4 Steps to Bring Your Business Online Now

If you don’t have an on-line presence or if you are starting a brand new business then now is the time. We're living in a unique day and age, one where the future of businesses, especially brick and mortar businesses must be online.

There are millions of service providers who offer their skills locally worldwide, all of whom need to reinvent their business to the online world. This is especially true for independent service providers who rely on person-to-person connections. 

If you are one of them—whether a fitness instructor, a therapist, a teacher or any other type of independent service provider—then you should consider this 4-step checklist The Mullikin Agency has developed. These steps will help you develop ways to take your skills and share them with a new, virtual audience:

Create Your Brand Identity

You’ve already worked hard on creating an offline service, and possibly have repeat clientele, but moving from offline to online will require building a global brand and then getting that brand known and recognized. This is a must for all new businesses as well.

Start by developing a brand strategy, and then decide on a perfect logo for your brand, and follow up with a cohesive and consistent message, look and feel. Once you’ve created a recognizable brand, be sure that it stays consistent throughout all your different marketing assets.

Build Your Website

The first decision you need to make is whether you plan to create a site for the purpose of selling online services, or, a simple site to showcase who you are, this decision will determine what type of platform you use to build your site.  There are plenty of platforms to choose from, and The Mullikin Agency’s professionals can help you decide which solution is right for you. 

You might want to consider building a mobile app in addition to your site, so that your audience can easily consume your services across multiple platforms.  In addition, you’ll

need tools that enable your customers to book appointments make contact easily.

Create Great Website Content

Once your website is up and running, your next step is to create great website content that engages with your audience and provides them with value.

Your online business can't really take off without engaging website content and powerful design. Both aspects allow you to communicate your value proposition and when done successfully, convert leads into sales.

Here are some examples of compelling website content you will want to include:

-Email blasts and newsletters that encourage customers to schedule a video appointment

-Blog posts that provide daily tips or at-home exercises

-Social media posts or instructional videos that offer inspiration and insight

-An FAQ page that can help customers with general questions about your independent services. Maybe even a Video FAQ would work for you. Visit our site at www.Mullikinad.com for an example.

Our professional copywriters can elevate your website content and a talented graphic designer can customize your web and mobile design. If you have the right copy and design you'll be much more likely to see a spike in your conversion rates.

Remember, good copywriting not only communicates your product benefits, but it also has the ability to create a strong emotional connection with your customers. It's this connection that sets you apart from your competition

Don’t Forget About SEO

Selecting the right keywords for your website’s SEO can determine how it stands out in organic search results. Your content must match the keywords you want to rank high for.

When you’re selling a service, content is very important, and must include certain keywords that allow search engines to categorize your business under specific search results. You really should consider hiring a professional to create quality content. By doing so, you bolster your SEO strategy, while also building your overall brand and positioning yourself as a leader in your particular space.

From engaging blog posts to landing page copy and general copy attached to videos and images, you can use all of these areas to improve your SEO rankings, which ultimately leads to more customers.

Digitize and Advertise Your Service on-line

We know you are used to offering your service in person, one on one, but you must transition to driving people to your website to buy your products and services. Hiring a professional on-line advertising agency like The Mullikin Agency is the key to bringing new business to you and your website. 

Don’t forget to consider video conferencing. Zoom is a great choice and one we use here at The Mullikin Agency.

Video is king when it comes to marketing on-line so do all you can to repurpose existing videos  or create new ones. We can help with that too! We can help you write scripts, translate them to different languages, shoot, edit and record audio using professional voice talent. Hiring a professional like The Mullikin Agency will make your videos look their best! 

Promote Your New Online Service

Now that you’ve transitioned your service to an online business, it’s time to make sure it gets the right amount of promotion and attention.

If you’ve put in the work to create a unique, recognizable brand, and have invested in ensuring you have quality content that your audience will enjoy, it’s time to expand your audience outside of your existing network.

The Mullikin Agency can help you build a long term marketing strategy. Our public relations department can help you gain visibility in the media.

You’ll also need to make sure you build up your social presence through social media marketing. Just remember that you want all your content to be consistent. 

Since content is such a big part of building your brand, make sure you share it on social networks like YouTube.

The Mullikin Agency has all the relevant services you need in our one-stop-shop approach. We are here to help you make it happen!

Providing Great Customer Service During Good and Bad Times

From communicating openly to revising your marketing strategy, there are many things you can do to keep providing great customer service in times of crisis.

