December Special: Set-up Fees waived for all new clients!

‘Tis the season for giving and do we have a special offer for new clients! December Special:  Set-up Fees waived for all new clients throughout the month!*  That’s a savings of $100 – $200 on your first month!

We know many business owners are rethinking strategies for the new year, and we hope you’ll take advantage of this special offer so our services can start successfully working FOR your overall marketing strategy! Our prices are so competitive and our methods are proven, plus we provide a FREE consultation! Give us a call to get started: (888) 894-9233

Visit our Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/Wizbee and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/WizbeeMarketing for updates from the world of marketing via SEO, SMM, SMS and more!

*Valid for new clients only.  Valid 12/1/2011 through 12/31/2011.  Set up fees waived for Local and National SEO, Social Media Marketing service, Mobile Websites, and Text Message Marketing.  First month’s service fee still applies.  Additional fees may be necessary if service falls outside of above mentioned services or additional work is requested.  Ask a Wizbee speicalist for more details.

The 10 Customer Service Trends for 2010 | Small Business Trends

From the author of “BAM! Delivering Customer Service in a Self-Service World” we thought we’d share an excellent article on customer service trends for the coming year. Simply click the link below. Happy New Year and here’s wishing you great customer service success in 2010!

The 10 Customer Service Trends for 2010 | Small Business Trends.

Social Media 101: Website basics for the New Year

Because all of your social media activity starts – and ends – with your website, that’s the place we’ll start in Part II of our Social Media 101 series. Your website is the foundation of your social media program.

Assuming that you have a website (and, if you don’t you need to get one, fast!) there are several questions you should ask yourself right now:

1. What is your website’s primary function? Some websites – ecommerce sites – are set up to make sales through automation. Others exist to offer more information and drive sales via phone, email or walk-ins to the brick and mortar site. In order to measure how effectively your website is performing, you need to establish goals to measure against. For example, perhaps you want your ecommerce site to generate 10 sales per week. Or, your informational site to attract five phone calls or email inquiries per week or maybe to have 20 coupons downloaded. The numbers are up to you, but you need to set those goals.
2. How is your website performing? Now that you’ve set some measurable goals, how is your website standing up against them? If you’re not making enough ecommerce sales, is it your product or is it your marketing? If the phone isn’t ringing, is it what you’ve got to sell or the way you’re selling it? On an ecommerce site, you might change up your product mix – or even your pricing – and see if the outcome changes. Otherwise, it’s time to make sure it’s not your site.
3. Is your site user friendly? According to Dana Meek, a website designer with Wizbee.com business Mighty Creative, to design a user-friendly site, you need to think like your target customer. “Think about what they want to find most as well as what you want them to find. Figure that into your navigation bar so they see it right away.” One way to see what customers want most is to use analytics. If you manage your own site, you should be able to see what pages received the most views. If your site is managed elsewhere, ask your Webmaster for a monthly report or, sign up for free Google Analytics and you can get your own site reports. Dina Meek, a social media consultant with Mighty Creative says “ watch your reports for a few months to determine trends. Then, make any necessary changes to your navigation to capitalize on those trends and improve your overall results.”
4. Is your website visible? Search engines are always evolving and it’s important to keep up with what they look for in order to connect potential customers to your website. Some of the ways to make your site more visible to search engines include the use of keywords, title tags and links. If you manage your own website, you can handle these upgrades on your own; otherwise, you should schedule a meeting with your Webmaster to be sure that the keywords and tags that you used to build or last update your site are still relevant. In our next Social Media 101 article, we’ll talk about Search Engine Optimization, so stay tuned!

Five important things to do before you pop the cork

It’s that time of year when most businesses are thinking about the company Christmas party, sending out holiday greetings and taking a little time off to spend with the family. But for business owners – particularly if you are on a calendar fiscal year – there are a few other items you need to pay attention to before you bid farewell to 2009.

1. Call your accountant – If you’re lucky and have had a good year, he may instruct you to make purchases, like upgrading technologies, or to make charitable donations so you’re not left with too much taxable cash. It certainly makes sense just to check in to see if there are any financial loose ends that need shoring up. This is also a great time to make an appointment with your financial advisor for January to review insurance policies, retirement funds, etc.

1. Analyze vendor contracts – Small business guru Ty Freyvogel suggests you review your contracts and ask important questions such as. Are we getting optimum pricing based on how much business we’re doing together? Is the relationship mutually beneficial? Now’s the time to make either make necessary changes or thank the vendors your happy with.

1. Review your marketing plan – Ideally, you should have done this already, but if not give it a good once over now. What expenditures gave you the best return on investment? How can you incorporate social media, which is growing in popularity by leaps and bounds, into your overall strategy? In the rapidly evolving world of marketing, it doesn’t hurt to take one more look at your 2010 plan as this year draws to a close.

1. Talk to employees – The Associated Press reports that especially in difficult economic times it’s important to check in with workers. Let them know where you see the company headed in the coming year and pay attention to the feedback they give you; you may hear of issues you were unaware of that will help as you move forward into a new year.

1. Dust off the business plan – Again, it might be best to do this at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but it’s never too late to check the map. Your business plan is the most important document you have in terms of guiding your company to success. So at the very least, review the executive summary section and make sure you’re either still on course, or well positioned to change course if necessary in the coming year.