When I talk to people about Pay Per Click (PPC), I get three reactions:

Who-sa-What is it? 

People just don’t know about it. This is causing businesses to lose revenue DAILYto their competition.

PPC stands for pay-per-click, internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked on. Essentially, it’s a way of buying visits to your site, rather than attempting to “earn” those visits organically. It allows advertisers to bid for ad placement in a search engine’s sponsored links when someone searches a keyword that is related to their business offering.

You can measure everything, but most importantly, how many leads are generated and cost per lead. This allows you to decide, in Superman style speed, if this type of marketing is right for you. Let’s say your average sale is $200. What is a fair price for you to spend earning a new customer? For argument’s sake, let’s say $30 is a fair cost for every new person that walks through your door. As a business owner, that’s easy math. I’ll spend $30 all day long to make a $200 sale. That’s PPC.

Tried it, and it didn’t work for me 

Let’s say you just purchased a new car. You drive it for a few days, and love it, but one day you get in and it won’t start. You immediately call the dealer to take it back. When the dealer takes a look at your car, he discovers the reason it wouldn’t start: it had run out of gas. It wasn’t the car, it was you.

If you just throw together a quick PPC campaign, fire it up, and let it run by itself, it will likely fail. Just like your car, your PPC campaign needs regular maintenance. There has to be someone regularly monitoring, adjusting, and maintaining PPC campaigns in order for them to work properly.

PPC campaigns usually fail for one of 3 reasons: careless setup, not enough time to manage it properly, or (most frequently) set it & forget it. Like all things worthwhile, it takes time and effort to maintain.

Doing it, and it works 

Here’s where the proof comes in. 

To use a fishing analogy, you get what you bait for. If you bait for catfish, you catch catfish. If you bait for bass, you catch bass. What’s great about PPC is we can dial it in to target ONLY the customers you want to reach. You want dog owners that like to travel and eat BBQ, or moms who live less than 5 miles from your store, that drive a minivan, have kids and like Disney? PPC has them. It’s that precise. PPC can target your client, and only your client, so there’s no waste in your advertising investment. This gets your cost per lead down, which translates to a more efficient advertising campaign. Branding Iron can target the exact clients that make your business profitable, with very little waste.  

Using this tool, clients’ lead generation increase by adding PPC where it wasn’t being used before. We can conquer your competition by targeting their key business. We can command a sector of your business where your offering is stronger. We can take a larger market share by making sure you aren’t missing search volume. 

To do that you have to get started. Call Branding Iron Management today to learn more. 

Thought to take with you: Facebook estimated that 2.2 billion people use Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger each day. If you are not taking advantage of social media marketing, you are letting potential business slip through your fingers that you could take to the bank.

1. Users who are 65 years and older are the fastest-growing group on Facebook
2. Fewer teens are using Facebook now than in previous years
3. 74% of Facebook users are high-income earners and even surpasses LinkedIn, which reaches just 49% of users making more than $75,000
4. 88% of Facebook users are on the platform to stay in contact with friends and family
5. Highest traffic occurs mid-day Wednesday and Thursday, so the best time to post on social media platforms is between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m
6. Americans consume at a higher rate, bringing the national daily time average spent on Facebook to almost 4 hours
7. 94% of Facebook Ad revenue is from mobile, while only 6% is desktop related
8. The average price for Facebook Ads decreased 6% in 2019. This is mainly due to the increase in available ad inventory because people spend more time online than ever before
9. The average cost per click for a Facebook Ad is $1.72 according to a study by Wordstream
10. Mobile-friendly graphics generate higher engagement
11. Users watch 85% of Facebook videos without sound, making it extremely important to focus on eye-catching imagery
12. Square Facebook videos get 35% more views than landscape videos

A major theme this year is the continued growth of Facebook Ads and the emphasis of video graphics on the platform. Knowing Facebook statistics and trends can help you modify your marketing strategy so that you can increase engagement, reach your audience, and meet your goals.

How will these statistics shape your 2021 Facebook marketing strategy? Let us at Branding Iron Management help you grow your business with a strategic social media plan.

With over one billion active users per month, Instagram is a great outlet to advertise your brand; if you know how to do it. Branding Iron is here to provide tips and tricks for getting your account active and noticed on the app.

Where do I start?

First things first, you need to download the Instagram app and create an account. You then will have the option to make it a “business account” which allows you to measure post interactions. With this feature you can also add a “contact” button which will allow consumers to contact you with questions directly through the app. Finally, add a descriptive bio explaining your business and a profile picture and you are ready to start posting!

