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Archives for April 2020

How To Become A Successful Bricks And Clicks Business

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brick-and-click ecommerce

A successful bricks-and-clicks business uses its online and offline stores in tandem, with each supporting the other in a single retail strategy. Here are some of the ways that can work.

Buy Online, Pick Up in Store

Online shopping can be convenient and exciting but often fails to satisfy a customer’s desire for instant gratification. While visiting a store fills this need, it usually comes with the hassle and inconvenience of physically searching for products and standing in lines. With online ordering and in-store pickup, customers don’t have to choose between convenience and instant gratification.

Better In-Store Browsing

Customers who are used to the selection offered by online shopping are often disappointed by the limitations of brick-and-mortar stores. Retailers with limited physical space can expand their selection by supplementing the in-store experience with tablets, and scannable QR codes.

Out Of Stock Dilemma

No one wants to waste a trip to the store for a sold-out product that the website says is in stock. To prevent overselling and customer dissatisfaction, bricks-and-clicks retailers need to keep their inventory up-to-date, and consistent across all stores, online and off.

Flexible Return and Exchange Policy

When it comes to customer returns, bricks-and-clicks stores have a huge advantage. When items purchased in a physical store can be returned online and vice versa, customers have the freedom to choose the most convenient option.

How To Select An eCommerce Platform

Stunning Showrooms

Many customers prefer to view products in all their glory, in realtime before they make a purchase. To engage these customers online, retailers
should recreate this experience on their site with digital showrooms and detailed product views.

Great Discounts & Convenience

Convenience and cost are the primary reasons consumers choose online shopping. Brick-and-mortar retailers looking to drive more business to their physical locations must offer promotions, coupons, and lower prices on a regular basis.

bricks and clicks business
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Winning Agent Pro Theme for Realtors

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winning agent pro theme

Want your own website so your agency can get found in online searches? Start by building your personal agent brand with the Winning Agent Pro Theme, a premium WordPress theme designed with both real estate professionals and their clients in mind.

Whether your aim is to write an agent blog, highlight your properties, build an email list, or go hyperlocal, this theme has you covered

The Winning Agent Pro Theme for the Genesis Framework provides a beautiful, mobile-friendly, real estate website. It’s ready to use, as is, but has multiple options so that you can customize it, and make it your own.

Consider this —

  1. In today’s world, 92%-96% of all home buyers and sellers start their searches online.
  2. The decision process for these prospective and informed clients is now 12-18 months long … much longer than in the old days when Cousin Fred referred you to a warm prospect.
  3. 70% of the above prospects work with the first person they have a conversation with online over those many months. A perfect opportunity for the digital savvy realtor.
  4. Result: Old School referral marketing is much less reliable and relevant these days, slowly heading to the dustbin for the realtor who needs to compete in the marketplace.

If you’re just getting started, follow these six simple steps:

  • First, create a stunning website with all of the functionality required for a realtor. And, yes, you need your own website even if your company has one with your profile.
  • Identify your target consumer, and build a marketing persona that consists of details on their unique needs, questions, and concerns.
  • Start creating shareable content that is readily available to potential clients (not just existing clients).
  • Promote your content by creating a business blog.
  • Add resources to your website and ramp up your social media presence.g that you’re the local expert. Create detailed community pages about your local neighborhoods and towns with a lot of keywords for local SEO.

    Learn more here  –   Why Real Estate Websites Need Community Pages

The Genesis Winning Agent Pro helps you connect with your clients in many ways, it offers:

  1. Enhanced visual presentation of your property listings and communities.
  2. Increased client interaction with Create an agent blog for your content marketing efforts.
  3. Interact more easily with blog posts and threaded comments.
  4. Go hyper-local with the built-in Community custom post type with its own layout templates and display widget.
  5. Build your client and email list using the custom-styled Genesis eNews Extended plugin.
  6. Link up your social profiles easily using stylized Social Icons
    Show your properties using the free real estate plugin or integrate with your IDX service.
  7. Includes several flexible widget areas, so you have more layout choices to achieve your desired results.
  8. Social sharing is also easy using the Genesis Simple Social Icon plugin or the plugin of your choice.
  9. Works seamlessly with popular contact form plugins free or paid.
  10. Add search for just your listings or use your own IDX service; theme can be used with most IDX services.

