7 Reasons Why Customer Reviews are Essential

As a business owner, you should collect customer reviews and respond to them because it helps your brand stay relevant in the market. It’s also beneficial for both customers and businesses when they provide feedback about their experience.

Online reviews from customers have created a new field in marketing and communication that bridges the gap between traditional word-of-mouth and viral form of feedback.

Below we Discuss 7 Reasons Why Customer Reviews are Essential

1 – Understanding Your Customers & Their Needs Improves Customer Service

As the reviews your customers leave can give you feedback on what they want, analyzing them helps understand overall customer satisfaction. By using this insightful information as constructive criticism, you can improve customer service and quickly resolve the issues that consumers face. This will create a positive experience for them while keeping your focus on their needs.

2 – Establish Credibility & Social Proof

Our unique social nature allows us to ask friends and family for recommendations, but since the internet’s emergence, it has become much easier. Online review sites allow users globally to get information about products before they make their buying decisions by just clicking a button on their phone or computer!

3 – Contend with Experience to Save Margins

Reviews allow new businesses to compete with the more established competition and potentially gain a good reputation. It’s like choosing between two companies, one has 50 3-star reviews while the other company only has seven five-star reviews. There you go! You just took the discussion away from price and discounts.

4 – Give Consumers a Voice and Create Customer Loyalty

A new study found that consumers who leave online reviews for businesses are more likely to feel loyal and even happier about their experience. This is because they felt like they had a voice – it didn’t matter whether you were behind the screen or not, there was still some kind of connection between them both. So, if you see a disappointed customer who leaves an online review, take the time to find out why and make it right. You may not be able to change their overall perception of your business but showing that little bit extra can go a long way in keeping them coming back for more.

5 – Supercharge Your Rankings

Reviews are the most important ranking factor in local search. They help businesses rank well, even if they have low-quality link profiles. Google wants the local search results to be high quality and relevant. According to Search Engine Journal, “Pages with reviews which mention a keyword and/or the name of a city, were found to have higher rankings in Google’s local pack.” At this level, having keywords you are trying to rank for while also mentioning cities has been seen as highly correlated with ranking well on Google My Business.

6 – Consumers Become Your Marketing Force

Positive online business reviews are worth more than any marketing campaign. They’re like micro-marketing campaigns that keep working long after they’ve been posted, providing your business with benefits it can’t get through simple advertising techniques alone. This constant positive image created by these types of reviews is good for both the short and the long term because potential customers will continue to see this brand awareness on social media sites without even searching specifically for you themselves!

7 – Reviews Give Birth to More Reviews

When businesses receive online reviews, they encourage other visitors to leave their own feedback. Just the appearance of several reviews seems to be enough to give new customers confidence and incentive in submitting their opinion on a particular product or service.  As online customer reviews become more important, your involvement is only going to be even more necessary. Customer reviews are great for grabbing consumer’s attention and increasing sales. They also help consumers make decisions on their purchase as they increase in importance and secure the business’ visibility in search rankings; moreover, there will always be increased competition encouraging reviewers, so it becomes very important that you get involved early!

How Can I Take My Review Profile to the Next Level?

Empower your business with the tool designed for a higher star rating and a winning online reputation. The InterReview Video System powered by Dynamic Marketing Consultants.

92% of customers consult reviews! Don’t just stop at collecting authentic written reviews.

Remove the stress and awkward feeling of asking for your reviews. Let Dynamic Marketing Consultants do the work for you. Our system simplifies the interview process, provides you with priceless video testimonials and case studies to assist in future sales opportunities.

What is the InterReview Video System?

Our team will contact your customer and coach them through our virtual video interview. We will ask them just the right questions regarding their experience with your company, product and/or service. We take care of all the editing of the captured footage including introduction animation, lower thirds and title bars, B-roll graphics, and video, finishing it up nicely with Outro animation with your chosen call to action. DMC will then package your InterReview up with a bow on top by developing final videos for use on your website, social media, and marketing platforms.

For more information about Video Marketing and how it will benefit YOUR business, reach out to us at Dynamic Marketing Consultants. We’d look forward to working on your video project and answering any questions you may have.

Creating a Business to Support Your Lifestyle

Devin Herz discusses the importance of prioritizing long-term goals and building a community in the early stages of growing your business, while also balancing your lifestyle goals – How do you want to spend your time outside of work?

Michael Zipursky, CEO of Consulting Success, weighs in on the topic for an insightful conversation about developing a successful plan. He has advised companies, including Dow Jones and Panasonic. He has helped launch new products into global markets. But more importantly, he has helped over 500 consultants from around the world.

Below is a transcript of Devin and Michael’s discussion that is filled with great nuggets to improve your consulting skills.

