Advertising Insights

Five E-Commerce Tips For Small Businesses

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

ID-10093988

Every day your business relies on sales transactions to keep the “open” sign on the door and the company mission afloat. When you sell your products from a brick and mortar location, these transactions are person-to-person. You control the logistics of the sale in terms of pricing, discounts and product delivery, and make sure the customer walks away happy. But what if some or all of your sales happen online?

A great e-commerce site can be your company’s best friend. With nearly unlimited space for inventory, instantaneous access to worldwide markets, fewer sales costs and easy order tracking, an internet storefront helps small businesses compete with much bigger companies.

E-commerce transactions, despite their great advantages, also present unique challenges to business owners. What is second nature in-store falls to the mercy of a computer online. So when complex circumstances like stackable discounts and international shipping arise, you need to make sure you don’t overlook important logistics, lest you lose money or your customers’ trust.

Here are five tips on doing e-commerce well:

Make It Easy. Just like in-store shoppers, online shoppers respond favorably (buy) when they can “get in and get out” with little hassle. Your chosen e-commerce platform should provide a seamless and direct buying experience. A good measure of the ease of an interface is the number of clicks it takes to get to the desired action (the fulfillment of the order). Click to add to cart, Click to go to cart, Click to choose desired options (if applicable), Click to enter billing and shipping info, Click to complete the order. That’s 5 clicks, and you shouldn’t need more than that, with some exceptions.
Provide Options. If it’s in your power, be sure to offer as wide a range of product variations and options on your online store as possible. One of the reasons many people shop online is to locate those hard-to-find items that weren’t in the brick and mortar store. If they find them in your online store, customers will be more likely to return when they face a similar situation in the future.
Get Social. Another great way to ‘make it easy’ for your online customers is to integrate e-commerce capability into your social advertising. For one of our e-commerce clients, Primm built a secure online store placed as a tab on their Facebook page so that customers don’t even have to leave Facebook to complete an order.
Consider The Complexities. We mentioned before the issue of stackable discounts. These refer to how a business chooses to handle the application of multiple discounts to a single order. For instance, say you choose to run a “buy one get one” promotion for a certain product while simultaneously offering a promo code for “one free [insert name of same product]. Without taking the time to program your e-commerce platform to reject the ‘stacking’ of these discounts, you could lose untold money and inventory. That’s just one of the logistical complexities you need to take into consideration in order to get the most out of your e-commerce site.
Place An Emphasis On Customer Service. Though you may never meet your online customers face to face, it doesn’t mean that you can’t give them the stellar customer service you would afford to in-store shoppers. Along with fast, complete and trackable shipping, make sure you have a clear and convenient process for returns.

As you can see, there is a lot to think about when running an e-commerce site. If you’d like, the web team at Primm can save you time, energy and money by handling your e-commerce operation. Call or contact us today.

image courtesy of: freedigitalphotos.net

Primm News and Announcements: Team Members Get Active In June

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

The Primm team sure is jumping into summer 2013! With Harbor Fest coming up this weekend, we are growing more and more excited for summer festivities in Hampton Roads and beyond. And since June is National Employee Wellness month, we thought this would be a great opportunity to update you on how a few members of our crew are using their spare time to get active, get outdoors and serve the community.

Last weekend, programmer Lucy Conn completed a 150 mile roundtrip bike ride up and down the Eastern Shore. We highlighted Lucy on the blog a few weeks ago and are happy to report that she had a blast while cycling to benefit Multiple Sclerosis research! And we have some awesome photos from the weekend to share:

Lucy and her team!

Lucy riding strong and all smiles.

Lucy and her friend Terry. Terry suffers from MS and was Lucy’s inspiration for riding in the MS150.

Great work, Lucy!

Primm CEO Tom Noffsinger also participated in the event, “Bike MS,” by riding his motorcycle alongside the cyclists and offering assistance (food, bike repair, moral support) as needed.