Need to learn more about building your own real estate WordPress site? Get in touch with Florida web designer Marcia Coffey at 561-906-3436 or contact her by email.

The COVID-19 Opportunity & How to Talk to Customers

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COVID-19 opportunity

Coronavirus: An opportunity to build customer trust, not to push sales

With COVID-19’s rapid spread, the bull market constantly bucking up and down, and the recent declaration of national emergency from the President, consumers are becoming increasingly anxious about the reality that is about to face them. The COVID-19 opportunity means building customer trust, not pushing sales, especially if you are an online retailer or an online community.

Panic buying is rampant, schools and universities are closing, and offices are asking workers to work from home.

Certainly, both online and offline businesses are feeling anxious as well. For some businesses, sales may be surging because of supply hoarding, until the bull-whip effect sets in and no supply remains on the shelves.

For other businesses, sales have dipped significantly as consumers guard their wallets and spend on essentials first, as they nervously watch the unpredictable market rise and fall.

So what’s a brand to do?

Over the next few weeks, things will more likely than not continue to get worse before they get better. While sales may be down for your business, there is still a huge opportunity to win with your customers by building their trust in your brand, especially if you are an online retailer with an email list or any business with an engaged online community.

7 Ways to Build Customer Trust During the Coronavirus Outbreak

1. Send an email to your list or a post to your online community with a statement on your business’s approach to coronavirus.

Sending a thoughtful email to your list outlining what your brand is doing in the wake of the coronavirus is a great way to build trust with your customers. You should avoid being promotional in this email. Its purpose should instead be to establish expectations for your base for any orders placed in the coming weeks and to quell any anxieties your customers may have about deliveries, supply chain, or your production process. Another best practice is to address your customer by name directly or to address your brand’s community as if in a formal letter and to end your message with a warm sign off from a member of your team. We love the email sent by DTC brand GEM below.

Dear GEM Family2. Keep customers updated on how you are handling any potentially unstable supply chains.

After your initial email to your base with your plan for handling supply and demand, keep your list updated if anything changes in your supply chain. If stock on a popular product runs out, try and give a reasonable estimate of when it will be available next. If you don’t know, be honest about that too, and recommend any alternative in-stock products to your customers. Put honesty and transparency above all else, and the consumer will trust that you are doing everything you can to resolve their issues. When you are honest and transparent, they will also understand when certain things are out of your control.

3. Give them your brand’s promise, whatever it may be.

If you refuse to price gouge even when demand is high in the market (see: toilet paper, hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes), let your customers know. If you foresee any issues with delivery, assure your customers that they will be fully refunded if the product does not arrive to them within a certain time window in the event of supply or delivery issues caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Finally, remind customers of any existing promises your brand has made in the past that you plan to stick to, like abiding by certain regulations, practicing a sustainable supply chain, giving back X% of proceeds to your chosen charity, etc. Just make sure the promise you make is a promise you can 100% keep.

4. Share with them what your business is doing to combat coronavirus.

If you feel comfortable doing so, share with your customers the practices and precautions your own brand is taking in order to care for your employees and their loved ones. It is an excellent “we’re all in this together” approach. If you have introduced a new work-from-home policy or guaranteed sick leave for employees, share with your customers that your brand is doing its part in containing the virus as well.

5. Assure them that they will be taken care of.

Customers want to know that they can rely on your brand. Remind them that they remain a top priority and that your brand will do everything they can to make sure orders are met. If supply or delivery circumstances change, have a plan to address customers that may not receive their order when expected, including refunding an order or providing store credit for future purchases.

6. Offer an outlet to voice any concerns they may have.

Along those lines, inform customers about how they can best reach a member of your team to voice any concerns or ask any questions. If you have multiple channels of outreach (phone, social media, email, etc.), let them know which channels will get their questions answered the fastest. Additionally, give them realistic expectations of wait time given the changing circumstances, as well as a promise that your team will get back to them as soon as they can.