Devin Herz – Mike it’s great to have you here, I’m excited to have you on the show because I just know you’re packed full of great information. About eight years ago, I worked with Michael. I hired him as a consultant for myself and our business, and he really helped us develop a business model that has allowed us to build a seven-figure agency. So, Michael, I want to first say, thank you very much for all your help back then. You gave us some great insight and a great model to follow and looking forward to sharing some of your information and background. You’ve got over 35,000 consultants that follow you on a regular basis. They read your newsletter. You’ve got some great books out there as well. So, I want you to talk to us about your big pivot and turning point in your success.

Michael Zipursky – Yeah, In business for myself for 21 plus years now. I’ve been building consulting businesses for the past 13 years, working with consultants through Consulting Success. I think the biggest, I wouldn’t call it a pivot, but maybe just a shift that we made, really relates to my mindset. I think this is what’s exciting about business, is that we all can “Up level”. We have the opportunity to realize greater potential. It’s not usually the strategies or tactics that we’re missing. It’s the mindset and the belief that we can take bigger steps or, reach for something that maybe we thought was unattainable before. So, in our case many years back we started a new program that we had never offered before. It was a version of our coaching program. It’s changed quite a bit since then and really improved. But back in that day it was a different format, at a different price point, at a higher price point, than we’ve ever offered before. When we did that, things really shifted, and they shifted for the better and allowed us to create the base that we’ve built upon for many years since.

Devin Herz – We have been watching your growth and seeing everything that you’ve got going on. I think evolving is such a big thing right now and being able to change and develop the ability to see what’s going on. Trying to predict the future as best as you can with your business and being able to shift gears if need be. Understanding the fact that you want to build a business and we all want to have success, and that comes in many different forms. I think a lot of people are just focused on money and building this big business, but I think ultimately, we all want to have a good lifestyle. We want to enjoy the things that we want to do, whether it’s being out on the water or different hobbies, or spending time with family. Tell us a little bit about why it’s key to structure your business, to really support your lifestyle, and not the other way around.

Michael Zipursky – Yeah, definitely. So, if you think about this in terms of a triangle, what a lot of people tend to do is they will put their business at the top of the triangle and that drives all their decision-making. Therefore, they put their lifestyle below their business, and they must make sacrifices within their lifestyle. That means time with family, loved ones, you know, doing things beyond business that, have to essentially, adjust based on what you’ve structured in your business. But what I found over time is that when you actually flip that over and you move your lifestyle to the top, you get very clear to begin with about what is meaningful for you. What do you want things to look like? Where do you get fulfillment from? And the clearer that you can be around that, then you can make sacrifices or adjustments, inside of your business to support your lifestyle.

While that might be hard to see, and if you’re at an earlier stage in your business, you might think, no, that doesn’t make sense. I know I just want to make a million dollars or whatever it might be. That’s very common when you’re earlier on, what’s driving you is money. If you talk to any successful person, or someone who has made it to that next level, they’ll always say that it’s not about the money anymore. Recognizing that and seeing into the future, knowing that you can find a lot of people who have a great deal of money, but they’re not happy because they don’t have a good lifestyle. They don’t have a good balance of how they’re spending their time. They’ve given up on opportunities to build relationships with their family or just to have things that are truly meaningful and that are much more important than money for the long-term. When you get clear about that from the beginning and you really figure out what do you want from your lifestyle, then it’s much easier to structure your business model, your pricing, who your ideal clients are, all the other pieces inside of the business around that to really support your lifestyle.

Devin Herz – That’s such a good tip right there, because I know as a young entrepreneur, it was all about money, having the nice car, having the different materialistic things. As you get older, it definitely changes. For anyone that’s younger out there, trust that advice and just really understand how important it is to work towards a lifestyle and the things that you truly enjoy. You can have some nice things. You can still have some nice vehicles, whatever it is that interests you, but that freedom to do what you want to do, I think is worth more than anything in the world. I have friends now that are running multi-million-dollar businesses, but they’re traveling nonstop. They’re never with their family. They’re constantly stressing over things.

We’re here for such a short period of time on this earth. So really focusing on the things that you enjoy, to have that freedom and create that wealth of that business model that can really let you control your business instead of the business controlling you. Any other advice right now that you’re seeing, obviously we’ve all been through an interesting year to say the least. Are there any other nuggets that you feel you would pass on to our followers who are in all different industries?

Michael Zipursky – There are several things, but one of the most important that I would say right now, it’s been important for quite some time, but certainly will be in the future as well, is the importance of building community. When I look back at, and I wrote in my most recent book called “The Future of Consulting”, where I interviewed many successful consultants, and just people in professional services and everyone who really was able to not only just kind of survive the last 14, 15 months, whatever it’s been now through COVID, but actually see their businesses thrive during that time; our people who really started planting seeds earlier and had built a community. And when I say community, what I’m referring to is that you have a group of people who look up to you or see you as an authority, see you as an expert, who see you as a source of truth and of information.

