Simply put -- gamification involves applying game design thinking to non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging.

Gamification encourages people to perform certain actions that they ordinarily consider boring. Tied to compelling content and within a relevant digital channel, gamified websites, applications or processes can increase user engagement, ROI, data quality, timeliness or even learning.

Some common techniques applied to gamification projects include:

• achievements / badges
• levels
• leader boards
• progress bars
• activity feeds
• avatars
• real-time feedback
• virtual currency
• gifting
• challenges and quests
• trophy case
• embedding small mini games within other activities                               [Image courtesy of http://www.thepixelreport.org]

To learn more about gamification and to determine if this type of strategy is good for your business, read or download the following resources:

Demystifying Enterprise Gamification for Business by Ray Wang of Constellation
http://www.constellationrg.com/research/2011/12/demystifying-enterprise-gamification-business

Is Gamification Right for Your Business? 7 Things to Consider by Erica Swallow of Mashable
http://mashable.com/2011/12/24/gamification-for-business/

The CEO Guide to Business Gamification from Business Week Special Reports Gallery
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/special_reports/20110404ceo_guide_gamification.htm

Gaming Business Review
http://www.gamingbusinessreview.com/

Gamification
http://www.gamification.org/

Gamification 101
www.bunchball.com/gamification/gamification101.pdf

Gamification applications and providers:
http://www.badgeville.com/
http://www.gigya.com/
http://www.bunchball.com/

Best,

Denice MacDonald

With the ongoing economic influx, online marketers are turning to the push-pull of the web to become more efficient. They're using social media, they're publishing targeted and relevant content and they're optimizing it. They're becoming Inbound Marketers - using strategic marketing methods to get customers to come to them. 

In traditional marketing (Outbound Marketing) companies focus on finding customers. They use a wide net to target customers such as cold-calling, print advertising, T.V. advertising, direct mail and trade shows. These techniques are expensive and follow a long sales cycle. Technology is making these methods less effective and more expensive - reason simply, customers want control over what and how they are courted. 

What you should do to create an Inbound Marketing strategy: 

Content - Content is the key to any Inbound Marketing campaign. It is the vehicle that attracts potential customers to your site or your business. More than likely, you have content that already exists in many formats. Take an inventory of content and repurpose or rewrite what is relevant. 

Search Engine Optimization - SEO makes it easier for potential customers to find your content. Create inbound links to your site to maximize your ranking in search engines -- this is where most of your customers begin their buying process. Create an ongoing process to organically optimize your web content, PDFs and other content to your site. 

Social Media - Social media maximizes the impact of your content. When your content is distributed across and discussed on networks, it becomes more authentic and credible, and is more likely to draw qualified customers to your site. Begin by creating your own blog with several relevant and targeted blog channels. Reply, respond or reciprocate with social networks or other blog channels creating a win-win for all.

What is the ROI of concentrating on Inbound Marketing initiatives: 

Costs - Outbound marketing means spending money - either by buying ads, buying e-mail lists or renting huge booths at trade shows. Inbound Marketing means creating content and talking about it. A blog costs very little to start. A Twitter account is free, too. Both can draw thousands of customers to your site. 

Lead Generation - Cold-calling, direct mail and e-mail campaigns are typically poorly targeted and do not provide measurable ROI. You're reaching out to individuals because of one or two attributes in a database. When you do Inbound Marketing, you only approach people who self-qualify themselves. They demonstrate an interest in your content, so they are likely to be interested in your product.  

Quantifiable Investment - When you buy pay-per-click advertising on search engines, its value is gone as soon as you pay for it. In order to maintain a position at the top of Google's paid results, you have to keep paying. However, if you simultaneously invest that money in pay-per-click and quality content that ranks in Google's organic results, you'll be there until somebody displaces you. 