7. Provide educational content to help them at this time.

Thanks to the coronavirus, the lives of many Americans will be changing drastically over the next few weeks to the next few months. No matter what business you are in, there are a number of ways you can address the coronavirus in a way that provides extra value to your audience and puts them more at ease.

Blog content is a powerful tool because it can be flexibly used both to nurture your existing audience and to draw a new audience to your brand. At a time when most consumers are not buying as much, you can focus on filling the top of your funnel with new email leads for your list by promoting gated content.

Need ideas for content, or content itself? We’ve got you covered.

Because the coronavirus on everyone’s minds today is a topic that any industry or brand can find a way to relate to. However, coming up with content ideas may be difficult. That’s why we’ve broken down some content ideas for you below!

We’ve listed a few examples below, but you can find a comprehensive list of 30+ content ideas for coronavirus communications here.

  • Content on reducing stress and mental health best practices
  • Ideas for staying connected even when practicing social distancing
  • At-home workout routines or tips for working at home
  • Positive round-ups of some more uplifting stories from the past week
  • Tips on keeping healthy & hydrated to ward off illness
  • Discover even more great ideas here.

Written by Celia Quillian for Matcha and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.

Need to update your website? Time to get started with an online business? Let’s work together! Contact Marcia, Florida WordPress Web Designer.  

COVID-19 Small Business Marketing Tips

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COVID-19 Small Business Marketing

It’s a scary time for small businesses during this COVID-19 pandemic.  Many businesses have closed, others have lost most of their customers. Most have been reduced to skeleton crews or a remote workforce.

Continue or Pause Your Marketing Campaigns?

With everyone in panic mode around COVID-19, many business owners are not sure whether to continue or pause their online marketing campaigns.

Businesses that should increase online marketing campaigns
If your customers can get your product or service online, you should keep at it. Some of these include online classes, financial related businesses, and more. Anything where your customers’ fulfillment is online

Other Opportunities Worth Knowing About

There may be opportunities that you don’t want to pass by.  Here are various tips to help you come out on top during this pandemic.

1. Enhance Your Digital Presence

Considering a website redesign or thinking about enhancing your website with new functionality? Have you been considering eCommerce? Now is the time to shift your focus to serving your customers online, instead of in the store.

Check out the new BigCommerce Free Trial for small business.

bigcommerce free trial

There are lots of ways to improve your digital presence, including introduction of new technology, such as:

2. Website Personalization

  • Headlines and hero images. For most site visitors, the homepage and other key landing pages are the first touchpoints they interact with.
  • Call-to-action
  • Customer testimonials and logos
  • Featured blog posts and other content

Now is the time to think about how to improve your digital footprint and provide your customers with a better user experience as they engage more with your company online.

3. Reassess & Reallocate Your Marketing Budget

Clearly, trade shows are simply not an option with the COVID-19 pandemic.  If you were planning to invest in trade shows or other in-person events, you should divert those dollars into other channels, such as digital marketing.

4.  Change Your Delivery Method

If you have a brick-and-mortar business where you’re no longer able to see customers/patients in-person, then see if you’re able to generate revenue or generate leads or set appointments through other means.

Here are some ways you may be able to change your delivery methods during this pandemic:

5. Focus on Your Existing Customers

We all know it’s much easier and less costly to market to existing customers versus acquiring new customers.

The key question? What else can you do to help your existing customers? 
Can you offer additional products or services?  Can you speed up your delivery for an additional fee?  Can you sell more with a bulk discount?  Can you partner with another business to enhance your product or service?

6. Increase Social Media Activity

The #COVID19 pandemic will continue to impact marketers in the upcoming months. Make sure your marketing strategy is agile to make adjustments in response.

Now is the time to keep up with social media to reassure your clients that you are active and present. Staying engaged and entertaining your customers will help to maintain a connection.

