Category: Website Development

Categories
Creative & Production Direct-To-Consumer DTC Marketing Insights Website Development
Shopify scaled
Shopify scaled

As a Shopify development agency, we develop and enhance Shopify eCommerce stores for our DTC clients. Plugins give us an efficient way to customize our clients’ experiences and those of their customers. This customization translates into increased revenue and efficiency, equaling greater profits.

Shopify plugins make it easy for us to fully customize eCommerce websites for our clients, depending on their specific needs. They also give us the tools we need to easily implement new features that keep customers engaged with the brands. No matter what solution we’re searching for, we can typically find an app that does exactly what we need it to, which in turn cuts down the development time.”

Jenna Radomsky, Bigeye Digital Project Manager

Five essential Shopify plugins for eCommerce stores

Thousands of plugins can integrate with Shopify. That offers store owners plenty of choices. On the other hand, new eCommerce store builders may feel somewhat overwhelmed by all of the options.

Our eCommerce marketing agency gained experience with dozens of Shopify plugins to serve the unique needs of an array of clients. While our clients offer a variety of products and business models, they all have common goals of increasing profits, improving efficiency, and earning more profit.

We find ourselves frequently returning to many of the same trusted plugins to help clients meet their goals. That’s why we commonly suggest a handful of plugins to almost everybody.

Enjoy a brief introduction to our top five eCommerce plugins for DTC Shopify sites:

Klayvio

This email-collection plugin helps build subscription lists. In turn, eCommerce sites can send messages with order updates, upcoming sales, and new product announcements.

Klayvio allows audience segmentation and works with text messaging and email. For instance, it could send out a message through text or email about a sale on end tables to customers who have recently purchased a sofa.

Sales Motivator

What shopper doesn’t love free gifts? What marketing manager wouldn’t appreciate increasing customer order value?

With this plugin, eCommerce sites can encourage larger sales by offering free gifts based upon the total value of purchases in a shopping cart. Users can also select free gifts to enhance specific product purchases. For example, a shoe store might offer a free package of socks or upgraded shoelaces with the purchase of new running shoes.

Yotpo

Today’s customers look for user reviews to help with purchasing decisions. Yotpo can collect and display user reviews with images. Shopify recommends adding reviews to product pages because almost 95 percent of their own customers read them before buying.

Both buyers and search engines appreciate this kind of high-quality content. Plus, Yotpo lets website managers organize the reviews into attractive galleries that can add a social media experience to an eCommerce site.

PayWhirl

Paywhirl gives eCommerce sites the ability to offer more purchasing options. Some examples include payment plans, subscriptions, and pre-orders. Offering customers more flexibility provides a competitive edge over competitors that neglect to give customers options.

For instance, BusinessWire recently reported that subscription revenues have increased over 400 percent in the past decade. According to surveys, customers like subscriptions that help them save money and provide them with convenience.

ShipStation

If customers only sell on Shopify or also accept orders from other channels, ShipStation keeps shipping organized and ensures customers and customer service can view their tracking codes. Some highlights of ShipStation features include:

  • The plugin can import orders from multiple channels, like Shopify, Amazon, or even a CRM.
  • Automation and scan-based workflows manage orders to ensure timely fulfillment.
  • The software can compare rates from various carriers and then print labels one at a time or in batches.
  • After the order ships, ShipStation sends tracking info to sales channels and customers.

Why consider these five Shopify plugins for a DTC eCommerce site?

As a DTC marketing agency, we do more than consult with our clients about external advertising and marketing. While site promotion matters, it can only bring people to the eCommerce site. The experience an eCommerce site offers visitors will close sales.

Besides making business sites more useful for customers, these plugins also make sales management more efficient. As sales increase, a more efficient website will help widen profit margins even more.

As a Shopify development agency, we work hard to design eCommerce sites that generate more revenue and lower operating costs. That’s how we bring value to clients and why they return to us as often as we return to these trusted plugins.

Categories
Branding Copywriting Creative & Production Identity Messaging Naming & Architecture Photography Website Development
you x ventures Oalh2MojUuk unsplash scaled 1
you x ventures Oalh2MojUuk unsplash scaled 1

In marketing, “transmedia storytelling” is a trendy buzzword. Marketers have often proclaimed the benefits of placing much of their advertising-driven focus on telling a compelling “story,” but what is actually represented by the story itself may be a bit hazy. That’s where the marketers at your favorite marketing agency in Orlando come in – we’ll help you paint a clearer picture of how a viable story might help you to provide positive support and reinforcement for your message.