Sources and Excerpts: 

Inbound Needs Oubound by Marketing Interactions 

Inbound Marketing & the Next Phase of Marketing on the Web by HubSpot Internet Marketing Blog

What is Inbound Marketing? by Business Knowledge Source

Best,

Denice MacDonald

[Photo courtesy of michielgaasterland.com]

Technology experts and stakeholders say they expect they will ‘live mostly in the cloud’ in 2020 and not on the desktop, working mostly through cyberspace-based applications accessed through networked devices.

Pew said, "the number of cloud users has grown; there are 500 million people sharing friendships 'in the cloud' on Facebook, and many millions are using the cloud every time they access a Hotmail or Gmail account for e-mail, store browser bookmarks online, maintain a blog on WordPress, or store, link to and view videos and photos on YouTube, Hulu and Flickr."¹ 

Cloud Computing Comparison Guide from Focus Research 

Now you can easily choose the best cloud computing solutions for your company with this comparison guide from Focus Research.

Learn the specific differences between eight of the leading cloud-computing vendors and see which will fit your specific business needs.

Download the Cloud Computing Comparison Guide to get side-by-side comparisons of multiple topics including:

• Support Options
• Security Features
• Bandwidth and storage solutions
• Scalability 

Note: You will need to complete a simple form to get this guide – but well worth it.² 

Related Post: Cloud Computing: The Here and Now 

Resources and Excerpts taken directly from:

1.  The Future of Cloud Computing from Pew Internet

2.  Cloud Computing Comparison Guide from Focus Research

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Content Strategy within the Design Process is an excellent article written by Brad Shorr at Smashing Magazine on how: Content Strategy is the glue that holds a project together AND that language influences behavior.

I loved how Brad gave an objective overview of how content is an emerging practice area that needs recognition and integration into the development process from the beginning -- and through -- any digital project or initiative. If anything, you need to read the barter and exchange of team members during the process - hillarious and spot-on!

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Likewise, Brad provides a compelling infographic [right] as well as additional resources on the subject:

The New Rules of Marketing and PR - David Meerman Scott
Explains content strategy better than anyone. The third edition was published in July 2011.

Content Strategy - Google Knol
For a thorough overview of content strategy and links to books, blogs and other resources, check out this fantastic Knol.

Call to Action Buttons: Examples and Best Practices - Jacob Gube
To promote creative compatibility, designers and writers alike should study this Smashing Magazine article.

Top Ten Mistakes of Web Management - Jakob Nielsen
For insight into design-related project management, read this post by the brilliant Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen.

Lastly, you need to subscribe to Smashing Magazine’s network or obtain their free five year anniversary eBook here! Well worth the download and/or sharing with others.
                                                                                                                (Image credit: Chris Depa, Straight North)

Best,
Denice MacDonald

Google+ has emerged as a key player in online marketing and definitely poses competition to Facebook. However, Google+ isn’t the easiest thing to understand. Reason simply, it has a lot of features that can confuse beginners. Even advanced users can miss a lot of the little gems and nuances that define Google+.

So to help out, I have assembled some really good articles for consumers AND businesses to aid in adapting quickly to Google+.

Original announcement (with video) and introduction to Google+

Introducing the Google+ project: Real-life sharing, rethought for the web

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/introducing-google-project-real-life.html

Here's a great article by Mashable (continually updated) containing screen shots, video and cheat sheets with content for all facets of Google+ including Circles, Sparks, Hangouts and mobile:

Google+ The Complete Guide

http://mashable.com/2011/07/16/google-plus-guide/

New eBook: How to use Google+ for Business Hubspot)

http://www.hubspot.com/how-to-use-google-plus-for-business/?source=hspd-website-magazine-how-to-use-google-plus-for-business-20111122

Here's a great cheat sheet from Mashable:

Best,

Denice MacDonald

We all have seen the surge in the use of social networks like Facebook and MySpace allowing us to connect in unprecedented ways. The acceptance of social networks has allowed niche networks to flourish - offering topics and resources to specific targeted markets. 

