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How Social Proof Can Increase Sales

Changing your behavior is never easy, but understanding social proof can help you do it! Social proof is when other people’s actions influence our decisions to make them seem more reasonable or appropriate. In this article, also learn how social proof can increase sales in your business.

By now, most of us have experienced social proof in action at some point. We’ve seen it with products and services before we purchase them, maybe even buying something because someone else already did.

We’ve also used social proof while giving up things we like to feel better about ourselves. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight, you might think about how many others are living off bread and buttery snacks for a week.

Most importantly though, social proof can be used to create internal changes that directly affect your behaviors and emotions. By using the power of social proof, you can change what kind of person you are- and this can have significant long-term effects on your health and happiness.

In this article, I’ll talk about three ways that you can use social proof to increase sales and promote the effectiveness of your strategies and tactics.

Personal experiences

A Woman using a Laptop

A large part of buying anything is looking at how other people have successfully done so before. This is what social proof does!

Social proof is when you assess whether or not to invest in a product by considering how well-known the company is, how many reviews they have, and if its products seem to be working for others.

Through this process, you will learn if there are too many negatives about a product or if most people like it. In both cases, we would probably give the product a chance.

With marketing strategies such as these, your business can gain confidence in the product while also improving its sales.

A famous example of how social proof can increase sales in action was when Target received negative media coverage for dropping white foam rollers due to concerns about bacteria growth.

However, they did not stop selling the rolls themselves! Many community members purchased them to try out for potential refunds.

Overall, people loved the rollers and wanted to use them, which gave rise to more sales for Target.

Productivity levels

how social proof can increase sales

Another way social proof can increase sales is by helping you become more productive. When others around you are doing something, it makes sense to do the same thing because people who are successful like what works for them and they stick with things that work.

Running out of time can make us feel overwhelmed or stressed. In such cases, some people drop their productivity level to avoid feeling too busy and having no time left for other activities.

When we look at the outside world, there’s always someone else who seems to have less downtime than us. If we want to stay in control of our own life, we should not copy what others do, but instead, use our standards.

It may seem contradictory at first, but starting off with low expectations can help you achieve your dreams. People who have success took action and worked hard for it, so if you wanted this, you must put in the effort to get it.

There will be times when you cannot afford to buy products that increase productivity due to budget constraints, but reading about them can help you find alternatives. You can also watch related videos to see how professionals use them.

Customers are more confident in a company

Man Pointing Laptop Computer

Are you ever having a hard time buying something because you feel like there’s always someone around who has bought it before? Or, even worse, you see lots of people talking about how poor quality this product is or how it doesn’t work.

It’s normal to be skeptical at times. After all, we’ve spent enough money on things that don’t quite live up to their promises, right?

But when this happens over and over, it can easily create a negative impression of the product. It may make us reluctant to invest in it, or maybe even discourage us from buying it at all.

So what can we do to mitigate this effect?

We could look into whether these previous customers were satisfied with their purchase, but that would take a lot of effort and resources. More often than not though, people will go onto the web to find reviews and talk about the products they own.

Customers are more likely to buy

how social proof can increase sales

Recent studies show that when enough people do something, it can inspire other individuals to follow suit. This is called social proof. When enough people like or use a product or service, they will flock to purchase their own version of this product or use this service.

This theory was tested in one study where participants were asked if they would try a new device. One group was asked if they would try the device if at least five people in their circle used it. The second group was asked if they would try the device if three people in their circle used it.

The results? Almost twice as many people said yes to leaving the house with the device if at least five people in their circle had done so!

It makes sense- why wouldn’t you want to be the outlier and not have what everyone else has? By adding social influence, you increase your chances of getting others to join you in buying the product or using the service.

Does social proof work for products and services beyond just devices? Absolutely!

Businesses all over use social proof to increase sales. Whether it’s marketing research firms convincing potential customers about the quality of their product, companies paying tribute to famous entrepreneurs to gain inspiration and momentum, or even fashion brands promoting similar-looking clothing to boost self-confidence – social proof works.

Customers are more likely to return to a store

Blue Shopping Bag and a Red Sale Sign

When you run a business, you depend on income to stay afloat. Your sales will fluctuate from day to day, week to week, and even month to month depending on several factors- not all of which you have control over.

One factor that can play an important role in how well your business does is social proof.

What is social proof? It’s when people living outside of your situation go through some action or behavior and believe it is correct or appropriate. Because they like it and others seem to be doing it, they too think it is right.

This influence sometimes outweighs reasons why someone might want to do something different.

It is our subconscious mind process for deciding whether to perform an action or not.

Customers are more likely to make a purchase

Shopping Cart Full of Goodies

Recent studies show that when people feel like they are surrounded by other people who are buying a product, then they too will buy this product.

This is called social proof.

Social proof happens when you perceive that others in your community or around you have done an activity successfully so now it seems reasonable for you to also do it.

For example, if you’re trying to convince someone to go out with you, you would probably look at the number of people that went out on dates last week. If many people did, then it makes sense for you to try it as well.

The same thing applies to business purchases. When people around you are making a purchasing decision, it gives them the confidence to follow through.

It helps create trust, which is one of the biggest factors in sales. When customers think that there is enough trust in the surrounding environment, then they are happier making a purchase.

Running low on motivation can lead to giving up or doing something less than optimal because you don’t believe you can succeed. With little confidence, potential buyers may put off making a decision or even choose not to spend money.

That’s why it is important to use strategies such as incorporating social proof into your marketing plan.

Customers are more likely to recommend a product to others

how social proof can increase sales

Recent studies show that when people feel that there is an established market for a product, they too will invest in this product. You can take advantage of this social proof effect by marketing or advertising products with things like “It seems well-established so I would try it” or “Most people seem to be using it so I should probably do as well.”

The best way to use this theory in practice is to start listening and looking around. Are there lots of conversations about how great your product is? If so, you may want to consider offering some for free or heavily discounted – creating an incentive for customers to use the product!

By giving potential buyers reason to believe in your product, they will also look forward to investing in it. This indirect influence is much better than direct appeals such as telling people why their current tool doesn’t work.

Customers are more likely to buy from a website

how social proof can increase sales

Recent studies show that when potential buyers look at a product or service online, they feel less compelled to purchase because there’s no physical representation of the item.

This is called “visual persuasion,” and it makes sense – why invest in something that you can’t see?

By the same token, research shows that people perceive others as more trustworthy when they view them physically. This is what we refer to as social proof.

Consistently using visuals for your business will boost conversions and sales. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling products, services, or digital goods like eBooks, apps, or YouTube videos-the use of pictures and graphics is integral to success in marketing today.

In this article, you’ll read about some easy ways to add visual appeal to your site and how leveraging social proof can help with engagement and conversions.

How To Improve Your Coaching Skills

Changing someone’s behavior is tricky, to say the least. Whether you are trying to get someone to give up smoking or persuade them to take more frequent breaks, altering their habits can be quite a struggle. Read this article to learn how to improve your coaching skills for the better.

However, when changing behaviors seems impossible, that is when things start to turn around.

Confronting people about their bad habits can backfire and make things even worse for them. It may hurt their feelings and make them defensive, which only makes it harder to change anything.

When you are a successful coach, you know how to deal with both of these situations. You learn how to push through those barriers and achieve your goal!

But what if there was no need to push through that resistance? What if you could easily accomplish your task without confronting anyone?

Fortunately, this isn’t like asking someone to agree to give up chocolate once a month – we can all agree that monthly chocolates are way too much sometimes. So, here are some ways to improve your coaching skills so that you don’t have to confront anyone ever again.

These tips will help you become a much better coach, not just in motivating others, but also in avoiding arguments where possible. When needed, use one or several of these strategies to bring about lasting changes.

Ask more questions

how to improve your coaching skills

A lot of people assume that being a good coach means telling people what to do and then watching them do it. That’s not a bad thing, but there is another way to be a great leader.

As a leadership expert, I spend a lot of time educating other leaders about different concepts and strategies. In fact, one of my most popular courses is called “Become a Great Coach.”

In this course, I teach participants how to become effective coaches by learning some basic principles such as creating win-win scenarios and motivating others.

However, these lessons are only helpful if you know how to ask smart coaching questions. It sounds crazy, but asking enough qualified questions can make or break your career as a manager.

Make eye contact to improve your coaching skills

How To Improve Your Coaching Skills

One of the biggest non-verbal cues is making direct, meaningful eye contact with someone. When you look people in their eyes, they will feel seen and understood – something that most humans need from time to time!

