HOW TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR COMPANY ROI DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON

Keeping track of the ROI is a crucial part of your company’s success. It’s almost as important as reaching your target audience.

keep track of your company on holidays

How many of you are familiar with these ways? How many of you need a refresher course? Well for those of you who fit into these categories, here are a few special tips.

THE SPECIAL URL

You will need the Google URL builder for this. You can find this toll on your business activity report. This will help you place special codes. These codes are based on the platform you are using.

Most people in the business world call this the UTM Code. This tool can tell you where the action is coming from. Places like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will light up. You can see where most of the action is coming from. This will tell you which direction your company needs to take.

THE DISCOUNT CODE

Use this codes for each platform. Each code needs to be distinct too. Do not use the same codes for Facebook and Twitter. This will cause confusion. With everything your company has to deal with, you do not have time to remember to separate.

A certain page will light up, it all depends on which code was used. This is a great way to keep track of where the sales are coming from. Based on these numbers, you will know what needs to be modified.

THE DROP-DOWN MENU

It’s best to use this only at the checkout page. Each customer can click on where they heard about you. Include everything. Include people like friends and family. Include places like social networks or a t.v. spot. This will give you a detailed report on where the top sales are coming from. Did the person hear about you through Google? Include this. Did the person hear about you from an ad in the paper? Have this listed. This way the person can click on it.

This is a good way for companies to know which adverts are getting the most attention.
Based on these reports you can make adjustments as needed.

SOCIAL SELLING AND WHY YOU NEED IT AROUND THE HOLIDAYS

Consider this part two of the social media aspect of selling. When we last spoke, we discussed things like Facebook and Pinterest. Today we will be talking about something called Instagram. This is the social feed where people post all those selfies and such. It turns out this social channel can be used for a very good purpose.

Are you a cleaning business? You can use this channel to advertise. Show pictures of the homes you have done. This is a great way for people to visually see who you are, not just read the content.

post on instagram your product

Do you have a Christmas tree you want people to buy? Post the picture. Tweet about it on Twitter. This is a great way to get more exposure. You can post pictures of Christmas cookies and other cool things. This is the perfect way for the company to sell from a different angle.

Companies can sell on Instagram without even making a sell. How cool is that?

TWITTER

Twitter is another big deal for most people. Everyone from celebrities to average people tweet these days. A friend of mine went out and bought a Christmas tree the other day. She was so excited. She got home and tweeted about it. She posted the picture and she got hundreds of responses. Everyone wanted to know where she got the tree.

She actually got the fake tree from a department store a few miles from her home. After seeing the tweets, all her friends went out and bought one. This department store was sold out in a matter of minutes.

The tweets blew up. Everything blew up. It all happened because of this one fake tree. I even wanted to know where she got it. This is how powerful Twitter is.twitter-852636_1280

There was one neighbor that bought this incredible light show for his house. All my friends wanted to know where he got them. This light show is incredible. You have not seen anything like this. In fact, it puts all the others to shame.

I told my neighbor to Tweet about it, even though it’s not really his thing. He did it. The responses were incredible. He told everyone to go to this one store. The store was sold out fast. The store actually had to order more, all due to the popular demand.

The demand would not have been so big had he not tweeted about it. This is how big this thing is.

If you are to shy to do this, ask a friend to help out. There are plenty of people who willing to shamelessly plug something, especially if it means more money in the bank.

Talk to your bosses at work about this. This is a great way for your company to capitalize on the attention. Have someone from within the company post on Twitter specifically. It will work for you.

Have you done this already? Share your experiences right here at this link. I am sure the company will love the exposure. The more you share your experiences with this, the more your company will increase their sales.

IT’S THE HOLIDAYS. WHAT THIS COULD MEAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS PART TWO

This is the second installment of the holiday article. The holidays are an important time to lots of people. This makes the shopping time very crucial to your customers. When last we spoke, a few simple suggestions were made to help encourage more business. In this article I will be taking things a bit deeper.

IT’S TIME TO MOBILIZE

Almost everyone is on their phone these days. Did you know that almost 80% will research something on their phone first, before heading to the store? It’s true. This is why you have to get your brand out there. Customers have to find you on their phones.

Make some special eye-popping announcements for the mobile app specifically. It’s one of the best ways to reach your audience.

SET DEADLINES

At work you have deadlines. Why wouldn’t you do the same for your site. Advertise certain discounts. Once you do this, then you set some deadlines. Make sure your customers see the deadlines. Do not get into the habit of honoring after the sale-by date. Too many companies have done this. These stores have also gotten burned because of it too.

Setting deadlines will encourage your customers to take action now. Please consider doing this. You will thank me for this advise later.

If customers think they have an open time frame, they will take forever to make up their minds. A deadline will encourage your customers to do it right away. This will reduce buyer hesitation. It will also create buyer/brand respect. This is a good thing.

FIND A PARTNER

This is one of the more underrated things you can do for your company during the holidays. Find a company nearby you can partner with. Find someone that offers a common interest and bond. Find someone that is offering a similar product brand or service. Find a way to partner up with them.

Maybe you can share advertising costs. This is a great way to save some money too. This is a great way to share community within your community, especially during the holidays. This way you can appeal to both your audience and your partner’s.

CONCLUSION

Never underestimate the value you can offer others out there. There are so many untapped resources during the holidays. You have so much potential. All you need to do is find ways to utilize it. If you can show your holiday cheer lines up with your business acumen, your traffic will begin to skyrocket.

OMG THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING: WHAT THIS COULD MEAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS PART ONE

The holidays are here. You know what that means? It means shopping. It means tons of shopping. It means people going into the red over excessive shopping.

This also means it’s the perfect time for your business to capitalize on this time. There are ways to take advantage of this, without you being seen as a money pit.

Here is how…..

IT’S TIME TO EXTEND THE CONNECTIONS

The holidays are not just about you. There are people shopping for others too. This is how you can make it work for you. Look at your social media pages. Advertise gift ideas for family and friends. Offer special discounts for certain relatives. Offer discount shopping for aunts and uncles. Do the same for friends and other relatives.

It’s the perfect way to get the word out. You have to focus on what your consumers need. Never focus on what you think they might need. Show some photos of gift ideas for mom. Appeal to that special person. It will work. Trust me. The holidays are about family and emotion, or they are supposed to be. Appeal to this side. You will never go wrong.

WRAP IT UP IN A PACKAGE AND BOW

This is another good idea. Offer gift wrapping or special packaging this time of year. Business who do not normally do this have started doing it. It will appeal to so many people. It will appeal to people because, it means less time they have to spend on wrapping. Do this. You will thank me for this advice later on.

What if your business is online? Do the same thing. Offer different colors and gift-wrapping options. Offer big and small boxes. Do not include this in with the price though. Offer it up as a special addition that you will not charge for. Customers will be very thankful for this. It might also attract some new customers to your business. It all goes hand-in-hand.

INVITE SOME FRIENDS

The refer-a-friend program is something that many business have started doing. Any time you refer a friend, you get a special rate or discount. Think about doing this one. You’d be surprised how many new customers who will want to look at your products.

You can also partner with other stores during this time. This way each of your customers can get special deals. Both you and your partnering business can get equal business. You might also get some new business from other customers, customers who already shop with the other company.

The holidays are approaching us fast. It’s time to act now. Implementing just one of these options can take your business to the next level. Join me next week for the second part of this discussion.