Before the digital revolution, brand storytelling meant something very specific. In particular, it applied to the types of stories we share with one other, in both formal and informal settings, often containing an overarching narrative – including protagonists, antagonists, and the like.

With the ever-present and constantly changing advent of emerging technology, storytelling has taken on a brand new connotation (pun intended). Sometimes called transmedia storytelling, these are, from a broad perspective, the stories about your brand as told through the use of social media, design and other elements that help give people the entire picture of what your brand is all about. Additionally, every image or bit of copy itself can also tell a story. Even Google’s “Don’t be evil” slogan gives us a pretty solid example of how the brand strives to present itself – abiding by the belief that a company that does good things for the world might be forced to forego some short-term goals.

Let’s take a look at how we can apply storytelling in a variety of business facets:

Storytelling in Copywriting

“Just do it.” “Think different.” “Got milk?” Each of these copywriting examples represents a widely-known slogan. In just a few short words, the copywriters responsible for these taglines are able to tell fantastic stories about their business. But it doesn’t stop here. Content through longer-form text and via social media are both excellent avenues to deliver stories out into the world.

Storytelling in Imagery

Images are effective because they truly resonate with people, transporting them to the locale that they see in the visual. Make an impact on your audience by relying on impactful visuals to tell these stories.

Storytelling in Web Design

Does the design layout of your website accurately depict who you are as a brand? Cutting-edge companies often have interesting websites that also reflect these values, whereas simple brands will employ more simplistic websites to reflect the mission of the business.

Storytelling in User Experience

Beyond simply website or mobile app design, this scenario poses the question of whether the user’s experience across platforms is consistent with your brand story. For instance, if you advertise excellent customer service, then your user experience can aptly highlight this feature by allowing ease of navigation of your apps, as well as features that place the customer at the center of the experience.

Storytelling in Sales

People are much more engaged with stories than with hard facts. Use interesting stories in your sales decks and presentation in order to help highlight your business’s strengths and create a feeling of “relatability” within your audience.

Storytelling in Company Culture

To at least some extent, your company’s people are the living and breathing representations of your story. Think of corporations like Google and Apple, both of which lean on their unique corporate cultures as the heart of how they do business. As an organization, who are you are, where you come from, and why you do what you do often makes for a very compelling story.

Storytelling in Customer Service

For Zappos, customer service IS the story. Zappos employees will stay on the phone with customers for 8 hours or longer just to fulfill the high customer service expectations set forth for and by customers. And, Zappos’ customer service commitment actually inspired an entire book called Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, which essentially contains a collection of stories the culminate in the overall Zappos brand story.

If you’re not focusing on your brand’s story in all areas of your business, maybe it’s time to shift the paradigm – to begin thinking about how your great tale might best be told. Our Florida marketing agency can help you find and focus on a brand story worth sharing with your customers. Contact us today to let us help you refine your approach, and develop strategies to create a library of success stories!

Categories
Campaign Creation & Development Content Marketing Creative & Production Media & Analytics Paid Search Search Engine Optimization Website Development
klara kulikova gdbggjAwtGY unsplash scaled 1
klara kulikova gdbggjAwtGY unsplash scaled 1

Maternity marketing typically reaches out to the current mom, without putting much emphasis on the woman who’s expecting. But particularly for first-time moms, these women and their supportive family members must also make decisions about what’s best for their as-of-yet unborn children… what color to paint the nursery, which toys to purchase for the tot, what types of formula to buy and what kinds of clothes the child should wear.
Companies that target the current mom without thinking of the present mom may be too late – once she has the child, she may have already made up her mind about the best formulas, baby wipes and other newborn needs to suit her child.  And once you lose the expectant mother, you may lose her for life – if she becomes loyal to one brand, it will be hard to get her to switch over.

Many Expecting Mothers Google Everything

Marketers can target expectant moms by reaching out to them through the avenues they’ll be using most.  Perhaps one of the easiest ways is through SEO content and Google AdWords.  First-time mothers may be anxious about what constitutes a “normal” pregnancy, potential parenting woes and the “right” parenting methods.  They’ll often look to Google and other search engine tools for help.  A Google search for “how to change a diaper” produces more than 29 million results. While it may be difficult to provide SEO content to beat the top-ranked page, a Google Ad campaign for your brand could do wonders for your diaper company and maternity marketing strategy.