Making eye contact shows interest in what others have to say and encourages them to do the same. It’s also a way to keep conversations going as you lose focus when you don’t make direct eye contact with anyone.

When your coach doesn’t make eye contact with you it can come across as cold or even disrespectful. You might want to consider whether this style of communication works for you both.

If you are not getting enough responses then try asking about things more directly, but remember that silence is sometimes needed to emphasize how important something is.

Also, if your coach looks like he/she is close to tears try offering him/her some relief by expressing your understanding and let them work through it without pressure.

Be consistent if you want to improve your coaching skills

How To Improve Your Coaching Skills

Consistency is one of the key ingredients in professional development. If you’re going to learn new things, you have to do it consistently every day for an extended period of time.

Professional coaches are constantly developing their skills because they’re always seeking out ways to improve themselves. They read books, attend seminars, meet with mentors, and work with colleagues to hone their craft.

By being consistent, you expose yourself to more effective coaching strategies and techniques. Over time, this changes your approach and helps you become a better coach.

Consistency can be hard at times, but if you’re committed to improving yourself as a leader then you need to make sacrifices NOW!

You must believe in yourself and what you’re working towards so that you can keep motivated. It takes a lot of effort, but eventually, it will pay off.

Provide structure to improve your coaching skills

How To Improve Your Coaching Skills

As mentioned before, one of the biggest issues that coaches face is providing enough structure for their athletes. This isn’t only true when an athlete feels they are being overlooked or left out, it is also true when an athlete needs more guidance on how to improve.

As a coach, you can be in the top 1% of professional sports professionals who get paid very well, but if your players don’t respect you then you aren’t helping anyone.

Your players will never truly believe that you know what you are talking about unless they see it with their own eyes.

That is why I suggest going into at least half of your practices as structured. This could mean having drills such as sprints, skips, footwork exercises, and so on.

Having these types of workouts not only helps your player learn the basics of the game, but also gives them some basic skills they can apply during a real game situation.

Be optimistic

How To Improve Your Coaching Skills

Even though you may not see immediate results, do not give up! Changing someone’s behavior is difficult, but it is possible if you keep putting effort into it.

It will take time for them to change their habits, but they will eventually realize how much you care about them. Keep showing interest in what they are doing and encouraging them to try harder, and they will reward you with positive changes.

Never assume that something does not work; always believe that there is at least one thing you can try. It will take some time, but you will get through this process!

Optimism is key when trying to improve others’ performance. If you cannot be positive, then at least be confident enough to believe that things can get better for them.

Never give up! Never underestimate the power of motivation.

Make it clear you are an expert

How To Improve Your Coaching Skills

As mentioned earlier, being a good coach comes down to how well you serve as a mentor and leader for others. You can’t expect people to look up to you if you don’t believe in yourself as an expert in your field.

So why not use that confidence to inspire and motivate other individuals? Why not help them achieve their goals by proving that you know what you’re talking about?

By acting like an authority in your area, you will draw attention to yourself and your knowledge and skills. At the same time, you’ll be encouraging others to work hard and reach their dreams.

At its most basic level, this is what leadership is – someone who sets standards and encourages others to meet those expectations.

Help clients identify their weaknesses

A strong coach is someone who helps you develop your strengths and works with you to address your weaknesses. You can learn something new from just about anyone, including yourself.

Clients come in all shapes and sizes, which makes it difficult to know what they are lacking. If you cannot determine that, then you do not have an adequate level of coaching skills.

As a professional coach, you should be able to recognize your limitations and those of others. By doing so, you will realize that you need to improve certain things for your career to stay afloat.

It’s important to remember that no one is better than anyone else- we all have our strengths and weaknesses. No one has special knowledge or skill sets that everyone doesn’t already have!

By being aware of yourself and helping other people find theirs, you will set yourselves apart as professionals and leaders in the field.

Help clients identify what they can do to improve

A large part of being a good coach is helping your clients find their strengths. This article will discuss some ways you can help them do that.

Clients come to you for help with all sorts of things — something very important is if you can connect with them and help them feel like they’re in control, then they will be happier.

It’s hard to help people when they don’t seem to want to help themselves, so one of the first things should be identifying what your client’s weaknesses are.

Once they know that, they can work on improving or changing it. It might be something they’re not strong at now, but could use some help with, or maybe they need to learn more about it.

Alternatively, they might just realize they’re better off leaving this field alone because they’re not doing well enough.

How Startups Can Improve Digital Marketing Strategy?

The world of digital marketing is ever-changing, and it’s essential to keep up with the latest trends as a startup or an established company. Luckily, plenty of resources are available to help you improve your digital marketing strategy. In this article, we’ll cover tips on how to improve your digital marketing efforts by following best practices from the most successful online marketers out there.

Write a Concise and Robust Company Message To Improve Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Your company message should be concise and robust. This is the backbone of your brand’s marketing strategy, so it needs to:

  • Be clear and concise in your message. Don’t try to say everything at once, or you risk losing people; instead, focus on one main point that resonates with customers (e.g., “We help small businesses succeed online by providing them with an affordable website solution that looks great on all devices”).
  • Be unique and memorable so people can remember and repeat it when recommending your business (e.g., “I made my first sale in 2 minutes!”).
  • Be relevant to your target audience—those who will buy from you (e.g., “Our software makes life easier for busy moms like me who don’t have time for DIY projects but still want beautiful home decor”).
  • Consistently use this same company message across all of your marketing channels, from email campaigns to social media profiles, so customers see the same impression over time rather than multiple different ones based on where they last interacted with you (e.g., “I just found out about these guys through Facebook ads!)

Be Consistent With the Brand To Improve Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Now that you have your brand identity, it’s time to integrate it into all of your content. Be consistent with the colors, fonts, images, and voice. Using the same idea is an excellent way to create consistency for readers. You can use one or two primary colors for your logo but don’t be afraid to add some variety! You can also use the same tagline on every website page, so people understand what you do quickly and easily. The most important thing is consistency – if someone sees something in one place, they’ll recognize it when they see it again in another location (or even on another page).

Publish New Content Regularly To Improve Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Photo by ijeab on istockphoto.com

Your content should be relevant to your audience, engaging, shareable, and high-quality. It ought to be simple to locate and read.

It is recommended that you publish new content regularly. The frequency will depend on the type of business you are in, but it’s generally recommended that startups post on their main blog page or website at least once a week. For example, if you’re a startup selling products or services like editing or converting MP4 music that targets millennials, then publishing a weekly blog post about how millennials use technology differently from previous generations may be an appropriate way for you to engage with that audience while also promoting your brand values (in this case being innovative).

Create Your Own Set of Hashtags

Hashtags are a successful and best way to get your content shared. Hashtags are also a great way to get your content seen by a wider audience. If you use hashtags, your content becomes more discoverable, and thus more people will see it. This can be very helpful if you’re trying to grow your audience on Instagram or Twitter.

Hashtags can be used in several different ways:

Increased reach: Partnerships with more prominent brands can help you reach a wider audience than you would be able to target on your own.

Improved resources: The partner will likely have more resources a

  • They can be used as part of the title of your post so that when someone searches for that hashtag, they’ll see more posts from other people who used the same hashtag in their title;
  • They can be used at the end of a post (not always necessary);
  • They can also be put at the beginning or middle of each paragraph so that any time someone reads those words, they’ll know what kind of content is following them;

Look For Collaboration Opportunities

There are many ways that startups can improve their digital marketing strategy. One way is to look for opportunities to partner with other companies. These partnerships can provide several benefits, including:t its disposal for promotion than the startup does; this gives the partnership an advantage in terms of scale and scope when promoting its product or service.

Leveraging each other’s strengths: Partnering allows each side to leverage what they do best—the startup might be skilled at developing new technologies. At the same time, the more prominent brand has more resources from which it can draw when trying out new ideas.

Use Different Marketing Channels

Photo by ipopba on istockphoto.com

It would be best if you used different marketing channels. There is no universal way to do this, but there are some general guidelines that can help you create a successful digital marketing strategy.

It’s essential to use multiple channels because each channel has an advantage in reaching a particular audience or type of customer. For example, social media is excellent at building brand awareness and getting people excited about your product or service; email is best at nurturing leads into becoming paying customers; online ads are great at driving sales conversions and growing your mailing list through retargeting (sending ads back to users who have visited your site).

Suppose you’re selling something that requires the buyer to go through several stages in the buying cycle before they make a purchase (such as hiring someone). In that case, you will want to use different tactics on different platforms throughout each stage so it doesn’t feel like too much exposure from one platform. The point here is: don’t market exclusively on any one platform and utilize different online media placements!