What do I post?

The great thing about Instagram is there are many different ways you can post about your business. Like Branding Iron, you can post pictures or videos of products and services, post about giveaways using the story-feature, post reviews from consumers or repost content from other followers! It is important to post relevant and compelling content to keep consumers engaged.

When do I post?

Users are active at different times throughout the day, so it is a good idea to post multiple times a week at different times. Posting about 2-3 times per week allows that you don’t post so much that you are flooding your followers’ news feed, but you are able to stay relevant. An extra tip is that many users are most active in the evenings (when they get off work) so it is a great time to get a little extra engagement on weekdays. Branding Iron keeps up with trends of when users are active to ensure better post engagement.

How do I make my posts noticeable?

Instagram has several different features to help you differentiate your posts from other users including filters and hashtags. Picking one filter and sticking to it for the majority of your posts helps you keep a consistent look for your posts and can help you stand out. Hashtags are helpful for reaching a bigger audience because when people search that term, your posts will show up. Finally, include pictures of people and friendly faces in your posts. With Branding Iron, users know they are interacting with other people and not just a business.

Branding Iron Management can help you start posting on Instagram. Let us amplify your social media marketing, show off your brand, and help you reach a larger audience!

During the pandemic brands of all sizes struggled to adapt to changing consumer needs. After a tough year, many small businesses have begun prioritizing making genuine and lasting connections online. Whether they’re doing this by ramping up their social media presence or adding remote services to their list of offerings — brands are finding a way to stay visible and relevant to their customers, even from a distance.

How do these efforts translate to social media in the new year? Today we’ll walk you through the key video marketing predictions small businesses should keep in mind this year.

1. Community is key – and yours may be on Instagram Reels.

This year, Reels could continue to be the best way for brands to grow organically on Instagram. It’s all about experimenting on the platform to see what boosts engagement most. By using Reels consistently in your content strategy, you can build a more engaged community with relatable, educational, and entertaining content.

2. Video is not a one-and-done strategy.

During the pandemic, brands that got the best ROI for their video marketing were the ones that used video consistently and across various social & traditional platforms. As the cost of production of video continues to get more affordable, we’re going to see an influx of videos on social media, so standing out will mean creating a strategy for continuous video creation, and setting specific goals for each month to stay on task.

3. Live video and real-time shopping are on the rise.

We’re seeing a surge in live video coupled with real-time shopping on both Facebook and Instagram. The feature is already available to a limited number of creators, but will be rolling out to more users. Instagram alluded that the real-time shopping with live video is not just for online retailers of physical products; the company is also working on ways to help all types of businesses as well.

4. Telling your story with video helps humanize your brand.

People are literally aching for connection with other people, not just a talking head. Brands that use more interactive, snack-sized videos to share their stories and show their value will have a much shorter sales cycle than the ones that don’t.

5. Simple gets traction.

Brands are getting more value from lightweight, bite-sized content. So, repurpose existing assets to create new content. For content that draws your viewers in: take your text-based content and create social videos, or take a long-form video and create several shorter, social-friendly pieces of content.

6. Organic video content fosters genuine connection with your customer.

Video will absolutely be a top of mind element in everyone’s marketing and content marketing strategy. A big video trend for this year will be, “simpler productions” as we are filming livestream content remotely or from our homes and using scaled-down studios and equipment to create content that connects with our audience and customer.

How you can apply the latest trends to your video marketing strategy:

Now that you know what works, it’s time to start creating. One helpful way to get started is with a weekly or monthly plan. Not sure what to create? No problem. Contact Branding Iron and we’ll help you line out a plan for very affordable video creation and social media marketing investments.

Your first video is on us! Call us before the end of the month and we’ll create an original video for your business and show you how to use it most efficiently. 

How much should you spend on advertising your business? The price to promote your company can escalate quickly — newspaper ads, banners, radio spots, direct mail, online marketing, telemarketing. It all adds up. Here are the top four methods for setting an advertising budget used by the most successful independent businesses:

1. Fixed percentage of sales. There are two fixed percentage methods a business owner can use. A larger percentage of net sales or a smaller percentage of gross sales. 

Gross sales – Start with last year’s total gross sales or average sales for the past few years, then allocate a specific percentage of that figure for advertising. Most businesses set aside between 4% and 6% of annual revenues for advertising. So if your annual sales are $300,000 then spend $12,000 to $18,000 on advertising.

