So, you bought the piece of land, planted your vines and now produce a very nice range of wines.

You went big, so there’s enough to sell through your cellar door and at local markets. In fact, you’re producing so much you could supply a chain liquor store.

The choice here is marketing B2B or B2C.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN B2B AND B2C?

The B2B model involves one business marketing to another. In our scenario, this would be the vineyard
entering a supplier contract with, say, Dan Murphys.

B2C is business to consumer. If the wine maker chooses to forgo the chain store option and instead just open her cellar door and sell wine at markets and online, she’s selling direct to individual customers.

Online Influence has a foot in both camps. We market B2B, but many of our clients operate in the B2C space.

So, while we market ourselves to businesses, the wine we’re selling is strategies that connect our clients to their customers. You could say we’re an example of B2B2C!

ARE THERE DIFFERENT MARKETING RULES FOR B2B AND B2C?

Well, yes and no.

The golden rule for business success is to find and meet your customer’s needs. But there are differences depending on who that “customer” is.

With B2B, the customer or client is another business. Transactions or negotiations are less personal and more about cost, features and data.

B2B marketing also usually involves a longer transaction time. Here’s why.

The vineyard owner would need to prepare a business case, ensure she has every scrap of technical information and be prepared to nut out costs and logistics. Armed with this information, she would make contact with the company and wait for a response.

As you can imagine, it may take several attempts to connect with the company, and once contact is made she may need to work her way through several layers of authority before making a “sale” – or in this case, becoming a supplier to the store.

• With B2B the focus is on lots of data, logic and financial scrutiny.
• Because the B2B market involves more decision makers, the costs can be higher.
• It’s important to know, and be able to communicate, what your product or service does rather than what it means for another business.

With B2C your customer is usually an individual and a sale is based more on emotion and brand appeal.

A visitor to the cellar door will be influenced by their surroundings, the warmth of the host and the label on the bottle as much as what’s in it.

The transaction will be relatively fast – a few minutes at least, or possibly a week or so when they realise they should have bought a case instead of just two bottles.

• Your focus should be on the benefits of the product to the person in front of you – literally or digitally.
• B2C is more emotional and often about convenience – think great communication and a variety of distribution channels, in this case cellar door, markets, online orders and more.
• Keep your marketing short and simple – make it easy for the customer to know why they need your services or your product.

Of course, emotion and brand are key factors when marketing B2B as well. A strong connection is vital for any business success, but in the case of B2B you’ll need to back the emotion with facts.

WHERE DOES ONLINE ADVERTISING FIT?

The good news is, Google ads work well for both B2B and B2C. You just have to remember the golden rule and tailor your campaign to the customer and your specific business needs. As you can imagine, the way you pitch to another company is not the way you’d pitch to an online shopper.

Facebook ads generally work better in the B2C space – it’s a friendly, emotive platform after all – but, they can work well in the B2B space if customised to your ideal client. The Online Influence team can help you design a campaign for effective cut through.

And, whether you’re selling B2B or B2C, your website needs to be designed with user experience in mind. Again, the needs and habits of your potential client or customer are paramount. You can read more about hooking customers through a good online experience here.

NOT SURE WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU?

If you’re unsure of how to market your business, or even which business model to focus on, the Online Influence team has the insight and experience to help – we are B2B2C experts after all! Call us today to find out the best solution for you and your business.

It might sound like something from a science fiction novel, but Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic idea.

AI and its manifestations, machine learning and deep learning, already play a large role in our daily lives and in directing how and where we spend our money.

• Google uses AI to give you the search results you’re after.
• Machine learning helps Siri translate your speech and helps sort your emails.
• It’s machine learning that makes the ads relating to pages you’ve visited pop up in your Facebook timeline.
• AI adds the “smart” to your TV.
• Machine learning is built into most cars and deep learning will control the driverless cars of the future.
• Deep learning is what helps computers beat chess grandmasters at their own game.

What is AI and how does it work?

The theory of AI has been around since the 1950s. True machine learning surfaced in the 1980s and the related art of deep learning has really taken off in the last five years.

As its name suggests, artificial intelligence is about creating a machine that can make decisions and solve problems.

In the past, we programmed computers by giving rigid rules (algorithms) telling them step-by-step what to do or what to look for.

Machine learning combines more fluid algorithms with masses of data. This process allows the computer to “learn” or, more correctly, recognise patterns, predict outcomes and make informed decisions – “I think that email belongs in your junk folder” for example. What’s more, the program gets better with use.

Deep learning is the next step. It enhances and complements machine learning and is inspired by biology. Inside our brains are multi-layered neural networks. These layers work together to help us learn and make informed decisions. Deep learning uses artificial neural networks – lots and lots of them that are fed masses of information. This process helps the computer to “see”, to make the kinds of decisions we make and, for example, pick up cancer indicators in blood a human might miss.