Digital Marketing Is Vital for Established Companies and Startups Because It Increases Brand Recognition and Helps Generate New Leads

Startups can use digital marketing to help them stand out from the crowd, build a loyal customer base, and spread their message across all channels. These are some of the ways that startups can improve their digital marketing strategy:

Take Away

The digital marketing industry is constantly changing, and it’s essential to stay on top of trends so that your business can be successful. As a startup, it can be challenging to keep up with all the latest news and trends in the industry. However, following these tips on how startups can improve their digital marketing strategy, you’ll find it easier than ever!

Systems For Scaling A Sustainable Coaching Business

Finding your why is integral to scaling any business, and this applies to scaling a sustainable coaching business as well. Why you started offering professional services will influence how much time you invest in the work and what level of excellence you expect to maintain.

Your why should be more than just “I have a degree and I’m qualified to do this!” or even “Making money is fun” – though those are fine reasons to coach. Your why must energize you every day and make you feel good about yourself and the service you offer others.

It can be anything from “My family has raised kids so they’re my inspiration for helping other parents” to “I’ve been investing since I was a kid and now I teach people how to do it.” The reason you were inspired to begin teaching others years ago may change, but it shouldn’t go out of style. If that happens, you’ll need to find another reason to inspire yourself.

This article will talk about some systems that can help you in scaling a sustainable coaching business beyond its current size. We’ll call these incremental system strategies because they bring small changes to your coaching business over time.

Create a company culture that inspires your team

A successful coaching business has people willing to join you as clients or staff members, so make sure you’re providing an environment where they feel motivated and inspired to contribute.

This means creating a supportive community that values diversity and inclusivity. It also means encouraging feedback, both positive and negative. When someone compliments another member of staff, let them know about it!

When there are criticisms, listen to what everyone has to say and take action accordingly. If something doesn’t seem right, address it immediately!

Your colleagues will refer to things they see working and not-working, and this can be used to improve your own practices. By paying attention, you’ll keep yourself up-to-date.

Establish strong leadership in your coaching business

Establish strong leadership in your coaching business

As mentioned earlier, being an excellent coach does not automatically make you successful as a business owner or leader of people. Having a large number of followers that quickly lose interest is not going to win you any respect or praise.

Being able to motivate others to do what you want them to do is a key part of becoming a great leader. This can be difficult at times if someone else is doing something you wanted to have done.

Having strong leadership qualities will help mitigate this problem by creating loyal employees that stick with you and your company even when things get tough.

It’s important to note here that having strong leadership skills is not about getting a lot of attention – it’s about investing in the people around you so they feel appreciated and acknowledged.

This could be through giving them kudos after a job well-done, listening to their complaints, asking how their day was, etc.

Develop good management skills when scaling a sustainable coaching business

Develop good management skills when scaling a sustainable coaching business

Achieving success as a leader is not about being a mastermind, it’s not about having lots of tricks up your sleeve or knowing what buttons to press to get people to do things. It’s not even about being able to manage others, although that helps!

It’s about developing strong leadership qualities such that those under you feel safe enough to be themselves and challenge you in an appropriate way. You want them feeling confident in you so they can go off and do their job while you concentrate on yours.

As a coach, leading and managing yourself will always pose a bigger challenge than leading and managing someone else. But investing time in learning how to lead effectively will ensure that you don’t lose sight of your own goals because you didn’t pay attention to someone else’s.

Think of how to grow your coaching business

Think of how to grow your coaching business

Even with all of these strategies in place, it is still important to think about how you can grow your coaching business beyond what you have currently got going on.

This could be through offering more services or developing new skills that you offer clients. It could be via expanding your network which includes potential client contacts as well as people who are working in the field you already work in.

It could also be by investing in additional equipment or technology that helps you do your job better.

Create a marketing plan

Create a marketing plan

A marketing plan is an integral part of running a business that teaches you how to promote your services or products via online and offline strategies. You can refer to this as a sales strategy, advertisement strategy, outreach campaign, etc., depending on what kind of marketing you want to do.

A good marketing plan outlines all the steps you will take to spread your message and influence more people in your field to work with you or use your services. It also helps you track your efforts and measure success so you know if it was worth it!

There are several types of marketers out there, and they’re not all the same. What works best for one type of business may not be effective for others. Finding out which types of marketing work best for you requires doing some research and testing.

That is why it is important to have a systematic way to evaluate different types of marketing. By having a process, you can start from something basic like writing a paragraph to creating an incredible advertisement.

Here we will go over five easy ways to begin developing your marketing system and then moving onto other systems later.

Focus on customer service when scaling a sustainable coaching business

Focus on customer service when scaling a sustainable coaching business

A successful coaching business does not scale up with, “We’re going to have more classes and consultants so that we make even more money!” Rather, it is about offering high quality services at an affordable price in ways that are scalable.

This will create more engagement and exposure which can lead to new clients or referrals. It also allows you to lower your overhead by spending time on things such as creating content, advertising, etc., only requiring limited resources.

There are many strategies and systems you can use to achieve this. Here are three of my favorites.

1. Offer a free initial consultation

Many professional coaches offer a free initial consultation where they talk through their services and what you would get out of hiring them. This gives you both some context for whether this position is right for you and them some insight into if you are compatible.

It also helps them determine if they feel like they can contribute towards your success and help you meet your goals. For those who can make a difference and fit well together, you eventually come together under a contract!

Some companies will even ask you to pay for their consultations via subscription or per session depending on how much you want their services. This way you do not spend any extra money unless you need to!

2. Use technology to provide better service

Technology has made our lives easier in lots of areas, including working.

Be consistent when scaling a sustainable coaching business

Be consistent when scaling a sustainable coaching business

Consistency is one of the most important things you can be in this business. This means being consistently present, consistently active online, consistently sending emails to people, etc.

It’s easy to lose momentum when you are working hard to promote your coaching service, but you need to stay motivated!

You will also need to remember that it takes time to see results with social media marketing the initial investment may not return much quickly. You will have to keep investing in these systems to reap the benefits.

That is why it is so important to maintain consistency over an extended period of time. The more you invest into the system, the better it will function for you.

If you start to feel tired or overwhelmed, take some paid time off and re-focus later. It will give you a chance to regain momentum and get back into a productive rhythm.

Build a team that supports you

Build a team that supports you

A sustainable coaching business has to keep developing new skills and strategies for reaching your goals. This can make it hard to focus on supporting one particular person, because there are so many areas of expertise you need to pursue.

As mentioned before, being a coach means having knowledge about different types of psychology and skills such as motivation, leadership, communication and persuasion.

Running a coaching business also requires specialized tools and systems which help you manage your time effectively and communicate more clearly with people.

This is particularly important if you want to maintain strong relationships with clients.

How To Manage Freelancers

As mentioned before, being a freelancer is a great way to make extra money. It is also very difficult, which makes it even better! Being in charge of your time means you get to decide when to work and how much work you want to do each day. Knowing how to manage freelancers will help you a lot and you will learn it here!

As a freelance writer, I have learned how to be my boss by practicing these five strategies. Not only do I enjoy working as a freelancer, but I feel like I manage my schedule more efficiently than I did working for someone else. You will too once you learn these skills.

Here are all of my tips that will help you become a successful freelancer. Check out this article and then read our other articles or talk with me about becoming a freelancer.

Make sure you get what you pay for

how to manage freelancers

As mentioned before, as a freelancer yourself, you know how hard it can be to manage your time and money. For most people, this is not easy until they reach freelance level. Even then, there are always things that could use your time or resources away from clients.

As a business owner, making sure you only work with professionals and companies that provide good services will help prevent this. You would also want to make sure their services are cost-effective and clear about deadlines.

Just like anyone else, freelancers need to take breaks sometimes! Having some down times where you do not have access to technology or equipment helps reset your mind and body. This allows you to re-focus later when needed.

Always get a contract

how to manage freelancers

Even if you’re just starting as a project manager, you need to know how to manage freelancers who are your staff. This is especially important when they are paid via commission or hourly!

As a project manager, you will be responsible for ensuring that each member of your team is performing their job effectively and efficiently. These are just the basics of project management! You can’t do this unless you have a clear understanding of who they are, what they do, and how they perform about other people and things.

This article contains some helpful tips on developing relationships with your freelance team members and how to use them smartly at times.

Keep your lines of communication open to manage freelancers appropriately

how to manage freelancers

As mentioned before, as a project manager that works with freelance professionals, you will need to be aware of when they are no longer willing to work with you.