Educational Content is Valuable to New Parents

Instructional content may also be a promising avenue for reaching your target mom-to-be.  Content marketing is a way to reach out to your target demographics, and therefore a blog directed to the mom-to-be and the newborn mom practically has a built-in audience. Younger, hipper, smartphone-wielding moms may be drawn to video content, which is easily accessible from multiple devices.

From Mom-Focused Content to “DADvertising”

Okay, but what about the dad-to-be? According to a study conducted last year, 52% of millennial parents told us that ads they see are made for mothers more than fathers, and 83% say they think advertising for parents should appeal to both mothers and fathers equally. In fact, there was a successful online movement in the U.S. that put pressure on the site “Amazon Mom” to rename its service to “Amazon Family.”

Some maternity marketing tips we think would be helpful in reaching dads would be to make it easier for dads to find the right information on their mobile devices at any time, to include dads in the story since household duties are shared amongst both parents, and to understand what motivates and works with dads may be motivated differently than their female counterparts. We’ve already begun to see a shift toward “dadvertising” – and we’re diggin’ it.

So if you’re aiming to reach soon-to-be parents, our Orlando advertising agency encourages you to think about both parts of the story.  Catching a mom-to-be in the pregnancy phase may mean that you’re attracting a loyal and valuable customer for life, and speaking to a “dad-in-training” may stand out more amongst a sea of mom-oriented messaging.

To learn more about how you can market to parents in order to create brand preference and instill brand loyalty, contact us today!

Categories
Banking Marketing/Business Media & Analytics Search Engine Optimization Website Development
How Can Small Banks Compete Against Large Banks Supercharged SEO 1200x600 c default
How Can Small Banks Compete Against Large Banks Supercharged SEO 1200x600 c default

Supercharge your SEO services and launch your community bank into the future with these key digital marketing strategies and concepts.

The banking industry has been consolidating for 30 years, dropping from 14,000 banks in 1985 to fewer than 5,000 today. With smaller players being swallowed by industry heavyweights, it’s natural for community banks to wonder how well they can compete against national lenders. Fortunately, there’s one simple tactic that can help even the playing field: Well-executed SEO services grounded in a deep understanding of local buyers.

How community banks can gain an SEO edge

Community banks are, at their core, local businesses. While they might not be capitalized at the level of the big banks, they can instead compete on responsiveness and understanding of the local market.

A local SEO strategy also pays dividends. Banks should give each of their local branches a dedicated web page rather than having each branch listed through a simple location finder. These pages should include information about each branch and its neighborhood and should be optimized for SEO. This means taking commonly searched phrases relating to banking in that area and incorporating them into the body and metadata of branch pages.

The power of the public’s endorsement

Adding customer reviews for each local branch to individual pages is also a smart tactic. Reviews play a critical role in establishing credibility and are a key cog in the conversion process.

This also extends to external entities such as Yelp! and other directories. Establishing a presence on these outside sites does more than allowing you to bump your online review count. Sites such as Yelp! validate your bank’s address, phone number, and name with Google’s search algorithm, giving your site a rankings boost. Linking with high authority publishers is also key. Inbound links coming from high authority publishers is perhaps the most consistently effective tactic in the SEO playbook.

Staying on top of local search terms

It’s also critical to give extensive thought to the kind of questions prospective customers are searching for in your region — everything from “how to open a checking account” to “nearest bank to me.”

These are the kind of questions for which community banks want to rank, so it’s important that they are addressed somewhere within your online presence. You can address them both on your sites and within the content you publish.

Stressing your competitive advantages

Community banks should play to their strengths when marketing. Larger banks tend to be viewed as faceless monoliths who treat their customers like a number on a spreadsheet. Community banks, on the other hand, are in a position to establish personal relationships by properly utilizing SEO services.

This may not affect whether a customer qualifies for a loan, but it does impact how customers feel about their experience. Community banks should underline the closer, more responsive nature of their relationships with customers in their marketing messages.

The takeaway

Small banks can neutralize the advantages of larger competitors by highlighting the benefits of a more personal approach and pursuing a smart SEO strategy. If you’d like to hear more about the impact of high-level SEO services, reach out to our banking experts today.

Categories
Creative & Production Website Development
The art and science behind landing pages that convert scaled
The art and science behind landing pages that convert scaled

Explore the steps suggested by a content marketing agency that is essential to building an aesthetically pleasing landing page full of conversions.