Speaking of Tom, he heads out to New Jersey this weekend to teach signature sea kayaking skills at the first annual Garden State Sea Kayak Symposium. Tom has taught at similar events in the past as a seasoned kayaker and instructor but he looks forward to participating in this the inaugural year of the Garden State Sea Kayak Symposium.

Here are some photos of Tom in action last winter. That water sure does look cold!

Photo Credit: Patrick MacLaughlin

The Symposium will have its base camp at Lake Lenape Park in Mays Landing, NJ and will last from Friday to Sunday. Good luck, Tom!

In other news, two members of Primm’s online marketing department, Janelle Person and Kylie Wheeler, are set to take off running this Saturday June 8 for Eggleston’s OK5K presented by Doma Technologies.

All proceeds from this race go to support Eggleston’s mission of “creating education, training and employment for persons with disabilities.” If you would like to join Janelle and Kylie at the starting line on Saturday morning (On the Virginia Wesleyan campus FYI), there’s still time to register online. Come on out and run for a great cause!

Like we’ve mentioned on the blog before, staying healthy and active in the community is an important part of company life here at Primm and we believe that it helps us serve you with more energy, more creativity and a multi-faceted understanding of life in Hampton Roads.

Penguin 2.0 and SEO. What Does Your Business Need To Know?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

Penguin 2.0, Google’s update to last year’s original “Penguin” algorithm change, rolled out last week, according to Matt Cutts, Google’s resident Search Engine Optimization expert. If you’re not familiar with the intention behind Penguin and its cousin Panda or the importance of Google’s search algorithm to search engine rankings, not to worry.

Google’s central mission when it comes to search is to make the search experience as user-friendly as possible. To this end, Google has applied certain formulas to search rankings that help ensure that websites with the most useful content rise to the top and that websites with “blackhat” (unethical) SEO techniques sink to the bottom.

Some blackhat techniques include:

Keyword stuffing and invisible text- To raise your search engine ranking, the pages on your website must include the keywords your customer searches. If there are a ton of keywords on a page, but none of them make sense or provide anything of value to the user, that page will be flagged by Google and its rankings will likely be hurt. Invisible text (including keywords on a page that are the same color as the background so that they are “invisible” to the user but visible to search engines) is another way earn a bad reputation with Google.
Spammy linking- For a site to rank well, it should have many genuine inbound links. This means that people on other websites and social platforms find it useful or interesting enough to provide a link to it for their users. The blackhat version of this involves buying or otherwise getting meaningless links. Google’s algorithm detects this tactic very well.
Doorway pages and those with thin content- Doorway pages are pages that exist on your sitemap so that search engine spiders detect them but that are invisible to users. The idea behind this blackhat technique is that having more indexed pages will raise your ranking. A related tactic is making these doorway pages visible but adding a little bit of useless content to help fake their legitimacy.

What can I do to raise my ranking the right way?

We hear it all the time, but now more than ever, businesses looking to rank well online must focus on creating content that matters to their customers. Good content, whether it’s a well-maintained and informative blog, a fantastic social presence or a frequently updated website (preferably all of those things!), keeps users coming back.

The gist of all of this is that Penguin 2.0 isn’t meant to hurt the search rankings of businesses that are out to reach their customers with great content. If anything, Google is actually trying to make sure the nice guy, the business with a clearly organized website and user-oriented strategy, comes out on top. Penguin 2.0 is Google’s attempt to more accurately target sites that don’t play by the rules.

Even with the focus on generating excellent content, the classic guidelines for on-page search engine optimization still apply. Clear and relevant titles and descriptions, natural but keyword-rich copy, and quality links, among other things, are all necessary to building a website’s authority.

The best piece of SEO advice we can offer is this: Getting your website to the top of the search results takes time when you do it ethically (playing by Google’s rules). Any SEO company or service that claims they can get you to number 1 in a week is either not telling the whole truth or dabbling in blackhat techniques.

