Posts

Google is a must for eCommerce

,

Google is a must for eCommerce

Nearly everyone in the world knows about the search engine, Google. However, not everyone knows just how effective Google can be as a marketing tool, especially for eCommerce businesses.

To set up an eCommerce business for the best success possible, we highly recommend using 5 Google platforms; Google Ads, Google Business Profile, Google Merchant Centre, Google Analytics and Google Search Console. A business can use each platform individually but Google also allows you to link them together, which when used correctly, can maximise your marketing campaign success.

Google Ads
Firstly, one of the main benefits of using Google Ads is the huge reach it has. If someone is Googling a question and your ad comes up as the solution, a user is far more likely to choose you over your competitor. Secondly, because you can create ads that appear across all Google platforms, this will help direct a service or product towards your target demographic as Google’s AI knows which users are most likely to purchase. Google Ads are also aimed toward an audience that is in the market to buy and wants to see advertisements, unlike other platforms such as social media. Thirdly, when it comes to sticking to a budget, you can set daily limits, meaning you will never overspend. Lastly, the layout of Google Ads is also simple and easy to understand, making it user-friendly.

Google Business Profile
There are plenty of benefits to having a Google Business Profile. You can personalise and update your information, photos, posts and more at any time. It is also handy to have because Google can direct customers to your shopfront (if you have one) if they are in the area, you don’t even have to have a website. Having a Google Business Profile is also a fantastic way to find out how your customers are finding you and where they are coming from.

Google Merchant Centre
Google Merchant Centre is fantastic in that that they can present a single specific item from your store to customers who they think will be interested in purchasing it. Not only can this help you increase your brand awareness, but it also offers customers a quick and positive shopping experience. You can edit them in real-time as well which means customers will always have up-to-date information.

Google Analytics
Google Analytics is easy to use, but has many layers, the deeper you choose to go. It is one of, if not the best analytics tool out there. The benefits of this tools are endless. It helps you understand user behaviour, identifies your target market, tracks how your business is performing online, improves the overall functionality of your website and improves your SEO and content marketing, helps you achieve realistic goal conversions, gets you ahead of the competition and more.

Google Search Console
In order to stay ahead of the game as well as stay industry relevant, Google Search Console is a must-use tool. As a marketer, Google Search Console will help you see how your marketing is progressing, ensure your website is mobile-friendly (very important) and will ensure you are collecting relative data. If you are also using Google Analytics, the two tools can be seamlessly integrated which means you will be able to see your Search Console data in your Google Analytics Report.

At My Robot Monkey, we specialise in all things eCommerce! If you have any questions or would like to connect, please reach out to us at www.myrobotmonkey.com.au/contact

/by
Marketing Blog

Did you know 80% of your ‘success’ likely comes from 20% of your efforts?

, , , ,

Pareto’s principle is the idea that “for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes”.

Originally Pareto had observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by just 20% of the population. He then noticed that 20% of the pea-pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.

In Marketing the principle is applied to illustrate that it is often just 20% of the activities you carry out that result in 80% of your income.

You can apply this to your particular business / marketing circumstances in the way that most suits you, some examples are below:

  • Maybe 20% of your “best” clients produce 80% of your income.
  • Perhaps 20% of your “difficult” clients produce 80% of your time consuming challenges.
  • 20% of your top selling products are resulting in 80% of your sales.
  • 80% of your leads come from 20% of your marketing efforts.

Take something that you would like to improve about your business or a particular issue you are having and see if you can apply Pareto’s principle to help you see where changes can be made. For example which are your top products producing the majority of your sales? Are these the same products that you are focussing your marketing efforts on in order to bring in even more sales? Who are your top clients or customers, perhaps it might be worthwhile celebrating the partnership with a small gift of thanks to them in order to foster the relationship.

How can you use Pareto’s 80/20 principle maximise the efforts in your business?

Contact My Robot Monkey Today – Full Service Marketing and Digital Agency www.myrobotmonkey.com.au

/1 Comment/by

Are you building your Retail Marketing Strategy from the ground up?

,

Many businesses continue to run with existing marketing strategies that they have had in play for many years. However, retail marketing has changed dramatically in a short period of time. Gone are the days of allocating 90% of your budget to above the line media and the remaining splashed around in PR and Digital, now a more fluid and dynamic approach is needed.