Recently, small businesses have been struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. During these unprecedented days, it’s important to be transparent and proactively communicate with your customers.

Have a plan and stay calm

Right from the beginning, it’s essential to establish a plan and stay calm. When you reach out to your customers, you want to sound confident and knowledgeable. Your customers need to hear that you have a handle on the situation and that your business is available to help them.

Avoid making hasty, impulsive decisions during this time. Make sure you consider all your options and be open to changing the plan as the situation evolves. You don’t want to lock yourself into a stance that later becomes irrelevant.

Be proactive about communicating with customers

When there’s a change in business as usual, your customers need to hear from you. So you should reach out to them as soon as possible and have a plan for following up.

When you contact your customers, look for ways to be empathetic and acknowledge how the situation is impacting them and their families. But make sure the information you’re communicating is accurate and relevant.

Don’t speculate about the facts and don’t set unrealistic expectations that your business won’t be able to meet. This will only hurt your business’s credibility in the long run.

Your current customers are your best bet for staying profitable in the months to come.urces and information to help you s challenging time. Read on for our complete coronavirus coverage.

Have a central point of communication

Don’t make your customers search for the information they need. Have a central reference point where they can find the answers they need. You can direct customers to a public page on your website where they can find all the information they need.

On this page, you can include the most current information you have about the situation. You can also address some of the most commonly asked questions about how your business is handling the situation.

It’s also a good idea to regularly share updates on any social media platforms where your customers are active.

Revise your current marketing strategy

Your business likely already had a marketing plan in place for the coming months. But in the midst of a crisis, that plan is no longer relevant.

Review all of your advertising, email marketing, social media posts, and any other planned marketing efforts. If you don’t do this, you risk sharing something that your customers might view as insensitive or inappropriate.

For instance, mass emailing your customers and encouraging them to try a new product or feature may not be well-received by some customers.

Continue to focus on the customers you already have

When problems occur, many businesses shift their focus to how they’ll find new business. And while new business is always helpful, don’t lose sight of the customers you already have.

Your current customers are your best bet for staying profitable in the months to come. Now is the time to focus on delivering excellent service and providing for your existing customers.

Share what your business is doing to help

During stressful situations, your customers want to be inspired and feel like things are improving. So share that your business cares about what’s going on, and show your customers what you’re doing to help improve the situation.

Create And Grow Your Email List

There is some truth to the phrase “The money’s in the list.” About three-fourths of business marketers believe that email marketing offers a very good or excellent ROI (return on investment). One study from Emarketer.com measured  ROI recently at 122% - outpacing other advertising options such as social media, direct mail, and paid search.

Setting up and implementing an effective email marketing program can seem intimidating if you’ve never done it before. To simplify things, keep in mind the general sequence of events:

     1.   Your brand offers something of value to prospects in exchange for their personal                        information (name, email address);

     2.   The prospect signs up using a form on your website;

     3.   Your email list software confirms their opt-in, then sends them a download link,  coupon          code, or whatever valuable inducement you offered to them back in step 1;

     4.   You periodically send targeted email messages to segments of your list (or your list as a            whole) to connect with them and encourage them to make a purchase (eventually).

Communicating effectively in marketing emails is a science and an art. Skilled professional copywriters at The Mullikin Agency who specialize in email marketing know best practices for email content. They know how much and where to personalize your messages and what call to action to use.

Use content to promote and grow your business!

Do you want more sales, new clients, or a better return on your investment?

Most businesses do. Your brand’s success is often tied to how persuasive your prospective clients and customers find the copy on your website, blogs, e-mails and collateral materials.

Well written content that you publish on your website and elsewhere is essential for your future business success. Turning casual site visitors into interested leads, and interested leads into paying customers, should be one of your goals.

And as many well-known brands will attest, valuable, authoritative content can be extremely effective. In fact, B2B brands that blog multiple times each month on a consistent basis enjoy almost three times the traffic of those that blog once a month or not at all.

Persuasive content that your prospects and customers find compelling and informative is both art and science. It takes time, talent, and practice to develop world-class persuasive copywriting skills.

In fact, most small business owners who focus on content as part of a strategic marketing plan find that they simply don’t have the time to create enough interesting and relevant content for their audiences. That’s where experienced professional content providers can help you like The Mullikin Agency.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can leverage the power of well-written content to improve your brand’s bottom line.

STEP 1: Create A Business Tagline

A good tagline may not be the first thing you think of when you begin creating marketing materials for your business, but it shouldn’t be an afterthought - or worse yet, ignored altogether. The right tagline helps create an easy reminder for your prospective clients or customers of your values, benefits, and experience.