And you can do that in multiple ways. You can do that by having an email list that you grow. You can do that by having a podcast, conducting executive round tables. Any way that you’re able to get people together where they come to you on a regular basis for new information, for new insights, to get your help. You then have a relationship with those people. And so, it doesn’t matter whether it’s less of an impact if there isn’t an economically challenging time or if there’s another pandemic. I mean, things happen in the world. If you look at history, there’s always ups and downs in the environment that we can’t control, but what we can control is how we create a community or how we create a solid base in our businesses.

And those who were not only able to manage, but to thrive during this really challenging time are those that had taken the steps in advance to plant seeds, to build relationships, to have a community that they can tap into. One very simple example to demonstrate this would be someone who, 90% of their income came from speaking. When the pandemic hit a lot of people kind of froze. They didn’t know what to do, and their income was gone. Then you take somebody else who also maybe did some speaking. That was a percentage of their revenue, but at the same time, they also had built up a following. They had an email list, and maybe an online course, whatever it might be. So even though a percentage of their income dried up very quickly, they’re able to go to their community and say, “Hey, you know, I can’t do this in person anymore, but we’re going to be holding a virtual workshop or we’re going to be putting together an executive round table or we’re launching an online program.” And so, they had that base to tap into, and they were then very quickly able to not only replace lost income, but actually grow beyond where they were before.

Devin Herz – It’s incredible how big authority is. I mean, people don’t like to necessarily be sold to these days. People don’t necessarily enjoy selling. Building relationships and then having those relationships, I think has just fueled so many other business opportunities for us with referrals, repeat business. Some of that is what I remember as you told us back in the day is you, build what we call our “Bay” of people that we can market to and have that loyal following with. They may not need you right then and there but, as you launch new things. Using testimonials from clients that you’re working with and building that authority is something that we really pride ourselves on, not for ourselves only, but for our clientele. Making them appear the way they are, of course, but also with the use of testimonials, getting people to support them, online branding, offline branding, having things look good is that first impression that people see, being that people are very visual.

So having all of that together, I think really sets you up for success to build that authority, figuring out that lead magnet. So, you can start to build your people in your following even bigger. I think that’s very important to figure that out, up front too. So that way, at least people are raising their hands to say, “I want to talk to you”. “I want to learn more”. If they don’t buy from me right then they are in our email lists, podcasts, all the things that Michael just mentioned are really the things that are going to keep people interested and then also potentially coming and buying from you.

Michael Zipursky – One of the things that I can add to is, consistency. This is such a powerful principle that I think a lot of people don’t fully take advantage of, but they could, and should. The more consistent that you are with your content or just being visible, right? That’s why follow-up is so important. As Devin, you just mentioned, it’s very common to reach out for example, or to have some kind of conversation with someone, and that may not move forward right away. But if you consistently get in front of those people, and you’re always finding ways to add value or provide proof that you’ve helped someone else like them with a testimonial or whatever it might be. If you do that consistently over and over and over and over then when they are ready, they’re already thinking of you. So, they’re going to come to you. But what a lot of people do is they try something, whether it’s a marketing campaign, an advertising campaign, some kind of social media, some kind of content, whatever it might be, they try something, it doesn’t work for them in a month or two months. And they go, oh, this didn’t work. God forbid, they actually send something once and they go like, oh, I didn’t get a good response and they give up. I think we’re in a society these days where people are looking for instant gratification, they’re looking for instant results. And they judge whether something is working without actually letting it run long enough. Instead of a short-term mindset, if you can look at business with a long-term mindset. Simon Sinek wrote a great book called the infinite game where you really start to shift your mindset from thinking about just getting results and kind of completing something in the moment, to this is infinite. This is long-term. When you have that long-term mindset, you look at your relationships in a different way. You look at how you connect with people in a different way. You look at how to provide value in a different way, but it’s all about consistency. The more that you show up, the more prolific you are, right? The more that you’re doing that repeatedly, the more that you’ll actually see growth in your business.