This can include things such as not responding to messages or emails, disappearing for days at a time without contact, or even worse, quitting projects completely.

If you notice any of these behaviors in someone, it is important to address them right away!

Doing so shows that you care about their business and what happens within the workplace is very important.

It also raises concerns about whether or not they are able to perform their job well.

By being aware of this, you can prevent potential problems by addressing issues early on. This helps both parties feel more comfortable in their jobs which creates a happier employee experience. You as a project manager, you will save money due to their lower turnover.

Running into trouble may indicate that something is wrong with their personal life, but you cannot assume anything. It’s best to address those issues directly if needed.

Give them freedom but keeping control is an effective way to manage freelancers

how to manage freelancers

As a project manager, you will need to be in control at all times. You can’t afford to let your creativity take a backseat because someone else is doing the work.

You have to believe in their ability to do good quality work and that they will deliver what they say they will.

At the same time, you must give them enough space to grow as professionals. Help them find ways to improve their skills by reading articles, listening to lectures online, and exploring different alternatives for completing projects.

By being aware of these tips, you will ensure that freelancers are giving you the best possible service while also helping them develop their career.

Always pay on time

As mentioned before, as a freelancer, you will handle many different clients and projects. This can make it hard to keep up with when your payments are due and how much money you have left in the budget for that project.

Make sure to always stay on top of these things, but do not worry about it too much because more than likely, your colleagues or friends who work freelance will also be paid!

Freelance is a great way to earn extra income, but just like any other job, it comes with its own set of responsibilities. Make sure to emphasize this again – being paid on time is one of the most important ones.

Also remember to treat every client the same no matter what their status is as a paying customer.

Be honest and direct about deadlines and deliverables and make sure they both match what was promised and what they were paid for.

Avoid financial obligations when you manage freelancers

Even if you are not paying them directly, there can be some tricky situations that can influence your freelancer relationships. For example, if you ask your freelancer to do work for another company or project, they may feel obligated to complete their task for this new client.

If this happens then it is important to understand that they will likely stop working for you, and chances are good that they have other clients so they will still get paid!

This situation is very common among freelancers because they rely heavily on their income to pay bills and raise kids. They may feel pressured into helping these other companies and projects in order to keep themselves financially stable.

Since most freelance contracts don’t include payment terms like “I will get paid once I am finished doing this job,” sometimes delays happen. When this occurs, unfortunately, the freelancer has to wait around for money even though they are actively looking for work.

By being aware of such potential issues, you can prevent hurt feelings and lost trust between you and your freelancer. You will also avoid having to chase down payments and possibly legal action on unpaid jobs.

Share your experiences with others

As mentioned before, being a freelancer comes with its own set of challenges, not the least of which is how to manage your colleagues. As a project manager or business owner that employs freelance professionals, you’ll need to learn how to motivate them, how to hold them accountable for their tasks, and what tools they require to do their jobs.

Freelance workers are paid per project so there’s no ongoing employment relationship, making it more difficult to keep people motivated and on task. It can also be tricky to measure success because it varies from individual to individual.

Some may feel overpaid while others may find themselves struggling to make ends meet.

Just like any employee, freelancers will ask questions about pay, opportunities available to them outside of work, and if their employers are willing to help them grow.

Course Sales Funnel. Why every course creator needs one?

The course sales funnel is a series of intentionally created steps to guide your potential students towards your course, your brand, and ultimately making the decision to buy your course

Most aspiring course creators decide to create a course because they have a passion or expertise they want to share with the world. 

The sad truth is, after they spend months (sometimes even years) creating that course, they’re faced with the harsh reality of “build it and they will come” is NOT the way it works in the online world.

And if they’re going to get any return on their time and money investments, they need to spend every waking hour promoting their course. 

However, there is a much easier and less stressful way to get in front of your potential students and build your tribe.

And that can happen before or while you’re creating your course.

How?

That’s where the course sales funnel come in!

Basically, the goal of a course sales funnel is to bring new leads into your world. 

Let’s delve into more details.

So why you should have a course sales funnel before building your online course.

1. Avoid ‘Launching to crickets’ scenario

Imagine spending months, pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into creating an online course. You’ve spent a lot of time and money outlining, scripting, structuring, recording, editing, and building your online course. 

And now it’s all finished and ready for launch

There’s only one problem: there’s no one waiting to buy your course

If you’re thinking Ads are here to save you, then I have bad news! 

Ads are very expensive!

By the time it’s all said and done, you’ve lost more money on ads than you’ve been able to make.

You might be thinking “but I see ads for courses at the same price point as mine all the time”!

True!

What you might not know is that these courses are used as what’s called a “LOSS LEADER”. 

Meaning, the course itself is not going to generate revenue for the business.

In fact, the business is most likely taking a hit.

But every lead that’s generated through the Ad, creates an opportunity to sell a high ticket offer. That’s where the business makes that money back, and then some. 

But if I had to take a shot in the dark, my assumption is that as a newbie course creator you don’t have $1,000s of dollars set aside to blow away on Ads.

So you’d be able to make it back on your higher-end offer.

And if you’re thinking you can blast out your offer on social media (using social media automation tools to help you spread the word), or beg affiliates to partner & promote your course for you, you’re on the wrong way.

Why?

Simply because you’re going to work around the clock, run yourself ragged, only to be left frustrated & overwhelmed, with no real results at the end

2. Build a list of targeted fans

Instead, you can take an easier, less painful route to get there. 

For example, you can put in a little work upfront to build a list of targeted fans who are eager to buy your course, by setting up a course sales funnel.

The goal of a course sales funnel is to help you generate new leads – build an engaged tribe – who’s not just ready to buy your new course, but also your future courses and services.  

3. Use small freebies to acquire leads to your course sales funnel

With a course sales funnel, you’re using a small freebie as a way to acquire new leads and get targeted buyers into your world. 

Ultimately, you’re offering them something of value in exchange for their email address. Then you continue engaging with them by putting more valuable content in front of them.

And, when your course is ready, you have a huge list of fans to promote to. 

You can also offer to validate online certificates afterward.

One of the best parts of having a course sales funnel in place is that it gets stronger with every new course or offer you put out there. 

This helps to put your promotion and marketing on autopilot.

So you can focus your energy on coming up with other offers, products, and services. 

In a nutshell, every course you launch should be built with at least one freebie offer at the beginning of it, that encourages new leads onto your email list

So, not only you’ll have an existing list of targeted buyers to promote your course, but also new leads will be coming into your funnel (your sphere of influence) every single day

What are the 3 best key course sales funnel elements?

A course sales funnel can be as simple or complex as you’d like it to be. 

But in the spirit of keeping it very simple, let me walk you through the 3 main components you should include in every course sales funnel:

1. A Freebie Offer

A freebie is called a Lead Magnet

To get people to join your course sales funnel you’re going to need an offer. The offer is what makes them want to pass to you their email address.

For example, among freebies can be an eBook, cheat sheet, or just a mini-course

However, the format is not as important as making sure you’re showing up in front of your ideal buyer with the RIGHT solution.

And you’re doing that at the right time – which is when they need it MOST!

2. An Opt-in Landing Page

Normally referred to as a squeeze page or freebie landing page.

All the same thing!

Basically, this is a landing page, where you’ll be sending your leads to grab your freebie offer. 

The goal behind this landing page is very simple – give them a compelling reason to give you their email address in exchange for getting your Lead Magnet (your freebie).

3. An Email Sequence

The whole goal of your funnel is to get new leads onto your email list.

So once this new lead joins your email list you’ll do two things:

  • Engage with them further to build a relationship;
  • Build trust so they’re ready and eager to buy your course when it’s ready

You accomplish this with an automated email sequence.  This is an automated sequence of emails that run as soon as a new lead joins your list. 

Now, let’s dive deeper into each of these 3 key elements. This will prepare you to get new leads onto your email list. 

How to set up your course sales funnel?

Step N1. Create Your Freebie

The perfect time to come up with this freebie is as soon as you have an idea for your online course and before you actually spend any time creating it. 

All in all, this is one of the surefire ways to validate whether there is a market for your new course

We all know creating online courses is time-intensive. It could potentially take 4-6 months.

Above all, the last thing you’d want is to spend all that time and energy on assuring there is no interest in your new course.

You can totally avoid this, if you first validate your course idea, by using a freebie around the topic of your course.

But how to come up with Freebies?