What does AI mean in marketing terms?

There’s a whole lot of data flying round out there, the kind of data machine learning and deep learning systems thrive on. And there are many good reasons Google, Facebook and Microsoft are investing heavily in their own AI research and development.

Here’s one. By analysing just 10 of your likes on Facebook, an AI enhanced algorithm can evaluate your character better than a work colleague. After analysing 70 likes, the system picks up more subtleties than your friends, by 150 likes it’s more accurate than your parents and by 300 can give a clearer picture than your partner.

So, it’s easy to see how these smart algorithms, that get better with use, can pinpoint your buying and search habits, your hobbies and dislikes, even your colour preferences.

• Online searches are the number one way to connect with future customers, and AI exponentially improves the chances of the right connections being made.
• Google algorithms rely heavily on machine learning and Google AdWords also reap the rewards of the clear picture that emerges when AI is applied.
• AI is making market research faster and more efficient.
• Machine learning is a great way to predict and jump on trends.
• Big companies are using the information supplied by AI systems to constantly tweak their web content and ad campaigns.

Can AI enhance your business?

If you’ve got a website and are working with an SEO expert you’re already reaping the rewards of ongoing developments in AI as Google and other search engines continue to integrate more and more AI features into their systems.

You could also consider running a Google AdWord campaign as machine learning is what drives this highly targeted form of advertising. You can read more about why Google Adword gives you more bang for your buck here. The team at Online Influence has the knowledge and experience to run successful AdWord campaigns – which is why we’re a Google AdWord Partner.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business today.

 

You can do many things to improve your online presence. Here are seven that can have the biggest impact, and they’re free!

I guess my first tip should be “Get a website” but I’m going to assume you know how important that is. Don’t just rely on social media – you don’t own your Facebook account, Facebook does. But you do own your website and these tips will get your website found online.

 

1. Know who your ideal customer is.

Take the time to work out who your ideal customer is, and please don’t say, “Everyone is my ideal customer”. If you try to market to everyone you end up selling to no one.

Create an avatar of your ideal customer. Note that I didn’t say your biggest customer – I said your ideal customer – there is a difference.  Are they male or female? Are they young, old or in between? Are they in business? What are their biggest pains/problems?

Once you have a detailed image of who your ideal customer is, make sure your website and social media talk to them and their pain. Note: don’t solve their problem – just make it known you can solve their problem.

“If you bury your head in the sand and ignore the Internet – you will regret it. Your competition will outshine you, outrank you and outsell you.”

 

 2. Get a free Google Places listing.

This is also known as Google My Business, Google Maps and Google+ pages (I know, it’s confusing).

A Google Places listing is free if you have a shopfront or an office location. It will show up in Google whenever someone searches for your type of business and adds your suburb to the search term. It is usually the first thing people see on the first page of Google.

 

 3. Local business directories.

Search Google for “local business directory” and put your business on each of them – I suggest up to twenty directory listings. Make sure you use the exact address that’s on your website, and be sure to add a link to your website too. Mix up the description for each listing and don’t forget to include your keywords.

 

 4. Blog, Blog, Blog.

 I can’t stress how important this is, and it’s also free. When you blog you tell the world about you and your business. It’s important that your blogging provides relevant, unique information. Mix up the media too – video, podcast, infographics, PDF’s, slideshows and so on.

 

 5. Optimise pages, posts and images.

Use keywords on pages, and use categories, tags and keywords in blog posts. Categories are like aisles in the supermarket, for example the cooking aisle; and tags are like items in the aisle such as spices and sauces. Keywords are the specific items in the aisle, such as “Uncle Bob’s sauce”.

Make sure you use alternative tags for all your images, also known as “alt tags”. These are the words Google uses to read your images. Also, rename your images before you upload them – don’t upload images called IMG-3945.png, change them to a name that’s relevant and keyword rich.

 

6. Use social media.

Every time you write a new post or page, share it on all your social media platforms, and if it’s a popular one, don’t be afraid to share it again a few months later. Pick social media platforms that your ideal customers use. There’s no point madly posting pics to Instagram or Pinterest if your customers are never there! Find out where they hang out and be sure to hang out there too – consistently.

 

7. Spread the word.

Get involved with forums like Flying Solo. Help people by giving honest, informative answers to their questions. Find other forums in your industry or niche and get active. Become the go-to person who gives great tips and useful ideas.

The Internet has changed the world, we all know that. Don’t be an ostrich or a shrinking violet. The online world is about giving and helping, and if you bury your head in the sand and ignore it – you will regret it. Your competition will outshine you, outrank you and outsell you. So start with these seven free strategies and improve your online presence.

 

Can you add any other free ways to improve your online presence?

Originally published on Flying Solo

Why do you need a Google Maps listing?

