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The Sales Funnel: An Easy-to-Understand Guide for Small Businesses

SplashWrench Marketing Blog

Greetings, small business champions! Today we’re going to decode a crucial concept that’s essential for your business success – the “sales funnel.” Though it may sound complex at first glance, we’re here to simplify it. Think of it as a journey your customers embark on, from the moment they discover your business until they become loyal patrons.

Stage 1: Awareness

Imagine walking past a bakery, and the aroma of freshly baked cookies wafts out. That enticing scent draws your attention, doesn’t it? That’s what the Awareness stage is all about. It’s when people first notice your business, just like how the smell of those cookies caught your attention. This can happen through an online ad, a billboard, or a friend recommending your business.

Stage 2: Consideration

Now, you’re standing outside the bakery, gazing at the display of mouth-watering cookies. You start contemplating whether to buy a cookie or not. This is the Consideration stage, where potential customers are weighing their options. They might check out your website, read reviews, compare prices, or look at alternatives before making a decision.

Stage 3: Conversion

You’ve made up your mind and decided to buy a cookie. Welcome to the Conversion stage! This is when a prospective customer decides to make a purchase and becomes an actual customer. It’s a significant stage because this is when your business makes a sale.

Stage 4: Retention

Lastly, imagine you enjoyed the cookie so much that you decide to visit the bakery again next week for more. This is the Retention stage, where customers keep coming back to your business. They might also tell their friends about your amazing cookies, bringing more people into the Awareness stage.

 

And there you have it, the sales funnel simplified using a simple bakery example. Understanding these stages can help you strategize your marketing efforts, communicate effectively with potential customers, and retain your existing customers. Remember, each customer’s journey may vary, but knowing these stages will undoubtedly guide your business strategy.

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Strategies to Grow Your Small Business Through Digital Marketing and Design

SplashWrench Marketing Blog

In today’s world, small businesses need to have a strong online presence to compete effectively. With a well-designed website, social media presence, and effective digital marketing strategies, small businesses can compete against larger competitors. But with so many options available, it can be challenging to know where to start. In this post, we’ll discuss strategies to help you grow your small business through digital marketing and design.

Establish a Strong Brand Identity

Before you start any digital marketing and design campaign, it is essential to establish a strong brand identity. Your brand should be consistent and visually appealing across all platforms. A well-designed logo and website can help increase your credibility and build trust with your customers. Use typography, color, imagery, and messaging that speak to your target audience.

Website Optimization

A website is often the face of a business. Therefore, it should be optimized for user experience and search engines. Ensure that the website is mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, and has fast load times. Optimize the website structure, content, and internal links to improve its search engine rankings. Track your website performance using analytical tools like Google Analytics.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is a powerful tool for reaching out to potential customers and creating brand awareness. Choose the platform that best fits your target audience and build a robust social media marketing strategy. Share relevant content, engage with your followers, and respond to queries in a timely manner. Setting up a social media calendar can help ensure that you’re regularly posting and engaging with your audience.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be an effective way to drive traffic to your website and optimize your online presence. To get started, select your target audience, and use your budget effectively to buy online ads. Use engaging ad copy and strong visual elements to catch your audience’s attention. Track your ads’ performance and optimize your campaigns based on the results.

Video Marketing

Video marketing can be a powerful way to create a connection with your customers and drive conversions. Create engaging, high-quality videos that highlight your products or services. Use storytelling to create an emotional connection with your audience, and share your videos on social media, YouTube, and other video marketing platforms.

Putting it all together

Small businesses need to leverage digital marketing and design to grow their online presence and compete in today’s technology-driven world. By establishing a strong brand identity, optimizing your website, using social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and video marketing, you can effectively reach out to your target audience, build trust, and increase conversions. Remember to track your campaigns’ performance using analytical tools to optimize your strategies effectively. With these strategies in place, you can take your small business to the next level.

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The Importance of Maintaining Your Marketing Tech Stack

SplashWrench Marketing Blog

In today’s digital world, having an effective marketing tech stack is essential for small businesses. The right marketing tech stack will help you automate and optimize your marketing efforts, allowing you to better reach your target customers and grow your business. However, not maintaining and updating the components of your marketing tech stack can have a detrimental effect on your business. Let’s look at why it’s important to stay on top of your marketing tech stack.

What is a Marketing Tech Stack?

A good marketing tech stack is composed of different software tools that work together to help you manage and optimize your marketing efforts. These software tools may include email automation platforms, analytics software, CRM systems, social media management platforms, content management systems (CMS), and more. Using the right combination of these tools ensures that you can track customer behavior and engagement, create personalized experiences for customers, increase brand visibility across multiple channels, and maximize ROI from all of your efforts.

What Happens When You Don’t Keep Up With Your Marketing Tech Stack?

