contacts and remove all duplicate data. Before deleting contacts be sure to confirm the last contact method to ensure you are deleting the correct data. It’s not a bad practice to reach out via phone or text to confirm data details before deleting.

How To Format CRM Data?

CRM contact data should be formatted in the most efficient manner which allows for quick fixes. This can be best accomplished by having a separate, column for: first name, last name, street address, city and state and zip code. This strategy can provide an added value for segmenting personalized marketing campaigns in the future.

What contact data is important for a Realtors CRM?

Since successful marketing campaigns requires a multi-touch attribution, contact details should cover enough information for more than one marketing tactic.

Text – Requires an accurate mobile telephone number
Email – Requires an accurate email address
Direct mail postcard – Requires an accurate mailing address

How long should organizing your contacts take?

The overall time needed to organize contacts will vary depending on the number of contacts. The average time to clean up each contact should take no more than 3 minutes. IE: 500 contacts | 500*3 = 1,500 minutes | 60 minutes/ hour | 25 hours for every 500 contacts

CRM Shortcuts

The best process approach to database efficiency to make the task less daunting is to make changes in small increments to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Consider downloading the list into an excel spreadsheet or a Google doc for quicker processing.

Key Takeaway:

Keep in mind a CRM’s sole purpose is to make life easier and streamline a process that allows you to focus time on client facing activities. Consider your CRM database as your most valuable and profitable opportunity channel.

As noted earlier, having an 82% opportunity to increase business activity is a hug opportunity. Practice using your database/CRM as a primary source for building repeat and referral business relationships. Consider this your quickest path to a new real estate transaction.

Block time to make consistent updates. Take time to understand your contact data and identify unique buying patterns. Be sure to ask prospects/clients the right questions, listen and pay attention to who engages and who does not. Use your CRM to facilitate calls, make notes, set appointments, assign task and follow-up call activity.

Once you’ve closed a deal or booked a listing appointment, you may think your job is done. Not at all. Keep in contact with everyone in your database on a regular basis to ensure that you are always top of mind to fill their real estate needs. Start with the people you know/sphere and continue to build over time. – Best of luck to you.

What is the best CRM for Realtors?

For Realtors in years 1-3 we recommend using a FREE version of CRM, like ZoHO .

Many brokerages have a CRM system in place and for those that do not it’s recommended to use a version that can be linked to email and text marketing. This is very important and the primary reason is to create a system that can be quickly and easily updated.

When you make a change in your CRM to an email address or phone number you want that change to be updated in your text marketing and email marketing platforms as well to avoid duplicating efforts. So instead of making an update in two places, you can make the change in your CRM and the other platforms will be updated as well, saving you time.

Learn more about the benefits of CRM here . Schedule a FREE consultation here .

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Marketing Workshop For Carpet Cleaners

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 17:21:00 GMT

ON NOVEMBER 19, 2022 IN ANAHEIM, CA, The Carpet & FabriCare Institute , (CFI), will have its first event to launch the New Dealer Program. To start with a bang, CFI has Keynote Speakers, Rick Aranda, Nia Pearson and Ralph McKinley to share valuable insights on the industry and business growth strategies.

This event will begin at 9:00 am and hosted at one of the largest Jon-Don Distribution Centers in the U.S. at 2050 E. Winston Rd, Anaheim, CA 92806 minutes Disneyland Park, Angels Stadium and many other must-see attractions.

The Dealer Program Launch is FREE to attend and reserved exclusively to professional cleaners. Every attendee will receive 7 hours of IICRC Credit as well as a complimentary lunch courtesy of the CFI team.

Registration is required to attend. Tickets can be requested at CFIconnects.org under the events menu.

About The Speakers

Rick is a top performer at Jon-Don who specialized in truckmount services. He will speak about the right equipment for professionals with a focus on Aero Tech DDS stainless steel edition direct drive units. This industry leader will provide a tour of Jon-Don Anaheim and a live demonstration of the DDS unit as well.

Nia Pearson, founder of Marketing 4 Real Results , will share ‘Top 5 Ways to Grow Your Carpet Cleaning Business. Nia will focus on branding, customer personas, marketing planning, and inbound lead strategy. (Other workshops with Nia Pearson ).

Ralph McKinley, is a 30+ year veteran in the cleaning industry and he will share innovative tips on the best equipment and supplies.

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October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Sun, 09 Oct 2022 01:43:00 GMT

Did You Know? Cybersecurity Awareness Month, is every October , and Marketing 4 Real Results takes a concerted effort to remind our clients and friends of the serious threat to your marketing campaign. This threat can be included in your marketing plan under the swot analysis section.

Background: Cybersecurity is a formal process put in place to protect the integrity and confidentiality of networks and computer systems against unauthorized access.

A simple way to look at Cybersecurity from a personal perspective is to see this as a simple practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks.

The most common digital phishing is email marketing. Recently 1.7M was stolen in an NFT phishing scam from OpenSea and 17 users were impacted by the attack.

A Cyberattack can range from a wide array of reasons mostly aimed at accessing, changing or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users or interrupting business processes.

It’s critical that we have a heightened level of online protections in place to defend us from cyber attacks. This October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month we are sharing tips to help keep your data protected. Check out the below 4 behaviors from experts at Staysafeonline.org

Enabling multi-factor authentication
Using strong passwords and a password manager
Updating software
Recognizing and reporting phishing

Important Cyber Facts, according to CISA.org

47 % of American Adults – have had their personal information exposed by cyber criminals.

800,000 people experience cyberattacks per year.

65% of Americans report receiving at least one online scam offer.

1 in 3 homes with computers are infected with malicious software.

In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security, plays a lead role in strengthening cybersecurity resilience across the nation and sectors, investigating malicious cyber activity, and advancing cybersecurity alongside our democratic values and principles.

As an individual it’s important to protect your private data from vulnerabilities, so we put together the below list to help you best understand the process and what you can do to prevent it.

What is a firewall?

A firewall is a network security device that monitors incoming and outgoing network traffic and decides whether to allow or block specific traffic based on a defined set os security rules.

What is network security?

Network security is the protection of the undying networking infrastructure from unauthorized access, misuse or theft.

What is cloud security?

Cloud security is a broad set of technologies, policies and applications that are applied to defend online IP, services, and other imperative data against cyber threats and malicious activity.

Top 5 Ways to ensure safe online experiences

Change passwords frequently
Invest in cybersecurity
Avoid using public /free wifi
Back up your devices regularly
Avoid robocalls and “too good to be true” offers

Top 3 Digital Marketing Cybersecurity Concerns

Email Marketing
Social Media Marketing
CRM / customer relationship management software

Cybersecurity Takeaway

Put in place, efficient and effective systems to protect employees and family members from all locations that store critical data and protect intellectual property.

Contact us here to learn more about how to keep your online marketing protected.

The post October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

R&R Ask Nia Pearson, Marketing Expert!

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 17:24:00 GMT

Creative Marketing Strategies for Restoration Companies

This Podcast was featured by Restoration & Remediation Magazine – a leading publication in the Cleaning & Restoration industry.

Nia Sherrema Pearson is the founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, a marketing agency that serves restoration businesses across the country. In this episode of Ask the Expert, Sherrema Pearson shares out-of-the-box digital and traditional marketing techniques. Examples include text communication , community involvement, and relationships with plumbers and property managers. She covers basics like a Google presence and ADA compliance , as well as how to stand out, highlighting that any marketing strategy should start with the unique goals of the business.

The post R&R Ask Nia Pearson, Marketing Expert! appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

4 Tips To Boost Instagram Real Estate Marketing

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 22:20:00 GMT

With millions of people on Instagram it can be difficult to get noticed! Getting attention has become more difficult and many times the algorithms shift from day to day, making it challenging to get a rhythm. In this article we will share 4 tips to boost your Instagram account.

Instagram Real Estate TIP 1: Be sure your location, service and tagline are highlighted.

When building your online presence, it is important to start off with the basics. Most people scroll Instagram very fast, so it’s important to include your location, service, business name and tagline in your profile. This will send a quick message to your audience.

Having and using a your business logo and brand colors are great ways to keep your service in the mind of your followers. Remember to add your logo when you can to your social media content. Marketing is the most important part of every business and plays a key role in the development of a brand.

Instagram Real Estate TIP 2: Post interesting content related to your business!

Having content related to your business can be shared with reels, videos, quotes and photos. Finding ways to relate your business to your followers needs and answering their questions will get viewers interested in your service. You can do this indirectly by sharing stories of homes you are selling, questions you have answered.

Try to be creative! The more fun you have, the more fun your followers will have viewing your content. Keep in mind the demographics of your target audience to ensure your content is relatable.

Testimonials are excellent ways to share client feedback about their experience working with you. This will help potential clients to see what it’s like to work with you. Sharing positive reviews are good for followers and your customers, most of us love to be appreciated, so sharing your clients reviews will make them smile and feel a level of appreciation, which can also lead to new business in the form of a referral.

Instagram Real Estate TIP3: Share a piece of your personality with your followers regarding the business!

Creating a personable online presence brings a sense of authenticity to your profile. Sharing is caring on Instagram and other social media sites. The more genuine you are with your audience, the more you will keep them interested in what you have to say. By sharing valuable market insights, being involved in your community and sharing a mix of professionalism, humor and authenticity is the way to connect on Instagram.

Instagram Real Estate TIP 4: Focus On High Ranking Content

Put a special emphasis on the concepts that attracts the attention of your viewers. Keep in mind social media is constantly changing so what the algorithms shared last month, might change this month, so it’s best to pay attention to your loyal followers engagement pace and insights. This process requires and evaluation of data and insights from your Instagram backend to find the content your viewers like to see:

Insights To Review:

Accounts reached
Accounts engaged
Social shares

BONUS Tip: You can create Instagram Collabs to co-author posts with other accounts. The creator of the original post can invite another account as a collaborator. If the account accepts the invite, their username will be added to the post and the post will be shared with their followers. It will also show on their profile. Accounts that accept a collaboration invite can see all likes and comments on the post.

Keep in mind that social media platforms change often, so you will need to stay up to date on trends or hiring a marketing agency, like Marketing 4 Real Results to manage your social media accounts. When it comes to Instagram, you want to be noticed, so high resolution images and reels are the way to go! Creating a plan and using the tips noted here will increase your engagement organically over time and help to grow your business.

Don’t be afraid to take video or photos when you are with your clients, to share the process with others. Buyers lunches, final walk-throughs, open houses, site tours and inspections are excellent conversations starters for your followers. Be Social to grow your business.

For help on brand building contact us for a free consultation.

The post 4 Tips To Boost Instagram Real Estate Marketing appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing Kit For Service Businesses

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 22:15:00 GMT

At the end of every year it’s crucial to evaluate the current year and finish the year with all the proper marketing strategies in place for the next year! Nothing screams Happy New Year more than a solid business plan, a strong marketing team, comprehensive advertisements, and a plan to capture more business in 2022!

Our team has developed an easy-to-follow Marketing Kit. This can be used as a guide for any business designing a plan to strengthen their marketing efforts and increase sales.

Whether you’re putting the final touches on your 2022 digital marketing plan or contemplating a winning strategy for the new year, this kit will help you in your journey .

The below details are what you need for a well-rounded marketing plan to help crush your goals, grow your reach, boost ROI and more.

Here are a few details that you will need to further explore.

The importance of establishing your goals
How to leverage a multi-channel approach
Tips for creating insightful reports

First things first…..

What makes your business different from your competitor? This is called Unique Value Proposition (UVP ) . Identifying your UVP will further help create a marketing plan that is unique to your business and sure to captivate prospects.

Important: Note Logos (fonts, formats, colors)

Understanding this concept will require you to truly know the ins and outs of your brand and what is driving new business. This can be done with a survey to your target audience.

By capturing the uniqueness of your brand, your business can thrive when it comes to being unique (branding) and building brand awareness.

Brand Awareness is releasing all things about your brand to the public, in a way that is different from your competitors. Beyond the process of what we do, is the process of how we do it. We must understand that branding is not about what we do, but how we do what we do.

For example: Chipotle is known for their food packaging and low carbon footprint. Having small aspects of your business that others don’t have will help build the uniqueness and demand of your brand.

Answering these questions is a great start to separating your brand from your competitors.

What is your brand tone of voice?
Which target audience is interested in your brand?
Does your logo represent the best version of your brand?

*Dive Deeper into branding here

After understanding these principles, it is important for business owners to use a Marketing Funnel to plan the next series of steps. A marketing funnel is a 5-step illustration that companies must use to attract new leads.

By having a definitive plan that is aligned with business goals, you are best equipped to attract new prospects.

After understanding your business goals and mantra, it is time to establish a solid foundation and present it to the public.

At this time, it is important to decide how you would like your company to be presented to the public. This is where your marketing efforts play a huge role in the effectiveness of your business. When sending out information to prospects, it is important to carefully choose what information will be presented. This information can be presented through the following ways:

Website
Direct Mail (Postcards)
Email Blasts
Billboards
Content Marketing /Blogging
Cold Calling
Advertisement

The above options are best used in a multiple-channel approach. This is using one or two of the examples above with a consistent message. Extracting the appropriate information from your business to these sources can make or break your business mantra.

Having information that is transferable across multiple platforms with your target audience is a form of content marketing. Having the right team help assess this properly is very important.

There are many marketing aspects to projecting information to your specific target audience. Listed below are a few marketing strategies to enhance the information being transmitted to prospects regarding a specific business service.

How do I attract new clients?

Digital Marketing – Automation and a mobile-friendly focus on SEO and SEM
Content Marketing – Keyword Strategy needed here
Inbound Marketing – Get the phone ringing
Email Marketing Campaigns – Between 2-4 emails per month
Social Media Marketing – The specific channel may vary depending on the demographics of your target

Once your marketing efforts are established, having a plan to maintain the increase revenue is next.

Having a consistent client base is important to maintain a healthy financial flow. Locking your clients in can be tricky, but we have provided some examples to stay in touch and keep them coming back. Offering an incentive for participation is key.

Loyalty Programs
Referrals Program
Discounts
Survey /Feedback

Keeping track of the efficiency of your business will help to see true profitability. Understanding the Return On Investment is a common tool used by business owners to understand the ratio between the amount of resources used for an investment and the actual profits made from it. Paying attention to financial trends in your business can help access the pros and cons of all services.

Following the above steps can help you to create detailed and profitable marketing campaigns.

Maintaining your business with adequate support and customer service, by allocating enough time to each task instead of using a gunshot approach will keep your business thriving in the New Year!

For more ways to elevate your business to the next level, contact us.

The post Marketing Kit For Service Businesses appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Tools To Improve Marketing Campaign Results

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 20:07:00 GMT

Imagine launching each marketing campaign with attention-grabbing and creatively appealing content that allows you to track performance across various platforms.

That is what this blog post is about.

Marketing teams are always looking for ways to improve and optimize marketing campaigns. We also seek to simplify customer journeys by creating successful marketing funnels . To accomplish this, we test many tools to find the best and most effective solutions for our clients.

We have zeroed in on a few elements that small business owners like: Simple and easy to use platforms that drive results.

To accomplish marketing success and scale a business, having the right tools in place does make a difference. At Marketing 4 Real Results , our priorities are to streamline efficiency, focus on the ability to personalize and automate when possible. Below are some valuable tools to support the success of your marketing campaigns.

We have listed our top 3 in each category.

Look & explore the platforms

Send us your questions to info@m4rr.com

Tools for Video Editing

Create, edit and share great videos with the below video editing platforms. To get a deeper understanding of video marketing growth, we recommend reviewing the platforms below. This will help determine which tool will be best to increase your video marketing engagement and campaign results.

Kinemaster – Mobile video editor to bring stories to life. Available on Android, Chrome OS, iPhone & iPad.

Inshot – Powerful HD Video Editor and Photo Editor with professional features. Add music, transition effects, text, emoji & filters.

Filmora – Powerful functionality and a fully stacked feature creative . Simple drag and drop editing.

Tools for Designing

The list below contains resources that are creative tools to design graphics for social media, mobile friendly and ada complaint websites and other marketing channels designed to increase engagement and results.

Snappa – Cloud-based graphic designing tool, to create graphics for social media, ads, blogs, emails & infographics.

Adobe XD – Vector-based user experience design tool for web apps and mobile apps. Collaborate more effectively with teams & clients.

Canva – Easy to use, drag-and-drop features to design, graphics, business cards, logos & presentations.

Websites To Get Stock Photos

Check out the below list of resources where you’ll find free stock photos for social media posts, websites and other marketing sources to increase engagement and results.

Freepik – Millions of Free Graphic Resources for creative projects. ✓ Vectors ✓ Stock Photos ✓ PSD ✓

Pixaby – Vibrant community of creatives, sharing copyright free images, videos & music.

Envato – 12 free files every month. Create videos and social media post at all skill levels.

Tools for Social Media Analysis

Check out the below list of social media analytic tools to easily manage and measure social media results. This will give you a deeper understanding of user growth and engagement rates.

Social Blade – Track YouTube Channel Statistics, Twitch User Stats, Instagram Stats & much more!

IG Blade – Instagram and TikTok analytics tool to track follower growth, engagement rates, fake followers & 30+ other stats for any account.

Hootsuite – Calculate the real return on your social media investment, to solidify the business case for social media in your company.

Tools To Schedule Posts

The best way to save time and grow your business with social media is to plan and schedule social media content in advance. Note: Save space for current events or newsworthy content.

Facebook Creator Studio – Manage posts, insights and messages from all of your Facebook Pages in one place.

Later – All-in-one social media marketing platform to plan, analyze and publish content in a few clicks.

Buffer – Affordable, and authentic way to reach people on social media.

Tools To Get Content Ideas

The list below contains content generator tools to get the best and most engaging content.

Answerthepublic.com – Tool to generate content ideas. Find useful phrases and questions that people ask search engines (Google, Yelp & Bing) to help better target marketing content efforts.

Hubspot – Simple and intuitive platform to gather blog ideas in a matter of seconds to help create engaging content in Enewsletters.

Ubercontent – Generate content ideas from top performing emails and gain insight on the ways to generate more organic website traffic.

Tools To Generate Hashtags

Below is a list of tools to reach new audiences and grow your social media accounts effectively.

All Hashtags – Generate new hashtags quickly for your business.

Flick – Search, analyze and manage Instagram hashtags.

Gravtag – Reach the right people on Instagram with smart hashtags.

The post Tools To Improve Marketing Campaign Results appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

5 Game Changing Marketing Tips For Residential Real Estate Agents

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 19:50:00 GMT

There are many details involved in buying or selling a home like paperwork, phone calls, forms, inspections, funding and compliance. The timeline for each varies and each has very specific timelines that are outside of the buyer and seller’s control.

Marketing 4 Real Results helps real estate professionals across the U.S. make a powerful mindset shift to unleash the power of marketing and expand their business. Below we have listed game changing marketing tips to make it easy for you to grow your residential real estate business.

Did You Know?

Link To All Home Buyer and Home Seller Touch Points – here

It is very easy for a buyer or seller to feel overwhelmed with the real estate process, making every transaction a new challenge. The emotional aspect can take a toll, leaving you, the real estate professional, in a position to lead by managing expectations and having excellent negotiation skills.

It can be difficult to stay organized with so many critical phases of the real estate transaction process. With so many items to cover, it is important to note that marketing cannot and should not be overlooked.

We will go as far as saying marketing should be a top priority for every real estate professional. For many professionals in the real estate industry this is an oversight. Some do not feel that social media is important, which could not be further from the truth. Remember as we think of social media, we must first understand, branding.

At Marketing 4 Real Results, our top producing residential real estate clients understand the benefits of working with a marketing agency . By outsourcing day-to-day marketing task, they can focus on building their book of business through human contact, making outbound calls and scheduling face-to-face meetings with their sphere of influence and other prospects.

It’s crucial for real estate professionals to keep in mind that how you market yourself as an agent determines your prospective success. Every new lead can present an opportunity for a new real estate transaction, leading to future sales. How does one acquire new prospects as an agent? It’s simple. Market yourself in every avenue possible.

We have put together a hit list below to support your efforts. If you consistently focus on the following foundational marketing tips, you are aligned to achieve an increase in prospects and real estate deals.

1. Social Media Marketing

Never underestimate the power of social media . Posting consistently is a great way to build your community. It can be very hard to stay on top of managing content and thinking of new and creative content to share. Here are some ideas you can explore to generate leads for your feed.

2.89 billion monthly visitors on Facebook
1.386 billion monthly visitors on Instagram
310 million monthly active users on LinkedIn

Keep in mind, the above numbers represent an entire market and since most residential real estate agents are focused in one or two zip codes, the total population will be a lot smaller. Get population stats by zip code here.

Note : When formulating a real estate marketing plan remember to consider the total number of prospects in the respective city/market.

In addition to Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, there are many more people using some form of a social media platform, and these are all simple, easy and FREE outlets to join and build an online and mobile friendly real estate presence.

Important Note: Having a free account on any social media platform is good, having an advertising avenue is even better. Both Instagram & Facebook have cost effective advertising options that can deliver effective leads over time. Keep in mind, marketing is not a one-off winning strategy, long term planning will benefit you here.

Key elements to consider:

Design ads effectively
Set proper goals and budget
Have a lead follow-up system
Target the right audience

2. Build a Referral Program

Word of mouth, firsthand experience is the best way to get new real estate business. To set the process in motion, ask every one of your clients to write an online review to spread the word of your services.

As you build your referral program, consider working with professionals that offer complimentary services like escrow, title, contractors, interior designers, insurance agents etc. Think of all the services buyers and sellers will need and incentivize your referral network to work with you. This process will create an intimate relationship that keeps your clients within your network for all real estate related needs.

Note : Work with people with shared values. Ask and encourage existing clients to recommend you to their friends, family and colleagues.

3. Email Marketing

Email blasts are a great way to send consistent information to past clients and prospects. Personalization is best. By speaking directly in your content to a niche market like doctors, attorneys, or accountants, the information you share will resonate better. Keep in mind that your target audience should align with your business goals. Remind clients about the philosophy of your business, to separate you from your other competitors in the same market. (Catchy subject lines are easy ways to keep your audience engaged.)

Keep your sphere of influence and target audience engaged with consistent email campaigns. A minimum of once a month. Remember engagement can lead to more referrals. Get more follow-up tips here from our friends at Top Producer

Key elements to consider:

Add a personal touch
Target the right audience
Send local updates and information
Share the market insights & data

4. Website

COVID-19 made having a website a MUST. The convenience of online resources allows clients to feel more comfortable with trusting your business. Having an online platform can increase brand awareness by making your service more accessible to the public. REMEMBER, not all clients are able to use virtual systems the same way, making sure your website is ADA compliant is being mobile friendly to all.

Ensure your website is professional and mobile friendly.

Key elements to consider:

It’s all about leads. Create a funnel by turning prospects into clients.
Use interactive customization to enhance the look and feel.
Make sure your website is responsive and mobile friendly.
Be sure to include accurate and appropriate information on the website.

5. Direct Mail

Postcards, handwritten letters and brochures are great ways to build a long lasting rapport with your target audience . A personal and timely message that resonates with your audience is very likely to result in increased prospect buyer lists and potential new listings. The creative artwork and call to action also play a role in this process. It is important to create carefully crafted content that is authentic to resonate with your target audience . Contact us for a Free consultation here! https://m4rr.com/contact/

Did You Know?

Key elements to consider:

Geography and knowledge of “ niche ” “local” markets is an important trait in the mind of a client. “ Be The Market Expert ”.
Safety is important to all homebuyers and sellers, the realtor that makes a conscious effort to build relationships with the police, fire, k-12 schools, parks and hospitals, can be a game changer.
Social proof – homebuyers and sellers want to know that an agent has helped other people in similar situations to achieve their home goals, so requesting reviews and sharing them on your social media pages, email blast and postcards is important.

To dive deeper into your specific real estate business marketing needs contact us today here – https://m4rr.com/contact/

The post 5 Game Changing Marketing Tips For Residential Real Estate Agents appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Web Accessibility Tips & Advantages

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 00:14:00 GMT

Web Accessibility/ADA Compliance is the most missed concept for business websites today. It’s sad, but true. Most businesses do not take the extra step to ensure their website is accessible to all, including those with disabilities.

Web Accessibility

Web Accessibility is designing a website that is available to all consumers, including those that may have physical barriers that may prevent them from navigating online. Not all consumers are able to navigate online, so ensuring your website is accessible to all is very important.

Advantages of having a Web Accessible Business Include:

Branding – Having a website that is accessible to all will make your online business more inclusive and increase your brand exposure and allow more consumers to have access to your online website.
Wider Consumer Base – Having a website that is more accessible to the public will allow your online website to reach a larger audience. A larger audience means a larger chance of your business making increased profits.
Improve SEO- The better your engagement with your target audience, the better your SEO, which is great for driving more traffic to your website.
Avoid Litigation – Our partners at accessiBe have created a Litigation support package to help dismiss or mitigate web accessibility lawsuits.

What is included?

Compliance Audit
Compliance Overview
Failures Request Master
Accessibility Statement
accessiBe Suggested Responses

Web accessibility has many advantages and the greatest, is its ability to grow your business by increasing access to more consumers. Expanding your customer base has the potential to increase sales.

After looking at these advantages, it is important to take the proper steps to ensure that your website is ADA Compliant. Be sure to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines when making the transition.

Pay special attention to:

Keyboard Navigation – Those with limited motor use can find trouble in websites that do not have keyboard navigation. Including these features in your website will allow them to have an easier way to navigate online.

HTML – This will ensure a consistent look and flow to the website.

Text Clarity – For those aging or with visual skills, it can be difficult to navigate online. Incorporating multiple ways to visually see your content and navigate online will make your website more user friendly. The character blocks font and size are always great things to focus on when making them more accessible to the public.