How is your website ranking? Does it seem that Penguin 2.0 may have hurt you more than helped you? Call or contact Primm to schedule a meeting with our SEO and search engine marketing experts. We are excited to help you establish (or re-establish) an impressive web presence.

Primm Team Member Hits the Road for Multiple Sclerosis

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

The Primm team likes to get out and get active, especially when it’s for a great cause. On June 1 and 2, Lucy Conn, our web programmer (and accomplished triathlete), will set out for a 150 mile bike ride for a cause that hits home for her and many others in the community, Multiple Sclerosis.

Our Lucy!

Lucy is riding in honor of her good friend Terry, who has been valiantly fighting MS since 2004.

Lucy and Terry

“Terry is my inspiration…every time I think about not getting on my bike or heading out the door for a run I think of her and that’s all the motivation that I need…I do it because I can.

Each pedal stroke that we take this June will bring us closer to a cure for our friends and loved ones.”

Lucy won’t be rolling alone. Her cyclist pals Kathy and Karen are on her team and together they will ride for a cure.

Lucy, Kathy and Karen

The event, Bike MS, takes cyclists on a tour from Cape Charles to the YMCA’s Camp Silver Beach on the Eastern Shore and gives them the option of a one or two day ride in addition to individual mileage options of 36, 75 or 100 miles each day. As Lucy and her team tackle the two days and combined 150 miles, they, along with Terry, will be in our thoughts!

bikelogo

To learn more about Bike MS and Terry’s story, or to make a charitable donation to Lucy in honor of someone you know who has been affected by Multiple Sclerosis, visit her event page. All donations go to MS research and funding of programs that help those with the disease.

Branding Disasters: What We Can Learn From JCPenney

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

“I believe in trusting men, not only once but twice…in giving failure another chance.”

- James Cash Penney

Based on his quote above, it’s safe to say that the founder and namesake of the ailing department store JCPenney would support newly reinstated CEO Mike Ullman’s second chance at leading the store back to a semblance of its former glory.

JCPenney’s massive financial slump follows a failed rebranding attempt by Ron Johnson who took Ullman’s place in 2011. Johnson was largely responsible for Target’s successful “cheap chic” rebranding as the vice president of merchandising and worked hand-in-hand with Steve Jobs at Apple to create its famously consistent brand experience (“geek chic,” as it were). Why didn’t JCPenney enjoy the same kind of rebranding success under Johnson’s direction?

Let’s look at what went wrong and what you can learn from it.

Johnson wanted to shake things up at JCPenney by doing away with coupons and sales, discontinuing some of the older and stodgier merchandise mainstays and simplifying the physical layout of the stores. His goal was to revitalize the chain by making “hip” changes. For most of JCPenney’s clientele, the new look, feel and pricing system fell flat. While some customers responded positively, for most, the change was “too much too soon.” Revenues dropped from an already low level and after 17 months, Johnson out. Ullman in.

The Lesson:

No matter how cool or innovative a new brand concept seems, do your market research and act accordingly. Because of JCPenney’s sad and stagnant state when it fell into Johnson’s hands, he acted too quickly in an attempt to salvage it and failed to align his tactics with the likes and dislikes of JCPenney’s loyal existing customer base. Fun and flashy ads are great, but not if the customers actually buying respond to sensible and conservative ad messages.

Now, that’s not to say that change involved in a rebranding has to be totally at the mercy of your customers’ extant preferences. In fact, when you roll out big changes gradually and refrain from removing brand mainstays (in JCPenney’s case, coupons and discounts), you can acclimate your customer base to a new direction without shocking them out of your camp.

Another key let-down of the rebranding: the new logo. Slightly reminiscent of Myspace’s logo-change missteps, research showed that while 84% of consumers recognized JCPenney’s original logo and 76% recognized 2009′s slight change, only 56% could identify JCPenney with the logo introduced in 2011.

Image courtesy of: www.businessinsider.com

Ouch.