No one likes working with outdated technology, so it should come as no surprise that not staying up-to-date with the components in your tech stack can be detrimental to your business. First off, outdated technology can make it difficult to keep up with industry trends or take advantage of new opportunities as they arise. Additionally, old software may be missing key features or integrations that could be helping you get more out of every customer interaction or increase productivity within the organization overall. And lastly, using outdated technology may even put you at risk for data breaches or other security risks if security measures are not constantly updated alongside new versions of the software.

As a small business owner, maintaining an effective marketing tech stack is essential for growth and success in today’s digital environment. Keeping up with the latest tools and technologies ensures that you are getting maximum ROI from every customer interaction while also protecting yourself from any potential security risks associated with outdated technology. By investing in a reliable tech stack now—and continuing to maintain it—you will set yourself up for success in the long run!

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How to Handle It When Someone Steals Content on Instagram

SplashWrench Marketing Blog

Recently, we discovered a local real estate agent copied a food image from one of our restaurant client’s Instagram accounts and posted it on her own account. This was not a share, but an actual copy of the image which was used as an original post on her account. In the caption the real estate agent tagged our client, an audacious move, including the sentence “all rights reserved to the respective copyright owners.” The post text included the name of the real estate agency, phone number, and email addresses.

This practice is wrong on multiple levels. First, it’s in violation of community standards on Instagram, and adding the copyright sentence does not make it legal. Second, the food image was out of context with the other posts on the real estate agent’s account. What does a food image have to do with selling houses? Lastly, what sort of professional marketing tactic is this, and does the brokerage provide this sort of training to their agents? Who would hire a real estate agent who would take the time and energy to steal a restaurant’s content? Where are the ethics? What is the point? Is this considered marketing?

If you’re faced with this type of scenario, remain calm but vigilant in having the post in question removed. Do some fact checking and then politely reach out to the offender’s superiors, informing them of the violation and requesting the offending post be removed. If you must contact the offender directly, be polite, offer them an “off ramp” to the situation so that they will comply with your request. If these tactics don’t work, Instagram has specific information on copyright violations and how to report them.

Here’s a link to Instagram’s Community Guidelines. https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119

Here’s a link to report content on Instagram. https://help.instagram.com/2922067214679225/?helpref=hc_fnav

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Downtown House of Pizza Donates 200 Pizzas to Healthcare Workers

SplashWrench Marketing Blog

Downtown House of Pizza Donates 200 Pizzas to Healthcare Workers at Southwest Florida Hospitals on the Front Lines of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“Because they’re doing so much for us right now, we felt the need to give something back to them,” said Jason Kohn, owner of Downtown House of Pizza in Downtown Fort Myers, FL.

FORT MYERS, FL, March 29, 2020 – SplashWrench client and local pizzeria owner Jason Kohn of Downtown House of Pizza (DHOP) felt the need to do something to thank those working so hard on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and the struggle to save lives at area hospitals. On Saturday, March 28, 2020, Mr. Kohn and his team of 15 employees, already hard at work having moved their pickup and curbside service out onto the sidewalk, decided to make 200 pizzas to feed healthcare workers at local area hospitals. DHOP employees wrote notes of thanks and encouragement on the pizza boxes for this special delivery, to let the doctors, nurses and healthcare workers know how much they are appreciated. Then, the DHOP team packed up the pizzas and hit the road.

“We knew the hospital had three different shifts, so we planned our work to make the pizzas and deliveries to coincide with the start of each shift over the next 24 hours,” Kohn said. “We wanted to make sure no one was left out.”

WINK News was on location when the first delivery was made to Lee Health’s Lee Memorial Hospital located near Downtown Fort Myers, interviewing Jason Kohn and Lee Health representatives. Fox4 News covered the delivery at Gulf Coast Hospital later in the day.

“Everyone is afraid of the virus. But sometimes simple acts of kindness can offset any negative emotions people are feeling. DHOP has always tried to recognize areas in the community that need love and try to fill it with pizza,” said Kohn.

 Downtown House of Pizza, with the help of their marketing company SplashWrench Design and Marketing, posted images of the deliveries and news coverage, viewed and shared by thousands. On Facebook and Instagram, thousands of followers liked and shared, and posted notes of thanks and encouragement to healthcare workers. Photos and posts of thanks from healthcare workers followed immediately after delivery.

“I am a community minded person in general. I volunteer my time at Edison Park Elementary School every week. I have served for a decade on the Fort Myers RDA board. I would say I did it because these heroes working in healthcare right now need community support. Yes I was hoping that other restaurants, hotels, or whomever would see this story and maybe do something as well, what ever they can right now. I know it’s a difficult time,” said Kohn.

Downtown House of Pizza is a landmark pizzeria and craft beer bar located on Hendry St. in the heart of Downtown Fort Myers. Opening in September 2005, the restaurant is a mainstay in Downtown Fort Myers, loved by locals and visitors to Southwest Florida. In late 2018, DHOP expanded to include a dining area and beer bar featuring beers from some of the area’s finest local breweries. Downtown House of Pizza has social pages on Facebook and Instagram as well as a website, http://www.downtownhouseofpizza.com.