Overall, there are two ways to come up with the right freebie: 

  1. You could create a high level (10 foot view version) of your course. 
    • Touch on the pain points your online course solves
    • High level strategy or walk through of your solution taught inside your online course
    • And the outcome they’d get once they implement your promised solution
  2. Another way to do this is by brainstorming around other things your target audience needs to have in place, to position them for success, when they take your course. 

For example, let’s say you’re a website designer and you’re thinking about creating a course on “how to build your own business website”.

You could create a freebie on “how to write high performing web monitoring service”.

That’s something they’d need to know and have, to be positioned for the best outcome when they take your training & learn to set up their own website.

Now, if your course is already ready and launched, don’t sweat it! You can still reverse engineer this process and come up with a good freebie offer using the same 2 methods outlined above.

What are the best freebies ingredients?

In general, when you’re brainstorming around the topic of your freebie, you should make sure it meets these 3 criteria

  1. It’s related to your course topic – There should be a one-to-one correlation between the topic of your online course and the topic of your freebie
  2. It’s actionable – keep in mind that your ideal buyer is NOT looking for information. Information is FREE, and only a Google or YouTube search away. 

    So don’t waste your time by trying to stuff information into this freebie. You’re going to accomplish nothing, except leaving a bad taste in your prospect’s mouths.

    Instead you should make sure your freebie is actionable. Something they can take action on and get a small win.

    When they get a small win, they associate you with that win.

    And that’s exactly what you’re after. You want them to see that you’re the right person to help them solve their bigger problem or reach their bigger goal.
  3. It’s bite-sized- Again, as we just talked about, the goal of this freebie is to help them take action and get a small win.

    And ultimately associate you with that win.

    That’s how you’re going to increase their desire for your paid online course.

    If you make this freebie too massive to consume, such as a 100 page eBook or a 30 day challenge of some sort, you’re making it harder for them to consume it… preventing them from taking that action and getting the win that you’re after. 

Step N2. Build an Opt-in Page

The goal of this page is to present your freebie offer and have your prospective students enter their email addresses.

That’s it!

Above all, to give up their most personal information (email address), we need to give them a compelling reason to do so.

If they can identify themselves and their situation with what you’re offering and clearly see you have the solution to their ongoing struggle (as it relates to your freebie topic), there is a good chance they’d take you up on your offer. 

We can do that by making sure you’re communicating these 3 key points

Who is this freebie offer for?

This is typically the headline or title of your freebie landing page. Use this opportunity to tell them about the outcome they’re going to get from your freebie offer.

Or tell them what pain point your freebie is going to remove.

By doing that, you’re making it easy for them to see your freebie offer is exactly what they’ve been looking for.

What does your freebie offer help them do?

What is the solution they’re going to get? Is it going to help them write a better landing page copy? Impress their dinner guests with their fancy Napkin folds? Or learn which heirloom tomato grows best in their climate?

The key here is to stay away from being ambiguous. Be clear and straight to the point.

How does your freebie offer help them?

Tell them how you’re going to help them get that outcome or remove that pain point?
Is this a template they fill out? A guide they follow?

Or a series of video tutorials

I can’t stress enough: make sure the message and copy of this landing page is right to point.

Don’t try to get clever, especially with the headline.

And always remember this, clever means unclear!

Step N3. Create Your Email Sequence

As an online course creator, your email list will be one of your most valuable assets.

It’s going to be the differentiator between someone who once published a course, someone who’s a trusted brand with an engaged audience, and a variety of solutions (such as courses, services, programs, etc.) ready to help their tribe reach their goals & dreams.

While you’re creating your online course and building your audience, you also should nurture your new leads by consistently offering them value through a nurture email sequence. 

Nurture Email Sequence Outline

Here’s a quick outline of a nurture email sequence you can create:

  1. A welcome email: so they get those warm and fuzzy feelings and giving them the opportunity to get to know you better.
  2. A mix of value-added emails. Topics like:
    1. Small tips on how to solve a smaller problem related to the bigger problem your online course solves, 
    2. Or flip it and talk about reaching a smaller goal, as it relates to the bigger goal they’re trying to achieve
    3. update on your new online course (this builds anticipation and excitement) 
    4. best-practice tips & tools around your industry that’s related to your online course topic

You should also have an entire Course Launch Email Sequence ready before you hit the publish button on your new Online Course. 

This positions you for a stronger launch, lots of sales, and many great reviews and feedback

In general, you’d want to have at least 9-13 emails in your launch sequence. This is not overkilling at all. Keep in mind that your new subscribers might not see or even open every single email.

When you’re writing these emails for your launch sequence, make sure each email has a good balance between nurturing and selling.

Also, the last thing you want to do is write a bunch of emails that are just pitching your Online Course and asking them to buy.

That’s a surefire way of having them ignore the rest of your emails. 

If you don’t know how to go about this, I have an entire template you can grab below – walking you through each email. Just fill in the blank and you should have a high converting launch sequence ready to go in no time.

Why the Course Sales Funnel is the most solid Marketing Strategy to invest?

It’s true that creating a Course Sales Funnel takes time and energy. 

But, I guarantee it’s time well spent.

And the bonus?

Following this strategy ensures the more courses you create, the more subscribers you add to your email list.  

This means every launch gets easier!

And, as time goes on, you spend your time doing what you love, which helps your audience, instead of a hustling day in and day out trying to sell your offers.  

If you want to have a thriving business, then a course sales funnel should be upfront and center in your marketing strategy

Bio

This is a guest blog post written by Eli Natoli

Eli Natoli is the founder of Service First Marketing. She is the author of “Service First Framework: My not-so-secret secret to thriving as an entrepreneur”. Eli’s unique approach to strategic, service-first marketing has enrolled more than 120,000 students into her training programs.

Call to Action: Why You Need Them and Why They’re Important

For many people, the call to action is an important concept that they aren’t sure how to execute. It’s a key component of any webpage and can help remove friction in moving down the sales funnel. In this blog post, we’re going to discuss why you need them and why they’re so important!

What is a call to action, actually?

A call to action is a tool that helps guide your customers in the direction you want them to go. It’s like a traffic light: green means “go,” red means “stop” and yellow means “slow down.” When it comes to call-to-action buttons, there are three types of CTAs—the button CTA, which has an explicit call (such as BUY NOW or SIGN UP) on it; the image CTA, which doesn’t have an explicit call but relies on its visual design elements alone for guidance (like DOWNLOAD PDF); and finally text with links, often referred to as ‘CTALs’, where multiple actions can be taken from one link.

Designing effective persuasive copy isn’t as difficult as it might seem. If you tell people how your call-to-action will resolve their current problem, they’ll be more likely to buy whatever the call is for from you.

The call to action button on a website can come in three flavours: text with links, an image CTA or a more explicit call to action (CTA). The latter two are less likely to send users through the sales funnel because there’s no clear call like there would be on a button CTA that says “BUY NOW.” You need CTAs if you want customers who visit your site and stay engaged during all of your content before buying anything. But when designing these buttons keep in mind what type of customer behaviour you want to trigger.

CTA statistics 2021

There are many studies and statistical analysis proving how important these small things can be for your conversion rates – so let’s see some 2022 marketing statistics! Here are just three of them with their percentages:

*82% of internet users say they click on links or ads if they appear above the page fold* (Moz) – this means that calls to actions on your website should be visible and easily noticeable before the user scrolls down. 

*81% of people who call a business after seeing it on the internet call again* (Moz)  – this means that you have to keep your call to action in view at all times.

*14-28% increase in conversion rates for marketers who use calls to actions on their landing pages* (Demand Metric) This is why call to actions are important because they allow viewers and customers an easy way out, and can help boost conversions as well!

The key takeaway from these numbers is clear: by adding call-to-actions wherever possible, we will be able to see increased conversion rates as more users take the desired action. So don’t neglect those small things! Make sure every page has some kind of callout.

Benefits of CTA

A call to action makes it clear to potential customers which action to take next and helps remove friction in moving the user down the sales funnel. A call-to-action can be as simple as a button that leads your reader or customer on to another webpage, such as “BUY NOW” or “CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PAGE.” When you create an effective CTA for your content, you’re telling them how they should feel about what you just shared with them (e.g., they have learned valuable information) and then giving them a way of demonstrating that knowledge by clicking through.

The call-to-action is also important because it tells readers where their attention goes when reading online content: namely, towards whatever element of the page is designated as their call-to-action. In other words, if you have a call to action on your webpage and nothing else of note, then where should readers’ attention go?