Devin Herz – I love hearing that because we do all sorts of crazy marketing campaigns for our clients. And a lot of times, people are ready to go. They know it’s going to be a long haul, but so many times you’ll have that first hit go out or we’ll run one week of ads just to get some testing. And we don’t have great results. You got to just kind of power through it and have that long-term vision because it takes time. I mean, if you look at these multi-billion-dollar companies, what are they doing? Advertising! Commercial guy’s in your face, they’re flying over with a banner. I mean, it’s nonstop. So, with social media, you have that ability to do things pretty inexpensively. Obviously, you’ve put some money behind it that also helps build a following. You’re now able to target people so granularly that you can get the people that you want. Get in front of those people, retargeting people. You guys have done a great job of keeping consistent with your newsletter and all that. We try to do a great job here. Of course, clients are always a top priority. So being busy and focusing on their success is very important to us, but just trying to keep content out there like this, because I may not get a ton of calls. You may not get any calls right away off of something like this, but things like this stay around for years online. If they find it, they see the topic, what we’re talking about, we can get a client from this five years down the line. It really just builds the authority. So, I highly recommend if you’re not doing anything right now, like a podcast or a show like this, you’ll find someone like Michael to help guide you. Our team at DMC is producing shows like this all the time now for our clientele. So, don’t stress over the technology and making things like this happen. There are some great people out there that are willing to help and grow successfully with you. Love all the information, Michael. You’ve been kind enough to give away a free 47-page consulting blueprint. I’d love to hear about that. Give our audience a little bit of insight on what that is.

Michael Zipursky – Yeah, sure. So, we’ve compiled, our most popular content and articles, and resources into one guide, which is the consulting success blueprint. We offer it for free. You can go to consultingsuccess.com/blueprint to grab a copy of it. You’ll also get some emails where I share more of my story, on building consulting businesses around the world. The ups, the downs, some pretty wild stories in there. You can unsubscribe from those at any time and still just get the blueprint if you want. But we get a lot of feedback from people that say they enjoy those stories. That’s what it’s about. I think you will hopefully find some value in it.

Devin Herz – I know I find value in everything that you do. Continuing to follow you after all these years and watching you do great things. So once again, really appreciate you being here and thanks for all the amazing nuggets, any last final words for our audience out there.

Michael Zipursky – Yeah, I think you, you hit on a really important topic too, Devin, which is just to spend some time getting clear about what’s most meaningful for you as a person, as an individual. And I think very often in business, we’re so focused on just the day-to-day of business that we lose sight of what’s actually most meaningful for us and where we want to be. But the clearer that you can be about what’s important to you, then the clearer you’ll actually become and more intentional you’ll become in your business. Business is one of these things that when you place your focus on something, you actually are able to attract it to you and achieve more progress towards it. Even though it might sound a little bit out there, I’ve certainly found that to be the case over the last 21 years. That would be just the final word I would encourage people to do. I hope that everyone becomes happier and more successful with that.

Devin Herz – I was just going to say, it’s all about being happy. Just keep that in your mind, smile. You know, we get caught up with things that happened in the past, which creates depression, and we focus on things that are in the future that we have no control over that causes anxiety. So, stay in the now, be happy. It’s great seeing you and keep up the great work.

Please go out there, follow Michael, get all the great information that he provides whenever you can. Remember to make sure that you’re evolving. Don’t be afraid to hire people to help fast-track you. And this has been another great DMC marketing nugget and here’s to your success.

Want to Become a Marketing Consultant?

Becoming a marketing consultant can be a great way to create your own opportunities and leverage your skills. Though you may have the experience and skills, getting started as a marketing consultant and sustaining your career takes a few important steps:

  • Ask for Referrals and Client Testimonials

When starting your career as a marketing consultant, you need to stand out from the pack and show potential clients you are worth hiring. Let them know you are trustworthy and accountable by asking past clients and connections to provide testimonials on your website. In addition, ask past clients or employers for recommendations on LinkedIn to boost your profile.

These referrals and testimonials will certainly help you maintain and grow your network.

  • Research Your Potential clients

Always being prepared is part of being an effective consultant. After all, you never know when the next client will show up! Keep an evolving list of potential clients you’d like to work with across various industries who may need your services. Stay informed of their company news, announcements, or changes and continually research their top executives and their products/services.

If you notice a particular business is growing rapidly or needing marketing help, reach out to them and show them you’ve done your research. Staying in front of your competition in this manner will lead you to more opportunities to succeed in your marketing consultant role.

  • Seek Out a Mentor

Working as a consultant can be challenging, as you often work alone. A mentor can provide an excellent support system of guidance and advice to help you thrive.

It’s perfectly acceptable to reach out to top marketing consultants in the marketing industry who have the experience you seek. You never know what knowledge you’ll gain and the relationships you’ll form if you don’t try!

  • Promote Your Marketing Consultant Expertise

Create a portfolio website to promote your work. Keep your website and portfolio up to date with past projects that best showcase your marketing talents.

You can also start a blog or podcast to share your thoughts and experiences as a marketing consultant to boost your profile and attract new clients. Or you can update your social networks by sharing your opinion about the industry to promote your services.