Who Is Subject to ADA Website Compliance

According to Title III of the ADA Those required to do so include:

State and local governments
Private businesses with 15+ employees
Nonprofits and charities with 15+ employees
Companies relying on the public or that benefit the public (basically, any place the public enters regularly)”

Ready to get started with the #1 Automated Web Accessibility Solution for ADA & WCAG Compliance that is Powered by AI – Get a 14-day FREE trial

Still confused? Send us an email to info@m4rr.com

The post Web Accessibility Tips & Advantages appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

5 Marketing Tips for Your Retail Business

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 22:42:00 GMT

Starting and growing a retail business can be a very exciting step into the world of entrepreneurship. With so many little things to be aware of, making sure your marketing team is on board is imperative to the expansion of your brand.

This idea to many can be the hardest part of owning a business. Once you have decided on a product, finding your niche is much easier said than done. This process should take place during the product development phase, but in many cases, it is not because many entrepreneurs feel they can sell their products to “anyone” which could not be further from the truth.

With so many things to consider building a brand and creating a product that is better than your competitors in the eyes of the consumer, focusing on one demographic is very smart. This realization is usually unfortunately realized after thousands of dollars have been spent.

The steps outlined below have been tested by our retail clients at Marketing 4 Real Results and can be used as great tools to elevate your marketing efforts to another level.

Step 1: Market to the right audience

The first step in any effective marketing campaign is to define and understand your target market. These are the people most likely to buy your products. There are many research software systems in the marketplace that allow you to best understand and monitor different aspects of your target audience , like income, education, age, gender etc. Surveys and questionnaires are also great ways to get more insight on your consumer base.

Step 2: Grow your network of prospective customers

Make sure that you’re sharing on social media is supported by accurate information and data. This will establish trust with your audience. Having false information on your website can imply that your business practices are untrustworthy. Your business must be credible to all consumers interested in your brand. Honesty is key.

Step 3: Write your product descriptions that highlight your unique value proposition

What makes your product different from your competitors? This is your chance to add authenticity about your brand. Tell your story. Give insight to your audience about why you are the best choice to get their business. There are many ways to do this, one excellent tool is to donate a portion of your profits to a cause that resonates with your audience.

Step 4: Master product descriptions that consider your target customer

Focus on the benefits for the customer, not just the features of the product. Capturing all features and benefits of your products will allow its full potential to be seen by the public as a solution. Never underestimate every way that you can build a better connection.

Step 5: Include multiple high-quality images with product descriptions

Include stellar product images from multiple angles. Poor quality photos are a complete turn-off to consumers. No one is interested in buying a product that they can’t fully conceptualize. Better graphics equal better results.

Having a retail business is a great accomplishment. The total retail sales in the United States alone is projected to reach 5.35 trillion U.S. dollars in 2025 up from 4.85 trillion U.S. Dollars in 2019 according to statista.com – Get your piece of this pie, by understanding the fundamentals of marketing to a specific audience.

It is important when branding your products that the appropriate steps are taken to fully launch your products to their maximum potential.

There are many businesses selling products and not all of them understand that having unique benefits and high-quality photos can make your products appear that much better.

For help developing content for your retail brand, learn more about content marketing here.

For additional ways to grow your retail business with marketing send us an email to info@m4rr.com .

The post 5 Marketing Tips for Your Retail Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The Experience Highlights From Paris Hotel in Las Vegas

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 23:42:00 GMT

Focus: Carpet Cleaning, Restoration and Janitorial

Larry Cooper and Team Experience did it again! After a short hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic once again, September at the Paris hotel in Las Vegas was a huge hit.

About THE EXPERIENCE: The largest independent trade show for the cleaning, restoration and remediation industries with over 240 booth spaces and over 15,000 sqft, of live demo and hands-on space. By far one of the best resources for new equipment, technical programs, education, and best practices.

Manufactures, service providers, industry partners, contractors, janitorial, cleaning and restoration business owners were all in attendance.

Safety protocols were a top priority, social distancing, hand sanitizer and a huge focus on the health and safety of all participants as recommended by CDC.

All three days, September 8-10, 2021 of the Convention & Trade Show were filled with hands-on education and seminars from industry experts like Michael Pinto of Wonder Makers Environmental, Eric Sprague of Blue Collar Consulting , Doug Hoffman of Norm i , Jeff Cross of Issa and many more.

Many attendees were seeking manufacturer insights, new products, and advanced technology to streamline efficiency in the drying process, field documentation systems, and ways to build their businesses.

One of the major highlights included a wonderful reception party by the pool, Sponsored by the IICRC , Aramsco, Softwash Systems , and The Experience .

Get to know the latest products and trends to give you a leg up on your competition. By learning how to grow your business efficiently will ensure customer retention and referral business.

Product Highlights

Delmhorst / JonDon

NEW! BDX-20 & BDX-30 Moisture Meters

Let the BDX meters and Edge App take you to the next level of pin meters for the building trade show and Inspection

Contact:

Ralph McKinley

909.764.4669

Hydramaster/JonDon

NEWLY REFINED! CDS 4.8 Direct Drive Truckmount

Streamlined power transfer system
Increased vacuum performance
More Consistent Heat Delivery System
Space saving design

Contact:

Ralph McKinley

909.764.4669

IOTC Advanced Technologies, Inc. / JonDon

The ONLY Certified Safe Hydroxyl Generators
EPA Established Registration #87989-FL-001
California Air Resources Board Approved
Titan 2000 Hydroxyl Generator
Titan 4000 Hydroxyl Generator
Vortex Automatic Ultrasonic
Dry Micro-Mist Sanitation System

Contact:

Ralph McKinley

909.764.4669

DRI EAZ / JonDon

Coming Soon

Powerful and Quiet Air Filtration

Hepa 700

Quieter operation for use in any occupied space
Filters out dust, mold, odors, and fumes with pre-filter, operational carbon and true HEPA filter media
Lightweight and stacks securely for storage and transport
24/7 remote monitoring and control using command center app

Command Hub Technology

Advanced Command Hub controls deliver:
At-a-glance readings, job conditions
Drying trend graph for making decisions
Easy-access maintenance prompts

Contact:

Ralph McKinley

909.764.4669

Protimeter / JonDon

NEW Reachmaster Pro

Non-Invasive Moisture Meter on a Telescoping Handle

Contact:

Ralph McKinley

909.764.4669

Hikmicro

Thermal Imaging

See the world in a new way. Leading thermal imaging equipment and solutions. Design, develop and manufacture thermal detectors, cores, modules, cameras and total solutions.

Contact:

https://www.hikmicrotech.com/en/product-c/8

Services

Field Documentation

Encircle

Connecting the claims process with high quality reports so you can grow revenue, increase profitability, and get paid sooner.
Document the loss
Create Reports
Mitigate Water Jobs
Inventory Contents
Involve the Customer

Contact:

1-888-937-1077

sales@encircleapp.com

Insurance

JM Sterling Services

Full service Environmental Insurance Agency specializing in fire/water mold asbestos and lead. Package polices, workers comps and more. Familiar with all TPA/program requirements.

Contact:

sterlinginsuranceservices.com

jsterling@sterlinginsuranceservices.com

Marketing

Marketing 4 Real Results

Full Service IICRC Certified Marketing Agency specialized in elevating Cleaning and Restoration Companies to the next level. Consulting and implementation of marketing services. Build and manage marketing campaigns across digital and traditional marketing platforms.

Specialized Services:

Consulting
Text Marketing
Email Marketing
Content Marketing
Video Marketing
Website Development
Social Media Marketing
Marketing Plan Development
Advertising: Facebook, Instagram, Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Contact:

m4rr.com

niap@m4rr.com

The post The Experience Highlights From Paris Hotel in Las Vegas appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

5 Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Restoration Business

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 02:52:00 GMT

There are many great reasons to own a Restoration business, one of the most significant being the astonishing $210 billion annual market.

The $210 billion includes natural disasters such as hurricanes, storms and wildfires, water damage, fire damage, flooding, carpet cleaning, etc. The market is expected to expand in the next several years due to climate changes that will increase the average temperatures and create extreme weather events.

The influx of weather change will create an environment where restoration companies will be busier than ever with more business opportunities. The revenue potential is the sweet spot. The not so sweet part is the abundance of competition. This blog will help you understand how to market your restoration business.

It’s true what they say: Industries with the greatest income potential have the largest amount of competition.

It’s great to get excited about new business opportunities but it is extremely important to focus on keeping that new business and expanding.

With so many restoration franchises and small businesses popping up over the country, it’s important to embrace the components that can be controlled in your busines. Sales, Marketing and Customer Service.

Whether you specialize in the restore of fire or water damage, roofing or mold remediation, carpet cleaning or contents or remodeling it is important to represent yourself in a way that’s better than your competition. That requires authenticity and a value proposition.

Keep in mind, building and expanding your brand takes time.

There is no quick solution to building a brand. The opportunity cost of not understanding branding can be very expensive, so please do not overlook this step. In every aspect of your business, you should ask the question “how does “x” impact my brand”. Read more about branding here .

Once you have branding covered, you are ready to move into the development stage of business growth, which is to have a strategic marketing plan . Having a marketing plan in place that you modify year after year (assuming you are following the steps outlined in your plan) is crucial to elevating your business from one level to the next.

While outlining goals for your business you will also gain the ability to determine how many team members, software systems and budget requirements would fit your business mantra.

Let’s say, you want to increase annual revenue by $1million dollars for mold services. What infrastructure will you need to have in place to accomplish that? Read more about marketing planning here .

The specific actions to include in your organic marketing strategy are what we will cover here. This information is based on the success that our agency clients are seeing to push the needle forward in their marketing strategy. We will not cover system cost here, to get a price comparison on the various platforms, a simple Google search will get you what you need.

To master marketing of your restoration business, you must THINK MOBILE, DIGITAL and CUSTOMER CENTRIC.

Consumers want personalized and simplified ways to do business. 89% of consumers say they prefer texting with businesses over any other mode of communication .

79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last 6 months. – (source outerboxdesign.com )

The marketing tips noted here should be used as a guide only. All new marketing campaigns should be reviewed and aligned to a business goal. Since every business is set up differently its important to account for the team, resources and time when setting up marketing plan. Some aspects outlined here require monitoring and management, which may require hiring a new team member either part time or full time. It’s very important to analyze the insights from your marketing efforts to determine if the impact is worth the overall cost. Never start and quickly stop any marketing. Consistency is what will drive results for your restoration business.

TIP 01: Automate Marketing:

Keep your customer interactions running smoothly with an intelligent approach to business.

Save time
Increase productivity
Improve lead nurturing and sales

Today, there are many software systems that can help you save time & increase productivity, which will lead to better leads and sales. This helps to increase revenue by being able to see all marketing efforts in one place, including social activity. Choose a system that is easy to use with all the features that you need. If you purchase a robust system with many bells and whistles, you’ll likely not maximize all the features. Pay only for what you need and add more automation as your business grows.

TIP 02: Build a Referral Program:

Encourage existing customers to advocate on behalf of your business by recommending your company to their friends, family, and colleagues.

Note: Having a review program in place ( Google or Yelp) will help, as well as becoming an Approved Vendor with Insurance Companies.

Reduce sales budget
Higher conversion rates
Increased revenue
Better marketing ROI

Building a consistent customer base is crucial to the development of your brand. As an owner, you want consumers to think of your brand when they need your service. You also want them to recommend you to their friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues. Start with incentives for participation . The expansion of referrals is an excellent revenue stream for restoration businesses.

TIP 03: Social Media Marketing:

Connect authentically with your audience on a personal level, by humanizing your brand. Share project videos and images. Create cost effective advertising with Facebook and Instagram.

Build your brand
Reach a large audience
Drive traffic to your website

Social Media is a great way to give your customers personal insight on the authenticity and philosophy of your brand. The branding aspect of your business is what is your personal differentiator.

Instagram – 1billion monthly active users
Facebook – 2.89 billion monthly active users
LinkedIn – 722 million active users

Over 70% of people have a social media platform. (In theory, your business can reach 70% of the world…that is a lot of exposure!). Since restoration services generally focus on a more “ local ” service need, spreading the word consistently is a great idea. Recommended : Facebook and Instagram cost-effective lead generation advertising campaigns.

Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter. All social channels help spread the word about your business.

Incorporating hashtags will boost your search engine optimization ranking and further expand exposure across the internet and on social media. I.E. (#losangeleswaterdamage #losangelesrestorationservices #losangelesfloodservice #losangeleshurricaneservices) .

Social media is also a great way to interact with your customers and respond to questions. Recommended : Link FAQ’s to your social media accounts. Gaining feedback on the positive and negatives aspects of your business is the best way to grow.

Social media provides a quick method of improvement that can drive new business. This process can be considered an extension of your business resume that gives prospects insight on what to expect from your service.

TIP 04: Design a responsive, mobile-friendly website that is ADA compliant.

Ensure your website is discoverable and readable via mobile devices to all people including those with disabilities.

NOTE : There is a big difference in the design and layout between desktop and smartphone visibility.

Credibility
Marketing Expansion
Valuable Information Exchange

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to go to a website on your phone in the state of an emergency and the website is inaccessible.

Of the 96%, 48% reported feeling frustrated. Don’t let this happen to your business. Be sure to take the time to make sure your website is accessible on all outlets. Recommended : Add a page for frequently asked questions. Read more about website accessibility here .

TIP 05: Incorporate Text Marketing

(67% of people would rather text a business about an appointment or invoice, than email or call. – Hubspot )

Cost-effective
Easy integration with other marketing platforms like CRM
Reach prospects at their preferred channel

Texting has become a very popular way of communicating. Having this feature for your business will make appointments, reminders and paying invoices a lot easier. Finding ways to make transactions & communication user friendly is a great way to get invoices paid faster and increase the chances of a positive online review or referral. If you are not getting referrals, there is a reason why. Recommended : Customer Survey.

Following these 5 tips to learn how to promote your restoration business. We recommend a marketing audit at the end of every year to continue with the marketing that is working and discontinue the marketing that is not working.

Send us your restoration marketing questions here https://m4rr.com/contact/ .

The post 5 Marketing Strategies To Grow Your Restoration Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing 4 Real Results Has Joined Forces with Insperity to Offer HR Relief to Small Businesses

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 20:58:00 GMT

By: PR.com
June 07, 2021 at 08:00 AM EDT

Los Angeles, CA, June 07, 2021 –( PR.com )– Marketing 4 Real Results continues to explore innovative ways to accelerate growth for small businesses, and human capital is currently at the forefront.

Limited budgets and resources are always a factor to every business, connecting with employees is a great way to rise above competitors. Most small business leaders know that customer relationships are the key to growth but they also need to understand that happy employees are smarter and better workers and can be beneficial to business growth.

They are proud to join forces with Insperity, a trusted advisor to businesses across the country for nearly three decades. Insperity’s mission is to help businesses succeed so communities prosper. So, it was a natural fit that they would join forces with them for expertise in human resources administration. Insperity has the ability to take on all time-consuming HR tasks, so you have more time for what matters most to you and your business.

No matter your human resources needs – payroll, recruiting, workers’ compensation, benefits, performance management or retirement – Insperity has HR specialists with the expertise to advise and support you.

The post Marketing 4 Real Results Has Joined Forces with Insperity to Offer HR Relief to Small Businesses appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing 4 Real Results and accessiBe Announce Strategic Partnership

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 17:18:00 GMT

Sherman Oaks, CA, April 13, 2021 — (PR.com) — Marketing 4 Real Results (M4RR) announced today it has joined the accessiBe Partner Program. Marketing 4 Real Results will now be able to provide clients access to accessiBe’s game changing-web accessibility, making the entire process to website compliance automatic and immediate using machine learning and computer vision technologies.

accessiBe utilizes two applications that together achieve full compliance. The accessibility interface is responsible for all the UI and design-related adjustments, while the AI-powered background process handles the more complex requirements – optimization for screen-readers and for keyboard navigation.

ADA Websites Compliance Requirement

As outlined by the ADA, Title III any company that relies on the public or benefiting the public online must meet the requirements as indicated by the DOJ as, websites are “places of public accommodations” and therefore they must be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Nia Pearson started Marketing 4 Real Results after 15+ years’ experience as a trusted marketing advisor in the industries of Real Estate, Restoration, and Retail. Her passion for business and love for marketing and building relationships has been demonstrated successfully throughout her career. The expansion of the partnership with accessiBe is another demonstration of her desire to maintain a leadership role in the field of marketing by providing innovative and efficient digital marketing solutions to her agency clients.

About accessiBe

accessiBe is the first and only AI-powered solution that is revolutionizing the industry by making web accessibility simple, automatic, immediate and affordable, in compliance with the WCAG 2.1, ADA, Section 508 and other worldwide legislation. By using automation rather than labor, the notion of a fully accessible internet (hundreds of millions of active websites and over 1.5 Billion in total) is for the first time ever a practical, attainable reality and not just a distant dream. Learn more about accessiBe at this 3-minute YouTube video about the accessiBe tool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OfcbvYVxNY .

About Marketing 4 Real Results

Marketing 4 Real Results is a customer-centric marketing agency that serves the small business community with efficiency and creativity, through the design of integrated marketing campaign solutions with clearly defined metrics and a focus on primary target audiences. Our expertise in strategy, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, text marketing, and data-driven solutions have led to valuable partnerships and lasting relationships. Learn more about Marketing 4 Real Results here: https://m4rr.com .

Media Contact
Aamirah Gober
aamirahg@m4rr.com

The post Marketing 4 Real Results and accessiBe Announce Strategic Partnership appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Why Targeting Is Important For Business Success

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:26:00 GMT

Strategy for: Real Estate, Restoration, and Retail businesses.

Over the years, our team at Marketing For Real Results has spoken with hundreds of entrepreneurs about their businesses. No matter the size of the business, all are motivated and looking for success, which we are encouraged by, and excited to help.

We start every new client consulting session by asking a series of questions about business goals and current marketing strategies in place. This analysis allows us to better understand which marketing tactics to use.
The goal of this exercise is to ultimately increase the marketing funnel success rate with new business and less uncertainty, anxiety, and frustration.

As you might guess our consultation sessions vary. A new venture will not have historical data about what works, versus an existing business that we can extract what worked and what did not work and build from there.

TIP! The fastest path to quick success is to replicate what is working.

A fundamental marketing error is to mirror a competitor. We always discourage this business practice since authenticity is a crucial part of establishing a brand.

Keep in mind, copycat marketing strategies are not sustainable and eventually will not yield a high return due to the lack of originality. An alternative mindset is to focus on what makes your business unique by establishing a value proposition , that will tell prospects in less than 30 seconds why they should want to work with you over your competitors.

Tip! Business owners that make the time to take strategic business actions are more profitable and most successful, without question.

When you are ready to launch a new product or service, the questions outlined below will get you started on the right path.

Ask yourself a basic question…“Who Am I Targeting”?

Many business owners assume the answer to this question is EVERYONE …and that is a big mistake!
Without properly identifying your target audience the communication in your marketing messages may not reach your target audience.

In addition, the resources required to target everyone would require a broad marketing campaign and a larger budget, which is not cost-effective.

Why?

Targeted messages both content and images are effective ways to get the attention of your ideal customer/client. How to use targeting to

Tips To Get Started

Who am I targeting?
Why am I targeting them?
Where do they reside?
How often will they buy?
How much will they spend?
What is their budget?
One income or dual-income household?

Answers to these fundamental questions will aid the success of marketing campaigns.

Watch this YouTube video to learn key components to profile a target client/customer. In addition to specific website landing pages, social media , email , blog posts , direct mail/postcards etc. Speak directly and concisely.

By taking these steps, your marketing campaigns will have a better rate of success with personalized assets and better targeting.

Now that you have some fundamental marketing tools, if you need additional help on your marketing journey, visit m4rr.com/contact to sign up for a FREE Consultation .

The post Why Targeting Is Important For Business Success appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Top 5 List Of Innovative Marketing Techniques – Post COVID

Sat, 20 Feb 2021 03:40:00 GMT

2020 brought the world many new challenges, but there is no challenge that the marketing world can’t conquer. The advancements of marketing automation software have helped to streamline the marketing process to accomplish one main business goal.

With COVID-19 keeping us confined to our homes for a significant amount of time, having an online presence is more important now than it has ever been.

Although this may seem obvious, it is important to note that as the demand for an online presence increases, so does the online competition. With so many online sources available for information, it is crucial for your business to find a way to stand out from the crowd.

It is important for your target audience to be able to distinguish your brand from anyone else’s. You may start to ask yourself “How do I distinguish my brand online with so much competition?” The answer is to stay innovative!

Staying innovative during these unprecedented times will allow you to crush your online competition. To help with your transition, we have put together a list of 5 Marketing Techniques that have helped our agency clients excel. We are sharing to help elevate your business to the next level.

1. M aintain a Marketing Mindset . Understand all aspects of the market.

Know the who, where, and when about your customers. Maximize your understanding of your target audience. This will help you determine where to allocate marketing resources.
Have a business plan. It is no longer okay to take a gunshot approach, seeking shiny objects. Make goals & follow through with them.
Attach key performance indicators (KPI’s) to measure success and review data often.

2. Co nnect with your Target Audience by remembering the 4P’s.

Placement – Where can your product be found?
Product – Share value, benefits, and features with your target audience. Have a well-defined value proposition to attractive clients/customers.
Price – What are the total costs? Are costs competitive? Are you leaving money on the table or losing opportunities money? Are you upselling services?
Promotion – Where are your service/products available? Maximize your digital presence with website links – URL’s and online advertisements. Confirm links and check spelling (this can turn off a prospect – avoid 404 error pages). Find industry affiliates and that offer complimentary products/services.

3. F ocus on Digital Marketing . This is crucial. Focus. Focus. Focus.

Digital Marketing is the new normal and all aspects of your marketing should embrace this concept. Having a digital focus on your business will allow you to gain enormous business exposure online. This type of marketing includes webinars, online events, customer reviews, automated email marketing, and text marketing, which are easy to implement into your business. Since we are spending more time indoors, to gain business, especially new business, we have to consider online surfing/browsing both mobile and desktop.

4. S ocial Media Marketing.

Social Media Marketing is a great way to explore new business. By sharing value with your niche market, you are able to build trust and share value over time. With so many people using so many different social media outlets for different purposes, a deep dive into your target audience will be required. Social media is by far the cheapest and simplest platform to connect with your audiences. BONUS: Include: Facebook Groups, Live Streams, User Generated Content , Instagram Reels, and Tik Tok.

Bonus Social Media Tips: Consider Having a Presence

VERY IMPORTANT Google + Business Page

Residential Real Estate Industry : Zillow , NextDoor , YouTube , Reddit , and Quora .

Cleaning and Restoration Industry : Consider GuildQuality , Yelp , YouTube , HomeAdvisor , Angi , and Porch .

Retail / Juvenile Industry : YouTube , Pinterest .

5. B e Creative with your Online Presence .

Remember, you want your brand to stand out from the rest. Having a unique and consistent graphic design or interesting website layout is a great way to capture the attention of your audience.

Advanced Marketing Pro-Tip!

Take a multi-channel approach to your digital marketing strategy with a focus on mobile marketing. Since 79% of smartphone users make purchasing decisions using their mobile devices, reaching your target audience here makes sense. Include these important elements to integrate: Webinars, CRM, SEO-focused website, automated email, SMS, and social media for a robust marketing strategy.

Each of these five tips and especially the advanced marketing pro tip are all excellent marketing techniques to elevate your business to the next level. Remember, maintaining an online digital presence is a key point to surviving post COVID-19.

The post Top 5 List Of Innovative Marketing Techniques – Post COVID appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Year End Marketing Budget Planning

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 18:59:00 GMT

As we say goodbye to another year, we must remember to focus on what is the best path forward for business, as it pertains to marketing.

Thinking back to March 2020, we were all taken by a storm with an immediate lockdown, and for many businesses, this sudden change caused immediate reductions to marketing budgets almost instantaneously. The knee-jerk decision to panic was not the best decision at all since this option can leave any business worse off as the world returns to normal. As years have passed, we can begin with a plan that considers the previous years successes and failures and add new technology and processes to be more efficient.

Instead, the better solution was to reallocate resources by shifting spending of one marketing activity and replacing it with a different more feasible, marketing option. IE: One quick example that many businesses adopted was the transition from traditional events to virtual events and not merely canceling the remainder of 2020 events.

Not having a formal marketing budget in place is a huge missed opportunity and potentially a guaranteed pitfall for any business.

Top 5 Benefits OF Having A Marketing Budget

A clear path to execute marketing touchpoints across multiple channels.
Create marketing messages that help your brand stand out from your competitors.
Adequately target/ideal clients/customers, where they are.
Build brand awareness by sharing valuable industry information/resources.
Develop effective storytelling geared to inspire, educate, and promote products/services to a particular target for business growth.

Having a marketing budget has always been a smart business decision, and now is a very critical time.

Proper planning is the best path to business success.

A marketing budget is a guide to ensure that your business stays on track with estimated costs vs. actual costs year over year that includes all marketing expenses.

One major benefit of having a marketing budget is the ability to measure ROI (return on investment). You can quickly compare year or year sales to your overall marketing budget and determine what is working.

Branding

A standard marketing budget line item for many businesses includes some form of a brand reboot. Brand changes can be visual, a product offering change, or a target audience change. Note: Brand changes should have supportive reasoning and be aligned to data, research, or a business objective.

The scale for branding may vary and generally includes: website improvements, maintenance or redesign (ongoing maintenance, ADA compliance ), logo development or redesign, branded promotional products (giveaways), printed brochures/materials.