Finally, social media is a great tool to get in front of a new audience. People are spending even more time on social media during the pandemic, so now is the time to get in front of them. If you are not already, consider advertising your products and services on social media to reach a new audience.

7. Engage With Your Customers via Email

We have all received countless emails in the last few weeks regarding businesses’ responses to COVID-19. If you have not already, send out correspondence to reassure customers of your company’s response to the pandemic.

Beyond the response, consider a new email campaign to engage with your customers. Since you cannot meet face-to-face, or in your store, use email marketing to connect with your customers on a digital level. Maybe consider a video and send it out to your customers. Or craft new content marketing pieces in response to the pandemic. 

Use your email marketing as a direct connection to your customers and connect with them about the services and products that matter most to them.

4. Expand Google Search Marketing

Make sure you are paying close attention to your keyword rankings and organic traffic during this time.

Continue to evaluate the search engine results pages to determine opportunities for new content to respond to new types of queries in the search universe. Also, pay close attention to Google trends to see what fluctuations in search volume have occurred for your target keywords.

The Coronavirus pandemic will continue to impact marketers in the upcoming months. Make sure your marketing strategy is agile to make adjustments in response to them.

Need to update your website? Time to get started with an online business? Let’s work together!

It’s Time to Take Your Brick & Mortar Store Online

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brick and mortar store online

Maybe your business is impacted by a sadly now familiar emergency or disaster.

Maybe all of your competitors are moving online. Or maybe your customers have a newfound preference for online shopping.

Pairing your brick and mortar with an online store is key.

For online retail, sales are expected to reach nearly $600 billion by 2024.

Combining online and offline retail efforts in your 2020 business plan have the power to amplify reach and sales. It is another stream of revenue for your existing stores or a back-up plan if your customers are unable to purchase on a specific channel.

eCommerce + Brick-and-Mortar Advantages

Depending on your business needs, there may be many different reasons to add an eCommerce channel to your business. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider adding eCommerce.

  1. Track customers to know what they really want.
    Have direct access to your customers’ purchasing behaviors.
    You can learn from these insights and make real-time changes to your store.
  2. Improve customer loyalty and experience.
    The online experience adds convenience to your customers’ daily lives. They can engage with your business anytime, any place. This creates more opportunities for you to serve your customers with relevant, personalized content.

    Selling online gives you an entirely new landscape to entertain and connect with your customers. Get creative when thinking about how you can merge your online and offline.
  3. Competition is moving online. Creating an online presence will give you a fair shot at challenging your competitors.
  4. Speeds up the buying process.
    Customers can now engage with you at any time in any place when many of them can’t shop offline for various reasons.
  5. Engage customers of all generations.
    While your business may thrive in a particular age demographic, selling online expands your reach which means you may discover customers from all generations.

    The beauty of eCommerce is that you can create personalized experiences for every customer.

eCommerce Complements Brick-and-Mortar

Drive customers to your brick-and-mortar with in-store events or exclusive promotions (and vice versa).

Offer a wider product selection online. You may not be able to provide your entire inventory in-store. But, an online store makes it easy to display your entire offering — perhaps even products that haven’t been released yet.

Leverage your online store to showcase all your business has to offer and your brick-and-mortar to give customers a chance to interact with your products in person.

How To Select An eCommerce Platform

BigCommerce for Small Business

Not all eCommerce platforms are created equal. Every business has its individual needs, so you’ll need to review each platform with your own considerations in mind.

Depending on your industry and company, you may require specific features, such as:

  • Responsive eCommerce.
  • Product page functionality (e.g. cross-sell and upsell capabilities).
  • Auto-updated shopping cart.
  • A beautiful, modern, and clean design.
  • Mobile optimization.

J&M Group Tip

If you’re thinking about modernizing your eCommerce business, or are ready to begin selling online, we want to help. You can get three free months of BigCommerce to build your new online store. If you’re new to eCommerce, not to worry — J&M Group and BigCommerce can help you get set up. Click below to get started!

Create Your Store
CONTACT · Marcia Coffey · Palm Beach Gardens, Fl 33410 · Tel. 561-906-3436