  • Stay Up to Date on the Latest Marketing Trends and Tools

Marketing is a 24/7 constantly evolving industry. Impress your potential clients by being informed on the latest industry trends and tools, from mobile apps to social media platforms and management tools.

For more ideas on how to offer your services as a marketing consultant, reach out to your trusted team at Dynamic Marketing Consultants today. We’d happily mentor you to help you achieve maximum results for your clients.

How to Advertise Your Business on Facebook in 2021

While most of us are familiar with Facebook for personal purposes, there’s a lot to learn if you decide to use the platform to advertise your small business.

Advertising on Facebook is a great local advertising strategy for small businesses because it allows you to reach your target audience quickly and easily on a social site where they spend a lot of time. All you need is the right Facebook advertising planning, creativity, and execution.

Want some help getting your Facebook advertising off the ground? Check out these tips:

  • Define Your Campaign Objective

There are many ways to advertise on Facebook and they are designed to fit specific purposes. First, define what it is you want to achieve with your campaign. Once you get started, you’ll find the attributes that Facebook has available which correspond to that objective.

For example, if your business is social commerce, your main objective is to sell a product or service. And, if your Facebook Page is part of an inbound marketing plan, your objective will likely be to generate leads with your ads.

Objectives for a Facebook campaign depend on the content you have on your page.

  • Align Your Ad Assets

You’ve set your objective, now you need to create your ad! Facebook has evolved the advertising paradigm with its modular and dynamic ad platform.

You can design your Facebook Ad in different shapes and forms depending on the assets you provide. The basic criteria for a Facebook Ad are an image and some text. You can also incorporate videos, create a slideshow, and a call to action.

  • Define Your Target Audience

Hopefully, you already have your target audience in mind when choosing your type of campaign and ad assets. You can target your ads based on location, age, gender, and interests.

OR you can target your ads based on conditions such as if they follow your page or if they’re a friend of one of your followers. Much more complex audience targeting is available for large-scale campaigns.

As you narrow down your ad settings, you see the estimated audience size with each change.

  • Set Your Budget

The last step before the campaign goes live is setting the budget and payment option. You can allow a campaign to run consistently on a daily budget, but you must first set a specific time frame and a precise budget for it.

You can start small, letting your ad run a short time (you can always prolong the number of days later) or you can let it run for some days from the beginning.

  • Review, Publish and Modify

Once you’ve submitted your ad campaign, Facebook reviews it before it goes live. For a straightforward campaign, the review can be very quick, but in some cases, a word in your copy, or an image can raise a red flag regarding Facebook’s advertising policies. In that case, the review will take longer.

With the right ad, Facebook is a powerful tool to help you grow your business. The process is simple once you get started. What are you waiting for?

If you’d like to learn more, reach out to us at Dynamic Marketing Consultants. We’re here to help!

Successful Video Marketing Strategies and Ideas to Drive More Sales

97% of marketers say videos help users better understand their products and services. Simply put, if you are one of the few companies that aren’t utilizing Video Marketing, then you’re falling behind your competition.

It’s important to note that not all videos are created equal. Some types of video content perform better than others and we’ll further explore these below. If you want to engage, capture, and convert the audience into qualified leads and customers, look to Video Marketing.

Some Successful Video Marketing Strategies and Ideas

  • Share Educational Videos

Videos that sell directly to your brand don’t necessarily bring you more leads. People don’t like being “sold to” without some type of benefit. Instead, use your videos to educate consumers on a topic relevant to your industry and experience – people like to learn!  Research shows that educational videos are viewed twice as much on YouTube. So, focus on developing videos that provide value.

  • Live Stream Video

82% of consumers prefer Live Stream Video to all other types of social media, and people of all ages are watching and streaming videos right now. Live Stream Video content is an opportunity to invite your audience to your business in a way that’s more personable, spontaneous, and immediate. And there are many ways to use it effectively.

You can use live video to showcase your thinking skills by streaming content from industry professionals and experts, holding Q&A sessions, and more. Live streaming is also great for generating excitement about new and upcoming products/services/opportunities.

  • Make Use of Webinars

Webinars are essential for marketing. This is a great way to add value to your audience’s experience so be sure to tailor your content to them specifically, to ultimately convert them to consumers of your products and services. Not only do webinars give you the ability to draw a crowd over time, but they also allow you to improve your interactivity with viewers. You can engage in discussion and demonstrate your expertise in a powerful and meaningful way.

  • Use Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is not just for video games. It is a rapidly evolving tech tool for business success. Virtual Reality is the latest type of video content that allows you to engage customers in new and engaging ways. You can use VR for virtual tours from the comfort of home. This is especially important now as some people are still being very cautious due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Successful businesses and brands are using VR to improve the customer experience and to increase customer loyalty. The key is to provide a unique and engaging experience.