Net sales – Start with last year’s net sales profit after all expenses. We like this method better if you are going to use the fixed percentage method because it accounts for keeping your total spend in the black. We don’t like it when businesses go into debt to advertise their products or services. Most businesses set aside 10-12% of net sales profit for advertising. So if your annual profit is $150,000 then spend $15,000 to $18,000. When you find a happy place where Gross sales and net sales numbers intersect you have a good foundation for percentage based ad investment.

·        Pros: It’s easy to understand and be safe: Rather than predict the future, you’re dealing with a known amount. If you’re in a stable, predictable industry, this method is sound. This strategy keeps your budget in relation to sales volume — the very thing advertising is attempting to affect.

·        Cons: The budget is based on past performance. You may lose the opportunity to capitalize on shifts in the business climate or customer trends. This method also assumes that sales are directly related to advertising, which isn’t always the case. Numerous other factors affect sales. A pandemic might impact your business regardless of how much advertising you purchase. 

2. Comparable to the competition. Adopt the industry average for ad budgets for your company. Many trade associations and industry publications can provide the average amount or percentage companies spend on advertising. 

·        Pros: This is an easy approach for companies with predictable sales patterns.

·        Cons: It assumes that the industry average applies to all businesses in the marketplace. Companies may ignore local market forces — and miss opportunities to increase market share — if they stick rigidly to this figure rather than boost spending.

3. Objective and task-based. Begin by setting specific marketing objectives and deciding on the tasks required to meet those objectives. (Example: Increase out-of-state clients by 5% using online promotions.) Then determine your budget by estimating the costs of carrying out those tasks. You need the ability to identify cost per new client conversion. But if you can gather that information you can pinpoint what you need to invest to grow by specific margins. If you can’t afford to fund all your ideas, rank them and focus on the top few.

·        Pros: It’s an accurate method: It ties the use of funds directly to the tasks you want to accomplish. If properly executed, the advertising becomes an investment, not an expense. By spending whatever is needed, the company may grow at a faster rate.

·        Cons: If the advertising campaign flops, it can be pricey. You may not recoup costs on a bad promotion.

4. The maximum amount. Lots of fast-growing businesses put their faith in this strategy, which advocates setting aside just enough money to sustain the business — and your family — then spending the rest on advertising. 

·        Pros: Like most aggressive methods, it offers the reward of rapid growth.

·        Cons: It’s risky. Unless you have a solid reserve to operate your business, you may run it into the ground if your advertising fails. To make this stretch you will want a professional to help you plan this investment effectively. 

Whichever method you choose, planning your budget in advance is a must. If you’d like help in this area. Give Branding Iron a call today. 

It is time to turn your attention to creating a winning formula for sales success. Your sales performance in the New Year will hinge upon the strategic plan that you prepare, so it is critical to develop a systematic plan of attack. Below are 7 ways to jump start your sales in the new year!

1. Set your goals and incentivize yourself to attain them. 

Take some time to sit down and write down your specific goals for the year. One way to do this is to create a two column table. On the left hand side, list your professional goals. On the right hand side, list a reward or incentive that you will give to your team as you achieve each goal. Make sure that your goals are challenging, yet attainable.

2. Make proactive customer outreach your top New Year’s resolution. 

A proactive approach is one of the most underutilized elements of the marketing process. But you will need to go beyond simply stating this as your New Year’s resolution. Identify key steps that you will take to become more proactive in your approach. Examples may include distributing a client newsletter with helpful tips and using scheduling reminders to follow up with customers 10 days after each sale.

3. Create a mentor program. 

A mentor program is a great solution for organizations that are seeking to add talented new members representatives to their team. Even if you operate as an independent, you can energize your performance by mentoring an intern or assistant. You may end up hiring the person you are mentoring and far exceeding your new goals.

4. Take advantage of training and personal development opportunities. 

“I am either getting better or worse. Nothing stays the same.” It is imperative that we are constantly learning and growing. Achieving your goals in an increasingly competitive environment will be difficult if you do not stay on top of the latest cutting-edge techniques and products. Make sure that you actively participate in any continuing education opportunities and take advantage of free training opportunities or seminars in your area.

5. Identify and target emerging markets for your industry. 

Tapping into under-served markets is a great way to grow your sales.

6. Keep a watchful eye on other successful sales professionals in your industry. 

You can monitor your competition through involvement in industry associations and events. Remember, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! In many cases there may be opportunities to partner and further develop your skills and sales. Surround yourself with successful people.