Recap Note:

Plan to win. Business planning can elevate success, so it’s important to place an adequate amount of time planning to position your business for the best results.
All marketing activities should be included: consider how will you get the word out about your new or improved service/product. Include every step and the associated cost.

An efficient way to do this is to pull details from your marketing plan, assuming you have one and set an allocated timeline for each component of your marketing activity by day, week, and month. This will be you a step-by-step strategy with the associated cost.

Another way to approach this process is to consider the source of all 2020 and 2019 business and cross-reference those actions into a comparison chart that highlights success stories and eliminates failures from future marketing activity.

Track and Replicate Marketing Successes

By establishing a successful revenue chart, derived from 2019 and 2020 marketing efforts, you are further creating a positive path or growth.

You likely have heard the phrase “You have to spend money to make money.” This is a true statement with marketing. However, since there are so many different marketing platforms available to promote products and services, using caution is imperative. The goal is to focus on proper planning, targeting, testing, and measuring.

What To Include In Your 2021 Marketing Budget

Need a sample marketing budget? Request it here.

Your final marketing budget will include a combination of estimated and actual costs. The estimated cost column will be your starting number and the actual cost column will be completed after the final cost has been incurred (completely executed/invoice paid in full). Note: This number may fluctuate slightly up or down.

2021 Marketing Tools

Marketing automation, artificial intelligence are two of the biggest advantages that technology brings, in many cases driving a 14% increase in sales productivity. So when possible, automation should be considered for the below services when possible.

Building a network of Partnerships/Referral programs with other businesses
Membership Program
Loyalty Program
Quarterly Direct Mail
Focus on Testimonials: Ask your customers for recommendations
Website development & management – ADA Compliance
Email marketing
Social media marketing
Customer Relationship Management, (CRM)
Content Marketing – Blog writing
Search engine optimization
Video marketing

How Much To Spend On Marketing?

The amount of money a business should budget for marketing varies greatly by industry, competition, business size, and years in business. The US Small Business Administration recommends a marketing budget to be between 2% and 10% of sales. Some companies spend up to 20% of net sales depending on product launches, competition, etc. The overall average is between 4% and 6%.

Want to position your company for growth? Outsource your marketing to a seasoned team that focuses on delivering flexible marketing solutions and consistent branding. Contact us today, Marketing 4 Real Results .

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Are You Prepared?

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 04:16:00 GMT

The post Are You Prepared? appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Work Smarter With A Social Media Marketing Calendar

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 03:31:00 GMT

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Content Marketing: Work smarter by staying on task

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 03:26:00 GMT

Keeping your business content organized all year with a content marketing calendar is a great way to stay organized.

Using a Content Marketing Strategy tool can help execute your content marketing strategy in an efficient and timely manner. With so much going on, it can be difficult to stay on track. Having a clear mind and precise schedule will help aide in the process of building your business.

This is a calendar-based plan that provides an overview of what marketing messages will be shared across multiple social media channels or blog pages to promote your product/services. This allows you to be on top of daily responsibilities that will not only help elevate your business to the next level, but it will also alleviate the stress of being unorganized.

Your business will land on the first page of the search engine results over time. This is not a quick solution for driving traffic, instead an organic search ranking strategy that can take months to years to establish .

Once your content marketing strategy is rolling your target audience will look forward to your delivery of valuable , relevant , and consistent content.

Valuable

Prospect should walk away feeling like they’ve learned something.

Relevant

Your content must address consumers’ wants, needs, and interests.

Consistent

Effective content, delivered over a period of time.

The post Content Marketing: Work smarter by staying on task appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing Plan: Take Your Business To The Next Level

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 03:11:00 GMT

The post Marketing Plan: Take Your Business To The Next Level appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

New Business Forecasting

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 02:26:00 GMT

The post New Business Forecasting appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

All About Branding

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 05:12:00 GMT

What is branding?

Branding is essential to every business. This important representation transcends across various medians and outlets and should hold a high level of significance in business planning.

The best way to ensure business success is to align a proper marketing strategy with consistent branding efforts that focus on sales growth. Many people think of branding from a one-dimensional perspective, instead branding should be considered in all aspects of business to maximize results.

Branding Includes:

Visual Aspects (Website design & logo colors)
Brick/mortar location
All aspects of marketing
Promotional materials (Ads, commercials etc.)
Customer Service (Ratings, customer interactions & surveys)
Employees, vendors and affiliate partners
Quality of product/service

To better understand the significance of branding, our team at Marketing 4 Results put together steps to consider when developing brand strategy.

Step 1: Capture Target Audience

Setting a distinctive profile in a specific market is the best way to build and grow a brand.

This step seems simple but many small business owners are not interested in defining a target audience, which is a huge mistake. When most small business owners are asked who are your target customers, the answer is usually everyone. To maximize the potential of sales for any product/service requires a deep dive into a well-defined audience and the market potential. By focusing business efforts on a targeted audience allows for faster and more effective brand building.

Step 2: Brand Equity

Building up your brand for continued success requires a consistent marketing strategy that is aligned with business goals, brand strategy and a well-defined target audience. The over arching question for every marketing initiative should be “what impact “x” action has on the overall brand equity.” (This includes, sales, advertising, customer service, online/offline engagements and inbound lead generation).

At Marketing 4 Real Results we help our clients understand the importance of seeing past their logo, being original and understanding the fundamental difference in building a brand and a single transaction sale.

To have a leading position in any market requires confidence, diligence and strategic actions. By embracing the concept of brand building, adding authenticity and having clearly defined goals, you will be equipped to build your brand.

Step 3: Mission & Vision Statement

A companies mission and vision statements are key drivers to connect goals and core values to business planning. The how and why of your business is what your brand is all about and that is the story that should be told.

Brand building efforts:

Relatable
Simple
Consistent

Keep in mind that once you have identified marketing tactics that generate new business, there is no need to make changes unless that business model is no longer working. Many small businesses stop and start marketing campaigns before gaining traction. To successfully build a brand requires, money, time, strategy and patience. Note: Do not expect instant gratification on new marketing campaigns. Allow 3 months for a new marketing campaign to capture valuable insights, trends and data.

When you consider some of the biggest brands, their logo colors evoke a mood, feeling or behavior, which is not an accident. Remember that having the right color choices separates your brand from competitors and determine how your brand will be perceived.

The Psychology Of Color Matters.

Top 5 Brand Building Questions

Who is your target audience?

What are the core values of your business?

What is your value proposition?

What problem does your service/product solve?

Who are the top 5 competitors in your market?

Recap: Building a brand is like creating an identity for your business. Creating a logo and building a website are great aesthetic elements to make your business stand out. To sustain your business and build your brand equity will require much more than that.

Note: Branding is about more than the visual aspects of your business.

Tips to creating memorable “customer branding experiences.”

Create a website for customers to explore products/services, leave feedback & gain industry insight
Provide excellent customer (in store, online chat or phone)
Create special slogans for customers to remember
Create membership and loyalty programs
Create events that engage your customers
Create events that invite prospects to learn more

Brand building is the platform to highlight business significance and its ability to retain loyal customers. Implementing the tools outlined here that focus on a customer centric business model encourage customer friendly business experiences.

Important Benefits Of Branding

Two of the most important benefits of branding are building customer loyalty and brand awareness. When customers like the quality of a product or service they will later become familiar with the brand colors. Depending on the follow-up marketing messages received there is a chance for repeat business or a referral opportunity. To build loyalty it’s important to assign authority to a revenue stream for repeat business by adding a customer loyalty program.

Creating memorable experiences is a part of the process to building brand awareness . People love to share good experiences with family and friends; so don’t miss opportunities by not connecting deeper. Don’t be afraid to brag about the quality of your product or service in an effort to create a distinction between competitors.

Another major benefit to branding is that the process makes your business more credible. For example, many brick and mortar small businesses do not have a website. According to the SBA , of the 30 million small businesses in the U.S., only 64% have a website.

If a customer was looking for a particular service or product online, it’s very unlikely the prospect will do business with the company that has a website. It is not very likely that same prospect will consider the business that does not have a website. Prospects trust a business that is identifiable through many outlets and has online reviews.

For additional tips on Branding, visit our Services page.

Still have branding questions? Marketing 4 Real Results has answers to help you to adequately build your brand, contact for a FREE Marketing Consultation

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Your Website Should Have A Marketing Approach

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 05:08:00 GMT

Starting a new website or revamping your current website can be very tricky. With so many website designers operating across the globe promising to delivery impeccable results, making a selection can be challenging to say the least. The influx of website designers and heavy competition online, make the decision-making and evaluation process much more critical. Getting the final look and feel you want that also takes into account the necessary performance is a big order to fill.

Having an online presence matters and having a website is no longer an option to succeed in business. The bonus of having an online profile gives your business the opportunity to flourish in so many ways. By expanding your position in the marketplace, building brand awareness and selling more products or services.

Over the years our team members at Marketing 4 Real Results have worked with many clients who have faced terrible experiences of being overcharged and underserved. The issue of saying yes quickly to business seems very common. The other element is that at times the vision and workflow are not clearly defined. That is why having a marketing voice involved in the process of building your website will tie the knot between customer and company.

At Marketing 4 Real Results we recommend that our clients take a strategic marketing approach to a new or revamped website design. Throughout this article we will share information to help you make the best decision on your next website design project .

(After reading the article if you have questions about our preferred website designers, feel free to email us at info@m4rr.com .)

According to the SBA , of the 30 million small businesses in the U.S., only 64% have a website.

When choosing a website, cost is usually the best place to start since this seems to be the first mistake. It is important to note that cost should not be the only determinate in your decision-making process to build a website. The scale of cost will vary significantly depending on your industry, competition online and if you want a custom website or template website.

Instead of focusing on cost, it is better to focus on the designer’s experience, number of years running a business, communication response time, and understanding of your industry. It is important to ask qualifying questions to make your website designer selection less frustrating in the end. A great starting point is to get a reference from someone else that has a website you like and ask them about their experience.

We recommend getting started by first understanding the capabilities of the website designer. This analysis can be done in a combination of ways.

What You Need to Know Before Signing The Contract

View the website of the designer
Ask for links to other websites designed
Ask for business references
Find out who will directly design your website? (Third party outsourcing to India is very common.)
Will you have a dedicated account manager assigned to your account?
What is the time required to complete your website? (This helps to anticipate timetables for product launches/marketing campaigns etc.)
What platform will the designer use to build your website? (Template or Custom Build).
What are the capabilities, limitations to plugins and visual components that pertain to the type of site you want designed?
Payment terms? (We recommend paying a portion upfront and the balance upon receipt of the final site.)
What is the number of revisions included in the website design?
What is the cost for additional revisions? (This is a tricky one that can get very expensive).
What are your options to cancel if you do not like the final website design?
Will your final website include an SSL Certificate ?
Will your website include Google Analytics?
What SEO capabilities are included in the project?
Will your final website include a Privacy Policy?
What is the cost for content writing?

Website Priorities

There is a shared priority in the website designing process, which is the connection between the back and front end. Both are important one is prettier and more appreciated for its visual aspects of the website.

The backend pertains to the coding of your website. (Many people miss this mark and do not have an SEO foundation, keyword focus etc.)
The front end is the look and functionality

Yes, you should definitely have a clear description of your small business services or products on your website. Including what prospects can anticipate during the business process.

Keep in mind, all aspects of your website must connect with your target audience and that has to do with the content needed on your website. Your website is an online representation of your brand. All content must be aligned to represent your products/services appropriately. Remember, just because your website is pretty does not make it fully functional and adequately set up to support your sales and marketing growth plans.

Pay close attention to:

SEO
Keywords
Title tag
Quality content
Call to actions
Testimonials
Blog Page
Social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Yelp, Google + Business)
SSL Certificate

Website Mindset

Ultimately you should think of your website as a virtual resume about your products/services. This is where your prospects/customers/clients go to best understand your ability to fill their needs. Think of your website as your marketing hub.

Your website will be best equipped to drive new leads/business opportunities when prospects feel welcomed and informed. To accomplish this quickly and instantly grab the attention of all website visitors, we suggest having a short video on your homepage that talks about your services/products.

Also, it is important to note that having a bad website can drive away business. Having an inadequate platform with too little information, grammar mistakes or loading time issues (more than 5 seconds) can result in a bad representation for your brand to all visitors.

An important goal for your website is to retain old business. Another important goal is to acquire new business. Both old and new audiences must be represented on your website. You can do this successfully by creating an online buyer’s journey to drive anticipated actions. Taking your audience step by step to the right place, at the right time, with the right message can make a huge impact on your business.

Most web designers are in the business of website design. Therefore, your marketing goals are not a first priority. It will be important for you to have a clear vision on your website expectations before getting started.

At Marketing 4 Real Results we have identified some important marketing factors over the years that impact website performance and below we listed our top 4 distinctive elements.

Search engine rankings (Google, Bing and Yahoo)
Consumer decision making
Consumer purchase behavior
Competitive landscape

Although we have managed hundreds of website projects both large and small, we specialize in the industries of Real Estate, Restoration, Retail, and Juvenile products. We best understand the foundation of website experiences within those industries.

Our agency is fully equipped to answer your website design questions, at no cost. We are here to shed light on your marketing mindset for target audiences, business communication and workflow. We understand that in many cases website projects do not get the adequate attention needed to compete online resulting in a heavy expense for website development and over time a lot of PPC to drive sales. Just like any other marketing building blocks, the fundamental principles of your website matters.

Why Marketing Matters To Websites?

Over the years we got more involved in the support of our client’s website designs to ensure the business alignment and marketing touch points are in place to support sales. A part of getting your website on track is to align future email marketing, social media marketing, text marketing and content marketing for organic SEO growth over time.

We have found many ways to minimize inbound calls for our clients by adding robust FAQ’s and Inquiry Forms. These elements provide a 24-hour prospect/customer solution from scheduling a new service order or providing answers to repetitive questions. These two components directly support after hour buying decisions and decrease the amount of time your team has to spend answering repeat questions.

What Your Website Needs?

You may need to hire more than one company to design and produce the exact website quality you desire. Think of it this way, most website designers specialize in one element or another. As a business owner, you need your website to fully align with your varied customer demands. Note: Information as well as sales and marketing objectives require a deep level of communication to adequately maximize results.

Website Design Cheat Sheet

Have a budget
Understand the difference between custom or template site.
What visual graphics are needed?
What content is needed?
What level of authenticity will you have?
Which home page tabs are needed?
Do you have a privacy policy?
Is your site ADA compliant?
What aspects of your site should be branded versus stock images?
What is your keyword strategy for search engine optimization?
SET DEADLINES! What is the timeline for your website launch?

Why Is It Important To Build The Right Website?

COVID-19 hit America by surprise. With businesses and office spaces closing, it left many business owners wondering what they would do next. For many small business owners being partially closed was a huge financial hit to their businesses. Without having an online presence, most small businesses will never recover or may take many years and a large marketing budget to see profitability.

Website Benefits Breakdown

Having a website allows your business to be accessible 24/7. This allows your business to gain exposure to a huge number of potential customers.

According to Oberlo.com , “As of 2019 4.131 billion people use the internet.” Any online business has the potential to reach 4 billion people every day across the globe.

Having an online presence gives your business an opportunity to elaborate on specific details on your services/products and share examples of your value proposition. Photos, videos and content about your day-to-day workflow to gain the attention of prospects/customers. You also have the added benefit of sharing information about local businesses, eateries, and community affiliations.

Malfunctioning products, customer service and fan favorites can all be assessed as a way to cater more to your customers. Gaining feedback by using surveys, polls, and chat software are smart website additions.

Website traffic data gives your business the opportunity to gain insight on what content is considered valuable to your audience, through frequently visited page and organic search findings. The goal for analyzing data is to continually improve prospect and customer experiences.

The Career Section of your website is a great tool to filter candidates to work for the business. This allows employers to save time from using other job search sites like Indeed, LinkedIn or Zip Recruiter. This also informs prospective employees with insight before applying and arriving for an interview.

The website benefits mentioned above can easily be attained if your online presence is properly set-up. With the help of web designers and marketing personnel, your brand can be well defined and aesthetically pleasing online.

Need marketing advice on building or revamping your website? Fill out a FREE Consultation form and we will get back to you shortly with information on building your brand.

Cloudflare

Let’s Encrypt

The post Your Website Should Have A Marketing Approach appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The Power of Mobile Text Message Marketing

Sun, 26 Jul 2020 03:55:00 GMT

This article was featured in Cleaning & Maintenance Management – a leading publication in the Cleaning & Restoration industry.

How cleaning and restoration companies can connect with customers to drive engagement and increase sales.

Over the last several decades, technology has significantly improved business performance by streamlining workflows. Technology has also changed how businesses need to interact with their customers in this new, mobile-first economy. This evolution has enhanced companies’ marketing efforts and has opened up opportunities to build customer loyalty through text message marketing.

Most leading companies have adopted a mobile-first strategy that stretches beyond digital marketing and a mobile-friendly website. When used in conjunction with customer relationship management software, this strategy can influence the interactions and purchase patterns of consumers in ways that weren’t previously possible.

One significant component of marketing that has not changed is that competition makes improving the customer experience critical. To elevate your business, you must outperform your competitors on multiple levels. Having a customer-centric outlook has always been a driver of success, and that is still true.

For industry companies, offering a valuable service, communicating effectively with your customers, and staying top of mind with your target demographic are a few ways to maintain your position as a market leader. Your mix of marketing communications should aim to do the following:

Build brand awareness
Identify the best ways to push products and services
Increase engagement with both new and existing customers.
Companies that communicate in a responsive, cost-effective, and integrated manner that supports these goals will succeed with mobile marketing.

What is mobile text marketing?

Mobile text marketing is one of the latest and fastest growing trends in digital marketing. It involves sending your target customers personalized messages directly to their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, connecting with them where they spend most of their time. This attention-grabbing marketing method keeps customers, employees, and communities informed and connected in the most timely manner available. The current coronavirus pandemic is a perfect example of the need to quickly reach a mass audience.

Just as cell phones bring people together in their personal lives, text marketing connects businesses to their customers. When prospects and customers opt to connect with a company via text, they are agreeing to interact more deeply with that company. The benefits of these interactions will be unique to each business—the ability to obtain data on customer behavior, to foster intimate connections, and to text enable a landline are just a few examples

Businesses around the world are adding text messaging to their marketing communications. They are empowering sales associates, customer service representatives, and their marketing teams with this simple but powerful technology. This strategy cuts through the noise of competitors and builds authenticity. Imagine a world where yours is the only cleaning or restoration business—no competitors. That is the space that text marketing creates.

Mobile technology is changing how people engage with companies. Everything that used to require a desktop computer is now possible on a mobile device. From opening an email to visiting a company’s website and reading its content, customers can access everything on their small mobile screens.

Increase sales

Owners should focus on the aspects of marketing that measurably impact the bottom line. By sending perfectly timed, personal, and highly targeted offers based on your customers’ interests and behaviors, you can use text messaging to boost repeat business and generate sales. Other valuable applications include encouraging membership in loyalty programs, sending appointment reminders, informing customers about promotions, and delivering mobile coupons.

Improve customer satisfaction

After every interaction, consider sending a brief follow-up text message to keep communication flowing and to encourage customer satisfaction. This action builds customer loyalty and increases business growth. It also supports another important marketing tactic: online reputation management and reviews.

Your text marketing strategy should employ both Short Message Service (SMS), which is used for sending and receiving texts over cellular networks, and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), which builds on the SMS technology to deliver multimedia content.

When critical circumstances arise, SMS is the fastest communication channel for sending alerts. Effective mobile marketing means understanding your mobile audience, designing content with mobile platforms in mind, and making strategic use of SMS and MMS marketing.

As consumer behaviors continue to change, cleaning and restoration companies must change with them. Adopting preferred channels like text message marketing creates an opportunity to communicate with your customers in a meaningful way, improve engagement, and grow your business.

The post The Power of Mobile Text Message Marketing appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

FREE Small Business Resources

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 16:52:00 GMT

Yahoo FREE Tools | Bring Your Business Online

In response to COVID-19 Yahoo is offering FREE Resources for small businesses and entrepreneurs to start and grow your venture. Check out the below list and click here to get started.

Domain name registration (yourbusiness.com) with private domain registration included
Professional, custom business branded email with 5 email addresses
A website builder package with design tools and templates to help you quickly build and publish a professional website
A business plan creator to help you plan your next steps and potentially help with documentation you many need for SMB relief initiatives
A Localworks Scan to see how your business appears online in more than 70 directories and to help you decide what changes might be needed to keep customers up to speed with any changes you’re making with your business and services
10 GB storage and unlimited bandwidth so you don’t need to worry about running out of digital space
Consultation time from a small business expert. We’ve been helping small businesses succeed for more than 20 years, and we want to share this expertise with you to be sure we’re both here working together for 20 more

And of course, because we are in this with you, our support representatives are available 24/7 to make sure we address any questions you may have.

Google | Free Advanced Hangouts / Video Conferencing

Google is giving free access to their advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to help businesses stay connected in response to Coronavirus.

This promotion is currently set to end on July 1, 2020. Don’t wait to get free access to Google advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities. Click here to get started.

Larger meetings, for up to 250 participants per call
Live streaming for up to 100,000 viewers within a domain
The ability to record meetings and save them to Google Drive

Nextdoor | Free Business Page

Businesses can create a free business page and highlight a “Local Deal” on Nextdoor to showcase their services to verified neighbors in the area. The details of your profile can include basic information like address, contact info, and recently launched products. If you business offers pickup and delivery options you can showcase this information . In addition to the free business page offerings, there is the option for businesses to create a “Local Deal” that they can message directly to the neighbors that they serve. Click here to get started.

Verizon | Small Business Webinar Series

Verizon is offering educational webinars with valuable tips and information that can help you grow your business. Click here to get started.

Nav | CARES Act SBA Loan Calculator

Nav is a free, modern way for business owners to manage their business credit and get streamlined access to financing. One of the newest tools is the CARES Act SBA Loan Calculator that small businesses can use to navigate all of the new legislation and fast track their SBA COVID loan application.

Constant Contact | FREE Email Marketing

Take your small business marketing to the next level with Email Marketing. Setting up a new email marketing campaign to stay connected with your customers is a good idea to grow your business. Get started FREE here .

Money | Best Small Business Loans

COVID-19 has devastated the U.S. economy, and small business owners have been forced to make a long term decision on what’s next. Unfortunately permanently closing has been the result for many. To offset this crisis and save millions of small businesses from destruction one of the best resources for financial news, Money updated their list of small business loans which can be found here with the goal of helping small business owners have another resource available.

Not sure where to start your marketing journey? Connect with us here for a FREE Marketing Consultation.

The post FREE Small Business Resources appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Is It Time To Reopen The U.S. Economy?

Mon, 04 May 2020 16:50:00 GMT

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted every industry of the U.S. economy either causing rampant downsizing or unexpected new business. The best approach to move forward varies depending on who you ask. The overall sentiment is to stay positive and look forward to a brighter future.

To get an understanding of the full scope of disruption or influx in sales and views on when the U.S. should reopen take a look at a recent 6 question survey from respondents on social media platforms LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram and email. Review the results and share your thoughts.

The post Is It Time To Reopen The U.S. Economy? appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Empower Your Restoration Service Business with Mobile Text Message Marketing

Sun, 03 May 2020 16:34:00 GMT

First and foremost, technology has changed the behavior that is necessary for business growth in this new normal society, mobile first economy. Over the last several decades, technology has significantly improved business performance by streamlining workflows. In addition, the new wave has significantly helped marketing become more efficient in communicating and increasing opportunities to build customer loyalty.

By now, most leading companies have adopted some form of a mobile first strategy that drives scalability and stretches beyond digital marketing and a mobile-friendly website. This advancement allows marketing to have incredible influence on interactions and purchase patters when used in conjunction with a CRM (customer relationship management) like Salesforce. One significant component, which has not changed, is that competition makes improving customer experiences critical. The way to do business better is to actually be better on multiple levels beyond your competitors. Having a customer centric outlook has always been a driver and now this is no different.

Having a great product/service, communicating effectively and staying top of mind with target customers are a few ways to maintain a leading market. Common goals for any mix of marketing communications include:

Build brand awareness
Identify the most efficient and effective ways to push services and products
Increase engagement with current, new and existing customers

Companies that place emphasis on communicating in a fast, cost effective and seamless manner that supports business goals will have success fall into place with mobile marketing.

What is Mobile Text Marketing?

Mobile text marketing is one of the latest and fastest growing trends in digital marketing. Offering a personalized and unique messaging to meet and connect with target customers in a deep and personal appeal directly to their mobile devices/smartphones, and tablets. Allowing your business to get to them where they spend most of their time. This attention-grabbing marketing method is effective in keeping customers, employees, and communities informed, and connected in the most-timely manner available. The current COVID-19, pandemic is a perfect example for the need to communicate quickly and reach a mass audience.

Just as cell phones bring us closer in our personal lives, connecting the dots in business is similar and essential. When prospects and customers opt to connect via text they have accepted the deeper interaction with a company. These business benefits vary by company including:

Obtaining data on behaviors
Create intimate connections
Ability to text enable a landline

Businesses around the world are adding text messaging to their marketing communications. One huge value is the ability to prepare internal team members, sales, customer service and marketing for success with a simple but powerful technology that cuts through the noise and alleviates the havoc of distraction of competitors and builds authenticity. Imagine a world with only your Cleaning or Restoration business and no competitors and that is the space that text marketing offers this open market.

Mobile is disrupting the way people engage with companies. Everything that can be done on a desktop computer is now available on a mobile device. From opening an email to visiting your website to reading your content, it’s all accessible through a small mobile screen.

How To Increase Sales with Mobile Text Marketing

The aspects of marketing that can be easily measured by the direct impact to the bottom line, makes sense to explore. Text messaging has the ability to quickly boost repeat business and generate sales by sending perfectly timed, personal and highly targeted offers that are offers based on interest and behavior.