The call-to-action will be more effective (and create more conversions) when it’s easy for customers or readers to find what they are looking for. Keep this in mind when designing the call-to-action button: make sure that its placement makes sense with respect to how visitors typically read online content. For instance, making “CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PAGE” at the bottom of the article may not make much sense if most people reading articles scroll all the way down before clicking through – which means putting it near the top of the page would be a better idea.

Examples of effective CTA

– “Add To Cart” is an example of a call to action that tells the user what they are about to do and encourages them to complete their purchase. A call to action should be placed prominently on your webpage, in plain sight without any distractions so as not to confuse or distract visitors from clicking it

Effective CTA call-to-action buttons should include  a clear explanation of how someone can take immediate steps toward achieving their goal by making a decision or taking some specific kind of step (e.g., buying something).

– “Contact Us” is an example call to action for a company that would like prospects to call them. The company can use this CTA button on their website as it’s clear what the visitor will do if they click it and there are no distractions from other elements on the page.

– “Download Now”  is another good call to action because visitors who see it know where to go in order to get hooked up with some valuable content (in this case, a PDF). In addition, it offers visitors something of value without any commitment necessary so even those people who were just browsing might be convinced into taking the next step by clicking.

A call-to-action should also include text about how someone can take  the next step. For example, “Add to Cart” is a call-to-action that includes the text: Add To Cart Before The Offer Expires

A call to action should be made in plain sight and without any distractions so as not to confuse or distract visitors from clicking it  It sends prospects down the sales funnel where they are more likely you make a purchase call, contact your company or download content. A call-to-action button should include an explanation of how someone can take immediate steps toward achieving their goal by making some decision or taking some specific kind of step (e.g., buying something). If you want customers who click on this CTA button to call your business right away then use words like “Contact Us”, “Call Now” or “Talk To Us”.

CTA best practices

  • For call to actions, use action verbs: “Start your free trial,” not “Free Trial.” Or “Register now” rather than just a link. You want the call to action to be explicit and make it clear what they need to do next – otherwise people will simply click on links until something works, which might never happen if you don’t include buttons!
  • Make sure that all of your call to action button text is descriptive enough for users know exactly what happens when they push or interact with them. This includes making sure that an empty CTA has some kind of text so people know how they are supposed feel about interacting with it (e.g., instead of leaving it blank, write ‘No thanks.’).
  • Include clear wording about what action is required from the visitor (e.g., “Subscribe Now!”)
  • Be concise – one sentence or phrase at most
  • Provide value by answering key questions potential customers might have if they were to take the desired action (e.g., “What will you get? What does it cost? How do I subscribe?) – this also includes providing social proof on the call-to-action button
  • Use urgency to persuade visitors that they need to act now (e.g., “Order Today”)
  • Provide a clear call-to-action button – for example, orange text or an arrow pointing down

What is the best CTA, then?

It’s difficult to determine the best call-to-action for a website. We recommend constantly testing different CTAs, and learning which ones are most successful in terms of leads generated.

Over to you

Do you really need a CTA? Yes, you do! Otherwise you’re missing big time. Nowadays people don’t have time and patience for browsing so they focus on the call to action button before deciding what to do next.

The call to action is a key element of your webpage which acts as an indication that tells people what their next step should be. A call to action makes it clear which actions potential customers should take, reducing friction in moving them down the sales funnel.

And that’s why you shouldn’t underestimate them.

ParrotInsider #10: 4 reasons why you need EarlyParrot if you run a B2B company

Running a B2B business is demanding, there are no doubts about that. In these markets relationships with your clients are very crucial, you have fewer clients than in the B2C market but each of them disposes of quite the sum of money. In other words, it is good to create loyalty and a solid bond with your clients. 

One way to do this is referral marketing and delivering a program to your clients. Is it worth doing so? According to this report, referrals influence more than 90% of B2B decisions. Consider this to be a yes.

Getting started, how does referral marketing work in B2B, and why is it wise for you to sign up for an EarlyParrot account for this? We will tell you!

B2B vs B2C referrals

Before we jump into the sea of referrals’ pros, let’s focus for a while on the differences between B2B and B2C. It is important to know how these two differ.

B2B referralsB2C referrals
AudienceSmallerBigger
Main focusCreating a long time relationship 
Boosting awareness
Staggered purchasing decisions
Sharing knowledge about product and industry
Coming up with new solutions 
Managing risks
Products or services
Short-time purchasing decision
Brands’ USPs and image
Emotions
MediumsBlogs, LinkedIn, FacebookYouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter
Types of contentProduct pages
Blog posts
Webinars
Ebooks
Whitepapers
Videos
Social media posts
Apps

As the above tab presents, there are some differences between these two referral types, so even if you run a B2C referral program, you should gain some info about B2B ones. These are not the same. 

One of the main differences between them is the length of purchasing decisions – on the B2C they can take even minutes, and they apply to one person. On the B2B market, such decisions are long, complex processes with various people and stages at different departments involved. 

The next issue here is the main focus of each type. When it comes to B2B referral, they aim to build a bond and share knowledge about products, so clients come back to them to get some more. With B2B referrals, it is also common to manage risks and present new, tailored solutions rather than offer regular products. 

Another big difference between these two is a way of communication. First, we go with the medium, individuals are influenced and use different platforms than business clients, so you should adapt to this habit. Moreover, preferable content types differ too. With business clients, you should focus on longer forms, fulfilled with information and knowledge. To individuals, it is better to send short, casual messages.

Why do you need an EarlyParrot driven referral program?

According to Harvard Business Review, more than 80% of B2B sales start with a referral. This statistic shows that recommendations in business are crucial too. What’s more?

Let’s start from the very beginning. If you want to create a referral program, you should do it with EarlyParrot. The process is very simple and takes up to 15 minutes. Once you get it done and integrate our tool with your daily use apps or tools, you can create the program and benefit from it. OK, but what are the benefits of B2B referrals, though?

#1 You can follow the progress

As you have read above, in the B2B market it is crucial to make your leads high-quality, i.e. make the relationship long-term. Referred customers show 15 times longer LTV than non-referred, this shows how quality they can be. 

EarlyParrot lets you track the referrals – when did they shop for the last time, what did they buy, and who referred them. All the information you need is right at your fingertips with our tool, so you will be able to tailor the communication or do a follow-up if needed in order to make a bond with them. The better designed the messages, the better (and longer) perspectives are in front of you and your customer base. 

#2 You can vary channels

The tab above shows that various content types and mediums need to be used for B2B and B2C referrals to be successful. The good news is that with EarlyParrot you can use various channels from Facebook to WhatsApp. You can even design a Telegram message. What you need to think about is that every social platform has its character limits, so while designing the message keep this fact in mind and do not go all the way. Social media are mostly dedicated to short updates.

Besides, each channel has various demands. For example, if you want to design social media messages you can surely do it by yourself, but when it comes to writing blog posts or ebooks you should have it done for you. It is important for such longer forms to be written by professionals who know how to write interesting and insightful pieces (if you can do it, go for it). Of course, this content has to be fulfilled with industry insights, so you should provide some background in order to make these pieces informative and useful. 

You should also use a plagiarism checker to ensure that your content is original and high quality.

#3 You can make it a useful part of your app portfolio

It is crucial for the new app or tool to be easily integrated with the programs you use on a daily basis. Your apps and tools would be more useful if they were integrated into a coherent whole. EarlyParrot can be integrated with lots of popular tools like 

  • Typeform,
  • Mailchimp,
  • Autopilot, 
  • AWeber,
  • Shopify, 
  • WordPress,
  • Magento,
  • and many more.

Furthermore, the integration process won’t take you long, and you don’t have to be an IT pro or have an IT department to do it. It is very easy, and the tool indicates what to do and what should happen next. 

#4 You can use it both for SaaS companies and eCommerce

We provided two articles about these topics – how EarlyParrot can help SaaS businesses and eCommerce, so we won’t dwell on these topics for long. EarlyParrot can be integrated into both with CMS like WordPress or Joomla and eCommerce providers like Shopify and WooCommerce. 

For both industries, it is a great idea to use referrals, especially if they operate in the B2B market. Creating a loyal customer base and strengthening bonds is profitable for both these industries, no matter what type of products or services they offer.  

Top practises for B2B referral programs

Creating a program is just a first step, to make it useful you have to take care of a few aspects. Here are our tips & tricks on using the whole power of referrals. If you want to learn more about this topic, feel free to visit our blog. You will find there many useful pieces regarding referral marketing and more. But now, let’s get back to the topic – B2B referral best practices. 