I believe, when building your marketing strategy, you need to ask yourself the following:

  • How successful were your promotions/events over the last few years?
  • What did or didn’t work for your business and why?
  • Are your campaigns positioned to give you the greatest results? Look at the timing of your events and competitors events. Bring into the mix promotional opportunities like Christmas, Mother’s Day, Easter and public holidays.
  • Are you making the most of new product? Review your seasonal product mix; new products and categories are important strategies that require focus. You will want to highlight new releases – Use some of your tight marketing budget to draw attention to these areas.
  • Review your budget and return on investment – What have you been spending funds on? What delivered the best result? You may need to adjust and spend more or less in certain areas (Example: Reducing a 16-page brochure to 12 pages and passing those savings onto an online sales driving campaign).

Answering the above questions will certainly help you gain a positive viewpoint on how you should build your marketing strategy for the next financial year.

Here are a few tips, which may help the process:

  • Break down your annual marketing planner per week, and align your budget accordingly. Track your budget on a weekly basis; adjust accordingly if you’re not achieving business sales targets.
  • When compiling your strategy, determine your expenditure breakdown per event and promotion. What media will work best for each event or promotion? Make sure your content suits your media!
  • Allocate and breakdown the percentage of your total budget wisely; your mix should include allocation of monies towards a variety of campaigns with goals in mind. Goals may include: Driving sales, increasing your brand name in the market, building online sales, acquiring new customers, visual merchandising, loyalty programs and social media. For the best results filter these into the most suitable and relevant media type.
  • Don’t be afraid to try new things. However, always report, analyse and adjust accordingly.

For further information please contact My Robot Monkey, Marketing and Digital Agency.

www.myrobotmonkey.com.au

/by

Why is social media important for your business?

, , ,

Social media has become a major part of modern day living, it is how we connect, share photos and plan events with friends and family, how we advertise our skills for work and how we express the things that are important to us. It has also become a way to share, promote and sell products and services. The latest figures show 81% of consumers go online to research before heading out to make a purchase, this is up 20% on last year and is expected to continue to rise. Social media accounts for a lot of this research; peers reviews and recommendations online have a big impact on a final purchase.

So we can see why a great digital and social media presence is so important for most types of business. In most cases the customers first exposure to you will be online; through your Website, Facebook or LinkedIn page or perhaps your Twitter, YouTube, Instagram or Pinterest and what they see and experience there will make all the difference.

Social media can help your business…

  • Generate leads and improve sales
  • Increase exposure of your brand
  • Improve search engine rankings
  • Increase traffic to your website through shared links
  • Build customer loyalty
  • Increase conversion rates
  • Carry out simple market research and better understand customer wants and needs
  • Lower marketing costs and strong return on investment

Although there are exceptions, not all types of social media are directly suitable for all types of businesses and if you are a smaller company or just starting out you run the risk of being overwhelmed by trying to keep up with all your different media. It is worth noting that if you do plan to plug in to as many social media outlets as possible there are many great software programs that help automate your social media updates, just be aware that you may run the risk of regurgitating the same information all over your outlets which will be tiresome to any potential customers who may have joined you in more than one site.

Service based businesses and B2B commodities are better off focusing on Facebook business page, Twitter, Linked in and Google+. B2C products and more luxury services such as beauty therapies, fashion services, clothing, cosmetics and accessories are more suited to creative, image based social media marketing through Facebook retail pages, Pinterest and Instagram.

So go ahead, dive in and get started, you’ll learn as you go. Social media is a great tool for the modern day business person and can really help with building a brand that consumers can connect to.

Contact My Robot Monkey for your Marketing | Creative | Digital needs! www.myrobotmonkey.com.au

/by

Key questions to ask about your content marketing.

Firstly what is content marketing?

In its most simplified form content marketing is the writing and/or sharing of relevant pieces of information that you think will be of value and/or interest to your target market (this may be writing, videos, blogs, graphics or anything else that you may use to creatively attract customers).

…Much like this blog post you are reading right now…

When creating your content marketing you want to keep these key questions in mind:

  • Will this topic appeal to my target audience? Ensure that your content is covering information that will be important, interesting and significant to your particular customer.
  • Is it relevant to my purpose? Your content must be relevant and helpful to your business or you are wasting your time.
  • Does your content link in well with search engines? It is important to use relevant, high traffic tags and specific wording so that your work will be picked up well by search engines. You want to drive as much traffic to your site as possible.