  • Create Bite-Sized Video Content

With the exception of webinars, keep your videos short! Consumers love useful, quick, and bite-sized information in video format. The truth is that videos up to two minutes long get the most engagement. Over that length, engagement and interest start dropping.

  • Focus on Mobile Optimized Videos

Most content on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and elsewhere should be mobile optimized. 60 million LinkedIn visitors came from mobile in late 2016; 82% of Twitter users are mobile, and 95% of active Facebook accounts go online via smartphone. This means that the majority of your customers will visit your business via their mobile phone and your videos need to be prepared for that.

If you’d like to learn more about how your company can incorporate videos to generate qualified leads that turn into your customers, reach out to us at Dynamic Marketing Consultants. We’d love to work together to develop your ideal strategy.

Internal Marketing – The Key to Your Company’s Success

When you think of “marketing,” you probably picture a Super Bowl commercial or a looping Instagram Ad, aimed at getting a company’s product or service in front of millions of potential consumers. These are examples of External Marketing, and each year companies invest a great deal of money and resources into their external marketing efforts.

However, to truly build a successful brand, you need to focus on another important audience – the one within your own office space. This is called Internal Marketing.

Studies show that only 50% of employees believe in their company’s branding idea, while “even less are equipped to deliver on it.” Senior Management often assumes their colleagues believe in the power of the company’s brand, but sometimes it’s not fully understood or embraced by the entire team. What can be done?

Develop an Internal Marketing Strategy

With any solid strategy, you need to build an action plan. This ensures that you don’t go through the process blindly and allows you to discover areas that can be improved upon.

Internal marketing tactics should be carefully laid out, and then you’ll be on your way to maximizing a solid Internal Marketing Strategy. Follow these steps for success:

  • Formulate your Team

Determine who’ll be responsible for Internal Marketing efforts, getting everyone involved from the beginning. This typically includes senior-level marketing representatives, marketing staff, and company leaders such as the CEO, CFO, upper management, etc. Once determined, establish processes and communicate regularly.

  • Evaluate your Internal Marketing Structure

Whether or not you have formalized a marketing strategy, your company is likely to have some form of Internal Marketing even if it’s unstructured. That said, it more than likely can be improved. Identify and assess aspects that are considered Internal Marketing tactics. A good evaluation tool is to survey all employees to see what they know, don’t know, their views on the company, etc. This should reveal any branding gaps.

  • Align Marketing Messages and Conduct Open Training Sessions

After collecting information, you’re better able to align company marketing messages to get everyone on the same page. The goal is to have employees provide their personal touch when they talk about your business, but everyone’s perspective on the product/service should be the same.

Employees should also be able to openly suggest ideas, ask questions, and provide constructive criticism.

  • Keep Working After Launch

Even after you have a formal Internal Marketing strategy in place, great work culture, employees on the same page, and an engaging presence, you’ll still need to regularly improve tactics and be open to feedback.

Also, continue providing training/meetings for open discussions, adjust processes if needed, and keep employees briefed on what’s going on within the company, especially regarding marketing and branding. It’s also important to take their thoughts seriously.

Final Thoughts

When employees believe in your brand and are engaged in your company’s initiatives, they are more job-driven, loyal, and more likely to become influential marketers and sellers. Your employees are some of the best people to spread awareness of your company’s capabilities and services.

This is why Internal Marketing is essential to the success of your company’s brand. If employees are unaware of the company’s overall goals, marketing strategy, products/services, there will certainly be a gap in effectiveness with customers and prospects.

What do you think? Share your thoughts with the Dynamic Marketing Consultants team today! Should you need help developing a strong Internal Marketing strategy, we’re here to help.

5 Ways to Get More SEO Bang for your Buck

Every business needs SEO. If you’re a consultant or marketing agency, every single one of your clients is looking for you to get them results. They want to show up in search engine rankings—and not just anywhere, but ranked competitively so they get noticed by new audiences.

As we all know, there are certain steps regarding SEO like creating a website with the proper structure and implementing a content plan. Once you’ve covered the basics, you’ll then take your efforts to the next level so that you can really deliver for your clients.

The five techniques below outline a plan based on what your clients’ already have implemented and what you can do to create more valuable SEO.

  1. Optimize Old Content

Many business owners have produced a great deal of content over the years. If your client has been blogging for 15 years, there’s a ton of valuable content to tap into! The key is to go back and re-optimize older content. Check all links, eliminate outdated resources, and update the content so it’s current and relevant for today’s audience.

  1. Embrace New Formats

Today, content is about so much more than blog posts. And fortunately, a format such as video can help you create exponentially more content in the same amount of time.