The Lesson:

Think twice before completely overhauling your logo. Ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” JCPenney, with all of its financial woes, boasted high brand recognition before the rebrand. The modern appeal of the March 2012 logo was likely not worth the customer confusion.

I never trust an executive who tends to pass the buck. Nor would I want to deal with him as a customer or a supplier.

-James Cash Penney

In April of this year, Ron Johnson was asked to step down and JCPenney faced the overwhelming task of regaining its share of the department store market. The company launched a huge social media campaign that communicated one message: “Come back to us. We’re listening.” This apologetic ad circulated on Facebook, garnering an incredible response from former JCPenney patrons who aired their discontents in the comments (most comments received a direct acknowledgement from JCPenney). It also displayed a more familiar logo instead of the poorly received one.

click to view the ad.

It seems that JCPenney’s leaders garnered some wisdom from their company’s founder and chose not to “pass the buck,” but rather to admit their failure. Whether or not this tactic will bring their numbers up remains to be seen, but JCPenney offers businesses a great example of how to recover from a failed rebranding.

The Lesson:

Admit to your mistakes and sincerely look for customer feedback. There is no value in pretending that missteps never happened. In the past few months we’ve talked about the importance of saying “sorry” and eating your humble pie when necessary. Honesty really is the best policy, so while we can’t guarantee that this strategy will fix all that’s broken…it certainly is a start.

Do you want to rebrand? Did a recent rebranding attempt not go as smoothly as you planned? Either way, call Primm. Our creative PR experts can help you make sure your customer base stays in love with you no matter how you change your logo.

Sources:

www.businessinsider.com

Radio and Millenials Are a Great Match. Here’s why.

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

Generation Y, Generation Me, Millenials…whatever you choose to call them, the 18-34 demographic is probably a part, if not the focus, of your target market. But despite their purchasing power, they can be difficult to reach meaningfully. Why?

One of the reasons is that Millenials are more suspicious of advertising than their baby boomer parents and traditionalist grandparents. They are skeptical of flashy ads with big claims and desire some kind of personal connection to the brands they support. It’s your job as a business to facilitate that connection.

So, what tactics and channels can you use to crack the millennial code? If the first things that come to your mind are those traditionally associated with “youth,” namely Facebook, Twitter and perhaps strategic email marketing, you’re right. Web marketing does meet millennials where they are (in front of screens.) But what about radio?

Yep, you heard me. Good old fashioned radio advertising, albeit with a millenial twist, can be a fantastic way to get the attention and affection of young people. Even in the midst of the myriad media options available to them, 92% of 18-34 year olds still tune into radio for over 12 hours every week, and when they do, they really listen. Why?

Over time, young people form connections with radio personalities who often accompany them on their way to school or work in the morning and on the way home in the afternoon. They grow to trust these radio hosts and look forward to each day’s topic of discussion. What is more, radio stations generally do a great job of cross promotion online and through social media. One local top 40 station has over 60,000 Facebook followers who regularly interact with their page, not including the followers of its radio personalities’ personal Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Simply put, radio fosters community. It also provides businesses with the ability to directly target the age and interest demographics they want to reach with more specificity than most other marketing channels. The key is to add radio into your media mix smartly by following the lead of market research and, ideally, working with marketing experts that know how to practically interpret that research.

If you are trying to get your brand in front of millenials, here are some tips for making the most out of radio:

Make radio personalities your brand advocates

Since radio hosts already share that personal connection with your young audience, capitalize on their vote of confidence for your brand or product. Whether the hosts directly endorse it in the context of regular programming or simply serve as the voice to your ad copy during commercials, a familiar voice will perk up the ears of young listeners and encourage them to give you a chance.

Collaborate off the air

Radio stations hold numerous contests and events throughout the year. Get in on the action and sponsor one of them or go a step further and work with the station to build an event around your brand. A nice and easy way to collaborate is to provide the station with branded promotional products for them to hand out to contest finalists and such.