Make the lead form as clear as possible

While a B2B client is trying to sign up, sometimes asking about too much information can scare them off. You do not have to know everything about them. Once they start to be your clients, there will be time to get to know each other better and ask for more details. 

What such a form should include:

  • Referrer name/company’s name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Lead/company name 

This is it. The above information is the most crucial and needed to start operation. Everything beyond that is unnecessary and can wait. 

Keep terms and conditions simple

For every B2B client, it is crucial to get to know all terms and conditions of the cooperation. An individual simply clicking “I agree” without opening the file is a very common situation, but with B2B clients it is completely different. Be aware that while B2B referrals, there may be some questions, and you need to face them. 

To limit them, you should first provide the “Terms and conditions” file in a visible way and make it easy to download. Moreover, it should be done in a simple and informative language. If any questions occur, you should also provide a way to address them.

Inform your loyal customers

If you are about to start your first referral program, you have to make some noise about it. Before you launch a referral campaign, you should send emails to your regular customers (all you have to do is to choose the right EarlyParrot template) to let them convince their business partners or industry colleagues that your offer is the best. In the B2B market, where much money is at the stage, time matters a lot. Nobody will decide spontaneously about issues that may cost the company thousands or millions of dollars. 

Also, from the referrers’ perspective, they need time to think whether it would be profitable for them (and you need time to convince them that it surely would be). As a recap, what is very important when it comes to cooperation between business partners is time, and you should keep this in mind. 

Make it personal

In the B2B market, you don’t have as many clients as in the B2C, so it would be easier to personalize the experience. Make the referral client feel special. Besides the personalized communication that is a must nowadays, you should make a special offer just for them. Every business has different needs, and it is your job to meet them. 

By personalizing their referral experience, you show them that it was the right decision to choose your company, and you are worth the recommendation, so they would recommend you, too. It is a simple way to broaden your customer base and improve your brand image.

Conclusion

Partnering with B2B clients through referral marketing is a great way to improve your relationships and company’s image. Without a doubt, thanks to the recommendations of your regular customers, you would be able to expand your customer base and be more recognizable in the industry. 

We hope that thanks to our article, you will find EarlyParrot useful on your referral way and want to explore this world with our tool. Moreover, we are sure that with our few tips you would rock the industry with your referral program.

ParrotInsider #9: How can EarlyParrot support your eCommerce platform?

Today, running an eCommerce platform is no easy task. 

Several companies are vying for the same market share. Your main objective should be to stand out and make your business shine, but that’s easier said than done, right?

You probably know that your customers are getting more demanding, and it is your job to meet those demands. In the ever-evolving digital world, providing a great user experience has never been more necessary. Over 90% of consumers are willing to switch companies after only one bad experience. Since this is a very challenging environment, yet if you want to succeed, you must cope with it and remain competitive. 

This may be hard without a proper guidance, so we’ve prepared some tips for you 

6 tips to support your eCommerce performance

In this post we’ll address a list of eCommerce hacks. Here are a few tips on how to maximize your eCommerce efforts. Here’s a secret! The majority of the ideas can be addressed by EarlyParrot. How about we get started?

#1 Get to know your customers better

Before taking any business step, you should establish the type of audience for which your offer is intended. It dictates your company’s whole journey in the future. What is the best place to begin? The target audience of your eCommerce business should be understood in terms of its characteristics, needs, and preferences. By doing so, you will be able to tailor not only the offer, but also the way you communicate and market. 

What is the best way to reach them? You won’t find it as difficult as you thought. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best, so keep asking your audience for what they expect! Give customers a chance to provide feedback on their shopping experience. The market and their preferences change constantly, so follow what are the bestsellers and what your existing customer base is interested in. Customer satisfaction would increase and new potential customers could be targeted with a more tailored offer. 

#2 Reward your clients

It is a given that people enjoy receiving rewards. 

However, you need to find a golden mean here: don’t offer rewards to everyone, because then rewards would seem less enticing. 

As well, you should figure out how to best manage such a system. When you want to reward many clients, then things can get complicated. 

Here’s where EarlyParrot can help.

It would take you minutes to make your own referral program using EarlyParrot. It’s a very straightforward process.

You will be able to recognize your brand ambassadors and reward them accordingly with such a referral campaign. In the meantime, let’s recap how referrals work. In essence, once you have designed your program, you can invite your entire email list and wait for them to join. The individuals who sign up for your program receive their own unique referral link once they become interested in it. After successful referral, both the new client and the referring party may receive rewards. You decide on the rules and referral types, just make sure you explain them clearly to everyone involved. Clearly determine what constitutes a successful referral, such as whether the user has to comply with registration requirements, fill out a shopping cart, and complete the checkout process. Recognition and appreciation of the most active users can also be beneficial. Following them on EarlyParrot will allow you to reward them accordingly.

#3 Keep clients in the loop

In simple terms, it means that you should inform your customer about any upcoming changes, drops, etc. Email marketing is a good solution here, set up a newsletter, let your customer base know what is going on with your brand. If you want to set a default email campaign regarding referrals, you can do it while designing a program with EarlyParrot. You can set up a “Thank you campaign”, “Welcome campaign” and many more. There is a message creator so you can customize them as you wish. Building (and using) your email list may become a game-changer for your eCommerce business, we write about this topic here

Speaking of communication, nowadays, social media platforms are a major channel to stay in touch with your target audience. Probably many of your loyal customers are following you on social media, so it is crucial to be active out there. It is also a way to reach your prospective customers and start their customer journey from the “like” on the Facebook page. Social media is also a perfect place to present product reviews or user-generated content as social proof that people love your items. 9/10 people say that authenticity is a crucial aspect while deciding which brand to support. In order to increase these factors, implement the above tips. 

#4 What about self-service?

As with the brick-and-mortar stores, you can provide a self-service with your online one. We don’t mean the sale process itself since it is self-service already. We talk about post-purchase activities.

To be even more specific, we mean customer service. In these situations, the client is at the mercy of the customer service agent. You can change it. Over 6 out of 10 U.S consumers prefer automated self customer service via mobile apps or websites. It means that it is a very influential factor in the whole customer experience. So how to provide such self-service? Over half of the consumers claims that lack of available information is the main issue while it comes to solving problems on their own. In other words, you should deliver information and let your customers know where to look. As an online retailer, you should provide a FAQ section and knowledge base. These two should be done precisely and involve all questions and issues that may occur. Both sections should also be updated over time. A chatbot is also a good idea, but choosing the right provider and setting it up can take some time. 

Moreover, you can consider your referral and affiliate partners as your customer agents for special tasks! During recommendations they can answer questions and dispel all the doubts. It helps you save time and lower the number of queries for your customer team.

Providing self-service doesn’t mean you should resign from customer service representatives and fire your whole customer support team. There are some issues that couldn’t be solved without a living human being and besides, some people just prefer a personal consultation over looking for the answers on your website. You may also provide an online chat for people who prefer interaction with people but via the internet. This way you will improve your customer service KPIs and offer help for all types of your customers. 

#5 Make yourself known

Your eCommerce marketing strategy must include SEO, paid social and Google ads, in addition to a strong customer service policy. The importance of SEO for eCommerce businesses cannot be overstated, especially in such fierce competition. 

Most clients type into the search engine the product they wish to buy, then check the results that appear. Since these users are your potential customers, attracting them to your website is crucial for you. However, how can we do that if everyone in the industry is striving for the same result?

Enhancing SEO is a popular eCommerce marketing strategy. Thus, ensure that you are using content marketing and brand referral links (we already mentioned that EarlyParrot makes it easy). Additionally, you should review your website copy. If you are focusing on search engine optimization, inquire about customer testimonials on Google and have your loyal customers contribute. Online reviews are another form of social proof that establishes your trustworthiness. 

You can also boost your business performance by setting up Google Ads. It is worth trying them since 90% of consumers agree that they can influence their purchase choices. You should have a long lasting impact on the purchase decisions of your customers in order to keep them coming back to your online store. You can help it by using SEO and paid advertising, on top of other solutions we have already mentioned.

#6 Measure and optimize – also with EarlyParrot

Running a business means that you should keep your finger on the pulse constantly especially when it comes to all the most important indicators. This means checking ROI, retention, abandonment rate, etc. 

These factors are all crucial for success. You can track most of the KPIs in your Google Analytics account but if you want to dig deeper e.g. in your referral marketing programs performance, EarlyParrot can do that for you. Due to the comprehensive overview of each of your campaigns, you are able to make necessary adjustments. 