If you were running a brick and mortar business, you wouldn’t put extremely uncomfortable chairs in the lobby, or decorate in a manner that recalls the local DMV. Customers would quickly tire of their surroundings and depart. Yet many businesses are, in effect, doing the very same thing with their websites and landing pages — making the services of a smart content marketing agency all the more important.

The art of great landing page design

Websites and landing pages are the public face of a business and reflect both the competencies and priorities of that enterprise. If your web pages are riddled with spelling or grammar issues, for example, it sends a terrible signal to prospective customers. If the site is cumbersome to use and not intuitive, customers will give up in frustration and fail to convert. Or, even worse, depart for a competitor’s page.

So why use a content marketing agency? And what makes an appealing landing page? For the most part, it can be distilled to a few simple steps:

1. Simplicity and clean design 

Aesthetics are a key consideration when creating a landing page. A cluttered presentation is not only displeasing to the eye, but it also reduces functionality. Worse, it simply looks unprofessional. Good landing page design is clean, sleek, and simple. A landing page should always be designed around one key objective: A conversion.

2. Consistency in branding

All landing pages should display good continuity with the website as a whole. Logos and other branded elements should remain consistent as should brand voice.

3. Effortless navigation

Businesses can’t afford to lose customers because of poor design or UX. A great landing page needs to close the deal. Landing page navigation should be intuitive and effortless, but also limited. You want the visitor to remain focused on converting, and too many navigational options may send them off in another direction, never to return.

4. A clear and compelling CTA

A great landing page has a succinct and persuasive pitch. Your call to action should also be prominently placed. Use appropriate color, design, and text elements to make your CTA stand out.

5. Refined, concise sales copy

A good landing page doesn’t waste a single word. All copy should be calibrated to convert. Be direct, be compelling and explain the value proposition as simply as possible.

Other key tips

In addition to mastering design, tone, and voice, businesses should ensure that landing page functionality is a priority. Forms for collecting leads and social sharing options should be simple to use and work flawlessly. Because businesses are asking visitors to take an extra step when they fill out boxes or click to share, these processes need to be as frictionless as possible.

Testing is another key part of an effective landing page design. Running some simple A/B tests can help you determine which design elements are the most engaging, and help you make the choices that lead to maximizing conversions.

While there are many options for template-based do-it-yourself options for landing page design, businesses seeking to build the most professional and engaging pages possible should consider partnering with a content marketing agency that specializes in design and website development.

The takeaway

At BIGEYE, we believe that great landing pages are the result of stellar design, creative copy, and rigorous testing. If you’d like to maximize your conversions, please don’t hesitate to reach out today to learn what a great landing page can do for your business.

Categories
Audience Branding Consumer Insights Creative & Production Identity Marketing/Business Media & Analytics Media Planning and Buying Public Relations Qualitative Research Quantitative Research Website Development

If you’re a small to mid-sized business owner, you almost certainly don’t have enough time in the day to get everything finished to your satisfaction. Often, the day-to-day operational demands that come with running a business make it difficult to focus on the broader strategic picture — something that is essential for growth.

In order to create a truly high-performance enterprise, it’s sometimes necessary to contract with outside agencies for help with key creative and technical tasks. By working with a trusted agency, business owners don’t have to work outside the limits of their own expertise and have more time to focus on their own high-value tasks.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most important services offered by today’s top creative agencies.

Marketing research

In order to validate their hypotheses, marketers need to collect hard data, and this comes in form of data collected by a marketing research agency. This research may occur through focus groups and brand awareness studies.

Many brands partner with a marketing research agency to help complete these tasks and conduct primary market research. By working with a consumer insight agency or focus group research company, brands can gather the kind of data that helps identify the strengths and weaknesses of their products and services, while also better understanding their target market.

Additionally, a usability testing company can help a company determine how an intended audience interfaces with a product or service, while Florida research companies specializing in market data can assist with consumer profile services and qualitative research services. This gives their clients a broader picture of who their audience is, and how those audiences are responding to products, services and marketing campaigns.

Creative services

Creative work is the heart of effective marketing and branding. Whether it’s print advertising, sales materials design, collateral design or annual report design, creative work is the conduit through which audiences and brands connect.

Most small to mid-sized businesses don’t have the budget or expertise to deploy an in-house creative team. That’s not an insurmountable hurdle, however; by contracting with a copywriting company, outdoor marketing agency, tradeshow display company or packaging design agency, brands can realize their creative vision and better connect with their customers.