The other day I needed to contact a local Computer repair shop that I had visited last week about repairing my laptop, but I couldn’t find the card he gave me with their phone number, so I started looking for them on Google – as I always do. I didn’t even think to look for it in any other way, because well, why would I? Google is much quicker and I can actually read the font on my monitor, unlike the tiny fonts in the phone book  – I’m from the baby-boomer era and well, I need reading glasses for most things these days.

I actually do own a Yellow pages, but it’s propping up monitor (good use for it) and I didn’t want to drag it out from there – and to be quite honest, I didn’t even think of doing that.

What a journey it was. I searched for it for ages, typing in every term I could think of related to “Computer Repair business Richmond NSW”. I live in a semi-rural area and it’s a 20min drive to town so it was worth persevering. So after 15mins I had a brain wave (sometimes that happens) and decided to go to Google “street view” to see if I could see the name of the business and try Googling that. I was in luck! The phone number was printed on the window so I zoomed in and got the number.

You wouldn’t think it would be that hard would you? I mean don’t all businesses have some sort of “online presence”? I guess I must live in a bubble because clearly they don’t! And you know what? Not many people would go to the lengths I did to find a business, they would just go to the first one that popped up in Google, I usually do too, but sometimes I’m like a dog with a bone – I don’t give up very easily.

So after finally finding the phone number, I called them and the owner answered the phone so I told him about my difficulties finding him on Google and he said “well that’s because they want me to pay and I’m not going to do that”. I was gob-smacked! Lost for words (and that doesn’t happen very often). So I asked him the question about my laptop and promptly hung up.

Now there are a few things going on here for this guy;

• Firstly he doesn’t know that a Google Places listing is FREE – yep, zero, zip, nothing. Now I understand that lots of business owners don’t know that, but I would expect a geek that owns a computer repair business to know this.
• It begs the question – What else is he behind in? What else doesn’t he know that he should know?
• Secondly, What’s wrong with paying to get customers? Did he really think that all he had to do was pay  some rent in the main street and instantly customers would come flocking in? If you put an ad in the local paper, isn’t that paying to get customers? An ad in the Yellow pages, isn’t that paying to get customers? BUT refer back to my first point – Google Places listings are FREE.
• If you really don’t know how to do anything online, you might want to pay someone (like us) to do it for you, but if you are a bit tech-savvy you should be able to do it yourself. Of course there are lots of little hints and tips that a professional could help you with, but the listing is FREE.

So what’s so great about a Google Places listing? Here’s a screenshot of a search I did for “Plumber Parramatta” The listings with A, B, C etc on the right, are Google maps/places listings.

These businesses are all on the FIRST PAGE of Google with their Places listing – these listings have a website linked to their listing, but it’s not necessary, if they didn’t have a website they would just have their Google Maps listing. The searcher doesn’t care if they have a website or not – they just want a Plumber!

So how does it work? Several things are at play when you type something into the Google search box;

• Google knows where your computer is (perhaps not exactly but they have an approximate location). Now don’t start with the whole “Big Brother” thing – it’s just the way it is now.
• When you type a suburb at the end of your query, Google will “serve up” the local businesses in that suburb (as in the above search), if you just type in “Plumber” you will get a more broad result – in this case we got Plumbers in Sydney (below). Most people who use Google for finding local businesses know this and will usually put the suburb on the end.

So, how many people use Google search to find local businesses? Last month (Oct 12) there was approximately 400 people searching for “Plumber Parramatta” – now think about it – someone going to Google and typing this in is most probably looking for a plumber NOW.

That’s the big difference between putting Google and ANY other medium. Let me explain, you would usually only search Google for a plumber (or any local business) when you actually need them, like in my computer repair shop example above.
So in our Plumber example, that’s 4,800 potential new customers each year searching for a Plumber in Parramatta – not bad at all.

I wonder how many new customers you are missing out on each year?

One of the main misconceptions about search engine optimisation is that it is merely a strategy for internet based businesses. The truth is, there are many opportunities for offline businesses in specific cities to get local customers through the use of effective SEO. Penrith, for example, is a big city full of potential clients for any business, in any industry. If a particular business is located in Penrith, launching an SEO Penrith campaign targeted towards the people living there may be a good strategy for building brand awareness and encouraging repeat store visits.

Through proper use of SEO, Penrith residents can easily find the location of a business or enterprise, be it a restaurant, dental clinic, coffee shop, or local bar. Business offices which are located in obscure streets can now be accessed conveniently by potential customers as they surf online and type the right search keywords. Here are some ways by which local businesses can reach prospects in their area through search engine marketing:

1. Make use of nearby city landmarks to reach potential prospects. If the business establishment is located near a famous city landmark like the Nepean River, a good SEO strategy for a cafe would be to use a keyword such as “coffee shops near Nepean River” in an online search engine marketing campaign. This way, tourists and local residents who are looking for coffee shops in that specific area can easily find the company information online.

