Stuff & Things...

BrandingMarketingSmall BusinessWeb Design

How to Build Brand Trustworthiness

Every small business owner wants to succeed and every business has a brand, whether they created one of not. Success and a business’s brand are intimately linked. Consumers’ perception of a company is their brand, and without the perception of trustworthiness, a business will rarely succeed. What steps can small businesses take to further their brand perception of trustworthiness? 1 – “Do what you say you are going to do.” This is the way marketing values expert Robert Ferguson sums it up. When a business follows this advice in all that they do, from interactions with customers to internal decision making, consumers will associate that business with security and trustworthiness. Authenticity also breeds trustworthiness, especially among millennial customers. Most buyers value…
Mike Morris
April 7, 2016
MarketingSmall BusinessWeb Design

5 Proven Methods for Directing Traffic to your Business Website

Leveraging Offline Sources If you have a business website, you already know that you want your customers and potential customers to see it and interact with it. You may already be trying online tactics to drive customers to your website, like social media activity, PPC ads, marketing emails and the like. But did you realize that what you do offline can have a big impact in gaining new customers too? Try these 5 techniques to prompt more customers to find you online: 1 – Promotional Products: Order and distribute promotional products! These can be things like pens, small toys, memory sticks, or t-shirts. I recommend buying the highest quality products that you can afford to give away. If an item…
Mike Morris
March 24, 2016
MarketingSmall BusinessWeb Design

David vs. Goliath: 3 Secrets to help Small Business Owners Compete with Big Business in Raleigh

Raleigh is a prime place to live, raise a family, get an education, and start a business. But if you’re wondering how a small, locally-owned businesses can compete with larger, nationally known businesses, here are some ideas to consider. In order to see your small business succeed in Raleigh, you must know what makes Raleigh’s people unique. Raleigh has a diverse, well-educated, and highly artistic community. About 48% of people over age 25 have a Bachelor’s degree, compared to the national average of 25-34%.  Most citizens of Raleigh aren’t always just interested in getting the lowest price at a big-box store, they want quality with a local connection. Yes, national chain restaurants can be found in Raleigh, but most prefer to…
Mike Morris
March 2, 2016
MarketingWeb Design

How to Use Google Analytics…to Drill, baby, Drill!

Drill? Are we going to Home Depot? Are we starting a blog about drills? No, no, in this blog we want to learn how to use Google Analytics to “drill down” into your website data. If you are unfamiliar with Google Analytics, read my BLOG  from last week to learn the basics. To reiterate, the goal of using Google Analytics for your business website is to: Inform decision-making Gain understanding of customers and their behavior Increase ROI and sales If you’ve already examined your Exit Pages data but still not sure why some lower-rated pages are causing users to leave your site, then check out In-Page Analytics in the Behavior tab. This tool allows you to see a page as…
Mike Morris
February 25, 2016
MarketingSearch Engine OptimizationWeb Design

How to Understand Google Analytics…Even if You’re Not a Techie!

Google Analytics is an extremely helpful tool to enable business and website owners figure out whether their website is effective in bringing in visitors and converting them to customers. Most businesses have some kind of website, but if they aren’t tracking what is actually happening when users visit, then they don’t know if it’s really an effective business tool. According to the gurus at Search Engine Journal, “to make effective online business decisions, we must have an idea of where traffic is coming from and what visitors are doing while there.”  Want to get started taking your business to the next level using Google Analytics? Let’s look at some key features this free tool offers. First, the basic, default data on…
Mike Morris
February 18, 2016
Uncategorized

How to Use Google Trends for Small Business Marketing

Have you heard of Google Trends? Do you realize you can use it to benefit your business, no matter your industry? And did you realize you can do this yourself, for free, and help move your small business marketing in the right direction? First, let’s give a short explanation of Google Trends. This tool enables a user to see what in trending in Google search engines now or for a set period of time, worldwide or in a specific country. Users can enter up to 5 search terms and the tool will return a line graph with comparison information over time. The category drop-down box allows users to drill down into a specific industry or area of interest. To the…
Mike Morris
February 15, 2016
Search Engine OptimizationWeb Design

New Service Package Offerings!

Historically, Morris Marketing has created plans specific to each client, based on their needs. In doing so, we have been able to determine what most clients need. In order to simplify the process for our clients, we’ve developed service packages based on the most common needs and wants of most business owners. Every service package can be tweaked in order to better meet your specific needs, but a defined service package provides a great starting point. “Basic Website Package”     We found that there are many companies, either brand new or in their third decade of service, who know they need to get online but currently have no web presence at all. These businesses may not be ready to…
Mike Morris
February 10, 2016
Uncategorized

Thinking About Your Customer in 2016

Entrepreneur.com boldly declares “2016 will be the year of the customer.” So how do your sales and marketing strategies need to shift in 2016 to keep growing your business? The broad answer is that you, your staff, and your marketing efforts must become super-focused on the customer. Let’s examine a few concrete action steps you can start using today to make that happen. In 2016, content needs to go more interactive. Articles, blogs, white papers and the like are great, but the trend is to get your customer more involved by employing quizzes, games, slideshows, and videos in your web content. The goal is to keep your customer clicking and interacting with your site. Younger customers, especially millennials and other…
Mike Morris
February 3, 2016
Food for thought

Cybersecurity: Tips and Trends for 2016

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last several years, you already know that cybersecurity is a really big deal. Recently, the World Economic Forum held its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The theme this year was the global impact of the “4th Industrial Revolution,” which is being driven by technological change. Many experts in the field of cybersecurity attended this meeting and shared insights. Here are just a few of the important tips and trends in the ever-growing field of cybersecurity. Right now, there are upwards of 50 BILLION devices connected to the internet. That’s an astounding statistic when you realize there are “only” 7.13 billion people on earth in early 2016! In the future, every item…
Mike Morris
January 29, 2016

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