Loyalty program
Appointment reminder
Promotions / mobile coupons

Using SMS/MMS to Improve Customer Satisfaction

Consider after every transaction, sending a quick follow up text message to keep communication flowing and encourage customer satisfaction. This action also supports another very important marketing tactic, online reputation management/reviews. This effort of goodwill is a powerful method to build customer loyalty and ultimately increase business growth. When critical circumstances arise, such as the 2020, COVID-19 SMS is the best and fastest communication channel for sending alerts. Effective mobile marketing means understanding your mobile audience, designing content with mobile platforms in mind, and making strategic use of SMS/MMS marketing.

Mobile Text Message Marketing Statistics

67% of people would rather text with a business about appointments than by email or phone. ( Trumpia )
95% of texts from businesses are read within 3 minutes of being sent. (Forbes)
The average response time for a text message is only 90 seconds. ( Tatango )
Text engagement rates are six to eight times higher than email marketing engagement rates. ( EZ Texting )
Text verification conversion rates can be as high as 85%. ( Salesforce )
SMS marketing campaigns perform 7 times better than email marketing campaigns (DSIM)

Takeaway: 95% of Marketing 4 Real Results, customers that use text messaging for business (SMS/MMS) saw improved business results within the first month of usage. Client quote: “ Our customers read and respond much faster to text messages and more often, than opening emails .”

Since consumer behaviors have changed Cleaning and Restoration companies must adopt preferred channels to communicate with customers to meet them where they are or lose business.

To learn more about mobile text messaging, email info@m4rr.com
If you are ready to get started texting your customers, our partners at Textile will provide a new telephone number in your company’s local area code with a FREE 14 day trial sign up here.

About Nia Pearson: CEO/ Founder & Senior Consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results, (M4RR). Nia holds a Bachelors Degree in Marketing and MBA in International Business. Nia has 15 years of experience in Sales and Marketing and is considered a trusted advisor to business owners in the Cleaning and Restoration Industry.

About Marketing 4 Real Results: Full service consulting agency that provides integrated marketing solutions. We are the outsourced marketing team for many small businesses in the Cleaning and Restoration industry, helping them to operate strategically and efficiently by aligning their marketing to business goals. We focus on technology and marketing strategy to support our clients’ effort to compete. Your source for all things marketing. Elevate to the next level.

The post Empower Your Restoration Service Business with Mobile Text Message Marketing appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

COVID-19 Small Business Action Plan

Sun, 03 May 2020 16:30:00 GMT

Small Business Resource Corner

here

The post COVID-19 Small Business Action Plan appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Crush Your Marketing Goals With Email Marketing

Thu, 16 Apr 2020 16:26:00 GMT

Deciding where to spend marketing dollars is a huge undertaking for every business regardless of the industry. One of the fundamental principles we coach our clients about at Marketing 4 Real Results is that having an integrated communication plan that aligns across all aspects of marketing communication channels is imperative to maximum marketing performance, this includes: digital advertising, social media , content marketing , events, print material/brochures and sales and customer service team members. Delivering a united message is the best practice to ensure that regardless of where your target audience is in contact with your brand, they will feel connected to the same message of who you are and what you do.

This simple but powerful marketing technique ensures consistent messaging for each touch point creating overall effective and powerful marketing campaigns. A unified marketing effort with a goal to produce consistent leads, will required building a marketing funnel that is cost-effective. Email marketing is one method that can produce impressive. Best Practice: By adding an automated email marketing tool into your marketing mix, you can create workflows and assign triggers to help improve open rates and click through rates to help take your marketing to the next level.

A common marketing rule that should be applied to every customer journey: “70-20-10” focuses on Now, Next and New.

70% of time spent on “Now”
20% of time on “Next”
10% of time spent on “New”

Email marketing is your chance to engage deeper. If you want to prioritize the audience most likelyt to buy your product/service you will need to add an advanced element, account-based marketing ( ABM ) This is your “Now”. By identifying targeting accounts you can segment and personal for a very specific audience.

Top 5 Benefits of Email Marketing

Generate more leads
Improved sales
Improved conversation rates
Reduced marketing costs
Identify better quality leads

Are you ready to start a new email marketing campaign and need help? Contact Marketing 4 Real Results here, to get started.

If this article was helpful and you are ready to get started on your own, start FREE today here.

To follow Email Marketing Trends and identify which metrics matters most, get the annual State Of Email survey here .

The post Crush Your Marketing Goals With Email Marketing appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

COVID-19 Financial Relief For Small Businesses

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 16:24:00 GMT

We’ve researched dozens of resources and listed our top picks below for COVID-19 Financial Relief beginning the week of April 6, 2020.

Small Business Financial Resources

Many small businesses have been hit hard by the mandatory closures and safety measures that are now required in an effort to minimize the spread of the coronavirus, (COVID-19).

1) Los Angeles County Employer Assistance Grant Fund – This fund will provide a total of $500,000 to local businesses with awards up to $10,000 based on demonstrated need. Applications will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. Click here to apply.

2) Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund – Thanks to a $2.5 million investment from Verizon, up to $10,000 grants are available to businesses facing financial pressure, especially entrepreneurs of color and women-owned businesses. Click here to apply.

3) Red Backpack Fund – The Spanx by Sara Blakely Foundation in partnership with GlobalGiving has $5,000 grants for female entrepreneurs. Click here to apply.

We are here to help and will continue to update this list of Small Business COVID-19 Financial Resources.

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Highlights From Nexus

Wed, 11 Mar 2020 16:19:00 GMT

This week, Aramsco welcomed manufactures, service providers, industry partners and business owners in professional cleaning, restoration, concrete surface preparation, abatement, remediation demolition, reconstruction and safety to Nexus 2020 at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino .

The first item of importance stressed to everyone in attendance was Coronavirus, (COVID-19) with a top priority focused on the health and safety of all participants as recommended by CDC.

The tradeshow was jam packed with education sessions and tons of opportunities to network. This year’s central theme focused on leveraging technology, expanding resources and consistently delivering exceptional customer service to grow and create lasting business value.

Yes, there was of course the wonderful welcome reception, cocktail hour and after party at Omnia Sponsored by Fiberlock / Benefect. Although, what happens in Vegas will stay in Vegas; enjoy the recap below from the main event and attendee lineup.

About Nexus: Comprehensive trade show and one of the best industry opportunities, to learn the tools and best practices in business development, sourcing, and marketing. Get to know the latest products and trends that have the ability to give you a leg up on your competition by learning how to grow your business efficiently and ensure customer retention.

Cleaning and Restoration Professionals seeking resources, news and latest trends. Subscribe to cleanfax.com/subscribe

Product Highlights

Rust-Oleum

Zipwall

Easily and quickly pass a duct hose through a Zipwall ® Barrier. Quick and easy to install. Perfect for setting up negative air pressure on the job site. Supports the weight of any duct hose while maintaining the integrity of the barrier. Reusable, neat and professional. Contact: Dan Smith | dans@zipwall.comor Julie Infanta | julie@zipwall.com to learn more.

Sentinel

NEW! Sentinel 300 EnviroWash Peroxide Cleaner. Mold and Mildew stain remover. Professional strength hydrogen peroxide based cleaner that is designed to clean, remove organic stains, brighten and lighten surfaces and eliminate odors. Contact Stan Gearhart | stangearhart@gmail.com to learn more.

Fiberlock

Smoke Odor SealPremium solvent free odor sealant and stain blocker designed to eliminate malodors on multiple surfaces, and block tough staining. Ideal for finished or decorative surfaces. Contact: Kim Ware to learn more.

Business Track

Powerful Education Sessions

Jeff Cross of ISSA spoke about how to build a more successful cleaning and restoration company through referrals, direct and social media marketing. Better utilization of your technicians, and ways to build a competitive brand that makes you the Top Fun . Contact Jeff Cross| JeffCross@ISSA.com to learn more.

Insider Secrets

ABC’s on Getting Paid

Restoration contractors, mold remediators or assessors, learned the legal strategies and tactics necessary to survive and thrive in the turbulent waters and markets associated with insurance claims.

Trauma Remediation

Provided basic education of the unique and varied standards and procedures for performing trauma and crime scene clean-up.

Chemistry Considerations in Fire and Wildfire Damage Restoration

Attendees learned about the various aspects of fire damage restoration, the emotional and health benefits and the need to be cross-trained in water damage, mold, HVAC and content cleaning. Wildfire is a new subset of restoration that represents special fire consideration for restores.

Services

JM Sterling Services

Full service Environmental Insurance Agency specializing in fire/water mold asbestos and lead. Package polices, workers comps and bailees. Familiar with all TPA/program requirements. Contact: Jennifer Sterling | jsterling@sterlinginsuranceservices.com to learn more.

Marketing 4 Real Results

Full service Marketing Consulting and Implementation agency that provides integrated marketing solutions to the Cleaning and Restoration Industry. By understanding top trending traditional and digital marketing tactics we are able to take your business to the next level by aligning marketing to business goals. Consider M4RR as your outsourced marketing team. Specialized Services: Marketing /Business Plan Development, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Conference /Trade Show Management, Public Relations, Social Media Marketing and more. Contact Nia Pearson | niap@m4rr.com to learn more.

As we continue to stay educated and embrace change and innovation, we are set to build strong partnerships that create value and profitable sales growth. Happy Selling!

The post Highlights From Nexus appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Improve Business Performance with Surveys

Sat, 07 Mar 2020 16:14:00 GMT

Updated, October 2022.

In this blog we uncover effective ways to connect new prospects and customers through a survey. In this digital heavy Marketing world we are all focused on being efficient and effective to maximize business impact. Our solution is the review of Customer Experiences through Surveys.

Taking a look under the hood of a business is the only way to see what is truly happening, both good and bad.

There is no better way to know what customers think about your product or service than to ask them in a survey. The more anonymous the survey the more truth you will find. The information obtained can help connect a business more intimately to prospects and customers by providing a paths to new business.

Having adequate survey data from your target audience offers your business information on their pleasures and pain points.

A huge advantage for B2C brands is the ability to innovate and create new products, based on customer preferences.

Since two-way conversations are essential to B2B brands building strong relationships this can be accomplished through a survey.

If your company is planning a business expansion, understanding the new market can be done effectively with details from survey results. By placing a concerted effort to align your business with customer preferences, you are aligned for growth.

This research strategy can put your business in a deep dive position for best messaging to a specific customer profile which will lead to a better communication plan.

To often business information is disconnected and the silos create bad decision-making for sales team members due to limited profile data. To easily accelerate marketing messaging, connect the dots to build a connected customer journey.

Benefits Of A Survey

Gathering large amounts of data about a “niche” market is a great tool for expanding market share. The process of gathering said information is only one component, but can act as a very heavy tool in aiding changes or improvements.

When reviewing data from a survey, it’s important to not only look at the good but bad comments can also add value to necessary changes. When we look at a franchise brand, we can usually identify a consistent level of quality or service that evokes an expectation to loyal customers regardless of geographical factors.

In a scenario such as this, it may be easy to recognize differences. Think about your most amazing customer service experience and your least favorite. For many reasons they were quite different. As a business you should be aware of each experience to become the first choice of your prospects.

A good way to reach the pinnacle of business performance is being customer centric. Being customer centric requires us to understand our audiences. Brands that understand the importance of staying top of mind by using email marketing, social media marketing, advertising or by asking customers their preferred communication really get a chance to shine. Just by making the connection creates an open line of engagement, that will be challenging for competitors to take your customers.

The Need For Data

Data, Data, Data should be the driving factor for sales and marketing alignment. The marketing trends that drive the best conversions include a personalized approach. People want to be seen and heard and that is what survey research offers.

A non-responsive survey respondent could indicate non-interest in your product/service, which can be further evaluated to find the email address was incorrect. To ensure you reach your audience better and faster than your competitors a qualitative survey method, is a good choice for annual planning.

Survey Monkey is a FREE and reliable source to get you started.

The Importance Of Marketing Messages

Communication is at the heart of every business. To do this effectively requires exploring expectations of our customers. The next step is making the necessary adjustments by first asking the questions and being open to the responses.

Never take the position that your business is operating perfectly. The mindset of not being open to change is a fast lane to negative bottom line results. Instead, reject this notion and focus on customizing as needed and create new and personalized experiences often.

Speak To Your Target Audience

Since we are in the environment of “cultural appropriation” let’s consider if your target audience for a specific product/service is “African American Families” in the demo for a product/service, should you have an African American in the advertising? This may seem like an easy yes, but in many cases that translation is missed and the product will likely not perform as expected. This is where the loyalty opportunity for many brands is missed. On the other hand, when brands connect advertising to targets adequately the results will be more impressive, guaranteed. Don’t take our word for it test the notion with surveys.

How To Get Started with a Survey

When structuring your survey questions, consider the following: No more guessing, instead use one of the two options below to gather responses.

Open-ended questions give respondents an ability to answer in their voice.
Pre-selected choices are much easier and faster to compute than open-ended questions, although there is a limit to the feedback ( 0-5 ratings or yes/no ).

8 Important Steps To A Successful Survey

Determine the business goal. Example: increase sales for x
Determine how results will be used
Outline a specific target audience. Example: Parents, Pet owners
Decide the total number of questions
Decide on a deadline
Determine the distribution channel. Example: email or text
Add a giveaway to the first (x) number of respondents?

After Sale/Service

Based on your recent interaction with “enter your brand here”. You are invited to answer a few quick questions about your experience that will take 1-3 minutes. (offer a prize)

What was your alternative option for this service/product? ( insight into competitor ).
Would you recommend “brand” product or service to a friend or family member? ( insight for referral program )?

Recap:

Survey data provides valuable insights to support business decisions. There is no better way to qualify a business decision, increase product offerings or introduce new products or services, which is why focus groups are so important to a product launch.

Compare variations in responses
Spot statistical significant differences in how groups answer
Apply logic and create stories of respondents with shared traits

Need Help Designing a Survey?

The post Improve Business Performance with Surveys appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing Bootcamp

Sat, 07 Mar 2020 16:13:00 GMT

Join us March 22, 2020 12:00pm – 1:30pm in Glendale, California for a Marketing Boot Camp. Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners will learn the 2020 top trending marketing strategies. To continue to grow your business, a few elements are crucial: creativity, inspiration and adding a mix of the right marketing and determining how to best spend your marketing dollars.

Overall Marketing Key Takeaway:

Put your customers first
Know your target market
Business insights, practical tips and resources
How to increase brand loyalty and why it matters

Marketing 4 Real Results, CEO and Senior Marketing Consultant, Nia Pearson will walk you through a marketing plan and teach you how to avoid making huge financial marketing mistakes. During this jam-packed session attendees will gain knowledge from a customer centric approach to running your business and why it makes sense to put customers first. The techniques in this session will focus on specific ways to get more customers, what marketing channels matter most and how to best investment time or money.

The internet has presented many new and easy ways to connect with a broader audience and your business must be prepared to keep evolving. You will learn how to best take advantage of the huge marketplace of prospective customers that may be searching for your products or service online and how to reach them.

Marketing Points To Consider:

Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners looking to reach a specific /niche target audience will learn the importance of having a marketing strategy in place that is focused on building and strengthening business growth. The entire marketplace is now operating from a mobile mindset and a combination of traditional and digital marketing is the only way to stay ahead of your competition. Although there are many cost-effective and measurable digital marketing channels, the leading position is with social media and FB/Instagram advertising. The key to winning big is integrating the best and most effective techniques which require testing and evaluating. It is also wise to place an emphasis on branding tactics that push new customers through your buyers journey quickly and digital marketing brings a heavy engagement and high interaction.

Reasons To Attend:

Learn top trending marketing strategies to directly increase business
Learn the differences between Marketing and Branding
Learn how to cost effectively reach more customers

If you have been dreaming big about ways to grow your business, this Marketing Bootcamp is for you. With the right technology and software as a part of your marketing plan, you will take your business to the next level.

Bring your marketing questions and join us as we empower entrepreneurs and small business owners with a road map to marketing success. Register here

The post Marketing Bootcamp appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Grow Your Business | Small Business Marketing Tips

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 16:09:00 GMT

As a small business owner, it is essential to always explore opportunities for growth. By aligning business goals with marketing efforts, you can reach more clients and customers faster to drive your desired action.

At Marketing 4 Real Results, we communicate with hundreds of small business owners monthly and decided to share some critical points in this article that have had a positive impact on their bottom lines. Since we have clients at different operating levels, we have to be nimble in our approach to consulting. Some small business clients are ready to fly and others require us to establish a foundation for growth. We enjoy both and understand that marketing is everything. This includes, employees, website, storefront, branding, social media, software, etc. Each have a central role in helping customers and prospects connect and engage across multiple channels, devices or platforms.

With so many levels to consider in developing a marketing strategy, the beginning steps are almost never the same for two small businesses. Keep in mind that communication has always been at the heart of a business. Take your pick of industry, and synchronizing messages, building customer journeys and maintaining a profound message will always deliver marketing success stories.

The most common mistake that most small business owners make is not having a clear understanding of “ who” is the target audience. A marketing campaign without a target audience is set to fail. Getting this right will help you to more successfully reach, connect and convince the people you want to buy your products/services.
Next, identify where you can reach them online and offline.
Then, how many interactions/hits will it take and the cost to get their attention?
After getting their attention, “ when ” are they likely to make a purchase? Commonly known as customer acquisition cost, which is very important to your overall marketing budget.

Note: Use different marketing for different target customers. You should not use the same messaging for baby boomers as used for millennial s. Yes, both may use the same products/services in many cases, but the way to reach them with your marketing messaging is much different.

Best approach to get your audience to make a purchase:

Remember that your audience must identify with your products/services. They are looking for you to show them “why”. Guide them with passion and purpose. Your marketing messaging should fit who they are or aspire to be and most importantly fill a need with innovative suggestions or products, and create a need.

Important Note: In general a first-time visitor to your website, store-front, event , social media channels will not automatically buy from you. That is where the significance of having a customer journey in place matters most.

B2B sales cycle is more of a solution to a problem and the decision making process is more in-dept. It is important that your marketing touch points are actively engaging throughout the sales cycle. Tactic: By highlighting pain points you can speed up the need for your solution.

B2C sales are transactional. The best way to maximize this engagement is repeat business 1) customer loyalty 2) volume sales.

Marketing Tips to Increase Sales:

Offer something FREE
Start a referral program
Add a customer loyalty program
Include a deadline in your offering

A good Call-To-Action ( CTA ) can help you convert more sales.

The best way to get something is to give something. Sharing valuable information with your target audience/s is always a good idea.

Top call-to-action phrases:

Call Now
Get started today
Email us now with questions
Limited seats available
Only 5 seats left
Want more information? Contact – 800.GET.INFO!

If you want to take a deeper dive into any of the items listed above, schedule a FREE consultation here.

Since there are so many variables in the marketing process, both traditional and digital it is important to move forward with planning marketing strategy using data. Data helps to align marketing and sales efforts to create a deeper connections. Online and offline activities can create new business opportunities, generate more revenue and predict future trends and optimize current operational efforts. The data produces actionable steps that omit gut feel decision making.

Measuring every action your small business takes can be daunting, but is highly rewarding. Your customer service, marketing, operations, human resources etc. should all be evaluated often. Important NOTE: If you have not changed your business and marketing plans in more than 12 months, it is highly likely you may be wasting time and resources. By not evaluating these actions, your best performing lead generation actions are not being optimized, which is a missed opportunity. If you are not getting the business you want and hoping that things pick up or change without major modifications, that is likely not going to happen. Proper planning is a must. There are many case studies available online of small businesses, in many cases franchise owners, that fail or go out of business, due to lack of foreseeable marketing planning. You can not solely rely on the franchise brand awareness to grow your business. In many cases, franchises do not support local marketing efforts, so a small business owner will need to add a data component to measure their options and determine the market potential. For the right business, franchising can be an extremely lucrative opportunity, however, marketing mistakes can easily hurt your business. Remember the franchise is marketing for the overall Corporate brand, not your local market.

Local marketing is a great way to gain customers that many small businesses overlook. Don’t get caught up trying the strategies of Fortune 100 – 500 companies and pay close attention to “local” marketing and SEO efforts. By deciding to focus on actions that have the ability to generate consistent organic sales, and avoid the actions that do not, is smart business. The point here is to stop wasting time and money and start operating efficiently to meet market demand and stay ahead of your competition.

As we continue to consider data we must consider brand awareness. Data can be quickly measured; brand equity is a bit more difficult to track. Yes, you can do a survey to gain insight on the familiarity respondents have of your brand, and that will give you data but there may be some bias that needs to be accounted for. Generally, responding to surveys depend on time allocation, mindset, compensation etc. The best way to understand brand equity is to understand that the marketplace is the final determinate. For example in the real estate industry, the highest price a home sells for is the price a potential buyer is willing to pay. This is referred to as fair market value ( FMV ). There are many approaches to consider in this scenario, although ultimately if the buyer is willing to pay more, that is the true value of the home. Yes, real estate appraisals and recent comparable sales are the data components, then we have to account for the emotional component especially in the residential real estate.

There is some reasoning that is self-defined based on comparable sales but the emotional aspect holds a value that cannot be predicted fully with data. To fully understand, brand equity we must consider perception/perspective. Building a brand requires time that does not pay the bills, so this metric is secondary in the overall evaluation of a business and its day-to-day efforts.

With the advancements of technology we have access to many tools to ensure data is clean, complete and actionable. Any data that tells a story about your audience is a good metric to review and track. Before taking action on a metric it is best to have a clearly defined business goals to associate. A good example of this process is a Black Friday promotional campaign. If you want to offer a discount for your product/service how do you determine the discount percentage?

Would You?

Randomly select a percentage
Evaluate a previous promotion
Align the promotional campaign with data related to a business goal

Example: If you sell on average 1m widgets per month and your average throughout the year has been was 1.1m widgets. Since you have missed your targeted sales goal month over month, you may want to be more aggressive during this promotion.

The answers can be derived from data..

How many widgets need to be sold to meet or exceed your annual business goals? That is your targeted number of “widgets” for the Black Friday promotion. Do not randomly select percentages or number of widgets; align all efforts to business goals to stay on track. Then get your team marketing and sales team members on board with the how and why .

When you ask your team to meet a specific business goal with an explanation, they are more likely to respond positively and with a determined sense of purpose. The omit the thought of added pressure, instead the mindset is to support a business goal. Sounds like a good idea right? Try it and let us know how it goes here.

High performing companies make critical decisions based data and alignment of business goal. If you want to continue to grow your small business, this is a habit you should be started ASAP.

What Matters: Reduce friction and improve sales by aligning your marketing efforts with data and make success easier to obtain.

Optimize – Company information and contact data should be accurate and actionable.

Analyze – Company data should discover your primary profiles and best market opportunities.

Target – Audience acquisition, account based marketing and digital marketing efforts.

Terms to Remember

What is ABM?

Account-based marketing focuses on a defined set of targeted accounts, and creates personalized marketing campaigns .

Account Based Marketing Companies To Consider

6sense

Uncover, prioritize and engage demand with the 6sense predictive Account Based

Trustradius.com

Identify accounts and contacts
Understand audience segments
Manage multi-channel engagement
Align sales and marketing efforts

Target: Audience Acquisition

Build persona-based profiles and align them to your online and offline marketing activities.

Data Companies

Infousa

Best In Class Data for Small-Mid Size Businesses (SMB’s)

Arcadia Data

Promotes greater agility (i.e., less IT intervention) for faster time-to-insight.
Delivers faster responses and higher user concurrency on larger data volumes (no scale/cost pains of in-memory systems).

InfluxData

Source time series database, for monitoring metrics and events, provides real-time visibility

Redis Labs

Delivers scalability, innovation and financial value across cloud

The best performing marketing campaigns are the ones that impact the bottom line. Contact us for a comprehensive evaluation of your sales and marketing alignment.

About the author: Nia Pearson lives and breathes marketing with passion and purpose. As a customer centric marketing expert, she is driven to align marketing tactics with business goals to push the needle forward. In addition to partnering with innovative solution providers, she consistently devises effective marketing campaigns across multiple touch points. Nia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, MBA in International Business + 15 years of sales and marketing experience in the following industries: Construction, Real Estate, Restoration, Consumer Goods and Juvenile Products. Connect with Nia on LinkedIn @ linkedin.com/in/niapearson

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CREATE 2020 Conference

Thu, 09 Jan 2020 16:08:00 GMT

Get more information – register here

Marketing 4 Real Results , industry focus: Real Estate, Cleaning and Restoration, Juvenile Products, CPG and Retail.

#losangeles entrepreneurship

#marketingconsulting

#marketingcoaching

#marketing4realresults

#create2020conference

#createconference

#niap5151

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Planning Your Marketing Budget

Mon, 30 Dec 2019 16:05:00 GMT

Having a marketing budget is a smart business decision. A marketing budget is the guide to ensure that your business stays on track with estimated costs vs. actual costs for all marketing expenses. One of the most important reasons to have a marketing budget in place is to ensure all important actions are taken. Some of the standard new year changes are: web site development or redesign (ongoing maintenance), logo development or redesign, promotional branded products (giveaways), printed materials, search engine optimization, marketing personnel etc.

Remember that business planning is an element that deters many from success, so it is crucial to give an adequate amount of attention to your budget. Keep in mind that adding items to complete the process does no good for your business. Instead, spending an adequate amount of time, planning will give you a much better overall result. To make sure to include, all marketing needs consider “how you plan to get the word out about your service/product. /service” and allocate a budget to that specific item. A very efficient way to do this is to create a marketing plan and set a step by step strategy. Another way to do this is to consider the source of all 2019 business. It is a good idea to first include all successful revenue streams that derived from 2019 marketing efforts. In addition, plan your budget strategy annually. By using this plan you can include all steps and make modifications throughout the year, as needed.