Digital marketing

We’ve reached a point where the terms “marketing” and “digital marketing” are almost interchangeable. Most of us live, work, communicate and play online — which means that businesses need to do their utmost to connect with people in the digital realm.

This is accomplished by the following techniques such as email and content marketing and various forms of pay-per-click marketing services or display advertising services. By working with a digital marketing consultant, a content marketing agency or an email marketing agency, brands can help ensure that they reap the rewards of a digital approach.

A new and critically important trend is voice technology. Given the staggering adoption numbers for smart speakers and digital assistants, forward-thinking brands should also consider pursuing voice development services from an Alexa app company or a top Florida digital marketing company.

Strategy

Great marketing campaigns all begin with a smart, overarching strategy. This strategy should encompass everything a business does in terms of marketing creation and distribution, including various content types and channels.

Marketing data analysis conducted by a marketing strategy agency can play a key role in this process, as it provides a sound foundation on which to build campaigns and test assumptions. Businesses may also wish to focus on more niche areas by employing an audience segmentation consultant or social media strategy company, both of which can play an integral role in helping brands identify and engage with ideal audiences for their products and services.

Today, a comprehensive marketing strategy must cover a wide variety of channels, reflecting the nature of how audiences live, work and consume content today. This means that working with a multi-channel marketing company that specializes in this kind of approach is often a smart idea.

Media buying

When it comes to good marketing, distribution is just as important as creation. You can have the most compelling campaign in the world, but if nobody sees it, what good does it do?

That’s where media buying enters the equation. The right media strategy services or media planning agency can help ensure that your marketing content gains maximum exposure through every relevant channel, including print and TV.

Digital, too, is an important piece of the media puzzle. A digital media buying agency that specializes in this channel can help ensure your campaign gains traction, while an attribution modeling company can provide you with measurable data that confirms whether or not particular marketing or advertising approach is effective.

In today’s changing world, it’s also important to ensure that your media campaigns reflect the viewpoints of all consumers, which means that it makes sense to work with a multicultural marketing agency that has the perspective to connect with all audiences.

Web development services

Maintaining fully-functional websites with smooth and intuitive user experiences should be a key priority for just about any business. Websites serve as the public face of a business and also often play an important role in generating revenue. If a business can’t be trusted to offer the public a professional and reliable website, prospective customers may wonder about the quality of the products and services they will receive.

However, not every business is equipped to maintain a reliable, user-friendly digital presence. In such cases, it makes sense to partner with a web design company or website development company that can handle every aspect of creating and maintaining digital properties. Additionally, a good content management company can help ensure that businesses place high in organic search rankings by following the principles of search engine optimization and content marketing.

Continuity is also critically important, as downtime can result in lost revenue and angry customers. An Orlando web development firm offering website maintenance services can help local businesses ensure that their digital properties suffer from minimal technical interruptions.

By partnering with top Florida web design consultants, local businesses can ensure that their online presence serves the needs of their customers, while also attracting new business thanks to the compelling design and reliable functionality.

Branding

In order to be successful in a highly competitive landscape, businesses need a way to differentiate their products and services — and that’s where the art of branding comes into the picture. Branding agency services and brand naming services help companies establish compelling brands by developing product names, packaging, and other key design elements. For example, a business may choose to hire a logo design company as part of its overall branding strategy.

A brand story agency can also help businesses create a compelling brand narrative, one that communicates the values and vision of an enterprise to its audience. Brand messaging services can also help a company convey their value proposition to consumers while communicating a message that inspires, intrigues and motivates potential customers.

Branding, when done properly, should inform how a business communicates on every level. Hiring a brand strategy firm, or devising a brand style guide, can help brands ensure that their public-facing content maintains a consistent brand voice. Meanwhile, the practice of brand positioning defines precisely how the products and services a business sells differ from that of its competitors.

When looking at creating a new branding approach from the ground up, companies will often seek out the help of a brand strategy firm. These are full-service agencies that can help with all aspects of a new branding program, or the rebrand of an existing company, product or service.

Video production and marketing

Roughly a decade ago, businesses were in scramble mode to accommodate society’s shift to mobile devices. Within a very short period of time, the smartphone and tablet transformed with the way people live, work and consume content. Today, we’re experiencing another major shift, this time centered around video.

Because people (particularly younger demographics) prefer consuming video over other formats, the creation of marketing and promotional videos has become an essential marketing service.  By partnering with a video production company or video editing company, brands can reach new audiences and deliver the type of compelling content that leads to successful marketing campaigns.

