Are Referrals Enough to Keep Your Business Going?

There is little doubt that the best quality referrals come from your existing clients who are happy with your product or service. But will that be enough to keep your business growing at the pace you’d like? The answer would depend on the industry you’re in. A friend of mine does computer networking and his business is 100% by referral, and that keeps him busy. For my telephone on-hold and web design business, while we get many referrals from our clients, if I relied on those alone, it would hardly be enough.

So the next question is - how do you generate other leads? Try to establish relationships with close spheres of influence. As a web design company, we have several "partners" such as SEO firms and IT firms, which do not provide the same service as we do, and often refer their clients to us. After a period of time, we have built mutual trust with these partners, and they have become excellent sources of referrals.

E-mail marketing may work well also. You can send monthly e-newsletters to your clients and lead lists. We always try to give some useful information in our e-newsletters, and not be purely salesy, if at all. This keeps people reading and retains their interest.

We also do a few tradeshows throughout the year, which is another avenue for generating leads. And...don't neglect the dreaded cold calls! Most of us hate doing them, and put it off, but they are so very effective. Do them yourself - allot some specific time each day - or hire someone else to do them.

Overall, use a variety of marketing methods, and you'll have good leads coming from every angle.

Social Media - Should You Use Your Real Name?

Many visitors to social media sites and forums use a nickname or "handle" when posting, and may use a cartoon avatar or something other than their real picture. This has often left me wondering what the benefits are to using your real name and picture.

Admittedly, until very recently I used a nickname, and did not show my picture. Why? I am not entirely sure, but my rationale included the fear of identity theft, not wanting old high school classmates to see what I look like now, and other similar irrational reasons. After thinking about it more and posting a thread about it on a forum, I realized that I had really been missing out by not using my real name or picture. The benefits of doing so are huge - and when I analyze how I view someone on a forum whose face I see and name I know, it really does change my entire perception, and makes it much more personal. I would be way more likely to do business with that person than someone who I knew merely as a nickname and a blank face or logo.

Here's a great thread by Dale King that I came across on the Small Business Ideas Forum:
http://www.smallbusinessbrief.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10789

Dale makes a great case for not hiding behind a "moniker." He's got me convinced!

SEO and Conversion Rates

We have achieved some great results for our customers looking for Search Engine Optimization, with many getting top-page ranking on Google and Yahoo in a relatively short period of time. But getting visitors is one thing – converting visits to sales, what is known as the “Conversion Rate,” is something else entirely.

Most experts say that you should expect a conversion rate of 1-3%. This low figure may surprise you, but if you think of how many searches are done daily on any given term, how many competing websites are out there, and consumers growing distrust of many website scams, then it may shed some light on this percentage.

So what can you do to increase your conversion rates?

Have your contact information displayed so it is easily found. If people need to search endlessly to find a phone number or e-mail address to reach you, they will either give up trying, or lose trust in you as a legitimate business. Have your phone number and e-mail prominently displayed in the top area of each web page.

Make sure your site is secure. Nothing takes the trust away like a site that takes credit cards, but is not encrypted and secure.

Make sure your site looks professional. If your site looks like it was created over the weekend by your teenage nephew, don’t expect people to buy.

Get some good buzz out there. Referrals and word of mouth are very effective, so generate some good buzz on social networking sites, forums, etc. Have testimonials of satisfied customers on your site as well.

Don’t neglect traditional forms of marketing. So many new net entrepreneurs rely solely on internet marketing, and that is a mistake. Print business cards and brochures or postcards, do some personal networking, and you’ll get people to visit your site.

Repeat business is always easier to get than new business. Send monthly e-mail newsletters to customers who have already purchased from you. Promote new products and specials.

These are just a few ideas, and the basic idea is to build trust and confidence in those who browse your site. Good luck!

How Many Updates for Dentist On-Hold Messages?

While virtually all of our dental clients get on-hold updates regularly, the question often comes up of how often a dental office should be updating their recordings. As new clients, many dentists will say, “Things don’t change in my practice too often, so I don’t think we need many updates.” While this is a valid concern, I feel that it misses the point of having these recordings. The idea is not just to update when something changes, but to do it as a way of making the on-hold recordings more effective.

Each recording should emphasize a different aspect of the practice, and need not mention every single thing offered. As new services are offered, or staff changes, or you get a new website, relocate, etc., certainly that should be promoted, but even if you have no changes at all, the script should be reworded, the emphasis shifted to a particular area of the practice, and the music should always change, so the recording sounds fresh and new. This will keep callers listening, and the recording will continue to be effective – which means that patients will inquire more about your services.

So how many recordings should a dental office get? Some get monthly updates, some every other month, but the majority gets quarterly updates. It comes down to personal preference, and the important thing is that the on-hold messages are updated regularly and consistently.

Links to Other Sites

DS1 Communications – Business phone systems, cabling, security cameras, voice-mail systems, and more.

Brightway Insurance - Jacksonville Home & Auto Insurance – Home & Auto insurance for Jacksonville, Orlando, South Florida, and the entire state of Florida. Excellent Service.

Coral Springs Dentist – Gary M. Stein, DDS – Dentist for Coral Springs, Parkland, and surrounding areas. General & Cosmetic Dentistry.

Inflatable Boats in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida – 84 Boatworks & Inflatable Services, Inc. – Inflatable boats, kayaks, safety equipment, and generators.

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Chiropractic On-Hold Messages and Waiting Room Audio

Our Chiropractic clients often ask about the difference between two services we provide: (1) Telephone on-hold messages and (2) Waiting room audio, and wonder which form of marketing would be better suited to their practice.

The short answer is – they are both worth considering. It’s not a matter of picking just one – these are two entirely different entities, and both can be beneficial. Here’s a breakdown of each:

On-Hold Messages & Music:
The recordings play on your phone for callers who are placed on hold.
Recordings are always totally customized for your practice.
A typical on-hold recording is 5-6 minutes long, mostly made up of promotional and informative messages. The music is in the background.
On-Hold recordings are updated periodically for maximum effectiveness.

Waiting Room Audio:
These recordings play in your waiting room or reception area.
Recordings can be generic, or customized to promote your services.
Recordings are about 1 hour long of mostly music, with brief messages every 15 minutes.

To get more information on these two services for Chiropractors, visit our website at http://www.watt-media.com/chiro.html.

Telephone On-Hold Messages, Web Design, Shopping Carts, and SEO for 2008

I’d like to wish all Watt Media clients and readers of my blog a very happy New Year. 2007 was a great year for us, and we have many exciting things planned for 2008. As a unique marketing company that helps businesses enhance their image and promote their products and services, we plan on continuing to grow by attaining – and retaining – clients in need of our telephone on-hold messages, voice-mail recordings, and web design, with an emphasis on Shopping Carts and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

This month is especially meaningful for Watt Media, since it marks our 10th year in business. We have been providing on-hold messages and music to businesses not only in our home town of Coral Springs, Florida (located in the greater Ft. Lauderdale area), but all over the U.S. In our 6th year, we expanded to web design services. Watt Media is now the “Shopping Cart Specialist,” offering everything from simple brochure websites to complex shopping carts and e-commerce sites.

While we specialize in the the Chiropractic, Dental, and Pest Control Industries, we serve all types of businesses. So here’s to 2008! Let’s make it great!