You likely have heard the phrase “You have to spend money to make money.” This is a true statement with marketing. However, since there are so many different platforms for email marketing, social media marketing, lead generation, online reputation management and so on, to support business growth, using caution is imperative. Spending money on marketing is for sure, the right way to grow your business, and avoid missing opportunities. There is a method to the madness and proper targeting and testing will identify that.

What does a marketing budget include?

Request the latest marketing budget planner.

elow are some examples of items to include in your 2020 marketing budget. This resource is currently being updated. Your final marketing budget should include a combination of estimated and actual cost. Before taking an action, the estimated numbers will suffice; once the action is completed and the invoice is paid, update your budget. Managing your marketing budget month over month will also help keep your accounting records organized. To track actual versus estimated costs, consider using different font colors to identify variations.B

What top trending marketing should be included in 2020 budget?

Marketing automation is one of the biggest advantages that technology brings, in many cases driving a 14% increase in sales productivity. So when possible, automation should be considered for the below services.

How much should a business spend on marketing annual?

The amount of money a business should budget for marketing varies greatly by industry, company size and business size. The US Small Business Administration recommends a marketing budget to be between 2% and 10% of sales. Some companies spend up to 20% of net sales depending on product launches, competition, etc. The overall average is between 4% and 6%.

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Crucial Marketing Planning Tips

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 16:02:00 GMT

Marketing 4 Real Results

Top Marketing Tips and Tricks To Consider

The post Crucial Marketing Planning Tips appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The Power of Profiling: Defining Your Target Customers

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 15:58:00 GMT

2020 is around the corner: Do you know your target audiences?

If you are run a subscription-based, product-based or service based business the marketing vehicles that you embrace require an understanding of “ WHO ” is your target customer.

The people most likely to buy your products/services will share common characteristics like behaviors, location, demographics, interest, and stage of life. The better you understand your varied audiences the better prepared you will be to excel in your marketing efforts. The easiest way to explain targeting is the concept of a dartboard. In every marketing campaign we should seek to reach as many qualified prospects as possible. That would be the same love as hitting the bullseye.

Understanding The Benefit Of Profiling

One of the greatest retail giants and a fan favorite here at Marketing 4 Real Results is Amazon, who has devised an excellent example of customer profiling. Amazon’s initial goal in profiling was to first build an incredibly rich and detailed view of every customer based solely on data. The next step after having a complete picture of every customer is to use that profile information to engage each and everyone customer on a personalized level. While most SMB’s do not have a portion of the resources that Amazon has we can still adopt a strategic approach to marketing. In the age of be everywhere all the time, we are charged with the task to integrate many different marketing mediums like social media, email marketing video marketing, and content for blogs to engage end users. To get it right, we must use targeted focused marketing messages to a segment targeted prospects. In this blog we will outline an easy to use step by step profiling method that works best for your brands of all sizes.

If you have been in business for several years but have never segmented your audience, get started with the process of audience research through quantitative measures. This performance-based evaluation method will guide you to the “ WHO ” and “ WHAT ” through standardized survey questions, focus groups, or user panels. Below is a sample list of questions used for profiling “Buyers” of Residential Real Estate.

Sample Focus Group Questions For First Time Home Buyers

Are you married or single?
What is your annual household income?
Do you have children?
When you are looking to purchase a home?
What are some concerns you have about purchasing a home (list top concerns for first time home buyers: (i.e.: credit, down payment, cost)?
What is the single most important feature that you would like to have in your new home?
What is your maximum price that you would be willing to pay for a home?

One you have compiled the above 7 responses, combine the existing internal buyer data you have like number of homes sold in your territory, size of home, cost of home and age of buyers, need of buyers etc to get to what is commonly know as the customer personas. By practicing this exercise to understand your buyers better, you will be prepared to start building your marketing funnel of prospective new buyers. The process of compiling detailed information from various sources, will give you the ability to track all activity and data in your CRM to identify trends, produce reports and better plan your sales forecast.

Common demographic characteristics to get you started: age – gender – family life cycle – education – income and ethnicity.

2018 United States Demographics Profile – Note: this example can be compiled for any Country.

Total Population By Age and Generation

Total: 326,625,791 – This number of the total population allows us to keep the full scope of the potential in the US market.

Age structure:

0-14 years: 18.73% ( Male : 31,255,995 Female: 29,919,938)

15-24 years: 13.27% ( Male: 22,213, 952 Female: 21,127,826)

25-54 years: 39.45% ( Male: 64,528,673 Female: 64,334,499)

55-64 years: 12.91% ( Male: 20,357,880 Female: 21,821,976)

65 years and over 15.63 % ( Male : 22,678,235 Female: 28,376,817)

Demographics are said to be the most commonly used date for building customer profiles/customer personas. When you think about your ideal client, what are their core demographic characteristics?

Age: Consider the age range of your customers. Since the population is always changing with respect to age, the total targeted customer opportunity will change often. See the US Census Bureau Info here. Don’t be too specific on the number; a range will work best in addition to knowing the generation.
- Gen Z: Born 2000-2016
- Millennials: Born 1982-1999
- Gen X: Born 1966-1981
- Baby Boomers: Born 1947-1965

Gender: Male/Masculinity and Female/Femininity is another important factor to keep in mind since gender changes the purchase decision-making process significantly. What percentages of your customers are male or female? Who are you targeting 60% male and 40% female? The domination of either male or female matters throughout customer journey as well as the level of loyalty, lifestyles and buying behaviors.
Location/Time Zone : Where does your existing customers or prospects live? In addition to the geographic areas to target, this helps you determine the best hours to call them, send emails and post on your social media channels to get maximum visibility, open/click through rates.
Interests: What do your customers like to do in their spare time? Horseback riding? Outdoor sports? Which TV shows do they watch? What other products/services do they purchase?
Stage of life: Are your customers retired? College students? New parents? Parents of teenagers? Single-no children?

The above characteristics are important in determining customer profiles. The more you know the better you target. The more successful your marketing campaigns will be.

When it comes to long term strategic marketing and planning to supports business goals, having customer profiles in place will make a huge difference between success and failure in marketing campaigns. Preparing a situation analysis that supports your company’s marketing campaigns and are critical. By better understanding customers, campaigns performance will include valuable insights that can be used across your company. The information found would prepare teams to successfully evaluate what needs to be done. In addition to that you are able to create future plans for branding, competitive analysis, customer service strategies and any long-term go-to-market strategies from the same data.

Effective Targeting: Knowing Your Market Niche

Targeting a defined niche market will further build your marketing campaign more effectively by showing your PPC or retarding ads to a specific audience. The key to improving the returns on marketing ad spend is truly successful targeting. By understanding the impact of lifestyles, income and life stages the process of building your marketing funnel will become seamless.

Marketing Funnel Stages: Awareness |Interest | Consumption | Evaluation | Purchase

Niche Market Example

Profiling Your Target Customers: Questions That Matter

The key to your business survival is to know the needs, wants and desires of your target customers.

WHO are your target customers?
WHO are you competing with for their attention?
WHY will they buy?
WHY are you targeting them?
WHAT marketing message/content should you target with?
WHAT do they think of your brand?
WHERE should you target them?
WHERE do they live?
HOW often will they buy?
HOW often should you contact them?

Three Types of Target Customers

Primary Target Customers

Have the resources to purchase your product or service and also have a “need”, “desire” & “authority” to make the purchase.

Secondary Target Customers

May slip away before you can focus on them. By keeping good records about who is engaging with your brand on social media is important to identify a second target audience.

Invisible Target Customers

Appears after you open the door with a special offer that attracted them to you.

Once your target audiences have been identified, it is time to allocate marketing resources to get their attention. Keep in mind that you will likely have different target markets, which is good news. Ideally it is possible that you can adequately satisfy multiple audiences as long as their needs are the same or very closely aligned.

After this careful evaluation has been completed, the level of opportunities can be evaluated to determine the projected business growth. The part of the process is important to note since profiling target customers is a direct line to sales potential and sales forecasting.

For example:

How many X will target Y purchase?

How often will they purchase?

We have now determined the first P of the marketing mix, People (Target/Customer Profile) and are ready to devote time to the tactical details necessary in the planning process. By including the additional 4P’s: Product – Price – Place – Promotion will give us a full understanding of the full opportunity with this customer segment. This will lead us to better forecasting data to help us determine the position for said target and the value of moving forward.

All businesses should use adopt customer profiles as a way to bolster marketing efforts, and best determine the right content/messaging, promotions, offers and product strategy to deliver. Businesses looking for new ways to grow can benefit huge from having centralized and detailed customer insights.

Elevate your business to the next level with smarter marketing campaigns.To build meaningful connections with your customers, contact Marketing 4 Real Results .

T: 818.824.4479

E: info@m4rr.com

W: m4rr.com

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LA Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Celebration

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 15:56:00 GMT

Marketing 4 Real Results , CEO Nia Pearson will participate in this year’s LA Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Celebration with the City of Los Angeles

Nia will be on site sharing business growth strategies during one-on-one 15 minute, Marketing Coaching Sessions from 11:00am-12:30pm.

Tuesday, Nov 19, 2019

Full Event: 9:00 am– 2:00 pm

Coaching Session 11:00am-12:30pm

Los Angeles City Hall, South Lawn 200

North Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012

Background

“Together We Rise”

In recognition of the significant impact women business owners have made on the Los Angeles economy and quality of life despite significant obstacles, Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Los Angeles City Council declared November 19 to be Women’s Entrepreneurship Day in Los Angeles. The goal of the LA WED Celebration is to inspire, empower, and catalyze diverse, yet like-minded individuals, agencies, and organizations to help women-owned businesses realize their full potential in Los Angeles and throughout the world. All are welcomed to join in the celebration and partake of the resources available.

#law omensentrepreneurship

#marketingconsulting

#marketingcoaching

#marketing4realresults

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Holiday Marketing Ideas

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 14:53:00 GMT

The Fall season is here and we are excited to announce a number of Holiday Marketing Ideas to help you to customize content to maximize your brand reach.

The best way to stand out this holiday season is to personalize your brand messaging, to get your customers in the holiday state-of-mind.

4 Simple Steps To Marketing Success

1) Develop an outlined plan to include the step-step actions of your holiday marketing campaign with specific dates attached. This planned strategy will improve conversion rates, ROI and customer quality, all at the same time.

2) Amplify Facebook and Instagram digital advertising to build holiday excellent. Create compelling stories for your followers about your promotions to keep them engaged for the entire holiday season.

3) Include Personalized Email Marketing content to segmented email contacts. This is the “divide and conquer segmentation,” method to identify segments with higher revenue potential and send them a tailored marketing message.

4) Social Media content will play an important role in the process so the goal should be to create unique and fun ways to get your brand and your audience into the holiday spirit.

During the planning stage of your holiday marketing campaigns it is a good idea to review your previous years sales over the same time period to set benchmarks. Next: Define Objectives. Set Goals and Budget. Clearly Define Target Audience. Outline Marketing Channels. By building tailor-made campaigns you remove the noise and are aligned to capitalize on the potential sales increase from impactful, strategy and intentional holiday marketing campaigns.

Sound too good to be true? Contact Marketing 4 Real Results to help you amplify your marketing campaigns this holiday season with digital advertising, social content and email marketing.

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Personalize Marketing To Grow Your Business

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 14:51:00 GMT

According to Smart HQ

What Is Personalized Marketing?

constant contact.

Marketing 4 Real Results

Email,

social media

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Is It Time To Hire A Marketing Consultant

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 14:48:00 GMT

What Are Your Marketing Challenges

If you do not have someone on your team that can help you best understand how to obtain new clients consistently and engage current customers daily, then it may be time to hire a marketing consultant. Many businesses struggle for years operating in the red, before they decide to make a change and bring in someone to turn the tide. Considering the reality that change is hard for most people that fear causes stress and anxiety. If the desire to grow your business holds a more prominent position than fear of losing your business, you are ready to devise a plan that will take your business to the next level. Before you take the leap and hire the first person at the cheapest rate, it is important to gauge the level of support you need and clearly define the objectives you would like to accomplish with this new addition to your team.

If you are thinking….if I knew what to do then why would I need to hire someone, you are incorrect. Hiring a marketing marketing consultant will help you attach a series of marketing activities that match your business goals. At Marketing 4 Real Results we take the time to understand teams, marketplace position, history in business, industry nuances and budget before we commit to any new client. We work with well-established brands as well as businesses just starting out that are ready to go to the next level. The desire to grow effectively and efficiently is the best way to begin with a marketing consultant. Change will be required and testing will be inevitable and a commitment to stand the test of time is needed.

Generally introducing disruption to the business process is needed since the old is not working, we must try the next and potentially overlooked or unknown elements. We utilize a broad set of traditional marketing variables and assign a proven business model with set business objectives, marketing plans and marketing asset allocation.

How Can A Marketing Consultant Help?

Go-to-market strategy
Analyze your competitive landscape
Suggest innovative technologies, apps and services
Make improvements to your sales, marketing, customer service and operations
Develop and create marketing campaigns
Create a vision and mission for your business
Evaluate the lifetime value of your customers
Help you business understand and engage your target audience
Build brand awareness strategy

Taking Your Business To The Next Level requires a combination of activity both analytical “left-brain” and creative/strategic “right-brain” skillsets to improve your marketing campaign effectiveness. At Marketing 4 Real Results, we take this into consideration when allocating a team to your projects. Although both sides of our brains look very much alike, there’s a huge difference in how they process information.

Left and Right Brain Skillsets

The left side of our brains are intellectual, logical and identify with facts and details. People with strong left-brain skills are often very bright, have a large vocabulary and memories interesting facts in a wide range of topics.

Left Brain Strengths :

The right side of our brains are visual and intuitive. People with strong right-brain skills are often more creative and have a less organized way of thinking.

Right Brain Strengths :

Impulsive | “Big picture thinker | Visual | Emotional

Spontaneous | Risk taking | Imagination | Creative

Marketing 4 Real Results takes into consideration all aspects of campaign effectiveness and explore all seeds of an idea to help you deliver results for your business. We have a diverse group of talent from both left and right brain strengths to ensure we can help you to understand the needs and wants of your target customers. Our goal on every campaign is to help you understand the benefits of adopting a customer centric marketing mindset to encourage repeat business, improved customer loyalty and business growth. We are ready to collaborate with you to build and execute strategic marketing campaigns. Don’t wait. Get started today! Contact Us!

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How Will Your Marketing Plan Support Your Business Goals?

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 14:41:00 GMT

Marketing is one of the best investments you can make for your business. The best way to think of your marketing plan is to consider the one thing that will ensure business success. Planning is always a good way to ensure success is other aspects of life, so connecting a business to this process is no different.

It is safe to say that a marketing plan to a master blueprint of marketing activity.

Your marketing plan will help to decide what, when and how to engage your target audience a period of time, today, tomorrow and beyond. One of the main for business failure is the lack of adequate planning. Having a comprehensive strategic perspective for social media marketing , event marketing, digital marketing , email marketing and beyond, is a step in the right direction. The Holy Grail of marketing for your business should be outlined as:

1) marketing plan is the backbone of your business planning process and should be followed by

2) implementation and

3) evaluation, with no steps being overlooked.

Setting desired outcomes, as the focal point of decision-making is key. One basic truth about business is the need to have “profitable customers” to stay in business. How you get to your target customers is determined in your marketing plan and requires a deep dive. By outlining a goal with KPI’s, including where your marketing campaigns will start and how you would like them to finish with a set timeline. By measuring your campaign results often with a review of success and failure you are able to development a positive process that you can repeat for continued success.

An important rule to understand when creating your marketing plan is to include storytelling messaging. By creating stories you are best able to share the personality of your brand with your target audience. The goal is to create memorable engagements that will encourage your target audience to think of you when the need arises for your product/service.

As you develop consistency in your messaging, by sharing how your brand will fill a need that your audience has, you are building a connection. Remember that to build and grow your business requires realistic short and long-range planning. That range should include both o traditional and digital strategies.

Steps to Strategic Marketing Planning

Conduct a situation analysis
Develop marketing objectives
Determine positioning and differential advantage
Select target markets and measure market demand
Design a strategic marketing mix

As we consider the basics of the many moving parts of running a business, we must consider the impact of each specific marketing action that has the opportunity to support growth. The usual suspect to get started is a range of digital advertising, branded collateral materials, public relations, and a sales funnel that is aligned with your website. You should condor the full impact of all actions to identify if the return on investment makes sense for the resources that will need to be allocated. For example if you spend $20,000 per month on digital advertising you should set your threshold for new business to meet or exceed that amount. To fully understand the impact of every marketing action, testing and monitoring is necessary.

The best asset to having a marketing plan in place is to keep all team members aligned for success. your customer service efforts, sales efforts and marketing efforts should always run simultaneously. This consistent operational flow will exponentially advance your revenue growth. While keeping in mind the need to stay competitive and profitable, each review of marketing activities should be an opportunity to learn and continue to build a cohesive process.

Creating a targeted and realistic marketing plan that considers the company’s strategic business plan outlined with specific business goals monthly, quarterly, and annually gives you a solid foundation to grow your business.

Consider this…You have the greatest innovative product equipped with the best technology in the marketplace. Your products finally hit the market, you hire a team of outside sales representatives and your products are moving off the shelves quickly. A problem arises within 3 months that requires a huge investment of capital to sustain progression. Without creating a marketing plan that outlines corrective actions your business will be in reactive move and likely heading in a less than favorable position. To avoid mishaps such as this, the appropriate planning is required. All businesses have a desire to grow so by understanding the important of having a marketing plan should never go overlooked.

The full benefits include a range of segmenting your audiences, understanding your competitive landscape, market condition analysis, price positing and strategy, and most importably brand strategy. Without a review of these elements your business will likely fall into limited growth mode. To scale your business successfully, adequate systems and processes have to be in place. This includes, team members, technology and marketing planning. The end result of this exercise forces a narrative and a planning model that will guide your business to success year over year.

By authentically including and sharing compelling storytelling as a content initiative in your marketing plan, who you are, what you do, how you do it and why you do it will connect your brand with your target audience, isolate competitors and elevate your unique brand position.

Marketing 4 Real Results offers strategic consulting sessions to help you identify find your target audience, create a vision for your brand and build brand authenticity.

What Your Marketing Plan Should Include?

What are you going to sell and to who and how?

Who are you trying to reach with your marketing activities?
Where does your ideal customers live? Income?
How much will they buy and how often?
What advertising methods will gain the attention of your target customer?
How will you price your products?
What makes your business different from your competition?
Who are your competitors and what position do they hold in the market and why?
What does your business offer that is unique to your target customers?
How much should you pay for packaging, manufacturing and inventory?
How will your ideal customers find out about your product or service?

When building your marketing plan remember that people buy benefits not features, so focusing on the impact that your product will have on your target audience is the best way to think about your marketing message. A famous habit 7 outlined by Steven Covey is relevant in marketing planning, to begin with the end in mind. By understanding this concept you are able thoughtfully create a step-by-step approach put together the necessary pieces of your marketing activities. Every strategic action taken to improve the success of your business is a proactive step to enticing prospects and customers to buy your product or service.

There are a number of creative strategies to promote every business. Depending on the industry there are likely a subset of very specific marketing activities that have the ability to reach your desired audience. At Marketing 4 Real Results, we focus our clients on building customer centric marketing business models which we highly recommend with accolades. This concept is often neglected although our clients have experienced fruitful growth from adopting this concept to their overall marketing process.

The best results are customer loyalty and positive customer reviews which both impact the bottom line significantly. Just like word of mouth marketing, a customer centric marketing plan is a guaranteed way to increase total revenues per customer.

Creating a marketing plan requires a strategic look at where your business is and where you want it to go including timelines and key metrics. Get Started Today. Need Some Help? Marketing 4 Real Results can make sure you reach your goals. Our team of marketing experts can help transform your business.

The post How Will Your Marketing Plan Support Your Business Goals? appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Social Media and Facebook Trends That Support Business Growth

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 14:38:00 GMT

It is common for marketing to be confused for selling and instead the mindset should be that marketing is the best way to get the attention of your target audience and drive them to want to make a purchase. Marketing is not a direct selling channel. By keeping in mind the most important rule of marketing which is to know your customers, we can develop strategic ways to curate conversations that are inspiring and generate value.

Since social media marketing , (SMM) is the new normal the first step in building brand awareness and establishing relationships, is to make social media a priority. This very powerful marketing channel is good for all businesses. If your business is not engaging with your audience through Instagram, Google or LinkedIn you are missing an opportunity to build your brand and improve search engine rankings.

Many brands are growing rapidly by understanding the value of social media marketing to drive sales. Some brands only use social media marketing, which we do not recommend, but understand that based. Your overall marketing strategy may involve a rigorous amount of sales and marketing possibilities that are limitless, but to exclude social media from your efforts is a big mistake. A focus on making meaningful connections and building an audience can be challenging, your first priority should be to create a cohesive social media strategy.

As with all aspects of marketing having a strategy that is aligned with your business goals is the best way to go. It may be tempting to try to reach customers across every channel, but spreading your resources too thin is a bad way to go. Instead, choose 3-5 social networks and the below questions can help you get started.

What are your goals?
Who is your target audience?
What are your brands overall focus?
What are your content creation resources?
Which social media channels do your target audience use?
How do you want your target audience to perceive your brand?
What actions would you like your target audience to take?
What message do you want to send to your audience with social media?

According to Hubspot , 92% of marketers say that social media marketing is important for their business, with 80% indicating their efforts increased traffic to their websites. This demonstrates a huge potential for social media marketing to increase sales, but a lack of understanding on how to achieve those results. Here’s are top simple ways that social media marketing can improve your business:

Improve brand loyalty
Increase traffic to your website
Increase the number of leads/opportunities to convert

Regardless of the social media platform that you use, here is a list of five important factors to keep in mind.

Include your social media links on your website.
Invest in high quality video, photos and content.
Operate with a plan aligned with business goals.
Be authentic with an effort to create genuine engagements.
Make sure your contact information is consistent across all your social media platforms.

Facebook Methods To Support Business Growth

Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms and for good reason. Being one of the very first social platforms to significantly captivate our attention by allowing us to connect with family and friends and most importantly for businesses to connect to customers. Over the years we have learned that organic reach for Facebook has little to no value since only a very small percentage of your overall audience will see your post. The best way to improve visibility is to allocate a small marketing budget to each post. By allocating as little as one dollar per day and your reach will increase substantially. It is also important to note that preparation is important and having a planned content calendar to help you decide on what to post when, and use the scheduling feature to schedule your posts in advance when possible.

Best ways to increase your reach: Add video and great content and support both by promoting with an advertising budget and a great call to action (CTA). This process will require testing to identify the best time of day to post and the most engaging content that resonates well with your target audience.

TO DO: Run ads. Take advantage of Facebook’s inexpensive and highly targeted advertising platform.

Facebook Ad Targeting Tools

By creating custom and look-a-like audiences on Facebook to properly target your audience with the right message at the right time will bring you the highest value. Setting you up to increase video views and website visits.

What To Include In Your Facebook Strategy

Keep in mind that content is king and we should continue to focus on creating meaningful social interactions with high quality content and video. In addition the below 4 highlights are recommended improve your social media success.

Facebook Messenger – The modern social media network built around messaging supported by a messaging app and platform that users can send messages, exchange photos and videos. According to Spotify, messenger allows businesses to connect their e-commerce store to reach more customers instantly by adding detailed messages about their orders.

Chatbots – Live chat support service to create better engagement and generate leads from website visitors. This centralized communication allows a brand to build trust and nurture relationship by providing instant customer support. Customers and prospects can schedule appointments, get FAQ’s, business hours etc. from a live person.

Facebook Stories – Short user generated photos and videos that are viewed in the stories section at the top of your friends or followers news feed and is consumed 15x faster in speed than standard content and disappear after 24 hours.

Facebook Groups – A private/secret or public option is available for people that share a common interest and encourages them to communicate express opinions. This is commonly used as a way to organize and discuss issues, share success stories and related content

As with all marketing efforts it is critical to focus on marketing return on investment (ROI) and using Analytics can help to improve real time metrics that help you best understand your social media efforts throughout each stage of the funnel.

If you are looking for help with your social media efforts, get in touch with us here . Remember, more engagement directly drives business growth.

The post Social Media and Facebook Trends That Support Business Growth appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Sizzling Summer Marketing Tips To Drive Business Growth

Sun, 21 Jul 2019 14:34:00 GMT

The summer is heating up and our hope is that you are increasing brand awareness and growth + revenue are aligned.

In this brief article we will cover marketing tips to help you stay in front of your customers and expand your bottom line. It’s time to be creative and satisfy the needs of your target audience. We have to meet our target audience where they are in the buying journey and to identify that placement, we need to test, analyze and be consistent. The below three critical steps are paramount regardless of your industry and should be understood as basic marketing principles to grow your business in 2019.

The first critical step is to ensure your website is ranking for the keywords that your ideal customers are searching for. Once you have a solid keyword list you can build out your website pages and begin to rank well on search engines. KEY: Focus on one core keyword per page.

The second critical step is to generate consistent leads through email marketing efforts. The skinny on adding email marketing into your mix is that you stay top of mind with your audience by sending valuable and engaging content. KEY: The best way to generate new business is to show consistency in your marketing efforts.

The third critical step is adding video to your mix with clearly defined goals on how to measure success. It’s no secret that video is king of the world and brands that use video grow revenue 49% faster than non-video users. Key: 66 percent of consumers make a purchase from a brand after watching their social media video . – Source ( via tubular insights ). | Video suggestion types: short video explaining products or services – vlogs (video blogs), video interviews, presentations, testimonials, and ads, tutorials, product reviews, demos, and live steam recordings.

