Orlando is a competitive market. It seems like there is always new construction, more traffic, more people seem to be moving here everyday. One of the benefits of this is that there are more potential customers that need or want what you provide.
So, how do you rise above the competition? While not every business is the same, I believe that there is a hierarchy that should be followed. (Hint- Social Media is not a priority sales funnel, UNLESS your business is social in nature- restaurants, causes, fashion, clothes, etc)
There are 6 things that I think can generate more sales. Some are strategic and some are mechanical. This is the structure that I would take for almost any company- regardless of size or stage. Dominate the market in Orlando by following these tips.
1) Have a clear message and goal.
I am a strategic marketing consultant for several companies. One of the people I work with asked me to do him a favor and talk to his wife about a company she wanted to start since she was returning back to the workforce after raising the children. I agreed and called her that evening. Immediately she starts asking about my opinion on the name she likes and what the website should do. I told her that all of that is important AFTER you define your message and goals. It is important, but not incredibly difficult. The easiest way to do this is to go back to grade school and remember the 5 w’s.
- Who – Who do you think your primary audience is? Males between the ages of 35-45? Parents of toddlers? People who in a higher income bracket? Whatever- you can use your experience to start an audience profile and validate that with tools. (That can get complicated, so just email and ask and we can have a quick conversation about that)
- What – What do you do? Be able to simply state what service or product you provide. Remember benefits, not features. For example, my what is “I help companies find the right customers, online.”
- When – Simple- what are your hours. Work weekends?
- Where– Another easy one- are you local, have a service area, do people come to you, etc?
- Why– This is your mission. Identifying this helps you trudge through the rough times that all business owners go through. This is also not as easy as make money. What is the need behind that? For me, I want to make a living where I can use my expertise to help other people succeed. When I do that, more people will use me and I can provide for my family and have the peace of mind that a solid income has. I got laid off a couple decades ago after making a company a fortune and told myself that I will never again put my families well-being in someone else’s hands. So that is my why.
2) Have a Good Website
I know “good” is such an ambiguous word however there are a few things that I think a modern website must have. It must be responsive. That means that no matter what kind of device the user is using, the website needs to be able to be easy to use and read. Simple- no matter what functionality the website has – ecommerce, portfolio, services, etc it should be simple and clean. Navigation should be easy and the message should be clear. In less than a second the user should be able to identify what you provide. Websites are used for three purposes- validation, discovery and lead generation. Someone hears about your company- the website validates you are authentic and provides them with more information. Discovery is when someone who doesn’t know your brand, has a need for the service or product you provide and finds your website. Lead generation is when either of the two kinds of people decide to take a step further and commit to some sort of action. Filling out a form, calling you, chat – whatever your business offers.
In my opinion, if you want a really powerful website, building it in WordPress is the best way to go. Stay away from free website builders because these builders use templates with common duplicate code, which will rarely rank well in Google. (More on ranking in a minute)
Every business owner should use FREE tools that Google provides for their website.- Google Analytics and Google Search Console (formerly known as webmaster tools). These provide valuable data about who is going to your website and how the website is being used. (For example, what page are people most interested in? Where are they leaving your site? How much time are they taking on each page? What is the search term that got them there? Etc)
3) Make It Easy To Communicate With You
Your primary audience usually has a generational component. Stereotypically, if they are older than 30 they want to talk on the phone, and are comfortable emailing. Much of the younger generations don’t like to talk on the phone, so want other options, including Live Chat. People are also in different stages of the sales cycle, so you really have to meet them where they are at by letting them choose how and when they contact you. One of my favorite tools to do this is from BirdSeed.io It is a free tool that you can customize to your brand and in a couple of minutes have a small box that you can click that allows customers to engage with a brand. (Disclaimer, I am friends with the owner of the company, however that doesn’t detract from the fact that it is an amazing tool)
4) Use SEO and PPC
I like the analogy of marathon and sprint. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a marathon, Pay-per-click (PPC) is a sprint. You want leads immediately- PPC. You want long term free leads, SEO.
Pay-per-click is exactly what it sounds like- you advertise and pay when someone clicks on the ad that takes them to your website. I have heard horror stories about “experts” blowing through a company’s budget and not having any conversions from it. Very often, the person is not an expert. I hate scam calls that almost every business owner gets that someone says they are from Google and calling to help you rank. Google doesn’t call you. As a Google certified partner, I hate the misrepresentation of these calls. Being a partner means you pass rigorous testing and other requirements that Google has to be considered an expert in various advertising on their platform.
Search engine optimization is getting your website to rank well for relevant keywords. There are specific measures to be taken if you want your website to rank well. It has to have a fundamental architecture on your website and then it has to remain relevant and topical. Your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy can be divided into two different categories: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. Similar sounding titles, but they are completely different methods of improving your position in search. You want to rank well in Google for SEO? Sure there are some mechanical things you should understand, but the ultimate way is to provide original, quality content that people like- blogs, videos, etc. An SEO expert can help you with that from a strategic standpoint as well as some of the technical nuances you should do.
5) Use Social Media Effectively
I had a lawyer that paid other firms a ton of money to do social media. FB, Twitter, Instagram and he wondered why people weren’t following him or sharing his content. It was all legal tips and stuff. Well written and articulate, but not something that most people care about. I am not saying social media can’t work for every kind of business, but there are kinds which it is much easier to see benefits from and others you really have to get creative with ion order for it to work. For example, a popular restaurant that shares pictures, recipes, etc is much easier for someone to follow and share than the steps to take when in an accident. However, this is not to say social media can’t work at all, it just means you have to change the narrative. No matter what kind of business you are in, it is made of people. So talk about things going on in the community. Talk about things that are interesting, funny, worth sharing. The lawyer I mentioned is Hispanic. So, instead of talking about law, talk about Hispanic issues, talk about traditions, locations idioms and other cultural aspects of who he was. Boom- now his social media has thousands of engaged and sharing followers. When there is a legal need, the people in that online community are aware of him and contact him.
6) Garner & Share Positive Reviews
Ask many business owners and they will tell you that word of mouth is the number one source of referrals. This is still true, however the digital transformation has changed this slightly. People want to know what others experienced at your company. Was the product good? Was the service good? How were they treated? Etc. Getting online positive reviews is a great way to let others know that your business can be trusted.
No matter what kind of business you have, I highly suggest having a Google My Business page. It is free from Google and let’s you put in information like location, hours and services that are displayed on Google maps and found in search. People can leave reviews about your company on them. While you shouldn’t give incentives for people to leave positive reviews, you can provide the link to customers.
Bringing it all together
You took an amazing risk to start your business. Sales are the lifeblood of almost any business. Increase your sales by doing the 6 things I wrote about and providing an amazing service and your company will do well. I am rooting for you to do be the leader in Orlando.
Until Next Time,
Robert Urban – CEO
Best-selling author, Marine veteran and PhD. Offers expert-level strategy and execution for businesses through relationship driven marketing, content and sales. Paperboat is headquartered near Orlando, Florida.