  1. Add Video to Your Pages

Speaking of video, if your client doesn’t already have videos on their website, now is the time to include content in this popular format. Not only are people more eager than ever to consume content in video format, video also helps increase your ranking with the search engines.

One of the ranking factors for Google and other search engines is “Dwell Time” which is essentially, how long a visitor stays on a given web page). Longer Dwell Times guide search engines to infer that the content on the given page is relevant to the viewer, which they reward by giving you a boost in SERPs (Search Engine Results Page).

  1. Get on Featured on Podcasts

We’ve talked before about the SEO benefits of guest podcasting. Lately, there has been a shift away from guest blogging and towards guest podcasting. Many businesses have launched podcasts, and they’re hungry for relevant guests to fill each episodes. Why not find your client a slot on relevant podcasts?

Guest podcasting is great for several reasons. The time commitment is minimal; in 20 minutes of talking, you can create an entire episode. Plus, since you’re a guest, it’s up to the podcast host to edit the episode and do all of the behind-the-scenes work.

Podcasters are happy to link to your client’s website, ebooks, and other resources. This creates backlinks for their site, which are an important external element in building reputation and SEO. Plus, the podcaster will promote the episode through their networks and channels, bringing additional exposure to your client.

  1. Collaborate with Clients to Produce Content

The final step to boosting your client’s SEO is a bit more involved, but it’s a worthwhile investment. Each month, work with your clients to produce content. This could be a video or podcast interview on your own site, a case study, a co-created survey, or just about anything else you can dream up.

Put together a package of content featuring and partnering with your clients. Through this process, you’ll generate backlinks and great content for both of you. Collaborating with your clients strengthens your relationship with them, plus it can help you close more deals for yourself!

As a marketer, you understand how to nail down the basics of SEO. When you’re ready to take things to the next level, these five steps are a great place to start. For any help, reach out to your trusted team at Dynamic Marketing Consultants today!

How Video Marketing can Help Grow your Business

No matter whether you’re operating a small business or a large enterprise, Video Marketing is one of the most compelling strategies that will help your business succeed.

It not only helps the organization to promote the brand but also helps in converting visitors into leads. Due to its excellent results, companies are using videos as one of their digital marketing tools. And, if you aren’t creating it for your business, you are missing out.

Let’s discover how video marketing can grow your business.

  • Accelerates Conversions

Improvement within the conversion rate is another benefit of adding videos to the marketing strategy. When you increase your conversion rate, the higher the possibility of sales.

According to a study, adding a video to marketing emails can boost click-through rates by 200-300%. Embedding videos in landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%. If your goal is to compel the visitors to make a purchase and become a promoter, then Video Marketing is one of the most effective ways to turn your dream into reality.

  • Video Marketing Improves SEM

Google uses many signals to detect whether a web page should be shown for a searched query and adding video to your web pages can assist in improving the metrics of some of these factors.

Adding video to your webpages typically increases the time a user spends on your website, as they tend to stick around to watch the video. Contrary, websites with walls of text may steer visitors to click off the site.

Video within the content also improves the overall quality of the content on the page and can generate high-quality backlinks which play a significant role in increasing your rankings and organic website traffic.

  • Raises Customer’s Retention

Do you want to reach a wide range of customers while staying competitive? Yes! Then you should incorporate Video Marketing into your marketing strategy to build the customer’s trust.

Building long-term relationships with the customers promote your brand and accelerate your business’ return on investment (ROI). To foster trust, create appealing and instructive videos to give them a reason WHY they must purchase the product.

So, if you’re not currently creating video content for your business you’re missing out on some of the benefits. Having a small budget (or none) is no longer an issue. Even if technology intimidates you, it’s not too difficult to start recording with your smartphone.

When you’re done shooting the video, you can then edit them on your own or you can reach out to your trusted team at Dynamic Marketing Consultants to assist you with any of your video and video editing needs.

What are you waiting for? Roll up your sleeves and start creating videos today!

How to Conduct a Market Analysis for Small Businesses

Knowledge is power, whether you are running a large enterprise, a small business or planning to start your business, it pays to know your target audience.

For small business owners, market analysis is an important way of finding information about customers, competitors and the industry in which they operate. But doing market analysis for small business is a tough game. While it is said that it requires a big budget to conduct most of the market research still it is possible for small businesses to carry out effective market research. But the question is how?

In this article, we will discuss ways to effectively conduct a market analysis for small business:

  1. Identify a Market Need: The market need could arise from a problem that customers seek to solve or any goals they are hoping to achieve. Try and identify how to make your business’s product or services better fit in with your target audience’s changing needs.
  2. Identify a business opportunity: Your target audiences need proven outcomes to be drawn in. Business leaders have greater opportunity if he/she can sell a better solution for their needs. The company should have the ability to deliver superior service above expectations.
  3. Choosing a target audience: Your work becomes easier if you know who your ideal client or customer is and why they are interested in the service or products you are offering. Narrowing this down enables you to target the audience who are in need of your offerings.