2. Discover what people in a specific city are searching for online. For more effective SEO, Penrith based entrepreneurs should perform keyword research to find out what keywords are being searched for by their target market. Free keyword research tools, like the Google Keyword Tool, generate keyword suggestions and give insight to the marketer about the monthly search volume of a particular keyword. By simply typing a popular local keyword in the Google Keyword Tool, such as “restaurants in Penrith” or “Penrith dental clinics”, a marketer or business owner will be able to see other related keyword suggestions pertaining to the local market.

3. Hire the services of a local SEO Sydney consultant or firm. Often it is better to leverage the expertise of people who specialise in search engine optimisation. This way, a business owner can focus on important management tasks and maintaining day to day business operations, instead of spending a lot of time on link building, structuring a website, and producing content. When it comes to SEO, Penrith based businesses should hire a reliable SEO consultant or expert to gain more market exposure.

One of the biggest challenges faced by local businesses is promoting their products or services to a targeted group of people within a specific area. In an effort to reach potential customers, most business owners usually resort to traditional advertising, such as print, radio, and word of mouth. However, the internet presents a better alternative for promoting a local business, and it is through search engine optimization. Sydney based businesses can now create their own company website and then optimize it for search engines such as Google or Yahoo.

Through search engine optimization, Sydney residents and potential customers can easily be targeted in a marketing campaign. This provides more opportunities for local offline businesses to penetrate the market within their nearby vicinity, without paying for expensive advertising and marketing campaigns.

Here are some of the top reasons why search engine optimization is more cost-effective and convenient compared to the more traditional advertising methods:

• Wider Reach. Businesses with search engine optimized websites have the potential to reach more customers in their market, compared to those who still rely on outdated marketing tactics and advertising practices.

• Easier Customer Access To Business Information. Buyers and shoppers tend to compare prices and quality of products by “shopping” around and looking for possible items to buy. Instead of physically going to malls and stores to compare brands and prices, a consumer can instead browse the web and type search phrases like “best jewellery store in Sydney”. If there is a business website optimized for that search phrase, it will appear in search results and will easily be accessed by the consumer.

• Long-Term Results. Traditional advertising usually offers a fixed timeframe for promotion. But with search engine optimization, Sydney based business websites can receive a regular stream of traffic for many months and years to come. SEO is a “set and forget” strategy which allows business owners to leverage the power of search engines in order to attract more customers.

Through effective implementation of search engine optimization, Sydney business owners can increase the number of people who are familiar with their products or services.

There are two ways by which a local business owner can start implementing SEO campaigns.

The first is to personally learn search engine marketing techniques. This can be time consuming because of the learning curve involved; the second way is to hire the services of an SEO consultant to professionally and immediately implement search engine optimization strategies for an offline business.

Just because a business is “offline” doesn’t necessarily mean that it cannot promote its products and services on the internet. In fact, many traditional businesses like restaurants, coffee shops, accounting firms, dental clinics, manufacturing firms and countless others are using online marketing tactics to reach their target customers.

Here are the most effective online marketing techniques that anyone can use to generate an ongoing stream of leads, prospects and customers from the internet:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization is a process, or a set of targeted activities, which aim to increase the search engine rankings of a website in a given niche or industry. The higher the rankings of a website, the more online visitors it will receive (which eventually leads to more sales and profit). There are various aspects of SEO that online business owners should understand in order to succeed in this particular strategy:

• Keyword research. This is the act or process of discovering which keyword phrases are being searched for by a target market on Google or Yahoo. In SEO, a business owner pays attention to popular search phrases with a high amount of traffic stats per month. SEO campaigns are based on main keyword phrases (and other related keywords) in a given niche or industry.

• On-Page optimization. This refers to optimizing a particular website for higher search engine rankings by tweaking or adjusting certain elements within the website itself. Putting main keywords on the title, description, meta tags, and body of the webpage content is an example of on-page optimization.

• Off-page Optimization. This refers to SEO activities which are done outside a business website. Activities such as increasing the number of external links to a website (also called backlinks), and blasting SEO content in key internet channels, are prime examples of off-page optimization.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

Aside from SEO, another effective online marketing strategy is pay-per-click advertising (PPC). This is a form of advertising where the business owners create short ads which will be shown and served in various content networks all over the web. Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search Marketing are examples of online platforms who offer pay-per-click programs. Basically, this form of advertising is cost-effective because advertisers will only pay for each click that they receive from their ads.

Just like SEO, PPC requires the business owner to perform keyword research before starting any online marketing campaign because all PPC ads are keyword based. Generally, popular keywords in a given niche or industry will entail a higher cost for the advertiser, while not so popular keywords will cost less per click.