Are you meeting your target audience where they are? Marketing 4 Real Results is a full service marketing agency that provides consulting and integrated marketing solutions to help our clients grow their businesses. Request a FREE Marketing Consultation here .

Request a FREE analysis of your website here .

Get started with a FREE Constant Contact email marketing campaign here .

The post Sizzling Summer Marketing Tips To Drive Business Growth appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Smart Marketing Techniques To Grow Your Business

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 14:31:00 GMT

If you’re struggling to grow your business, there is light at the end of the tunnel and it’s all about your marketing strategy. Not having a marketing plan is one of the most common reasons startups fail.

We know that a sales transaction is required to support the growth of your business so the question becomes how do we get to that sale over and over again. How to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and who will be your target clients/customers. Most people answer this question incorrectly by saying, everyone is their target.

Before we can move on, the first decision that is required is which marketing actions will we take. Making phone calls, running ads, posting on social media, telling our friends, setting up a booth at church, these are all viable options to take. We will also need to consider how frequent we will take actions, and what amount of resources will be required to consistently support the process.

To get we like to focus on the most critical element of marketing and that is the amount of resources available to do what we want to do things regularly. The cost does matter. We know that our personal lives that doing things one time does not usually move the needle forward.

Another critical factor is making the decision to spend marketing dollars across multiple platforms simultaneously. Many industry experts agree that having an integrated plan that aligns every aspect of marketing communication ( digital advertising, social media, content marketing , events, print, advertising, and sales funnels, ) to deliver one unified message is the best practice.

This simple but powerful marketing technique ensures that prospects and customers receive consistent messages every time they interact with your brand and any element of your marketing campaigns.

Before we move on, we must think through another component before taking action and that is to identify the message that we want to share and ensure that we are prepared to deliver the right message to the right target audience at the right time and with a proper analysis having taken place which makes testing essential.

4 Steps To A Successful Marketing Process

Step 1: Analysis
Step 2: Strategy
Step 3: Action
Step 4: Measure

Consider Smart Marketing Objectives

S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R ealistic and T imely.

Once you have identified the marketing process and frequency align the activity to a specific business goal, then combine the below direct sales tactics (or a similar lead generation activity to your collection).

3 Direct Sales Tactics That Will Produce Leads

Track Your Sales Funnel – (SF) The journey that you want potential customers to take. (i.e.: website lead form)

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) – Tool to manage and analyze customer information and interactions. (i.e.: Salesforce, Zoho etc)

Loyalty and/or Referral Program (LP, RP) – Opportunity to encourage clients/prospects/customers to continue to buy from your to use your service.

It is also important to note that growing your business requires consistent actions that are focused on continually expanding your customer base by reaching new people often. An extension of this thought can take many directions, here we will focus only on the most advantageous components, which is to use historical sales data and top trending marketing techniques.

Top 3 Trending Digital Marketing Techniques

Email Marketing Automation – Communicating with active users by sending engagement based and personalized content that is segmented to track performance. With this approach you are able to set and send behavioral follow-up content. By having a targeted list of users, you are directly aligned to the people that are most lively to make a purchase with your brand.

Voice Search – is a new but proven trend that uses audio technology that allows users to speak into a device to produce a search query quickly. The most common platforms that are being used today are Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa. There are many advanced versions of voice search that can modified to specific brand products and services and this trend is increasingly improving search engine queries for many brands.

The reason for this success is the advanced convenience, fast response time and the simplified way to align the user experience directly to the brand product/service. Having a quick and easy way for users to engage with your brand is highly recommended for all marketing touch points to improve customer satisfaction levels.

Live Streaming Video – Instagram, Facebook and Youtube – This FREE real time engagement tool allows viewers to ask direct questions and get an instant response, as well as have the ability to replay and view at a later time. If you take the time to review and analyze the profiles and actions of the audience that engages with your live content you have a birds eye view into your target audience preferences that can be used in other marketing channels.

By adding top trending marketing techniques into your marketing plans you are setting your business up to grow with objective driven actions that will produce results. Keep in mind; even the marketing actions that produce the expected results should still be evaluated and possibly replicated on other channels. The actions that do not produce the expected results should be modified and a corrective action should be implemented. By measuring every marketing action you are able to identify where to focus your efforts short and long term.

One of the most significant factors to note when identifying marketing techniques to grow your business is that success happens when a strategic marketing process is in place. There is a series of actions required to reach said goal and measuring and testing is the way to success. Being impatient and expecting instant results never works, and juggling too many uncorrelated marketing items is a major distraction. Instead consider using a strategic approach to your marketing program.

Key Takeaway

Since we know that email marketing is leading the charts in the current era of digital marketing as one of the most cost-effective methods to drive results, we can include this channel without breaking the bank. So there is no reason that you should not be sending emails to your targeted account. By including email marketing automation into your marketing mix, you are set to take your business to the next level.

Common Marketing Rule

to remember is : “70-20-10” . This rule takes into account a focus on marketing actions Now , Next and New.

70% of time spent on “Now”
20% of time on “Next”
10% of time spent on “New”

In addition to the cost effective aspect of email marketing this tactic has a high level of opportunity to integrate your account-based marketing (ABM) efforts as well as a “Now” function.

Overall Benefits of Using The Right Digital Marketing Strategy

Generate more leads
Increase Inbound sales
Improve Communication with Targeted Customers

To get started with an email marketing campaign – sign up for Constant Contact here .

Schedule a FREE Marketing Consultation with our team here .

The post Smart Marketing Techniques To Grow Your Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Digital Marketing Is Crucial For Service Businesses

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 14:31:00 GMT

Updated, July 2024: | Let’s begin with the understanding of “ what is digital marketing” and then explain further, “ why digital marketing is important ”.

Digital Marketing is the use of online channels to connect with a target audience through the internet and other digital platforms. It can include, strategic planning, content creation, delivery and exchange of valuable content to attract, acquire and retain an audience.

Key Components Of Digital Marketing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): To improve your websites visibility on search engine results pages, also known as SERPS.

Email Marketing: Send targeted emails to future leads and retain customers.

Mobile Marketing : Optimizing your marketing efforts for mobile devices.

Content Marketing: Creating valuable content such as articles, blog posts and videos.

Social Media Marketing: Creating and sharing content for social media platforms to connect with your audience, build brand awareness, and drive traffic to your website.

Mindset: Ways to share valuable content with your target audience.

One of the major benefits of digital marketing is that it streamlines processes that have the potential to quickly connect the communication between the marketing messages of your business directly to current and/future customers.

Daily Percentage of Purchases made online using mobile devices:

eCommerce Mobile Stats – source OuterBoxDesigns.com

79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last 6 months
77% of American’s own a smartphone
Over 230 million U.S. consumers own smartphones
Around 100 million U.S. consumers own tablets

Now that we have identified the influx on mobile purchases, attracting the attention of a society that has a limited attention span is the next challenge. According to Microsoft the average human being now has an attention span of eight seconds. So your overall digital marketing plan needs to have an ability to focus and sustain your audience. To grow your business today, automating digital processes is a smart way to go. You can slowly adopt elevated levels of digital marketing into your marketing process by testing first and implementing only the best performing tactics. Remember the alternative to thinking digital is slow profitability and ultimately being pushed out of business.

As a business owner your goal should be to insert your brand into the lifestyle of your target audience. The way to successfully accomplish this is to “ be where they are and engage with them often ”. This truth will help you to get new business and create loyal brand ambassadors. It is the responsibility of all brands/businesses to share relatable experiences and stories with your target audience that evokes emotion and encourages likeability. To do this successfully today requires engagement tactics and consistent actions with deep data integration.

YOUR GOAL: Answer the Google search query with information on your website.

The Difference Between Digital and Traditional Marketing

The two primary differences are time to delivery and the medium to reach your audience. (social media vs postcard).

Traditional Marketing

Medium:Offline channels: direct mail, outbound telemarketing, television, radio, newspaper, magazines and billboards.
Measurability: Difficult to tract ROI and measure campaign effectiveness.
Cost: Often high, especially for television and print advertising.

Digital Marketing

Medium: Online channels, website, search engines, online directories, social media and email.
Measurability: Easy to track website traffic and email click through rates.
Cost: Generally more affordable, with options for all budget levels.

Since AI is quickly changing the face of technology and human interactions are becoming more distant, traditional marketing can still be considered a more viable option for service businesses. Overall both are needed to meet different business goals and depends on who you are targeting and your business goal.

With the right strategic plan in place, you can have an effective digital marketing plan that is set to keep your business on track to meet your annual business goals. There are many lead source funnels that can generate a pipeline of new business opportunities for your company that have the ability to enhance your customer service engagement, by setting up a system for follow-up and lead source evaluations. Every new prospect that interacts with your business gives you a chance to adequately add value and grow your business simultaneously. This is the mindset your marketing campaigns must adopt since movement is fast and frequent, your processes must be efficient.

By delivering the right information at the right time to the right person, you will get new business. When is the right time? That is the big question that can be best answered by exploring historical data, surveying customers, having competitor intelligence and knowing your market well. If selling more products and services is a part of your business goals, adding a digital marketing component will help you to accomplish that set goal.

How To Use Digital Marketing To Increase Sales

Once you have a refined keyword analysis, target audience outline, marketing median and geography you are ready to create a process of activity to generate leads.

Digital Conversions To Track

Web form
Downloads
Webinar sign up
Previous Purchase

Digital Marketing Significance Answered

Social media is the single most easy platform to build your online presence. If your business does not have any active social media accounts, we recommended you get started today after first planning who you are targeting to determine which social media platform to start with.

Online Benefits of Social Media Marketing

Highly visible SEO
Brand Awareness
Share valuable content
Engage with your target audience
Goal: Bring context to the conversation –“WHY” “WHO” and “WHAT”.

Facebook Statistics – source Sprout Social

Average time Facebook users spend daily: 20 minutes

What that means for you: You have a short time period to make an impression.

Highest traffic occurs mid-week between 1-3 pm

What that means for you: You have the potential to reach more people and drive higher traffic to your site.

68 % of Americans use Facebook

What that means for you: Facebook should be a top choice to reach a broad audience.

Instagram Statistics – source Hoot suite

Average time users spend on Instagram: 24 minutes a day.

What that means for you: You have a limited time to make your impression.

Top three highest traffic times to post: Sunday 5:00pm, Monday 7:00pm & 10:00pm, Tuesday 3:00am & 10:00pm

What that means for you: This is your best chance to grow your audience and maximize engagement.

There are 1 billion Instagram users
Age 65+ 118.3 million (2%): Age 55-64: 30 million (3%)
Age 45-54: 68 million (8%): Age 35-44:131 million (15%)
Largest number of users: Age 25-34: 270 million (32%)

What that means for you: Your prospects are likely on Instagram – don’t overlook this platform for business.

Top Performing Social Media Platform

Instagram is the largest visual platform in the world.
Retails brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Tiffany, Nike, and Reebok are pushing more products to people who came to their site from

What’s next:

Having a plan in place will help you determine the next steps, we recommend you focus on the most popular search engines, Google, Bing or Yahoo.

Email marketing is also important, you can explore low cost or free options like, Constant Contact or Mail Chimp. Upload videos, YouTube are the usual digital marketing high performing suspects.

When your business places technology at the forefront of marketing decisions you will notice a difference in the engagement from customers and prospects.

There are many aspects to Digital Marketing, below is a list of where to focus.

1. Reach a Wider Audience

Niche targeting: Digital marketing enables precise targeting of specific demographics, interests, and behaviors. To best understand your market potential, consider adding a population distribution to your marketing plan.

2. Cost-Effective

Barriers to entry: Compared to traditional marketing, digital marketing has a low barrier to entry which can create more competition because of the small initial investment.
Measurable ROI: Digital platforms provide detailed analytics, allowing businesses to track the effectiveness of their campaigns and optimize where to allocate additional resources. In 2024, most marketing platforms offer reporting. Google Analytics is the best place to track website traffic.

3. Enhanced Customer Engagement

Two-way communication: Social media and text marketing channels offer a direct interaction with your business and your customers.
Personalized experiences: Digital marketing allows you to tailor messaging and services based on customer behavior. By speaking directly to said target, will enhance your ability to connect.
- I.E. Attention to Baby Boomer, Hi Millennials, Parents, Doctors, etc….

4. Measurable Results

Data-driven decisions: Digital marketing provides actionable insights into campaign performance. The ability to quickly change the direction of a marketing campaign can save a ton of money.
Optimized campaigns: By tracking key metrics that align with your business goals businesses can refine their strategies quickly to maximum the impact.

5. Increased Brand Awareness

Consistent messaging: Digital platforms offer opportunities to share brand stories and values consistently.
SEO and content marketing: Improving search engine rankings is a very important ongoing process. Consistently creating valuable content in a blog post or YouTube video can increase the visibility of your service business.

6. Competitive Advantage

Staying ahead: Businesses that embrace digital marketing can gain a competitive edge over those relying solely on traditional methods.
Adaptability: Digital marketing allows for quick adjustments to market trends and customer preferences.

7. Improved Customer Experience

Convenient access: Digital channels provide customers with easy access to information and support.
Personalized interactions: Digital marketing enables businesses to offer tailored experiences, building customer loyalty.

To successfully integrate a digital marketing strategy it is recommended that you map out a plan, allocate a budget and establish key metrics that are clearly defined and aligned to your business goals. The budget allocation is very important since the resource to continue a process once started is crucial. Many of our clients at Marketing 4 Real Results have asked us for advice on the best method to implement a digital marketing strategy and we always assign a sales and marketing funneled approach and attach to effort to a key metric that has the ability to push the needle forward, not merely brand awareness. The goal for all marketing campaigns should include simple and efficient ways to grow. By combining your target customer data with ABM (account based marketing), cloud based/automated (CRM) customer relationship management and assigned benchmarks, your digital marketing campaigns are off to a good start.

Top Trending Digital Marketing Tactics To Consider

Mobile friendly website ( SSL certificate )
Social Media Channels FB/Instagram/ LinkedIn
ORM O nline R eputation M anagement–Review Sites
Google | Yelp | Facebook
Videos –create stories
SEO S earch E ngine O ptimization
Automated Email Marketing

Search Engine Optimization Matters To Your Digital Strategy

Your digital strategy should be aimed at increasing your online presence with search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. By leveraging the combination of organic SEO (search engine optimization) your online presence will be improved over time and the content on your website will be an add value to those seeking to do business with you.

There is no easy solution to accomplish a successful digital marketing strategy, although beginning with the end in mind is the best way to ensure success. By consistently adding content to your website your organic search results will increase over time and begin to drive your business closer and closer to the top of the first page of search results. It is crucial that you know the relevant keywords and search terms/keyword phrases that are driving your new business and this can be found with the free Google Analytics tool. Doing this successfully requires research and consistency and frequent changes overtime. Your digital marketing efforts beginning from your websites copy and coding extends to an ongoing commitment to quality content that answers your target audience questions and makes a direct connection.

How To Track and Identify SEO Keywords?

Track SEO tools: BrightEdge
Identify SEO tools:Answer the Public.com
Define a specific list of SEO keywords based on terms that matter most to your brand (think product, service and industry).

Digital Marketing with Marketing with Real Results

At Marketing 4 Real Results we allocate an adequate amount of time to all new campaigns to ensure our clients are successful in their digital marketing efforts. The advantages we offer are a lot different from the contemporary approach to try everything – we only try what we know works based on proven results with other clients. We shun away from the shiny object syndrome and focus on revenue generating activities that produce results. We recommend both traditional and digital marketing initiatives to maintain an integrated marketing strategy that support your entire business. We maintain a goal to attract customers, build brand awareness and brand ambassadors simultaneously. We work with you to find the perfect duo of content, platforms and processes that will take your business to the next level.

Take the lead in your industry with a Digital Marketing Campaign from Marketing 4 Real Results.

Consult a Marketing Expert Today!

Get a FREE SSL certificate at Cloudflare or at Let’s Encrypt

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Marketing Power Hour – Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 14:23:00 GMT

The City of Los Angeles Business Source in partnership with Marketing 4 Real Results presents a free workshop for Small Business Owners looking for strategies to grow their business. This is a one hour workshop presented by Nia Pearson, CEO and Senior Consultant for Marketing 4 Real Results.

During this event you will learn best practice for:

Video Marketing
Email Marketing
Social Media Marketing
FB/Instagram Advertising
Pay Per Click Advertising
Content/Blog Writing
SEO/Search Engine Optimization
and more…

Click here to register for this event

Nia Pearson is CEO & Founder of Marketing 4 Real Results, Marketing Speaker and Licensed California Real Estate Agent. Nia ‘s passion for business and real estate derived from her childhood where she observed her father and grandmother run a very successful fuel and oil business in Philadelphia, while also being advent real estate investors.

Nia holds a Bachelors Degree in Marketing and MBA in International Business. Nia has more than 15 years of experience in Corporate Sales and Marketing and is considered a trusted advisor to SMB’s (small and mid size business owners) and real estate investors. Her passion for business, love for marketing and understanding on real estate wealth building is what she focuses on daily to learn and help others. Her ability to build relationships has been demonstrated successfully throughout her career and she continually maintains a desire to provide remarkable results for her clients.

Contact Nia Pearson: niap@m4rr.com

The post Marketing Power Hour – Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Using The Power Of Digital Marketing To GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Wed, 22 May 2019 14:19:00 GMT

Did you start 2019 with the right attitude, amazing intentions and goals to grow your business, or are you struggling to consider where you should focus your marketing efforts? Whichever side you are on, we have a workshop for you. Turn your small business into a BIG business. Learn how to understand customer’s persona and growth marketing tactics that can support your business growth.

Brought to you in partnership with the City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development and VSEDC, Marketing 4 Real Results, CEO & Senior Consultant Nia Pearson will discuss best practice to grow your business using digital marketing.

Join the Digital Marketing conversation on Thursday, May 30, 2019 6-8pm. “Using The Power Of Digital Marketing To Grow Your Business”. RSVP here Conta.cc/2VboV4k

Thursday, May 30, 2019
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Vermont Slauson EDC
1130 W. Slauson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90044

The post Using The Power Of Digital Marketing To GROW YOUR BUSINESS appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The Importance Of Reviews

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 14:16:00 GMT

Updated Feb, 2024:

The current age of massive digital transformation has made one point obvious and that is the need to adapt to change. Since technology is continuously advancing with AI and Automation being the new kids on the block, we now understand that it is imperative to be creative and innovative to grow. To get the attention of our target audiences, we must align the right marketing activities in our marketing plans which can sometimes be challenging.

An advantageous way to accomplish continual business growth is to adapt to marketing trends. At one time, many people considered social media to be a trend and they did not want to adapt, and now social media drives many business conversations across various industries, both B2B and B2B companies.

Being slow to adapt, can sometimes mean being a lot further behind your competition than you would like admit. If we focus on the needs and wants of our target audience and adopt the 3 steps of the marketing concept, customer orientation, coordinated markets activities and business performance it makes total sense that a focus on getting more reviews moves us from a business focus to a customer focus.

88% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase.
66% of consumers make a purchase after reading a positive customer review
84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

As it turns out, many businesses do not foster customer loyalty as a revenue driving initiative, which is a missed opportunity. Referrals can be an excellent revenue stream for any business. In order for us to best leverage cost effective digital marketing activities and dominate the competitive landscape simultaneously, focusing on reviews is the way to go.

As a small business owner, s earch engine optimization SEO should be at the top of your marketing agenda. If your marketing budget does not include spending thousands of dollars on paid advertising, a smart idea would be to focus on reviews. Reviews help SEO. Google uses reviews as a factor to rank in search results.

As we evaluate which marketing strategies will drive the highest percentage of revenues year over year, it’s always a good idea to reference previous customers as a driving force for business growth. Making business decisions from positive customer experiences leads to higher profits and a competitive advantage. To take this a step further in addition to the SEO benefit, improving business services, based on feedback from customers can offer positive results.

We trust our family, friends and neighbors, and reviews can have the same level of consideration. In addition to the 5 star accolades and the pride of good service, the larger advantage of positive online reviews is the favorable impact on your SEO .

When it comes to local SEO, getting your customers to leave positive reviews for your business on Google is very important. As the number of online reviews increase so does your search engine ranking.

Considering the competitive landscape of the current marketplace, it is crucial to exceed customers’ expectations during each business transactions, going above and beyond is good business. Having an open line of communication with your clients/customers will make them more willing to support your business.

Your business can take control of your online reputation, by asking your clients/customers to post reviews about their experience. It might be a good idea to incentivize their behavior by offering gift cards or movie tickets. This is not always a requirement, but a recommendation if you experience resistance in obtaining reviews.

Failing to effectively engage your clients/customers/ target audience is not a good position to be in. There is always an alternative to your service waiting to pick up your slack. A good way to gauge your service level is to evaluate the retention rate and referral business percentages. This is a hard exercise for many, since knowing the truth can be painful. Evaluate if your customers come back and if they refer you new business and do not be afraid to ask why.

The fastest way to grow an existing customer base is effectively retaining current customers by adding value. According to Bain and Co., a 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%.

Don’t miss the opportunity to grow your business by putting your customers first and keeping them happy.

How To Get More Reviews

Implement an automated process for requesting reviews. Consider Signpost.
Assign a team member to reputation monitoring.
Consider text or email request to simplify the task.

How to Manage Reviews

Install a website widget to display reviews on your website.
Request and respond to Google reviews.
Evaluate often and make changes as needed

Top SEO Advantages

Get found locally
Get to the top of search engine results
Increase website conversions

Since it cost five times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing one, focusing on your customer retention rate percentages is crucial. Remember that whether you are new entrepreneur or a veteran business owner, there is always room for improvement. By taking a proactive approach to your business with a 360-degree view you are able to explore new ways to grow your business.

By having effective methods in place to persuade your target audience to post reviews you can drive more business by marketing your reviews and grow your business.

Before you get started, you need to:

Analyze all customer touch points
Compare year over year retention rates
Implement a customer loyalty program
Share success stories with customers
Request reviews from past and current customers
Set up review monitoring to quickly respond to online reviews
Implement a process to quickly resolve negative reviews

It is important not to underestimate the influence a review can have on a potential customer. Since happy customers are less likely than angry customers to post a review you have to control the conversation, by building your reviews with happy experiences.

A great way to automate the process is to add a testimonial widget on your website, allowing you to control the feedback that is highlighted on your testimonials page and social media outlets. This is a smart and powerful marketing resource that can have an immediate impact on your bottom line by increasing sales through trust.

Contact Marketing 4 Real Results to learn more.

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2019 Content Marketing Trends To Grow Your Business

Sun, 28 Apr 2019 14:16:00 GMT

It’s important to acknowledge an obvious point, which is marketing is important to every business. Then we turn to the question of how, when and what efforts will make an impact on marketing campaign efforts. One great aspects at an agency like, Marketing 4 Real Results is that we work with tons of amazing clients that are at different levels. This allows us to share successful tactics across many companies and avoid the pitfalls of marketing that do now show value. Our clients are usually pretty grateful that we share monthly insights with them and methods of improvements. We try to keep in mind when setting up all marketing campaigns the many ways that we can communicate with target audiences and over the last several years, digital marketing communication methods have taken the front seat and is for us, top of mind.

Since we are operating in a mobile first society what we do online is just as important as what we do offline. To achieve success in 2019, 2020 and beyond the influx of competition in every market indicates that we must put customers first in our approach to business. This will require a customer centric-personalized approach. In the Los Angeles area where Marketing 4 Real Results is based as well as many cities across the United States, there are mom and pop entrepreneurs with brick and mortar locations that compete not only for foot traffic but also for online business. Content Marketing is a key tool to engage clients and customers in both places. Success can and will happen as long as the needs and wants of your target audiences are a priority in your content marketing strategy building.

Content marketing builds trust, visibility, credibility and authority with new and existing clients and customers. This process allows us to engage, nurture, and convert more easily based on information sharing that leads to brand awareness and recognition. The easiest way to get started with content marketing is to connect social media channels to your website and create a keyword strategy. With these tools in place you are ready to start building momentum that feeds directly into your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). By taking this direction your content marketing efforts will be clearly defined and you can outline relevant subject matters that will resonate with your target audience. By aligning SEO and relevant keywords into your content marketing strategy you are set for a positive ROI. Time is a factor in everything we do, so we must be mindful with intention and purpose in all marketing efforts. The potential to generate leads and build customer loyalty over time is an excellent long term business growth strategy. Your keyword research will help you to better understand your target audience and create content that supports business goals.

Keep in mind the fact that, content marketing benefits both online and offline actions with the ability to be one of your most viable channels for driving growth. Crafting the right content marketing strategy can also become the foundation for your brand voice. By understanding your audience, delivering consistent and reliable content and producing quality products/services you are on the right path for growth. An example of a well crafted content marketing example is “adding value” to your target audience. Taking this direction you have clarity, focus and direction for all content created. The next step requires us to take that content and consistently produce content in a storytelling capacity and share across multiple channels. These effort leads to a pap on the back and a job well done.

In 2019 we are required to dive deep into digital marketing if we want to stay competitive and continue to grow and not become the next Blockbuster. So by understanding all the choices to engage our target audiences, we must become aware of our need to do more to make an impact on our relationships. We must focus marketing efforts on adequately standing out from the crowd. How we do this requires an exploration into the number of marketing options that exist within our company and the kind of impact we want to have. How customer centric does your brand want to be? You must be willing to dive deep to show value in the form of content. Content that will attract the best and most profitable clients/customers require us to be very specific. If we want to convert prospective customers with value add content, the level of content that we produce is crucial. This is not a simple task and requires a strategic approach to accomplish impressive results. By focusing on consistently sending valuable content that aligns well with your business goals you are setting the stage for business growth.