A tagline is simply a catchphrase used to help sum up a brand’s mission or values, as well as the products and services that you offer. The best taglines are memorable, captivating, and powerfully associated with their respective brands.

Your brand’s tagline should convey a positive association and make your prospective customers want to do business with you and your brand. Yet a good tagline moves well beyond sales talk to “buy now.” The best taglines tell your users why they should buy your product or services.

Tips for Creating a Business Tagline:

     · Start with your USP (Unique Sales Proposition) or more broadly your UAP (Unique Advantage Point) - i.e. the thing that sets you apart from your competition. What do you do better than everyone else, and how? Try to see if you can keep it to around 12-15 words or so.

    · Clear and memorable are always better than clever and funny. By all means, infuse your tagline with your brand’s personality if you can, but don’t sacrifice clarity and persuasion in the process.

STEP 2: Create Valuable Content For Your Readers

A consistent stream of reliable, authoritative and interesting content published on your blog or website can convince prospects that may be on the fence, to make a decision and put their trust in your company. 

However, good content takes time to research, write, format, and publish. You also have a business to run, of course, so you can make one of two choices in regard to content creation, writing the content yourself or you might want to consider outsourcing the actual content writing to professionals like The Mullikin Agency.

If you’d rather do the writing yourself, you can save time and effort by outsourcing editing and proofreading services of your draft content. Even tiny errors can ding your reputation. Writers often become “word blind” to their own work, overlooking punctuation and typographical errors. A separate edit by a fresh pair of eyes will help you polish and perfect your content.

Or, if you’d prefer, you can quickly draft a one-page informative “creative brief,” explaining to a professional copywriter or editor exactly what sort of content you’re looking for and providing any style guidelines you’d like them to incorporate into your posts and articles. You can then outsource the writing of the content itself to a copywriter, who will use your brief to ensure the finished product meets your needs and expectations.

Insider Tips to Creating Valuable Content for Your Readers

    · Consider each stage of your buyer’s journey when planning your content. You should aim for a mix of content: informational content to introduce your brand to browsing visitors, more in-depth content to persuade visitors that your brand is trustworthy, and persuasive content to convince them to buy from you.

    · Be as specific as possible in communicating. Describe your targeted audience for the piece, where it will be published, what the goal of the piece is, and what you want your readers to do after they read the article (i.e. the call to action).

     · Think carefully about the length of your content. Some audiences prefer longer, more detailed posts, while others want quicker “Bite-sized” content that they can read and digest in a hurry. Above all, aim to make your audience happy.

STEP 3: Write About Your Service Or Products

While blog posts and similar kinds of content are usually aimed at educating the audience, other kinds of copy on your website should be written specifically to market your services and products.

The content on product pages, for example, must be persuasive, compelling, and descriptive, showing the product to its best advantage. That’s a completely different kind of writing than the educational or “how-to” blog post.

Sales copy also tends to be more static and longer-lived. Written descriptions and copy on product and service pages don’t typically get changed or updated frequently, so it deserves its own special focus. It’s generally more vivid, with a greater degree of descriptive content, and relies more heavily on the second-person -- i.e. “you,” instead of “we” or “they.”

For service providers, the principles are the same, although the execution might vary a bit. You won’t always have a physical product to describe, but you can still reach your prospective client by selling a result or process to them in a similar way.

Think of how you can describe what you do for your clients, not in terms of techniques or specific services, but in terms of what you can accomplish for them. That usually boils down to one or two benefits:

     · Helping them reach a deeply desired goal

     · Solving a problem or removing an obstacle

     · Saving them money, time, or both

Insider Tips for Writing About Your Service

    · Whether you’re starting from scratch or revising  or updating  copy, it’s helpful to start with a list of each individual service or product. You can then prioritize according to your specific revenue and sales goals, and sort into logical groupings or categories.

    · Consider the upsell. Whether you’re selling products or services, in many cases certain purchases seem to logically flow into others. For example, a consumer who wants to get fit might start out buying a book about running, but then decide to get some new workout gear as well. Figure these pairings out so you can connect the pages in some way on your website  with your written content.

These strategies can help any business leverage the power of digital marketing to meet their sales goals. Remember to infuse all your content with a consistent “personality” reflecting your brand’s voice, values, and mission. Always look to differentiate your business from the competition. Write for those who don’t know you as well, not yourself!