The main take home message on content marketing is to create or share something that is of real interest and value to your consumer. People are bombarded all day everyday by masses of different types of marketing telling them what they need and want. Content marketing allows the consumer to take a breath and encourages them to come to you without feeling harassed.

/9 Comments/by

eCommerce trends for 2015

,

We posted a blog earlier on “Online stores are changing the way we shop”. To follow on from that, we now explore how trends are changing within the online space. In our previous blog we explained how online shopping and online pre buy research are increasing significantly, leaving some traditional bricks and mortar retailers in the dust. Now we discover the biggest trends to be aware of for optimising your eCommerce business in 2015. Overwhelmingly customers are shopping on the go from mobile phones and are using social media to inform and facilitate these purchases.

  • 1/3 of online purchases are now made from a mobile device.
  • Social media has become a big player in the eCommerce sphere with an overwhelming growth in conversions from social media of 202% in 2014 alone!
  • 24/7 shopping: In traditional retail the store is closed for around 16 hours in every 24. But an online retailer is always open! Customers are responding to this, they shop at work, before they go to sleep at night and on those lazy Sunday afternoons.

So what does this mean for your eCommerce business?

It means that mobile friendly websites are no longer an option but a necessity, it also means that “mobile friendly” may not cut it, it is now time for “mobile optimised”.

If you haven’t already then 2015 is absolutely the year to embrace social media! Social media (SM) has become a serious player and SM marketing is equally, if not more important in some industries than more traditional forms of marketing. Social media platforms are becoming so much more than a place for people to gather and chat online, they are the places where decisions are made and social recommendations count for a lot.

/5 Comments/by

Online is changing the way we shop

Online stores are changing the way we shop; increasingly people are opting to research and buy the things they want and need online instead of in traditional storefronts. This is resulting in an array of changes, numerous new retailers are opting for online only, and some businesses are creating a mixture where online store and retail outlets work together incorporating practices such as returns and size changing. You can guarantee the number of retailers without an online presence is dropping drastically and some storefronts are disappearing altogether as peoples buying habits change.

The statistics are staggering:

  • More than 80% of people on the Internet have made an online purchase, 50% purchase online regularly.
  • Ecommerce sales have grown by more than 19% a year since 2011, and will be nearing $1.4 trillion by the end of 2015.
  • 81% of consumers go online to research before heading out to make a purchase; this is up 20% on last year.
  • 70% of people search online to find services and information i.e. builders, cleaners, informative websites.

The overwhelming trend is one of movement away from traditional shopping and towards online, on the go, socially informed shopping from a range of different devices.

For further information to assist in improving or creating your online platform, contact My Robot Monkey.

www.myrobotmonkey.com.au

/4 Comments/by

How does your customer think about your brand?

Your customers’ first impression of your business will be determined through your brand; whether it be your business name, your colour palette, logo, website, advertising, social media or any element your customers may have seen or heard.

It is extremely valuable to align and communicate your business values and offering clearly, and to be consistent with all your customer touch points, as this may determine whether you gain or lose that customer from the outset.

In our world today consumers are overwhelmed with choice. Your potential customers are considering which company to engage with or make a purchase. By taking away all the road blocks, clearly communicating your message and being consistent through all forms of your customer touch points, you’re half way there in gaining that sale or engaging a new customer.

At My Robot Monkey we can help you understand how to clearly communicate your valuable message in a busy market!

www.myrobotmonkey.com.au

www.facebook.com/myrobotmonkey

/36 Comments/by

eCommerce in the 21st century! A quality digital presence is essential.

In the 21st century, if you don’t have a quality digital presence, you’re not in the game! The world has moved on, your website, logo and design work has to be of a high standard and is your number one priority from a marketing stand point. A great digital presence is extremely important as in most cases the customers first point of call is your website and what they see and experience there will make all the difference.

The great thing about eCommerce is you can analyse everything; customer behaviour, viewed pages, drop off rates and more, in order to understand what is and isn’t working for you. You can then adjust live on the run 24/7 to improve your out come.

 

 

/10 Comments/by