7. Survey existing customers to find out your strengths and weaknesses. 

Your ability to increase your revenue depends upon your ability to capitalize on your strengths and address your weaknesses. Obtaining customer feedback is the best way to assess your performance and can be achieved by distributing a short questionnaire. Be sure to ask customers what you can do to improve the customer experience. Let them know that both positive and constructive feedback will be warmly received. If they had a positive experience, this can also be a great time to ask for testimonials or referrals.

BONUS TIP: The start of the New Year is an exciting time to unveil a new product, program or service. Use online marketing to start building anticipation as early as possible so your customers will be interested in exploring a purchase as soon as it is available.

By incorporating these specific strategies into your business plan, you will position yourself to have a fabulous year. Let’s connect! We can help game plan and build a strategy to help you set and reach goals you never knew you could achieve. 

How to prioritize clients during uncertain times

Customers for life

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided countless lessons in customer service. Many companies have risen to the challenge of this “new normal” by prioritizing clients, while others have crumbled, generating bad reviews and anger on social media.

One thing has become clear: during uncertain times, companies need to care for their customers — and ideally go above and beyond to do it.

Particularly in times of crisis, a customer’s interaction with a company can trigger an immediate and lingering effect on his or her sense of trust and loyalty. If you have yet to prioritize your client care and the experience provided, here are some ideas to consider.

Dedicate more time to customer service

When something disrupts your day-to-day life or your business operations, your customers will have questions. For example, if you operate a hotel and a hurricane is heading toward your area, your phone will likely start ringing with customers requesting cancellations or rescheduling their stays. The customer service you provide can be the difference between retaining these customers for better times or losing them during the crisis.

35% of customers have canceled their service or stopped shopping with a brand because of long wait times. Customers have reported yelling to customer service employees, complaining on social media and even crying when talking to representatives.

To prioritize clients, you need to increase your customer service bandwidth

This could mean getting another phone line or moving an employee from the floor to the customer care department. You should also hold an emergency customer care training to catch up employees on how to handle the developing situation while staying on brand and keeping the client at the forefront.

Make sure your rules and policies prioritize clients

Most companies develop policies to protect their finances and prevent customers from taking advantage of them. These policies may need to be evaluated under special circumstances. If you want to retain customers in the long run, you may need to make exceptions to your rules now.

For example, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Ticketmaster quietly changed its policies so it only issued refunds for cancellations, not for rescheduled or indefinitely postponed events where people wanted their money back. This is an example of what not to do. The move frustrated customers who needed refunds (many of whom had unexpectedly lost their jobs) and felt they were cheated by the company.

United, however, has prioritized clients in making policy changes. United has eliminated all ticket change fees for domestic flights through the end of the year. Scott Kirby, United CEO, told USA Today:

“Following previous tough times, airlines made difficult decisions to survive, sometimes at the expense of customer service. United Airlines won’t be following that same playbook as we come out of this crisis. Instead, we’re taking a completely different approach — and looking at new ways to serve our customers better.”

Your customers will appreciate short-term policy changes meant to help them — not you. Not to mention, any short-term losses will pay off in long-term customer loyalty.

Leverage partnerships within the community

Instead of closing your doors during uncertain times like a pandemic, look to your local business community. How can you collaborate to prioritize client needs, even if you aren’t operating on a full staff?

As a business owner, you need to build a strong network of partners to get referrals and grow your brand. The value of this will last long past the challenge you’re facing now. Make sure your customers are taken care of by asking for support when you need it.

Get on the phone early and often

Clients want to hear from you. In a March 2020 survey from 4A’s, 43% of respondents said it’s reassuring to hear from brands they know and trust. Another 40% said they want to hear how brands are responding to the pandemic.

Sometimes prioritizing clients simply requires your team to pick up the phone and have a conversation. During an uncertain time, like the pandemic, build this into your or your client care’s weekly routine. If you have a large set of clients, set a certain amount of calls for each team member to make each week until you reach everyone.

The time it takes to pick up the phone and call is well worth the long-term benefits of clients that feel heard and reassured.

Communicate with your customers

Client care is ever-evolving, but during a crisis, there’s only one thing that matters: prioritizing your clients’ needs ahead of your own. Talk with them directly. Update policies in a way that benefits them. Put more people on your customer care staff if needed.

Whatever you do, don’t forget to start here.

If you’ve been struggling during the pandemic, now is still a good time to prioritize clients and connect with them. Showing that you’re in this with them will benefit your business for years to come.