Social media platforms, of course, are a powerful distribution channel for video content. By working with a social media video company, brands can leverage the expertise of these agencies and greatly increase the reach and engagement of their video-focused social campaigns.

For businesses seeking top video production, Florida is an ideal place to be located. Along with sunny weather and beautiful scenery, Florida is home to some of the world’s best creative agencies. This means that brands in the market for a corporate video production company to lead their latest campaign are perfectly situated.

Social marketing

Social media marketing services are one of the fastest-growing agency marketing offerings. That’s for good reason: The reach and power of social media are greater than ever, and social media advertising services are subsequently in high demand.

Yet while the right social strategy can pay enormous dividends, many businesses simply lack the experience and expertise to execute a high-level social media marketing campaign. In such cases, these businesses should strongly consider working with a social content agency or social media management company.

These agencies have the specialist skill to create high-performance social marketing campaigns that gain serious engagement among users. Social media can be a powerful (and cost-effective) amplifier for a brand. Yet without the right strategy, even the best content will be ignored.

To ensure that all company social media services are on point, businesses without an internal team of experts should strongly consider working with an agency, one well-versed in search optimization and audience-building techniques.

Influencer marketing

One only has to glance at Instagram today to see the power of influencer marketing in action. Social media influencers and brands have formed a symbiotic and mutually profitable relationship, as popular platform users use their followings and personal brands to highlight sponsored brand products.

Yet cracking the code of this emerging world of influencers isn’t always easy for established brands, many of which lack social media expertise. An influencer marketing agency (sometimes called an “influencer management agency” can help fill this shortcoming by pairing brands with the right influencers.

Most brands find influencer marketing to be highly effective, as it connects their products and services with people who have dedicated and highly motivated online followings. This is one reason why working with an influencer marketing strategy agency has become so popular in recent years.

Public relations

The work of a public relations agency is primarily centered on two objectives: Ensuring positive press and public perception, and getting a brand’s message out into the public sphere. A company may choose to do this by scheduling interviews, sending out press releases and other such services.

Because public relations is vitally important work, it often makes sense for businesses to use an outside agency with specialist skills. A media relations agency can help ensure harmonious interaction with the press, while a crisis communications company can step into the breach and manage public perceptions during a period of turbulence.

Press release services and media training services are two other functions often filled by a public relations agency. Businesses seeking help with such tasks can reach out to a Florida PR agency, or an Orlando PR company, for assistance.

The takeaway

The range of services offered by creative agencies has grown significantly. Today, a full-service Florida marketing agency can help businesses with all of the services listed above, allowing its owners to free up much-needed time — and benefit from the deep experience and specialist skill offered by modern marketing experts.

Categories
Creative & Production Media & Analytics Paid Search Real Time Monitoring & Tracking Search Engine Optimization Voice Development Website Development
Chatbot observations from a full service advertising agency 1200x600 c default
Chatbot observations from a full service advertising agency 1200x600 c default

Chatbots are little computer programs designed to engage in lifelike, real-time conversation with humans, typically on a company’s website or on social media platforms. If you spend any time shopping on the web, you’ve probably chatted with a bot, whether you knew you were or not.

With ongoing advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), the chatbots’ “people skills” are getting pretty impressive. That’s why more companies are starting to take advantage of them to beef up their “human” workforce without actually adding any humans. Businesses are getting a big boost in productivity by letting chatbots handle initial interactions with prospects and customers. In fact, according to a study by Oracle, 80% of marketing and sales leaders say their organizations already use chatbots or will by 2020, making a partnership with a full-service advertising agency more valuable.

As a digital marketing agency that helps companies grow sales by attracting more visitors to their website, we’re thrilled about the power of chatbots to enhance the customer experience. And, we see huge potential for human/AI interactions from our work with clients in providing voice engineering services.

In efforts to emphasize the increasing implementation of chatbots, here are a number of ways that chatbots are changing the marketing and sales landscape:

24/7/365 availability and prompt answers

Chatbots don’t sleep, don’t need breaks, and don’t take vacations. They are absolute workaholics and are available to answer questions around the clock. That’s a significant advantage in our ever-more-global economy and with people who have expectations of getting the information they need when they need it.

Proactive customer service

Even as a full-service advertising agency we recognize that interactions with human customer service agents are usually reactive; the website visitor asks a question and the staff member replies. Chatbots can be programmed to be proactive. They can offer help when they detect indicators that the visitor is confused or is interested in a particular product or service and ready to “talk” about it.