Dive Deep With Your Content?

To become a leader in your space, you must adopt content marketing as a top marketing tactic. If you operate like most companies, you can appreciate support that speaks to the bottom line of your business to get more customers. Content marketing is your key to the kingdom. By answering questions that your prospects have before they ask them, shows that you have considered their buying journey and you are best fit to earn their business.

At Marketing 4 Real Results we place strategic marketing solutions such as content marketing at the foundation of marketing initiatives since we know content matters. By understanding the significance of content marketing, we encourage our clients not to ignore content marketing as a revenue generating marketing activity. Content Marketing should never be overlooked and instead should be considered as the “cornerstone” of your marketing strategy. Think of content from a bulls eye perspective that includes and integrates every aspect of your marketing strategy . Your communication across multiple touch points matters to ensure that you build trust. If you are able to execute content marketing correctly, you will see increased engagement with prospects and customers that will eventually turn into sales. To plan and execute your content marketing strategy carefully curating content focused on a specific product/service is recommended. Once you have developed a planned effort the next steps are to consistently translate that content into stories that answer questions for your audience and encourage engagement. By consistently delivering similar relevant content aimed to persuasive and engage, you are building and effective sales funnel.

Content marketing actions are best executed with the purpose. Are you looking to gain inbound traffic? Get the phone to ring? Regardless of the goal be sure to target prospects and customers with a deep understanding of who they are and what motivations they have to buy from you. In Real Estate a trigger for new home sales is pregnancy? That indicates a strong need for more space and a change in current living conditions, which give not only the need but a timeline to complete. Making a quick sale is not the right approach to any transaction. We should think long term. We do want referral business right? As well as loyalty, so after we have a commitment we want to continue to strengthen the bond. A quick sale may seem like a good idea but remember your prospect can always easily turn to your competition. So showing value of your product or service will never be diminished if we communicate effectively and give exceptional service. It is best to dedicate an adequate amount of time to build your content consider industry changes, trends etc. to have larger impact on increasing your sales. Remember everything we do is about expanding brand awareness and business growth.

How Often Should You Create New Content?

One of the most critical pieces of content marketing strategic planning is having a goal to be consistent. This is likely the biggest challenge that many people face. Not knowing what to write about or when to share on social media, email marketing or during conversations. This only happens when your business goals are not tied to your actions. We must think and say everything that is aligned with business goals. The habit to continuously create new content to increase engagement has a direct impact on the results of your business. First they heard of you, then they read your content, then they connected and started following you and eventually they were your customer. This is the story of how new business happens. Generally it is not a first round that gets the sales, even in retail. 60 percent of sales happen after your prospect has engaged with your brand on some level. That deepens the importance to always be selling. You know the ABC rule. Prospects that view our businesses before making a purchase are waiting to see what happens before, during and after the sale. In the primary industries we serve, Restoration, Real Estate, Consumer Goods and Healthcare, changes in your products/services don’t happen often. So we help our clients build, blog content, case studies etc that have a long life span. Marketing 4 Real Results clients have found the more consistent the messaging the more impressive the results over time. One tip to note is that having a segmented list of subscribers can help to ensure your audience gets the most relatable content at a desired time.

Great Content Marketing Sharing Suggestions

Share Industry News (as it related to your product/service)
Best Customers Tips
Sales and Customer Service Tips
Community Involvement Scenarios

What Type Of Content Should You Create?

Your specific business structure and goals by month, year and quarter should predicate the type of content you share and at what time. Below are a few Top Content Consumption suggestions:

Blog Post: Facts, opinions and ideas with text graphics and video.
E-Books: Showcase your expertise with a three to five page long content.
Videos : Most people prefer a quick answer over searching pages and pages of content.
Webinars: Speak directly to customers and prospects to demonstrate your expertise.
Reviews/Customer Testimonials: Results from past customers can inspire confidence in prospect
Company Accolades/Awards: Share the journey
Product or Service Features/Benefits: Use case scenarios that align with your target audience needs

What Should Your Content Marketing Strategy Include?

Goals outlined with KPIs
Well-defined target audience (include historical data when applicable)
Start and end time

Content Marketing Best Practice:

To have a long-lasting impact with your content marketing strategy, you will need to review content consumption and make changes as needed. Since content marketing isn’t a simple process, scheduling an editorial calendar with internal teams will help keep the content flowing. Remember to have a proof reader, here at Marketing 4 Real Results , we recently added a third eye to catch errors and ensure the content we share targets our audiences in Real Estate, Restoration, Consumer Goods and Healthcare.

Start your journey by first deciding:

Topics to be included
Team/Departments to be involved
Goals, target start and completion dates
Consumption metrics
Keyword Research and analysis

By frequently posting high quality content on your website and speaking directly to the questions your target audience has either online, by phone or in person, your search engine rating will increase on Google, Yahoo and Bing due to the frequency of online algorithms. Remember: Post Consistent – Relevant content often.

Value –Prospect learned something.
Relevant – Addresses a need, want, desire or interest

Effective content marketing ( https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-marketing-plan) happens when consistent content connects the brand and audience. The better the branded content the more engagement you will see. It is very important to understand that well-written content marketing efforts supports online marketing activities including SEO , social media marketing and e-Commerce sales. As well as creative content can fuel social media marketing copy, visuals and links.

Facts to consider:

According to Hubspot, 72% of marketers say relevant content creation is the most effective SEO tactic.

According to Social Media Examiner, 58% of marketers said original written content is the most important type of content, outdoing visuals and videos.

According to AdWeek, 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big purchases.

Content Marketing Steps to Take

Align content marketing efforts with a goal to maintain the interest of current customers with high-quality content.
Fuel your business with content that will engage your target audience and drive profitable action to your business.

Content Strategy To Consider

Marketing medium
Total marketing budget

The impact of having a content marketing strategy can positively and dramatically increase your always one marketing strategy. Building and maintaining trust with your audience is how you sustain your online authority. Embrace the value add content to grow your business. If your business does not have the internal team infrastructure in place to get started or if you would like help to get started with a strategic content marketing, contact Marketing 4 Real Results today .

The post 2019 Content Marketing Trends To Grow Your Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Branding Strategies To Grow Your Business

Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:04:00 GMT

Branding is important to every business. If people don’t know who you are or can’t quickly get an impression of your brand, you will likely not get their business. To better understand why this principle can bring value to your business will require you to think beyond personality, logo colors, or websites.

Social media is one of the quickest ways to build your brand awareness. If you think about a personal experience you’ve had recently when you wanted to get a better understanding or more information about a particular brand, you likely checked their social media presence. So you should not overlook this option as a strategy to grow your own business. This philosophy is not just for big brands.

Another important component of branding is to consider the perception that your target audience has of your brand. Are they willing to pay the price for your product or service, based on how they feel about your brand. This perception is created by the content posted on your social media channels, the images on your website, your customer service and so much more. Your messaging across all aspects of your business should reflect how you wish to be perceived by your target audience. If you begin your branding strategy with the end in mind, you will consider, a GOAL for your overall brand. This will require you to develop an authentic brand story that should also include your value proposition. By developing an aligned message for your brand, every conversation that you have online and offline will continue to build trust with your target market.

Your overall messaging overtime will help you to build your brand loyalty, increase the equity of your brand and your prospects and customers will continue coming back to buy from you and also refer you business which is what you want.

Big brands can teach us a lot about what to do and not to do and the most important for many is consistency, relevancy and storytelling. It’s all about connecting with end users and target customers, so never forget the significance of your commitment to them and your “WHY”. Take note of some of the lessons from big brands, like Coca-Cola and Ford two of our favorites . The absolute best branding tells a story of your brand that will set you apart from your competitors. At Marketing 4 Real Results, we help our clients to grow their brand identity and focusing on customer centric marketing deliverables. The intention to win is important but the strategy is the ultimate determinate. Steps to success in branding include a deep dive into the overall operations of your brand to help us create a marketing strategy that will be focused on quality content, consistent messaging and effective targeting. Don’t Forget that every action in your business has the ability to create a strong connection with your target audience. You must always align every action your brand in mind. Below are a few tips to keep in mind when building your brand awareness.

The identity of the brand (logo, website and colors) should be aligned with your target audience. The psychology of color creates persuasion and should not be overlooked.
Align your social media strategy with your brand message.
Build local partnerships that align with your brand message.
Build your brand awareness strategy with retargeting campaigns.
Maintain consistency in all your marketing communication.
Use story telling in your advertising and all marketing communication.
Align partnerships with brands that share your target audience.

Marketing 4 Real Results takes into consideration all aspects of your brand when developing marketing campaigns to ensure success. We explore the competitive landscape your business operates in and develop brand messaging that includes: promotions, customer retention programs, advertising, social media, logo develop and more. Our goal is to deliver an integrated marketing strategy that will produce results year over year. We are ready to collaborate with you to build and your team to execute a strategic marketing campaign that evaluates your business to the next level. Don’t wait. Get started today! Contact Us?

The post Branding Strategies To Grow Your Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Branding Checklist To Grow Your Business

Fri, 05 Apr 2019 14:00:00 GMT

Branding IS … more than just your logo, tagline and website design. It’s one of the single most important aspects of your company designed to encourage people to trust and do business with you. The identify of your brand is dynamic and extends across all parameters of your business including:

Product/ Service
Company Culture
Core Values
Team
Customer Service

Top 4 Principles Your Brand Should Communicate Consistently

Authenticity
Value Proposition
Exceptional Customer Service
Understanding of your “target audience” needs

Once you have identified your ideal customers, the next step is to differentiate your brand through compelling story telling. To reach your goals faster you should fully understand why branding is important and how it can directly impact your sales. By distinctively positioning your brand as different from your competitors in the mind of your target audience, you are positioning and elevating your brand to a leading position in the marketplace. By extending that strength and adding innovation as a core brand attribute your business will be undeniably successful.

All branding efforts are not created equal. You branding strategy must make a concerted effort to consistently deliver value in your communication and action to positively impact sales activities. The significance of this process should be shared throughout your organization with every team member. Consider a unified brand strategy at which time, all team members have a clear understanding of how their role impacts the brand and it’s business goals. This is a winning recipe that most tops brands eximplify.

Why is Branding Important?

Setting up a brand strategy or rebranding your business can be quite challenging but necessary at times. Consider, your business begins to get a new set of customers that you did not consider and were not marketing to. Your product or service is a perfect fit to fill this need and sales are flourishing. This wave will require you to modify your brand strategy to focus on the needs of the new target audience. You will need to create a new marketing mix that caters to this audience with content, that speaks directly to their needs with marketing material and maybe even adding an event to you marketing strategy. Evaluating how your brand is perceived by all customers through surveys can be critical to sustainability. The following questions can guide your brand to success across multiple audiences.

Who are your top competitors?
What is your value proposition to each target audience?
Who does your product target? ( income | education | geography)
What is the tone of your brand?
How would you like to be perceived in the marketplace?
Are there any environmental forces in place that will prevent your business success?

What Is The Value Of Branding?

The value of branding overlaps through equity over time and exceeds a monetary value and is purely based on perception. This point is revealed by the actions of your key stakeholders, what your customers say about your brand, the quality of your products, distribution channels, delivery channels etc. Aligning your brand strategy is an all-encompassing task that includes, colors, tag-lines, core values, tone of voice, team members, communication and so much more. To make it simple, all aspects of your business can impact the value of your brand. Every cornerstone of your company is branding, so you must… Tell stories. share valuable content and always be authentic. The action to effectively build brand awareness is an ongoing process that will put you in the position to sell more of your products and services.

Without effective branding, you business can be forgotten easily or even worse, become irrelevant, remember BlockBuster…the once beloved movie night hero now forgotten forever thanks to the innovation of Netflix. To maintain relevance in business we must continue to capture the attention of a segmented group and create lasting impact. There is no one and done scenario for any business we must continually evolve our brands to match the every changing technological advancements and needs of our target audiences. If you do not have a process in place for open communication with your customers get started, as soon as possible. By launching a brand awareness campaign with video content, creative graphic design, and supporting blog content that drives customers to think of your business to fill a specific need you are taking steps to build the value of your brand. Which leads to the ultimate utopia in the value of branding which is customer loyalty. Your brand should keep, top of mind the goals of having a loyal customer base believe your product or service is the first choice regardless of the infinite opportunities available.

Why Build A Branding Campaign With Marketing 4 Real Results?

Building your brand with Marketing 4 Real Results will expand your reach and improve business results. We focus on the below key principles of brand building.

Your strengths
Your competitors
Your business goals
Your target audience
Your weaknesses

Having a strong brand allows you to demand a higher premium for your products or services and protect your market share against competitors. By establishing a branding focal point for all marketing campaigns your brand will build a loyal customer base.

Know Your Audience. Tell Your Brand Story. Build Your Brand.

Contact M4RR today to get started with a new branding campaign and elevate your business to the next level.

The post Branding Checklist To Grow Your Business appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Email Marketing Best Practice

Sat, 30 Mar 2019 13:59:00 GMT

Updated February 2024

Most businesses at some point face the challenge of growth. Without having an effective marketing plan that includes an email marketing strategy you are missing opportunities to connect to your target audience.

With so many marketing options available to grow your small business, the “one thing” we recommend at Marketing 4 Real Results, (M4RR) to all our clients is to have a touch point in email marketing. Email marketing allows you to send customized messages to large groups of people. Emails can be checked leisurely with smartphones, computers and tablets. This makes email marketing a top priority for all companies.

Get Integrated Email Marketing Solutions

At Marketing 4 Real Results, we are always focused on adding creative marketing solutions to your marketing mix that supports your business goals and objectives. As a strategic agency we seek personalization, segmentation and a targeted approach to all marketing campaigns. If you are looking for an opportunity to engage your audience, building a successful email marketing campaign should be at the top of your list.We expand your vision and use our marketing expertise to capture your target audience’s attention. We will zoom in on your specific audience preferences to make the connection with your target audience and elevate your business to the next level.

Although the strategy of email marketing is sometimes overlooked, email marketing is not a new concept and is a part of most business models. Reviewing and evaluating your email marketing campaign results is one of the most important pieces of the process. Knowing when your audiences is opening emails from you and which content they are viewing you are able to make critical business decisions. By adding an additional layer of communication like a phone call can improve your campaign results.

It is our goal at Marketing 4 Real Results to lead our client’s campaigns to the maximum level of success and we do that with an integrated marketing approach. Streamlined unity and removing silos is what separates M4RR from other marketing agencies. We focus on combining the aspects of all business functions to create successful marketing campaigns.

Effective Email Marketing Integration

If executed with a considerable amount of care and aligned to the advancement of your overall digital marketing footprint email marketing will continue to stand strong and be one of the most powerful ways to deliver the right message, to the right person, at the right time. Remember that everyone is busy so having a consistent method to communicate with your audience is a none intrusive way is a great way to stay at the top of their minds.

Top 5 Reasons To Use Email Marketing To Grow Your Business

How To Get Started With Email Marketing?

Segment Subscribers List so you are speaking to a direct need.
A/B Test: Different versions of the same email. Modify content, subject lines and call to action.
Best B2B delivery times: Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, 5:00am – 7:00am
Best B2C delivery times: Tuesdays and Saturdays between 9:01 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Metrics To Track:

Click through rates
Pages viewed
Unsubscribes
Open times

Email Marketing Personalization At A Glance

At first glance, getting started with email marketing may look fairly simple, beginning with the end goal in mind is critical. Setting up email marketing campaigns for advanced personalization will offer effective email results. Having a goal to resonate the best message to the right recipients can be accomplished with personalization. This strategy allows your unique brand to feed the exact needs of the buyers. Paying attention to the likes and dislikes of the target audience by using data and predictive analysis will allow a more concentrated marketing approach. Having a specific niche will not only make creating a target audience easier, but it will attract the attention to your specific business.

Email Marketing Best Practice with Data and Personalization

By focusing on the methods that increase campaign performance and customer insights from data you are operating from the right direction. Aligning a business objective to actions and optimizing with current data will continually increase engagement.

What You Need to Know About Email Marketing?

Unique Opens – This number indicates how many individual contacts have opened your email for the first time.
Open Rate – An email’s open rate is the percentage of recipients who opened your email compared to how many contacts were sent. (The percentage of opens is calculated by dividing the number of unique opens by the number of emails sent excluding the number of bounces.)
Example: 5 individuals are sent an email, 1 email bounces, and 2 individuals open the email. The Open Rate is calculated like this: Open Rate = [Unique opens (2) / (Emails sent (5) – Emails Bounced (1))] = 1/2, or 50%
Your Average – This is the average opens across all of the emails you’ve sent. It’s calculated by adding all of your open rates and dividing by the number of campaigns.
Industry Average – If you selected an industry in your Business Profile , we can compare how your email did compared with others in the same industry.
Opens by Specific Contacts – When you click on the hyper-linked number of unique opens, this is where you can see:
- Which contacts opened the email
- The last time the contact opened the email

What is the average email open rate?

Email open rates vary by industry and can be used a parameters for evaluating your results. Our business partner, Constant Contact put together the below comprehensive list by industry as a guideline for your email marketing campaign.

M4RR is a full service strategic marketing agency located in the city of Sherman Oaks, in Greater Los Angeles California. At M4RR we focus on creating strategic integrated marketing campaigns. Our capabilities include strategy planning, email marketing, social media marketing, digital mobile marketing, content marketing, SEO, branding, marketing plan development, marketing consultation and event marketing. We also partner with the best website designers, video marketing companies, SEO experts, advertising agencies and more to ensure we can fully support the business goals of our clients.

Contact M4RR today to get started with an email marketing campaign and elevate your business to the next level.

The post Email Marketing Best Practice appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

The Right Marketing To Increase Your Sales in 2019

Mon, 18 Feb 2019 13:52:00 GMT

The best way to increase your 2019 sales inevitably depends on “who your target audience is, which can be a difficult task to identify.” The important questions to ask are how to market, where to market and the frequency of marketing. With so much competition it is critical that you adopt an online-offline mindset to effectively reach your target audience. Your marketing campaigns can deliver off the chart returns if your business utilizes trending digital marketing and traditional marketing collectively.

Creating a marketing plan is key to starting your business each year on the right foot. Your marketing plan will prepare you to address key business challenges and plan efforts that translate into tangible steps throughout the year. Proper planning creates cohesive strategies that lead to continuous success that your team can follow in their day-to-day activities. However, to achieve the best possible results and effectively attain growth, not spreading your resources and actions too thin is important. Being everywhere and doing everything is not a realistic goal. Although, testing different marketing vehicles is important, evaluation and benchmarks have to be introduced into the process early on.

By implementing affordable marketing techniques into your business, you have mapped the marketing audience by age, income, and/or household size. The goal is to create a long turn marketing funnel that continually produces leads for your business.

To maximize your campaign results there are many digital marketing vehicles that can make a significant impact on your business growth. For example, building visibility with a focus on SEO, online reputation management, maintaining a user friendly website, having personalized customer experiences, leveraging data with the right customer relations management tool, email marketing and so much more. Adding traditional marketing radio, magazines, telemarketing, postcards, newsletters, flyers etc. are also great ways to generate leads. With limited time and resources, we can never do it all. The challenge is finding where to gain momentum by building consistency, adding value and filling a need.

Prioritizing goals is crucial when planning your marketing strategy. The best way to think of your marketing plan is to consider the one thing that will ensure your business success. Having a master blueprint with year-to-year planning and outlined deliverables that are focused on your business goals is the way to avoid a gun shot approach that has not been thoroughly evaluated.

One of the main reasons that businesses fail is not having adequate planning. Therefore, having a strategic perspective on planning is a step in the right direction and provides the best chance for victory. The process of failing is not only a matter of going out of business, but it also entails missed opportunities, struggling to meet budgets and operating in the red. To avoid this, adopt the 6 fold holy grail of marketing into your business .

Create a marketing strategy with goals and objectives
Select different types of marketing (test and evaluate quarterly)
Align marketing actions with business goals
Consider discounts with your marketing campaigns to help bring in new customers
Set timelines and benchmarks
Develop an evaluation process

To stay on track, setting desired outcomes is key to measuring your return on investment (ROI). One basic truth about business is the need to have “profitable customers”. We mentioned, “ how” you get to your target customers earlier as being an essential piece of your marketing plan. This step should take into consideration the competitive landscape that your business operates in. If your competitors dominate a specific marketing segment, you should take another marketing approach and do something that will make your business standout.

Questions to get you started with your marketing plan

What is your annual marketing budget?
What is your primary product/service?
Who are your target customers’?
Where do your target customers’ live?
Who are your best target customers’ and why?
What is your target customers’ income?
What is your target customers’ education?
How often will your target customers’ buy your products/service?
What is your referral business strategy?
What differentiates your business from your competitors?
What is your business value proposition?
Who are your top 5 competitors in your region?
What is your SWOT Analysis? S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities and T hreats

Action

By building a marketing plan you are making an essential investment in your business that will lead you to a leading position in your market. Before you can become a market leader you must first, fully understand the market, your position and the position of your competitors. By outlining a SWOT analysis, (SWOT) S trengths, W eaknesses, O pportunities and T hreats your business better understands the competition. This strategic approach will be advantageous in your overall project planning.

Trending Marketing Vehicles

Influencer Marketing
Digital /SEO/Content
Advertising – FB, Instagram, PPC,
Public Relations/Press Releases/Media
User friendly website
Direct Mail/postcards/flyers
Event Marketing
Email Marketing
Social Media Marketing
Memberships/Networking

The strategy that is better for your business will depend on the size of your marketing budget and the frequency of your marketing actions. With a marketing plan in place you can save time and money by managing your marketing strategically. Remember that marketing on multiple channels with no established benchmarks is not recommended . Ready to take your business to the next level ?

The post The Right Marketing To Increase Your Sales in 2019 appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

2019 Marketing Growth Tactics

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 13:52:00 GMT

You started 2019 with the right attitude, having amazing intentions and goals to grow your business. My hope is that you are on track and having much success. Cheers to you! If you are on the opposite side of this excitement and struggling to consider where you should focus your marketing efforts to effectively grow your business, here are a few growth tactics to get you going. A deeper dive into your target audience, will lead you to a common and very effective practice of creating customer personas. Customer Personas are created to represent a specific person and is aimed directly to get their attention. Think of this strategy as a bulls eye approach to focus on your mark. By creating complete profiles of your target customers you will have an outline of their specific needs, values and expectations. This step will prepare you to craft messaging that speaks directly to your target audience. Although targeted messaging has a smaller reach, it produces better results than mass marketing, because it is designed around specific needs and preferences which ultimately brings more value to your target audience.

Remember, every aspect of your marketing should clearly define the destination you seek and the actions you wish your customers and prospects to take. Monitor the flow of the actions outlined above and make the necessary changes as needed to ensure you stay on track. To see success over the next few months and continue your business growth for 2019, focus on the below marketing growth tactics.

Consider the following:

How do my marketing tactics align with my business goals?
What are the objectives of my marketing tactics?
How do my marketing efforts support one another?
What are the key indicators of success?

Customer Persona Questions

What is your customer’s gender and age?
What level of education does your customer have?
What is the income level of your customer?
What type of persona/lifestyle does your customer lead?
What other brands is your customer loyalty to?

Think deeply about your marketing efforts and remember to align your branding across all channels including your website landing pages, social media channels , email marketing, etc. To learn more about how customer persona’s and growth marketing tactics can support your business growth, Marketing 4 Results is happy to help contact us today .

The post 2019 Marketing Growth Tactics appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Marketing 4 Real Results Joins The Constant Contact Partner Program

Mon, 28 Jan 2019 13:47:00 GMT

Sherman Oaks, CA – Marketing 4 Real Results, (M4RR) announced today it has joined the Constant Contact Partner Program as a Solution Provider Partner. Marketing 4 Real Results will now be able to provide its clients access to Constant Contact’s all-in-one online marketing platform and additional marketing services to help them reach current customers and find new ones in all the places that matter: email , social , mobile, and web.

Marketing 4 Real Results was started by CEO and Senior Consultant Nia Pearson who has for the past 15 years been a trusted marketing advisor to hundreds of small – mid size organizations. Her passion for business and love for marketing and building relationships has been demonstrated successfully throughout her career. The expansion of the relationship with Constant Contact is another demonstration of her leadership capabilities.

Marketing 4 Real Results will now use Constant Contact, which simplifies small business marketing by bringing together all of the online marketing tools, including email, social, survey, and event registration, as well as contact management and reporting, in one convenient place. Constant Contact is packaged in a way that makes it easy for Solution Providers to match the right campaign type to client needs, expand the scope of services, and grow their businesses.

About Marketing 4 Real Results

Marketing 4 Real Results is a customer-centric, results oriented marketing consulting agency that specializes in providing strategic marketing solutions to small to mid-size companies. M4RR is focused on meeting the unique needs of companies by developing integrated marketing campaigns that create a sound and compelling foundation for success. Tactical. Measurable. Results.

About Constant Contact

Constant Contact, an Endurance International Group company and a leader in email marketing for more than 20 years, offers an easy-to-use platform that helps small businesses create professional campaigns that can help increase customers and revenue. From advanced automation features to industry-leading integrations, to personalized coaching, Constant Contact is the trusted marketing partner of hundreds of thousands of growth-minded small businesses around the world. For more information, visit: www.constantcontact.com .

About Endurance International Group

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:EIGI) helps millions of small businesses worldwide with products and technology to enhance their online web presence, email marketing, business solutions, and more. The Endurance family of brands includes: Constant Contact, Bluehost, HostGator, Domain.com and SiteBuilder, among others. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Endurance employs over 3,700 people across the United States, Brazil, India and the Netherlands. For more information, visit: www.endurance.com .