7 Aspects Where Consumer Habits Changed Most

1. Life at Home: There has been a huge surge in online consumption of all media.
   • In-home on demand consumption increased 44% during COVID-19. — Edison
   • 84% of consumers want brands to focus advertising on how products and services can help people cope. — Edelman
   • 53% of consumers reported a smart device or speaker helped influence a purchase decision in the last 3 months

2. Shopping: E-Commerce Is Exploding
   • $200B was spent online in Q2 2020 — DigitalCommerce360
   • E-commerce is expected to grow 20% in 2021 — IBM
   • Messaging Is More Important Than Ever Learning: The Home Classroom

3. Learning from Home
   • Moms planning to purchase half or more of their kids’ school supplies online went from 4% in 2019 to 16% in 2020. — Field Agent
   • Radio and digital audio reaches 91% of Teens monthly.
   • With in home learning, trust is more critical than ever.
   • Broadcast is more trustworthy than social media. The data found only 11% of Americans say they trust information they see on social media. If your Brand require a high level of trust for a purchase it may need more than social marketing.

4. Play and Entertainment – The digital shift             
   • Smart speaker listening in Q2 was up +43% for the year. —Edison
   • 70 % of consumers have enjoyed either a paid or free live streamed concert or event during the pandemic.
   • Broadcast Radio Drives Search

5. Health & Wellness – Growth of e-Pharmacies, e-doctors & fitness on demand
   • Online searches for telemedicine increased 9x during the pandemic. — McKinsey
   • 80% of Americans planning to make self-care a bigger focus post-pandemic. — Harris Poll
   • Broadcast has proven to increase search lift as much as 128% over organic search volume.

6. Travel & Mobility – Increase of domestic tourism in drive in markets
   • Driving Is Back – Personal vehicle usage and ownership is accelerating due to COVID-19. — Cars.com
   • Driving requests from Apple Maps have been up +38% in Q3 from pre-COVID levels.  — Apple Maps
   • Accelerating Shift To Personal Vehicles – 57% of people who purchased a car in the last 6 months said it was due to COVID.

7. Working From Home – Remote work and digital shift
   • Pre-pandemic, peak media hours were typically limited to before employees clocked in and after they clocked out, depending on the medium. With the elimination of a commute and the full array of their preferred platforms available, working from home provides consumers two elements vital to increasing consumption: time and choice.

• That means more windows of opportunity for content creators and advertisers alike to reach audiences outside of the traditional primetime, as well as potential new, creative ways to engage with consumers.

If you need help planning your new revised marketing plan to incorporate these new paradigm shifts, call Branding Iron today. 

Get in front of new audiences with organic and paid content.

Use this guide to optimize organic content and push paid content to reach new customers. 

Small business owners should be using both organic and paid content on Facebook to increase reach and get in front of new audiences. Posting organic content is an important tool to spread positive word-of-mouth, increase engagement, and drive brand awareness. Posting paid content is an important lever for small businesses to use to increase their exposure, reach a wider, targeted audience, and get new customers. Using both together is the best way to give your Facebook a boost to engage with your loyal fans and get in front of new audiences.

Organic Content – Get your Facebook posting strategy in order

First, it’s essential that you build up your presence on Facebook before boosting any content in order to get the most for your money. Consider the following questions:

• Are you posting regularly on your Facebook page?
• Are the majority of your followers liking, sharing, and commenting on your posts?
• Are you doing anything to increase your number of followers?

The answer to all of these questions should be, “yes,” before you begin boosting content. This is true because when you boost content, your post will reach people who don’t currently like or follow your page. Once they see your boosted content, they might navigate to your page to take a look at your other content. If these new visitors come to your page, you’ll want to make sure it’s telling your story in a way that’s both engaging and compelling. That way, they’ll be able to understand what your business is all about. And, they’ll be more likely to give your business a visit. By keeping your business’ Facebook Page full of exciting, organic content, you will be able to attract new customers, build relationships with your existing customer base, and stay top-of-mind with customers in your local area — and beyond.

Paid Content – Kick off your paid media strategy

The easiest way to advertise on Facebook is with boosted posts. What is a “boosted post”? A boosted post is a post on your Facebook Page’s timeline that you can put money behind in order to get it in front of a targeted audience. Using boosted posts is an excellent way to reach new people who are likely interested in your business but aren’t currently your fans on Facebook. When you boost a post, you have the potential to reach more people and entice current fans and potential new customers to visit your business.

Note: This is different than creating a Facebook Ad. While boosting a post is still considered an ad, Facebook ads are created through Ads Manager and have more customization options.