Moreover, always keep in mind this sequence for effective analytics:

  1. Measure
  2. Optimize
  3. Repeat

Will it guarantee the success of your eCommerce business? No, but it will definitely help it stay on track with measurable results. 


Ready to conquer the eCommerce market?

Let’s make a short recap of what we have established so far. In order to provide the highest customer experience and stand out from the crowded market you should:

  1. Recognize the needs and habits of your customers.
  2. Be in touch with them.
  3. Customer service should be available in many forms so that everyone can find something to suit their needs.
  4. Be visible in the search engine.
  5. Optimize your marketing and sales actions.

Once you cover these aspects you will see the difference and your customer will recognize and appreciate it too.

Fingers crossed for your online business!

Boost your ROI with these 6 strategies

There are multiple measures and indicators to pay attention to if you run a business. Monitoring its performance requires keeping your finger on the pulse constantly. You have to cover such topics as sales campaign results, a marketing strategy, the activity of your target audience, etc. One of the most important indicators is ROI, i.e. return on investment. What is it and how to boost your ROI? We are here to tell you. 

The first part of the article provides some basic knowledge about return on investment, its essence, and why it is so crucial. In the next section, you will find some tips for boosting your ROI and keeping it that way. Let’s dive in!

What does ROI mean?

Return on investment indicates the efficiency or profitability of your investment. Efficiency is compared among a number of investment options. ROI attempts to determine how much a particular undertaking has returned relative to its cost. The formula looks as follows:

Simply put, tracking ROI helps you to recognize what pays off for your business. Let’s suppose you invested in several content marketing campaigns. Thanks to following the ROI measure, you will be able to check which one suits your target audience best and brings you more customers at lower costs. You don’t have to buy any advanced analytics tool to check the numbers; all you need is a Google Analytics account and you will find all the necessary information there.  

Why is it important to keep your ROI high? The higher the measure is, the less money you are wasting, i.e. your investment is paying off. As a business owner, you probably know that staking money in the wrong investments won’t bring profit, so you should put your resources into investments with strong returns and reduce costs wherever possible.

Boost your ROI: our tips & tricks

#1 Create bonds with your customers to boost your ROI

There are no marketing budgets for building customer relationships specifically, but there are ones for referral or loyalty programs. The former allows you to increase conversion rates and CLV at very low costs. Referred customers’ lifetime values can be even 16% higher compared to non-referred ones. It provides a great opportunity to focus on your customer satisfaction and take care of them so that they stay with you for longer.

How does a referral program work? Similar to loyalty ones. Your existing clients get rewards in exchange for you acquiring potential new customers. Each of your clients receives a link to share with a group of friends, and every time the referee performs a desired action like registering for a newsletter or purchasing, both parties (or just one, it depends on you) can earn rewards! Referral marketing may be very profitable for your business since it can bring you, new customers, just for the cost of giving them a discount or free items. Want to give it a try? Register at EarlyParrot and create your program in a flash!

The same rules apply to loyalty programs, but here your customers can, for example, collect stamps and receive a 50% discount after collecting 10 of them. This is one of the most effective strategies for building strong and long-term bonds with your current clients. It is a popular way to do so too, as an Accenture report shows that 90% of brands have a loyalty program or some other form of customer engagement (referrals count here too!).

#2 Reduce abandoned carts to boost your ROI

Easier said than done, right? But it isn’t impossible to reduce this number to as low as possible. How to do so? We are here to tell you. First of all, analyze the moment of abandonment, whether it happened at the payment stage or when selecting delivery methods. If so, analyze the options you offer. It is always a good idea to offer more than fewer so that people can choose what they are more comfortable with.

Furthermore, pay attention to your website structure, if users can seamlessly switch between various pages, how the search engine works, and if it is generally bug-free. Your site is one of your marketing channels, too. You can think of it as your company’s business card, so it should run as smoothly as possible. Perhaps a client is still considering a product because there is not enough information about it? You have to be sure that the description includes EVERYTHING that may be in the interest of your clients – sizes, colors, compositions, etc. This is a good place to highlight customer reviews and some user-generated content too, so if your customers send in some pictures with their product reviews then use them! They can be game-changers for indecisive clients. 

If a customer simply put items into their basket and left them unpaid for, remind them about stuff waiting in their cart. You can use SMS marketing or even send an email. No matter which marketing channel you use, be polite and make the message encouraging. Moreover, do not send such info straight after the client left your website. Wait a day or two, so that you do not overwhelm them. You can use marketing automation tools to plan such actions, and you can read more about automatization below. 

#3 Focus on conversions to boost your ROI

Conversion rate is very closely related to ROI. Simply put, the higher your conversion rate is, the greater the chances of improving your ROI. Why are conversions so important in this regard? Well, it depends on what you mean by conversion. Let’s say you invest in social media marketing and set up Facebook ads, then every time users click on them and purchase from your store your conversion rate is boosted and so is your ROI. In other words, the return on your Facebook ads investment increases. 

So, how to achieve marketing goals like having a high conversion rate? Let’s stay with the example of social media; your marketing efforts will pay off when you focus on what you publish. Ads are a great option, but social networks are mostly about your feed and what you publish, so concentrate on that. Thanks to social media channels, you can build a community and strengthen bonds with your customers. This will also affect your marketing ROI. Establish your own hashtags, encourage your followers to post about your brands, highlight customers reviews on your profile, and reward user-generated content. The latter provides social proof that your product works and is worth a client’s money. Such aspects are crucial for potential first-time buyers and can be the final trigger to purchase. 

#4 Automate your processes to boost your ROI

By automating your processes, you can make them more efficient and improve your workflow significantly. There are lots of tools supporting this aspect. Email and social media marketing autoresponders are the most popular, but you can automate basically every part of your strategy – from the very first step of the marketing funnel until you send a “Thank You” email. 

For example, suppose we have encouraged you to implement referral marketing with EarlyParrot. In this case, you can design templates of your default emails and allow the tool to communicate with your clients on your behalf. Our tool can say “congratulations” when they earn a reward or “welcome” to new referred customers. It makes communication quicker and more efficient. Such processes handle repetitive actions for you and allow you to focus on more crucial aspects.

Keep in mind that investing in digital marketing should go hand in hand with automation tools if you are to make the most of it.

#5 Implement testing

Efficiency demands testing, so provide it! If you want to stay up-to-date with what is going on with your strategy and whether there is progress or not, you should follow KPIs and check out alternatives! It can always be better, so it’s worth trying. 

How to check what would work best for your business? Web analytics and A/B testing comes in handy. It is a way of comparing various marketing methods or elements and checking which one works better for your business. Through this approach, you will be able to identify the weak points of your strategy and come up with something different! How to run such tests? Because it’s not rocket science, you won’t need to hire a team of specialists to manage it. Depending on the market you operate in, the niche you’ve selected, and a few more aspects, the complexity and direction of your tests may be different, but here are a few things you might want to consider:

  • landing page copy
  • CTAs
  • headlines
  • graphics
  • fonts
  • website layout 
  • links
  • colors
  • website architecture and navigation

Checking the above elements will give you a big advantage over your competitors and make you stand out. When testing, don’t check too many different elements simultaneously, as this will make it impossible to determine which one caused specific changes. 

Once you recognize what works the best for your enterprise, you will be able to increase your income and so your ROI will rise too. 

#6 Use various platforms to boost your ROI

To increase earnings and thus take care of your ROI, you should be in touch with your audience around the clock and try to stay in their minds as long as you can. As we mentioned at the very beginning of this article, communication and bonds with your customers are very important. The same rules apply to awareness; you need to stay at the forefront of their minds. For this to happen, you should be present on a variety of channels and not focus only on one method of communication. Use social media, emails, chats, and IVRs. In order to satisfy your customers’ needs and remain in their minds, you must work from all angles.

To be clear, we are not discussing marketing alone here but the overall performance of your business. Take care of the user experience, customer service, and post-purchase services, etc. Be present at industry events and let people get to know you better there. Differ your distribution channels and put yourself out there. The key is to focus on delivering high quality via various channels and be open. This way, you will maximize your chances of higher income. 

Start boosting your ROI now!

Making your ROI high is not the simplest task, but it might not be as hard as you think it is if you focus on the goal. And it is almost a piece of cake if you follow our tips! 

Increasing your ROI means increasing your income, but you shouldn’t put the money aspect first all the time. What or rather who should come first are your customers, both existing and potential ones. That is because happy customers are the ones who spend the most money on your items. Keep them satisfied in the first place so that you can meet their needs and deliver high-quality services. Increasing your return on investment will follow as a result.