Be distinctive and consistent

When you’re looking to catch the attention of young people (who incidentally have pretty short attention spans), your radio spots must be concise, creative and memorable. They also have to run repetitively but not so often that the audience tires of you or tunes you out.

Easier said than done, right? This is where working with an experienced broadcast media advertising agency like Primm really comes in handy. Our creative team doesn’t just write clever individual spots and call it a day. We develop a number of ads all based on a carefully honed concept derived from your brand message. Primm has a long history of collaboration with local and national AM/FM radio stations and the knowledge you need to place your ads on the right station, in the right time slot; all in a way that fits your budget and gets results.

Would you like to add radio to your media mix? Interested in broadcast advertising in general? Call or contact Primm today. (757) 623-6234.

source: marketingprofs.com

Primm gets active at the Ukrop’s Monument Ave 10k

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

This past weekend, three members of the Primm team joined over 35,000 runners, joggers walkers in Richmond for the 14th annual Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k! Tom Noffsinger, Kelly Wheeler and Kylie Wheeler, along with their awesome friends and family, got the chance to enjoy the beautiful spring weather and take pride in getting active and achieving goals.

Named one of “10 great places to hit the road” by USA Today, the Ukrop’s 10k presented by Martin’s Food Markets is one big party that takes participants through historic Richmond for 6.21 miles of fun. And not only that. This year, the race helped raise $500,000 dollars for cancer research at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center. Now that’s what we call a great time for a great cause.

We’ve compiled a little photo journal of the race, and only realized after the fact that having been so wrapped up in the moment, we never got a picture of the three members of the Primm team together! We trust you’ll forgive us.

Tom, his wife Amy and their daughter Taylor!

Kelly and Kylie gearing up for the big race.

Kelly with some employees from a fellow Norfolk Company, Bobalicious in Macarthur Mall!

The flag flying over the starting line.

Runners ready to race!

Just one of the many cool costumes we saw on the course!

The cherry blossoms were a’bloomin

This little girl high-fived everyone on the course. What a trooper!

Beautiful Richmond architecture

And….finished!

Tom and Amy, happy to be done!

John F. Kennedy once said, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” The Primm team is a collectively healthy bunch and we believe that physical wellbeing helps us offer the highest level of creative innovation to our clients. Primm’s programmer, Lucy Conn, is an accomplished triathlete. We’ll cover her athletic exploits on the blog in the next few weeks, so be on the lookout!

Remember to call Primm for all your marketing needs. We are here for you.

The Greatest Advertising Opportunity Since The Invention of Cereal

Posted on April 12, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

Is your brand message working for you or is it working against you? To answer that question, take a moment to step back and step in the shoes of your potential customer.

In the above clip from the popular AMC television show Madmen, we find Don Draper making an ad pitch to the decision makers of Lucky Strike cigarettes. Lucky Strike rested its brand image and message on the alleged health benefits of its cigarettes, but government scrutiny and consumer concern about the harmful effects of smoking necessitated a dramatic change in direction.

How could they possibly rebrand, asked the Lucky Strike leaders, when all cigarette companies sold roughly the same product? What selling point would set them apart from the competition if not for the dubious health claims?

“How do you make your cigarettes?” Don Draper asks the gentlemen, who then explain the process, including the step of toasting the tobacco. Draper devises the slogan, “It’s toasted.”

He explains to his befuddled client that even though the other cigarette companies toast their cigarettes as well, those companies aren’t taking that angle. The consumers, who were largely ignorant of the cigarette manufacturing process, would understand one thing: “Everybody else’s tobacco is poisonous. Lucky Strike’s is toasted.”

We can learn three lessons from this all too realistic branding scenario:

1. Find your angle in a sea of sameness.

It seems like an obvious suggestion, but sometimes companies that sell a common good or service can lose sight of what makes them unique. Even if your product isn’t all that different from the competition’s, you can always find a marketing angle that fills a void they left open.