Freeing humans for other tasks

With chatbots handling initial inquiries, human workers can focus on higher-level tasks, and in the process grow their careers and contribute more to the company’s bottom line.

Zero errors

Chatbots answer questions accurately every time. Where a human worker might occasionally make a mistake in explaining a promotion, resolving a problem resolution, etc., your faithful chatbot will only share the information that you’ve carefully programmed into it!

Perfectly calm demeanor

Everyone knows that customer service can be a little… let’s say… challenging. But while humans might eventually lose their cool with a particularly grumpy prospect or customer, a chatbot never will.

Easier and more complete data collection

Nobody likes to be faced with a form of seemingly endless fields when they need to provide information. Chatbots can get the required data in a conversational manner that feels less like work for the site visitor. This includes reminders about missing information or explanations about what a particular piece of data is or why it’s needed.

Wondering how chatbots can figure into your marketing efforts, customer service plans, and help drive greater success? We’re a full-service advertising agency that loves to talk artificial intelligence! Contact our team today to learn more. (We promise you’ll reach us and not a chatbot!)

Categories
Creative & Production Media & Analytics Media Analysis & Measurement Media Planning and Buying Website Development
Facebook and GDPR Insights from a digital media buying agency 2 1 1200x600 c default
Facebook and GDPR Insights from a digital media buying agency 2 1 1200x600 c default

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal, and with the European Union implementing its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws, Facebook has made changes to its user privacy policy. While the Cambridge Analytica situation was more related to the mishandling of data by app developers, the policy changes have gone beyond app integrations to address bigger privacy concerns that many Facebook users have had for a long time. This has forced most digital media buying agencies into strategy adjustments for their clients.

Many marketers are panic-stricken, asking themselves: “How will this affect my business marketing activities?” But fear not, as a top Florida advertising agency, we pride ourselves on being intuitive and proactive when it comes to helping our clients understand and navigate changes like this in their industry. In other words, we’ve got your back!

If you are using Facebook advertising, you probably use custom audiences or the Facebook Pixel to help you with targeting the proper audiences. As of earlier this year, there are changes you must follow in the way you collect data. New Facebook rules require you to comply with the following 4 actions:

1. Get explicit consent from each person in your database to track and remarket to them through Facebook.

There are a number of ways to do this including sending a mass email to everyone for whom you have contact information and asking that they reply with their consent.  From there, you must remove those who deny consent or don’t reply from your database. Yes, that involves some work, but you have to do it to be in compliance.

2. Make it clear to all website visitors going forward that you are collecting data.

Many companies today use what is commonly referred to as a “cookie banner” to allow people to accept or decline cookies. You might also seek consent as part of an email list sign-up process. You’ll want to discuss these needs with your web development company.

3. Make it easy for users to reject cookies and withdraw their consent at any time.

For those who change their mind about allowing you to track them, you must have a way to erase all of their data. Of course, the easier that is to do, the less time your team will have to spend doing it. So, coming up with an efficient process is key!

4. Be prepared to notify users of a data breach.

If hackers get unauthorized access to data in your possession, you must notify everyone whose data is potentially compromised within 72 hours. That isn’t going to be a fun note to send out, but doing it helps protect your customers from the hackers and helps your reputation in the long run.

How does this affect the value of Facebook as a marketing platform?

No question about it… marketers need user data to target and reach the right audience on Facebook, and the new rules will mean that less data is going to be available. This digital media buying agency definitely feels your pain!

Should you quit the platform? No, we’re not recommending that. But, it’s important to give some thought to how your strategy needs to evolve. Should you shift some resources to another platform? Temporarily cut back on your Facebook spend to see how things shake out? There’s a lot of questions!

As an experienced digital media buying agency, we can help you understand how the new focus on data privacy will affect your marketing efforts. Contact us today and let’s talk about getting you into — or keeping you in — compliance.

Categories
Conversion Optimization Creative & Production Media & Analytics Website Development
4 commerce marketing metrics every B2C digital expert should track 1200x600 c default
4 commerce marketing metrics every B2C digital expert should track 1200x600 c default

As big data and robust analytics information becomes more accessible and affordable thanks to platforms such as Google and Adobe Analytics, commerce marketing experts are becoming spoiled by choice. With so much information, it can be hard to determine which metrics are most important. To help you cut through the clutter, we recommend tracking these four B2C marketing metrics as the foundation of your true north to provide an insightful benchmark no matter what industry you’re in, or how mature your analytics team is.