When should small businesses use market research?

There are certain times in a company’s life-cycle when market research can be highly-useful. For example:

  • To see if your new business idea is in need or not: You have a new idea for your business, but it important to check out whether they area market for your business or not. Don’t just guess and start your planning –use market analysis instead.
  • When moving into a new market: If you planning to sell your product overseas, it is important to know about your target audience. Different countries or states have different cultures and tastes. What works in one might not work in another. Research will help you find out the differences and adapt to them.
  • When applying for funding: Show potential investors that your business is more likely to succeed than your competitors–and that your company is ready to meet the needs of the market.

Stay focused for your business

If your business is growing, you’ll eventually want to consider your focus group, survey, statistical analysis, and market trends approach to market analysis. With the help of the above points,you can decide how best to obtain the answers.

If you are looking to do a market analysis for your business, Dynamic Marketing Consultants is the right choice to help you through it. Meet virtually with our lead consultant and founder to get tailored marketing advice that you can use in your business today!

Digital Design & Marketing Transformations to Turn Small Businesses into Thriving Brands

It is a curious topic -transforming businesses into brands. Being a brand is something more valuable than being a business, and it takes a far more strategic approach. But is it really worth the effort to build a brand?

Brand vs. Business

A business is merely an entity that offers certain goods or services. In all respects it is a soulless entity, devoid of a voice or character, and focuses on the end result. Customers may buy from a business, but they don’t create an “emotional bond” to it. They are reserved for the brand.

Brands are essentially “perceptions” that have been carefully crafted by marketers and strategists and encourage customers to equate certain emotions and personality traits to the company.

Importance of Branding for Small Businesses

Branding is more important for small companies than for large companies. The benefits of branding are staggering for small companies with limited budgets rather than large investments and cash flows.

Strategic design and digital activity are the two most important tools in your marketing arsenal that can turn you from an SME into a successful and thriving brand.Here are some strategies and steps to make this change a success.

Digital Transformation Strategies:

1. Your Brand Logo and Other Visuals

A logo is the strongest identifier of a brand. In the digital space, brand strategy becomes even more important for a small business trying to develop its brand strategy. It becomes your identifier, which sets you apart from others in your area. If your logo design is representative of a long-range, strategic goal, employees can participate and understand the brand message it expresses.

In properly update your company’s logo, it must be reorganized (to fit various digital platform specifications) and, in some cases, completely re-imagined.

2. Consult an Expert

If the rebranding seems like too much of an undertaking, don’t feel overwhelmed. You are not alone, many SMEs (33%) are far from digitization because they do not know how to do it and do not have the budget to hire in house digital / IT marketing specialists.

The good news is that there are many design and marketing agencies that provide consulting services for a fee that can support your digital transformation and digital marketing needs.

3. Design a Website

For small businesses, investing in a website can be a difference between success and failure. A website is your digital store, which is always open. It works and gives to its customers even when you sleep, on vacation or with friends and family. It works tirelessly and intelligently. It provides you with important data, generates leads for you, and ensures that your small business budget can be expensive, but the benefit eliminates all costs.

The strategic design of a website is an extension of your brand, which is always associated with the brand and communicates your brand’s message from each page to each interaction point and is presented in the color, font, design and even navigation of your website.

4. Set Up Company Social Media Profiles

Once you create your website, start a thoughtful ad campaign, and regularly publish to your blog, it’s time to get involved in the area where all the conversations take place -social media.

For most of the consumer market (Millennials and Generation Z) social media platforms are their second home. To reach them, you must market where they tend to spend their time. According to 82% of marketers who work with small businesses, social media is the most important aspect of their business.

So, do some data mining and prioritize the social media channels where most of your target audience is hanging out. Then define your social network profile based on the information in the data. The most popular social media channels for most market segments are Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter and each one’s target demographic is different and used for different purposes by its audience.

5. Start Email Marketing

To make the most of your digital transformation and consolidate your brand message, you must use email marketing to reach parts of your target market that you may not have reached before.

According to statistics, 81% of small businesses successfully trust email as their primary customer channel. 80% of SMEs use email marketing to retain existing customers and see them as the main driver for these two purposes.

So, there you have what turns a small business into a successful, thriving brand. It’s not too simple or complicated.There are experts available who can iron-out the most complex areas of it for you.

At Dynamic Marketing Consultants, we have a team of marketing experts who have the tools to handle these efforts while you manage your business growth. If you’re ready to set your business up for success, please reach out today to get started.