• What should I boost?
  • Events, specials, discounts, or promotions.
• What should I include?
  • Great photos, videos, or graphics.
• What should I do next?
  • Set goals for the results you want.

You can choose to boost your posts, or in other words, turn organic content into paid content, to reach both a wide and targeted audience and attract new customers.

Choose the post you will boost wisely: Think about high-quality content you’d like to feature in your boosted post. Typically, a good post to boost is for an event, special, discount, or promotion. If you’re putting money behind a post, it should look great. You’ll need a high-quality photo, video, or graphic.

Note: Any post you use to boost on Facebook should be less than 20% text. And, it’s important to keep your caption short and sweet. Facebook users have a lot of content to scroll through on their timelines. Make your content exciting enough for them to pause and click through to your page to find out more.

• Pro Tip: Before you boost content, publish your post on Facebook and give it some time to get some organic reach and engagement. Boosted posts tend to perform better if they have first earned organic engagement.

Set goals for the results you want It’s important before you boost a post to understand who you’re trying to reach and why.

• Are you putting money behind this post to bring more customers into your business?
• Is this a campaign for brand awareness?
• Are you looking to gain more followers?

Once you nail down what you’re trying to achieve by boosting a post, that will help inform your copy, the audience you’re trying to target, and how long you want to run the campaign.

Target your ideal audience

The next step is to get your post in front of the right audience — a.k.a as many of your ideal customers as possible. Boosting a post will ensure that your post reaches potential customers outside of your current network (who don’t currently follow you) and more of the right people in your community. So, think about exactly who you’re trying to reach. You can target by age, gender, location, and much more!

Don’t overdo it

Don’t inundate your audience with paid campaigns. People inside and outside your network don’t want to be overwhelmed with salesy content. Even 1-2 boosted posts a month can create successful results.

Track results

To review the performance of your boosted posts, go to your Business page on Facebook. Here, you can see the extent of the reach of your post, any meaningful actions (link clicks, video views, etc.) on the part of potential new fans and customers, and money spent. With these insights, you can strategize. Facebook’s data can help you analyze what worked and what didn’t so you can go confidently into your next campaign.

Managing both organic and paid content well is difficult. We have a team of experts that will handle the professional design and content strategy for you to maximize your reach, target more potential new customers, and entice them to visit your business.

Engage your customers like never before with Branding Iron. We help businesses elevate their online presence on the platforms that matter most to consumers. Keeping up with your social media, reviews, and online customer service is a full-time job. We’re the team that does it all, so our customers can focus on their business.

Request a free social media assessment below or, give us a call: 979-571-9919  

FREE ASSESSMENT

Let us do it for you! Is it time to give your Facebook a boost?

As you prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Week, we recommend giving your online sales funnel some attention. Without a proper sales funnel you can drive all the traffic in the world to your website but it will not convert to tangible business. Based on your customer’s interactions with your store, you can create pathways to help you drive more revenue. You can build journeys for key events for your business, including:

•            Abandoned cart

•            Post-purchase

•            Abandoned browse

•            Site visit

•            New email signup

Here’s a walkthrough of how you can incorporate some effective email tools to make actionable change on your website. Select a starting point to kick off your customer’s journey and add rules and actions that dictate which paths they’ll take and what messages you’ll deliver to them. In this example, we’ve created a post-purchase journey to drive repeat purchases among customers that buy specific products. 

              Step #1: Multiple starting points

With multiple starting points you can bring in customers who have bought specific products from your store into one journey that introduces them to other items that they may be interested in.

              Step #2: Delayed communication

Set up a delay. We recommend one week so that you’re re-engaging the customer while your business is top of mind, while not inundating them with emails immediately after they purchase.

              Step #3:  Tag every customer to a category

Tag this customer based on past purchase product category so you can send them targeted emails when you add new products or discounts to this category.

              Step #4: Branching points

Add a branching point to deliver a message to customers based on whether or not they have purchased the new item you want to promote. If they haven’t purchased this item, send them the product follow up email using an existing template or create a new one. Branching points help you send relevant emails to the right customers. By sending messages based on interactions, you’re showing customers that your brand really gets them.

When the holiday season arrives, your team will be busy prioritizing the operational side of your business. Install systems in place now that allow you to focus on the areas of your business that need your attention during the busy holiday season. Let digital systems do the customer outreach for you. Set up custom journeys today so you can stay laser-focused when it counts.

Get started by calling Branding Iron Management today for help creating the customer journey.