Conversion rate

The single most important metric any business should focus on is conversion rate. This KPI is calculated by dividing the number of sales by the number of visitors to your site. Regardless of industry, the average conversion rate on most websites is between one and two percent. This means that even small changes to your conversion rate can have a big impact on your bottom line. Work with your analytics team, or partner with a digital marketing agency like BIGEYE to track the fallout throughout your booking funnel so you can reduce friction and boost this critical KPI.

Average order value (AOV)

Understanding how much people spend on average when visiting your site will help you unlock information about your customers’ lifetime value and gross margins. This is an easy metric to calculate by referencing your revenue against the number of orders over a given period of time. Once you know your average order value, you can also determine whether your business would make more revenue with fewer, large sales, or have greater success with many small sales. Armed with this information, you can tailor your marketing experience to your customers’ and business’s needs accordingly.

Website traffic

While knowing how many people hit your site used to be an important KPI for success, total visitors has grown less popular as more nuanced tagging has become available. Instead of focusing on total traffic (although this figure can provide insight into whether you need to boost your search strategy or advertising dollars), we recommend digging one click deeper into your traffic metrics. Understand how long people are spending on your site, how many pages people view per visit, and whether you have more unique or returning visitors. These metrics will help inform your content strategy and highlight areas where your information architecture could use support.

Cart abandonment rate

Unexpected fees, shipping or services costs, buggy credit card processing, and confusing or cumbersome form fields are just a few of the reasons customers abandon a purchase. Track your cart abandonment rate to understand how your commerce systems are performing and preemptively tackle areas that may be pain points to your visitors. Regardless of how high your cart abandonment rate is today, it’s one of the easiest metrics to improve by streamlining the checkout process.  

These four metrics are the anchors for every analytics strategy. So the next time you find yourself pondering, “what is commerce marketing,” or “how can I harness site data for my B2C marketing strategy,” come back to these KPIs. Learn more about how we can help you on this journey by contacting our team for an in-depth analytics consultation with our team.  

Categories
Banking Content Marketing Creative & Production FinTech Media & Analytics Search Engine Optimization Website Development
How a credit union marketing agency can put you one step ahead
How a credit union marketing agency can put you one step ahead

When most people hear the word “credit union,” they usually don’t rush to their car with enthusiasm for a visit — yet credit unions and banks are important pillars of commerce, stability, and success in most communities.

 Just because credit unions play a highly functional role in most people’s day-to-day lives, doesn’t mean your brand can’t speak to your community’s values and become an icon people look forward to engaging with. A credit union marketing agency can transform your business – and your band – quickly and easily. Here’s how:

Break outside the box with fresh credit union design ideas

After the 2008 financial crisis, many credit unions and banks struggled to rebuild consumer trust. Using social media, creative advertising, and generating thought-provoking or helpful blog content can strengthen your customers’ trust.

As an example, Wells Fargo’s “Earning Back Your Trust” campaign features billboards, YouTube videos, and social media posts all aimed at acknowledging and addressing why their customers stopped trusting them after the crisis. Efforts like these humanize your brand and make complicated subject matter more accessible for the average person.

To strike the right tone for your campaigns to ensure your credit union is still professional and educational while showcasing your human side, partner with a credit union marketing agency like BIGEYE to create unbeatable content.

Freshen up your user experience with new content

Partner with an agency to take a quick pulse check on your website and highlight low word count or low-traffic site pages. Once you’ve identified these weak areas, decide whether content could be combined into another page or expanded upon.

As a rule of thumb, most pages should have 1,000 (or more) words to ensure each digital touchpoint is meaty and meaningful for visitors. This deep content also signals to search engines that your brand is an authoritative voice in the space and that it should be ranked higher in search results. 

Provide valuable services online

This last recommendation may be a little more difficult to implement, but worth the effort. Whether you use a website or app to accomplish this goal, make sure your customers can perform some services online without visiting your brick and mortar location.

For new or lapsed customers, this is a way to entice them to choose or return to your brand. Once you have them hooked, they will keep coming back for your services.

While it may be unrealistic for your credit union to adopt Bank of America’s complete digital banking style, a top Florida marketing agency can help you determine what services you can provide that will be of value to your customers and then successfully market those within your community.  

Contact us today for a free consultation on how our credit union marketing agency can help make your credit union more engaging than ever.