Like in Lucky Strike’s case, that angle is often something seemingly mundane. You can’t overthink it, because your customers aren’t overthinking it.

In fact…

2. Assume no complex knowledge on the part of consumers.

We don’t mean to suggest here that consumers are stupid, but rather that they are, in general, far less acquainted with what your company sells than you are. They don’t care about all the ins-and-outs of the product, because that’s your job. If they are giving the product any kind of notice, it probably means they have some need that either you or the competition can fill. That’s why it is so important to know and be capable of communicating your unique angle, however simple that angle is.

3. Don’t try to be all things to all people.

One way to cater more successfully to your target audience is to stop attempting to market broadly. Instead, tailor your message specifically to the people with a desire and/or need for what you sell. In so doing, you are capturing the attention of those most likely to purchase what you sell and maybe even inspiring a sense of need in previously unaware consumers. Taking an unspecific, one-size-fits all marketing approach will lead only to a marginalized brand message.

Do you need a golden, Draper-esque brand message? Chances are, Primm can help. Call or contact the team today.

The Power of Broadcast Media

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

retrotv

The advent of Internet marketing, social media and instant streaming of music and video has caused some people to question the relevance of traditional broadcast marketing via radio and television. Is it still effective or are companies who choose to advertise on radio and TV speaking to an empty room? Read on.

Recently, a client came to us needing to promote a highly specific campaign with a direct call to action that required a prompt response on the part of their target audience. We knew what to do. Along with promoting said campaign on the web and social media, Primm launched a robust PR effort that led to our client receiving prime local radio and television airtime. The results were astounding.

Even though the radio and TV pushes happened toward the end of the two-month campaign, they prompted a full 42% of all responses. The volume of responses and the speed at which they came demonstrated something Primm already knew: Broadcast media works.

Along with strategizing based on a well-researched understanding of the media habits of the target market, Primm provided the client with detailed talking points for each broadcast engagement that allowed the client representative to communicate the message quickly, but without stress or confusion. Accordingly, as part of our commitment to a holistic PR partnership, a Primm team member accompanied the client representative during shooting and recording to guide, assist and help keep things running smoothly.

With meticulous media planning, focused engagement with the client and of course the magic of radio and TV, our client got the results they needed and more…in minutes.

Do you think your next campaign might be suited for advertising on radio and television? Do you need a trustworthy and savvy PR firm? The expert team at Primm is ready and waiting to give you solutions. Call or contact us today.

image courtesy of: freedigitalphotos.net

Case in Point: DK Paragon Custom Builders

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Kylie Wheeler

Emblazoned on the homepage of DK Paragon Custom Builder’s website is the phrase, “From Vision to Reality.” As an expert local home building and remodeling company, DK Paragon brings homeowners’ dreams to life. When they came to Primm, DK Paragon’s vision was to expand the company’s reach and solidify brand recognition. Through a highly integrated marketing campaign, Primm is working to make DK Paragon’s vision a reality so they can do the same for their clients.

One unique challenge for Primm as we strategized for DK Paragon was the company’s name change (They were simply “Paragon Custom Builders” when they came to us). Changing the name of an established business is always tricky, but by covering all bases of DK Paragon’s public face, Primm helped keep the rebranding transition smooth.

Before

Screen Shot 2013-03-26 at 3.56.06 PM

After

paragontwitterlogo

What bases did we cover, you ask?

Primm redesigned DK Paragon’s logo and website, shot and produced television commercials, and currently manages their social media accounts (visit their Facebook page here), including Pinterest. The key aspect of all of these channels is how they cohere, coordinate and ultimately work together seamlessly to present a full brand picture to DK Paragon’s target audience. Sure, each channel is functional by itself, but the sum of the parts is far more effective.

Thoughtfully combining marketing tools in a consistent and strategic manner is the best way to produce results, and it just happens to be Primm’s specialty. Call or contact us today.