Endurance International Group and the compass logo are trademarks of The Endurance International Group, Inc. Constant Contact, the Constant Contact logo and other brand names of Endurance International Group are trademarks of The Endurance International Group, Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Media Contact:

niap@m4rr.com

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Content Marketing Could Be Your Best Investment

Thu, 02 Aug 2018 13:45:00 GMT

In business we are always seeking ways to win market share and stay relevant. When considering marketing strategies and tactics that will lead to new customers and drive business growth, content marketing has taken a leading position. The long-term strategy of using content to build stronger relationships with a target audience has gradually improved over the years. Consider that 70% of customers would rather learn about a company through an article over any kind of advertisement. This requires us to be more creative and get personal with the content we share to stay ahead of our competition and top of mind to customers and prospects.

The best way to begin the process is to start with a strategic planning session that outlines a list of target prospects and customers and a list of features and benefits that will resonate with both. Second, we prepare content to educate potential customers about products and services are an effective way that will influence them without using a direct selling method. Third is to focus on content marketing that encompasses four primary business goals.

Maximize ROI
Build brand awareness
Obtaining new customers
Retain current customers

By attracting and retaining customers with compelling content your brand will drive profitable customer actions. To ensure your content endeavors help your brand meet marketing and business goals take a look at the below list of best practices to help you get the most from your content marketing efforts.

Best Practice

Effective marketing happens when your content connects to the right target audience. Well-written content (marketing efforts) will support online marketing activities including SEO, social media marketing and e-Commerce sales. The better your content is branded the more engagement you will have which leads to new opportunities to win new customers.

Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing constantly update their algorithms, which are used to crawl the web and improve the quality of organic search engine results (SEO) in order to create the best experience for the end user. By posting high quality and relevant content you can increase business results by improving SEO . Your creative content can also fuel social media marketing copy, back links, and hyper links all having the ability to get you new customers.

If someone is searching online for a product or service that you have optimized in your content strategy around a “key word or phrase” and your business has established a high authority online for this search term, your business will land on the first page of the search engine results.

Once you get your content marketing strategy rolling your target audience will want you to deliver valuable, relevant, and consistent content often.

Valuable –Prospect should walk away feeling like they’ve learned something.
Relevant – Your content must address consumers’ wants, needs, and interests.
Consistent – Effective content, delivered over a period of time.

Want to learn how to drive sales with content? Schedule a call with our team .

The post Content Marketing Could Be Your Best Investment appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Does Your Business Need A Marketing Plan?

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 13:42:00 GMT

As we embark on our entrepreneurial endeavors, the visions we have are generally positive. We never imagine the misfortune or bad days that make us want to give up. To help guide the track for success, business planning is important. A marketing plan is the component of the business plan that may get overlooked. Since there are so many moving parts and so many ways to succeed, the way to know for sure the action items that will make the best impact on your business is to have a detailed layout of your marketing strategy.

There will be opportunities that you may not have considered. There will also be competitors that you weren’t aware existed. A few examples of advantages and pitfalls should have intrigued you to want to dive deeper. If not, here is another scenario that might help push you further. Imagine that you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to discover a new innovative widget and at the time you started your venture there were no pending patents, the name was available, and all your friends and family supported your plans. Then 6 months into the great success of your business there is a breaking news announcement that the government has banned the use of the products ingredients. What is one to do?

You have millions in inventory and you already exceed your annual sales for the next two years on. A few more pros and cons are,: a new target audience, service not initially considered, pricing advantages, and a larger competitive landscape that you initially considered. All these areas can cause misplacement of profitability which would impact the success of your business.

Marketing for a small business owner can be overwhelming and result in taking a gunshot approach to market your business. This is not the way to meet your business goals. You may have even tried one or two things inconsistently and been frustrated by the results. The most important factor to remember about marketing is that consistency is key and that is what a marketing plan offers. Without a marketing plan aligned with your business goals, you may not get the results you want.

A marketing plan has a sole purpose to outline the steps needed to maintain your brand’s message consistently, and help you to stay on track. There are so many types of marketing strategies and tactics you can use to bring new customers to your business and grow your brand. Identifying the right marketing by customizing your marketing plan by analyzing different customer segments based on cultural differences including tastes, expectations, beliefs, world views, and specific needs.

Once you have a marketing plan in place, updating your marketing plan periodically to ensure you maintain momentum in your marketing goals is also important. Having a marketing plan in place is the blue print for all your marketing efforts and has the ability to help you build and maintain success that can take your business to the next level.

Establishing your businesses goals, determining how much time and budget you have and creating a marketing plan to meet those goals should be on your list. To get you started take a look at the below questions and the option that best describes your current state.

Are you operating a New Business?

If you are a young company that is getting started, you will need to determine how much budget and time you can put into your marketing.

Option A: I have significant time, but no budget.

Option B: I have some time and some budget.

Option C: I have significant time and budget.

Are you operating a Business without a Marketing Plan?

If you are an established business, you need to determine what marketing goals are realistic for your business.

Option A: I’d like to get started with marketing.

Option B: I want to supplement my steady growth with additional marketing.

Option C: I’m ready to grow aggressively through marketing.

What “Option” above best matches your current situation? Contact us today for a FREE marketing template today.

The post Does Your Business Need A Marketing Plan? appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How User-Generated Content Can Boost Sales

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 13:40:00 GMT

Nowadays, consumers are uncompromisingly flooded with different ads, promotions, and in simple terms, “noise”. When it comes to branding, telling stories is the best way to sustain your target audiences’ attention. However, the story has to be authentic. At Marketing 4 Real Results , we advise our clients not to just throw together a bunch of nonsense and pass it on to prospects/customers. Your target customers must be at the focal point of the conversation to make this exchange impactful and potentially result in a trending conversation.

According to a recent study by Demand Metric, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates approximately three times the volume of leads. Using content is not merely statistic, but actually an active and effective approach to engage target audiences . UGC, which stands for User-Generated Content, is material that a customer creates or posts, which a company can then use to display its services or products. If we take into consideration one of the most effective forms of generating new business, getting a referral or word of mouth marketing, this proves the point of relevance to UGC.

If you are still wondering if this concept is effective, I’m sure you have seen this very process in play many times. A great example of this is “a person gets the perfect masterfully crafted haircut and they are super excited about it. One of the first things they will do is post a picture or selfie on their social media channels with a comment expressing their enthusiasm. Their Instagram page will begin to flood with favorable comments from followers, friends and family about their opinion of the new haircut. The Hair Salon can repost this photo, (with permission from the original poster) to their Instagram business Page and the story can begin to take on a new life. Social media has allowed brands to sustain conversations with influencers of all types to share authentic, love for brands.

Today, we see more and more companies using this process to their advantage, as they should, to capitalize on a testimonial that has the potential to drive new business. A happy customer experience is what drives continued business growth, regardless of your product or service. Many brands have evaluated this and determined there is no better way to tell its story other than from the eyes of real consumers.

According to TINT, marketing research company in a recent study titled The 2018 User Generated Content Marketing Report , there are three key benefits to UGC: humanizing marketing, boosting social media metrics, and supporting marketing campaigns.

In addition to the high capacity of engagement and the overall boost that UGC can bring to brands, the ROI is fantastic. The most substantial benefit associated with user-generated content is the cost, which is FREE. There are many ways to continue to capitalize on this genuine content and build loyalty by extending this engagement to a contest. A contest can provide a longer lasting impression on your primary customer for starting this trend and encourage followers to share in the fun. Turning as many customers into brand advocates is a great recipe for growth. Aligning your strategy of UGC with an integrated marketing plan can spearhead a lifetime of very successful marketing campaigns. Having this paramount of success can take your brand to the next level and that is what you are in business to accomplish. Correct?

Learn more about how your brand can have user-generated content to grow your business by contacting us today .

Eric Biglari – Contributor

The post How User-Generated Content Can Boost Sales appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How To Create A Successful Email Marketing Strategy?

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 13:37:00 GMT

Email marketing is a highly effective digital marketing strategy of sending emails to prospects and customers. The goal of this effort is to convert prospects into customers and turn one-time buyers into brand ambassadors .

To effectively maximize this strategy, continually growing your email list is a high priority. Segmenting email list to provide more relevant content to email recipients can improve performance significantly. Although segmentation requires additional time to customize each segmented email list allow you to send targeted emails to a specific audience. Improvements on segmented email list can bring higher open and click rates, happier prospects and customers and ultimately more sales. See the below sample list of segments.

Geography
Age
Gender
Education level
Past purchase
Buying frequency
Interest level

To take the next step to dominate your email marketing strategy you should focus on delivering timely and consistent content that is relevant and engaging. Email marketing should be no different than any other marketing tactics in search of top-performing results. Since marketers are always in discovery for the best and most effective ways to engage audiences; email marketing compliments other marketing initiatives well.

Consider consistently sending special offers, reminders and expert advice to stay in the good graces of your audience. Sending the right messages at the right time, will lead to more conversions.

Image this, an annual marketing meeting where the results of email marketing performance over the past 12 months had taken the lead over outbound sales calls, social media, direct mail and google ad/ppc campaigns. This is common in most industries and for many reasons, including the fact that emails can be directly tied into e-commerce sales, social media marketing and digital ad campaigns. Regardless of your audience email marketing is a go-to channel for marketers. To grow your business, engage your audience and deliver a positive return on investment , adding an email marketing strategy is a smart move.

Email-marketing strategies should be considered a way to stay in touch with your targeted customer base by offering something in exchange for their attention. Staying relevant with consideration to the influx of emails we receive daily can be a challenge, so having a well defined strategy is the best way to stay off the unsubscribe list. As with all marketing we are constantly sending prospects and customers direct messages that align with business goals. Having the right measureable action items in place to evaluate performance with frequent reporting will allow you to shift gears when needed and email marketing provides that flexibility.

Overall, our email marketing should an objective and purpose for each subject sent with a desired action conveyed to the end user. What do you want them to get from your message, tell them and they will know. If you want to sell more widgets you have to speak the language that will evoke that action and assign metrics to that action with a deadline. For example: Buy one-get-one free widget TODAY only. BUY IT NOW HERE. This is an action message gives the audience the “ why “ and that is because we want you to buy more widgets. If the question cannot be answered, no action will be taken and this is considered an informational email .

Did you know?

Email is the most widely used channel with 2.6 billion unique users worldwide.

Email marketing is no different from any other marketing tactic in that to continue efforts success should be attained. Setting goals and measureable action items will help to check metric of key performance drivers . Metrics vary from company to company and all should be analyzed frequently. Each email campaign has a new story to tell of why prospects should continue to follow your your brand.

Effective Email Marketing Tactic

Simple thank you emails can improve engagement rates with prospects and customers. GoDaddy does this very well. After every contact an email follow-up is sent with an incentive offer and request to comment about the experience. This focus on customer experiences is a proven strategy to increase brand loyalty.

Questions To Ask Before Getting Started

What goals do you have for this channel?
What messages does your brand want to consistently delivery?
What actions will align most with your value proposition and company goals?

Consider email marketing if you want to add another touch point with your targeted audience . This does not require a complicated initiative with a huge marketing budget that will take months to get signed off from leadership. Step by step you can accomplish success in your email marketing strategy to make this channel one of your top performing marketing mediums.

Next Step

Strategy:

Personalize your message to build trust
Use subject lines with 70 characters or more – engage readers better
Segment Subscribers List – Speak to a direct need
A/B Test: Copy, Text color, design, buttons, times and call to action
Mobile Responsive Design
Delivery time – 8:00 p.m. to midnight will return the best open rates. Competition is lower and people are less busy during the evening hours

Metrics To Track:

Conversions
Click through rates
List growth
Unsubscribes

Focus on developing effective email marketing campaigns that yield growth to your overall business strategy and innovation. Need help? Contact Marketing 4 Real Results for a FREE consultation.

The post How To Create A Successful Email Marketing Strategy? appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How To Succeed in Event Management

Sun, 17 Jun 2018 13:35:00 GMT

The preparation and organization that goes into planning an event can be daunting whether it is business or personal. There is usually so much on the line that the pressure of attending the event can be overwhelming to many people. The thought of whether or not you will get new business clients or make new friends or if the event will be successful is what most people consider. Working with an event management company can be worth the financial investment to ensure someone else will carry the burden for you.

One of the most exciting aspects of managing event is the opportunity to create and execute an unknown event from start to finish and seeing the happiness in clients during and after events. Event management involves creating and developing experiences that will be a staple highlight for all attendees. From conferences, conventions, trade shows, anniversary parties, birthday celebrations to customer and employee appreciation events we love them all.

The process of event management involves identifying the target audience , formulating the event concept, planning the overall logistics of the event and conducting a project management flow for each event. The factors that can have the biggest impact on the event is managing the teams of people responsible for each function, the budget, and overseeing the execution of the event.

As a leading event management company, Marketing 4 Real Results, (M4RR) will help you achieve your goal, manage your logistics and make your event a huge success. At Marketing 4 Real Results we aspire to bring your guests together in a unique and significant way, make them feel extra special during the event and leave with a lasting impression. For the last decade our team has managed events for well-recognized brands in the industries of retail, construction, technology, real estate, and distribution. We have spent time managing small and large-scale events from business retreats to anniversary celebrations for a charitable organization, celebrity events and conferences. Creating memorable experiences with fancy amenities and nice gifts is what we like to do.

We take great pride in creating warm and inviting environments that ensure your guest have an amazing time. Tell us your event goals and we will deliver a plan that wows you. No matter what your vision, or where your business takes you, we’ll help you inspire your audience and build long-lasting relationships through effective events and meetings.

Based in the Los Angeles area, we have learned to pay attention to details, and will be dedicated to creating a successful event for you. We make personal connections with our clients and guests and look forward to serving all your event management needs.

The post How To Succeed in Event Management appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Content Marketing Strategy Tips

Mon, 08 Jan 2018 13:18:00 GMT

With so many channels available to promote products and services in an effort to drive traffic, brands must choose where and when to focus marketing resources. The enormous amount of choices available presents a requirement for brands to target properly. Since marketing efforts can bring great potential to fundamentally shift the way people see our brands, we must understand and leverage ONLY value add channels.

After your marketing strategy has been outlined and matched with clearly defined business goals, deciding how to increase market share above competitors is the next step. The decision process to determine the best marketing tactics to employ should encompass four very important business goals. Keep in mind the end goal for all small business marketing idea and content is to make a difference.

1) Build brand awareness

2) Maximize ROI

3) Obtaining new customers

4) Retain current customers

All aspects of your marketing strategy including content marketing should also include tractable metrics. This measurable activity will provide detailed measurement of all marketing metrics relevant to your brand including: success and adjustments needed for each campaign. Each metric can be measured across several content channels, such as websites, blogs, or social media.

Metrics To Consider:

Consumption metrics – email opens and clicks, page views, average time on page, downloads.

Sharing metrics – social shares and likes

Lead metrics – new leads, funnel conversion

Sales metrics – new business

Additional factors to consider that are very important to having a strategic marketing strategy that will increase profits is to clearly define your target audiences with customer profiles. By doing this are able to identify and understand their needs and ways to align your product or service.

Additional Factors:

1) Demographics – Age, Gender, Location, Income Level, Education Level, Marital/Family Status and Occupation.

2) Keywords and Key phrases – industry terms, common language.

3) Interests – What are the likes and dislikes of your target audience? What hobbies does your target audience have? Where does your target market spend time online and offline? Â What motivates your target audience to making a purchase decision?

One heavily discussed marketing median currently is content marketing and for great reason. This very important strategic approach to marketing should be included in all marketing plans today. Having success in content marketing will require the creation of relevant and compelling stories that provide value to targeted customers. Â Gaining the attention of prospects is no easy task and with so many brands fighting to get more customers, every action counts.

Content marketing should be viewed as a paramount modern marketing strategy that offers creative ways to stay top of mind. This powerful approach to promote a business is the new normal. If you reflect on your personal favorite brands there is a story about that brand that resonates in your mind and probes you when you are making purchasing decisions. That same action is what we are seeking with content marketing . By attracting and retaining customers with compelling content your brand will drive profitable customer actions. And, to ensure your content endeavors help your brand meet the marketing goals outlined in your strategy below is a list of best practices to help you get the most of your content marketing efforts.

Best Practice:

Effective content marketing happens when consistent content connects the brand and the audience. The better the branded content the more engagement you will see. It is very important to understand that well-written content marketing efforts supports online marketing activities including SEO , social media marketing and e-Commerce sales. Creative content can fuel social media marketing copy, visuals and links.

According to Hubspot, 72% of marketers say relevant content creation is the most effective SEO tactic.

According to Social Media Examiner, 58% of marketers said original written content is the most important type of content, outdoing visuals and videos.

According to AdWeek, 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big purchases.

Content Strategy To Consider:

Marketing Medium
Total Marketing Budget

The impact of your content marketing strategy can dramatically increase your e-commerce business sales. As your brand builds trust online you will see an influx in website traffic as well as an increase in your online authority and Google search engine ranking. During this time you will have gained your audience’s attention and the best way to sustain your value is to continue to add value with well-written and visually appealing content.

The post Content Marketing Strategy Tips appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

How Important Is Social Media?

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 12:10:00 GMT

Before we consider all the benefits of social media we must invite the over arching “ marketing ” and “ business success ” to the party. As entrepreneurs we know marketing is one of the best ways to build brand awareness and increase sales. To spread the word about our brands product or service, social media is an effective platform to accomplish this objective. Social media is also easy to set up, and has audience tools built it to launch a campaign victoriously. The insights available from social media can improve the below analytics:

Measure key customer service metrics.
Measure engagement, content and trends.
Learn about followers from interests to influence.
Understand visitor demographics, geography and activity.

Marketing Connection:

The most effective marketing tactics to help you leap ahead of your competition will vary by industry. Having a clear plan and segmenting one or several “niche” markets will provide a direct path. Compared to some other marketing strategies such as direct marketing, event marketing, email marketing, promotional marketing, mobile marketing and many others, social media marketing is a cheap but effective way to market your business.

Business Connection:

To ensure campaign success, targeted marketing efforts that are aligned with sales objectives are the best and most effective approach. Social media has the ability to increase sales and improve customer retention through quick two-way dialogue.

Benefits:

Customer Service :

Improved customer service happens when your team:
Responds quickly to questions.
Learn quickly about customer sentiment to new products.

Content Marketing :

Evaluate how effective content is on each channel with:
Targeted ads.
Top segmenting options are location, gender and age.

Search Engine Marketing:

Shares and retweets can increase search engine ranking . Cost: The metric cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is better with social media than traditional media. Social Media Marketing is a cost effective marketing median that is on 24/7.

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Marketing Tips To Effectively Increase Revenue

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 12:06:00 GMT

Marketing has evolved over the last several years so developing a successful marketing strategy will require a comprehensive roadmap in 2017. With a plethora of marketing strategies and channels to choose from the selection process is daunting. It’s crucial to evaluate marketing as a primary component for when, where, why and how your company competes vis-à-vis promotes a successful campaign. To accomplish this your marketing team needs to understand consumer buying trends and that a marketing strategy is crucial work to increase market share effectively. An assessment of your marketing campaign along with “ performance-based marketing ” will invariably ensure continued business success in the New Year.

Asking questions such as: what are the reasons behind a particular activity, how each program performs, and analyzing results will enable a clear insight, direction and budget allocation. Attaching metrics to your campaigns will measure the worthiness of specific campaigns and will determine the course correction, necessary to optimize your marketing resources for successful growth in the upcoming year.

As business sales continue to expand on the Internet, savvy marketers should further exploits the various social media tools and marketing trends. Most marketing models are not a “one size fits all” strategy and your 2017 corporate budget should include a comprehensive marketing plan : opt-in email blasts, social media, mobile marketing and videos to build a loyal audience. The first step is to align marketing strategy and allocate marketing resources to drive business goals. All businesses have limited financial resources and your marketing budget should maximize ROI and your team’s direction. The performance and effectiveness of your marketing efforts should include revenue-generating activities and clearly defined objectives.

A performance based marketing campaign includes common business objectives of “customer retention’ and “customer acquisition.” Performance based advertising tactics are measured by the following results impacting your bottom line.

CPM : cost per thousand views (how often the ad is displayed to a user)
CPC or PPC : cost per click (Prospect clicks on your ads)
CPL : cost per lead (when prospect fill out your form)
CPA : cost per action (Prospect makes a purchase)

Your Marketing efforts should focus on delivering results . The best way to accomplish this is by aligning business goals to marketing actions. Successful marketing campaigns happen with integrated strategy and adequate business planning. Marketing 4 Real Results is your source for all things marketing. With 15+ years experiences in B2B and B2B marketing, we know what marketing strategies work and we partner with the industries best to ensure success for our clients. Contact us to schedule a FREE Consultation .

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Email Marketing For Small Business

Tue, 10 May 2016 12:03:00 GMT

Updated February 2024

Are you contemplating the value of an email marketing campaign? Before making a leap align your entire company with a marketing strategy. In a perfect world having effective campaigns and initiatives are ideal. The process of seeking alignment is simple, yet many companies operate with a back of a napkin plan.

The current evolving marketing space of digital, copy, social media and automation allows marketing without planning. The disadvantage of this knee jerk practice is limited resources and operation inefficiency in respect to your marketing budget. This method delivers lackluster return on investment and creates a company culture that is reactive to the marketplace.

Before your marketing team embarks on a new email marketing campaign it’s important to start by outlining objectives for your email marketing in your marketing plan.

Are you looking to increase brand awareness?
Introduce a new service or product?
Promote events?

Beginning with the end in mind will help to create a flowing synergy that yields success. Once you have outlined your goals and objectives you can target your audience to build better brand awareness.

According to HubSpot 77% of consumers prefer email for marketing communications with brands.

More than 67% of consumers use a smartphone to check their emails. When considering rather or not to include email marketing as a tactic in your overall marketing strategy. Consider this. When was the last time you either sent or read an email? Not using email marketing to stay in touch with your prospects and customers is a missed opportunity.

Getting Started

Set goals and timelines for all campaigns. All successful marketing campaigns, having a starting point which improves success rates. Asking yourself when to send, frequency and message (s) and continually test. Determining relevant content, and how often to send is derived over time by evaluating the engagement of each email campaign. If you start your campaign and begin to see a massive number of unsubscribes change something and retest. This information will vary by industry.
When deciding on content remember to deliver timely and relevant information to your audience to maximize campaign effectiveness . This process requires testing and modifying by your marketing department.

Top 2 key metrics to consider:

Clickthrough Rate (CTR)
Conversion Rate (CR)

If you are sending relevant information to your targeted audience/s email marketing will help you to build trust, improve business results and strengthen your relationship with your audiences.

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Why A Customer Service and Marketing Duo Is Essential To Your Business?

Sat, 14 Nov 2015 11:54:00 GMT

The road to achieving successful business results has one constant and that is customers. Without customers, a business has no future. The invaluable lesson that we all learn to get what we want can be best represented by the coined phrase “you get more bees with honey”.

Building a competitive advantage in business can be done by effectively interacting with customers on a personal level . Mass customization and personalization can create compelling stories and thus brand ambassadors are born with a higher perceived value factor. My personal favorite customer service experience happens during a restaurant visit when the chef, owner or manager walks to my table and personally thanks me for my business. As a marketer I am perplexed that more restaurants don’t exhibit this behavior considering the astounding 90 percent of restaurants that fail in the first year.

Failing to effectively engage customers by evaluating customer preferences and developing customer-centric business models can bring the unfortunate demise to the growth potential and future of your business.

In today’s competitive environment customer service and marketing should work more closely together for the better good of the company. With consumers turning to social media as a primary source for research the data required for marketing to make decisions can be found in the customer service database of failures and success stories.

To accomplish remarkable results with this duo develop an atmosphere that fosters objective listening and the autonomy to be creative and problem solve. Two great objectives to get your team started is by asking customers what they want and delivering results and listening to customer challenges and fix them . Allowing your team to explore a customer-centric marketing process will drive positive growth for your company.

The post Why A Customer Service and Marketing Duo Is Essential To Your Business? appeared first on Marketing 4 Real Results .

Top 3 Reasons Marketing Is Important For Your Business

Sat, 14 Nov 2015 11:47:00 GMT

1. To build a successful business your number one priority should be to understand who your target audience is. While considering this, also think about how you would like your brand perceived in the marketplace. The terms effective targeting and brand identity are paramount to your business and is the answer to “why” customers will buy from your business and not your competitors. Consistency in messaging from your brand to your target customers will build your brands equity and sustain your business growth and is one of the reasons marketing matters.

Since customers pay the bills, providing an adequate amount of time to send the right message at the right time in the right context to the right prospect, sales and more sales will be the result.

Many companies have great products or services but lose sight that innovation can be discretionary without effective and appropriate targeting. To continually evolve your brand with profitable sales you must have the right product mix. After you have identified your target audience and your brands identity, the next step is to learn how to attract customers to your business. Thirdly is how to keep customers buying from you. The simple way to support this process is to put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customers. How often will they buy from you? What will they buy from you? When will they buy from you? Why will they buy from you? The answers to these questions will put you in the right direction to plan for the growth of your business.

2. Once you have identified the above principles the next step would be to complete a comprehensive marketing plan. The targeted customer information is the start and the specific marketing strategies, competitive landscape and SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) will be the finish. Perspective hurdles that could possibly impede the success of your business should be discovered during the marketing plan development process.

3. Strategic planning is an instrumental component of your business process and should not be overlooked. The benefits of this planning process will be to streamline business efficiency, improve cohesiveness and minimize risk. By having a realistic view of the potential your company has in the marketplace, you can avoid surprises. If you develop marketing objectives that are aligned with business goals and sales efforts you can continue to expand your business for many years. Remember that the right marketing plan should take into account your overall business plan objectives to avoid pitfalls.

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