Marketing through social sites 

While these sites' traffic may pale in comparison to the big networks, there's a good opportunity to connect and market to a dedicated audience who might be more open to learning a little more about your product, services or offerings. If you provide real value to members, they will be much more willing to engage your brand. 

Finding that 'niche' social network 

Try spending a some time investigating your industry - chances are there's a network out there where you can promote and/or brand your business to a specific target audience. Begin with associations or affiliations that are tied to your industry segment. Then, research specific topics or issues that resonate with your customers. Yes, your competitors will be right alongside you, but consumers will be there too. And they will be looking for an expert in the field.  

Lastly, if you can’t find a specialized community for your industry, you could always create one.   

Get started: Learning from the best 

How to Identify & Target the Right Niche Social Media Sites  by Chris Winfield

Fastest Growing Niche Social Media Sites and Networks by Jessica Merritt

Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network by Mark Hendrickson

The following is a list of the top social niche networks that target specific audience or cater to a special interest for you B2C enthusiasts:

43 Things -- A social networking site that targets goal-setting, members are interlinked by the goals they are going after and the goals they have completed.

BlackPlanet -- One of the oldest social networks, and the most popular special interest social networking site, BlackPlanet caters to African-Americans.

Care2 -- Green living beyond just social networking, Care2 offers email, blogging, shopping, and more, all catered to those wishing to live a green life.

Classmates -- Founded in 1995, Classmates was one of the first social networks on the web and still caters primarily to schools and colleges. Classmates charges a fee for advanced services that are usually free on other social networking sites. The website also uses questionable marketing practices by emailing non-paying users and inviting them to pay for the premium service under the pretense that someone was searching for them.

eCrush -- A social network targeting teens, eCrush is the 21st century's answer to writing "Do you like me?" on a piece of paper with a boxes for yes and no and a request to check the one that applies. Teens tell eCrush who they have a crush on, and then eCrush asks those people who they have crushes on. If there is a match, eCrush lets both know, otherwise, the person is none the wiser.

Flixter -- With a tagline of "stop watching bad movies," Flixter combines social networking with movie reviews.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Social media and social media marketing are quite the buzz these days. My user groups and close business colleagues remind me how ‘hot’ this topic is.  Although social media can be the silver bullet for some, e-mail marketing is still quite viable for others.

Customers still want to hear from you

Your strongest (and most loyal customers) still want to have a personal interaction with you. E-mail allows a strong format for segmented content to your customers – reminding them of your products, services or news. 

Some prefer to have the message delivered to their in box

Undeniably, no one can underestimate the power of a third party sell through a strong social networking community – but believe it or not, some prefer to have targeted information sent to them routinely, if not daily through e-mail.

E-mail can be delivered based on opt-in parameters from your mail list (what, when and how content is delivered). That way, there is a win/win for both parties: customers get the content they want and you have a way to stay connected - intimately.

Social Media – some not getting it quite right

Overzealous fan pages, corporate pages with no viable links, as well as poor content will lead to a marginal social media experience – possibly eroding any chance that your company will get noticed – nonetheless virally promoted. 

In order for social media to be successful, there needs to be a strong integrated interactive marketing strategy.

Until a strong social media plan is place, continue some form of e-mail marketing to stay connected to your customers. 

Other exceptional thought leaders who agree: 

Social Media vs. Email: Which Is A Better Marketing And Communication Channel? By Robin Good, MasterNewMedia  

Social Media Marketing Vs. Email Marketing By John Chow Dot Com 

Is Email Marketing Endangered? By ExactTarget (White Paper Download) 

Best

Denice MacDonald

Looking for that last minute gift for the holidays? Need something 'meaningful' for your most honored client? Look no further. Consider Giftly - a gift card, redefined!

What is it and how does it work?

You personalize and customize it, choosing where it works and how it looks. And you can send it via email, Facebook, or even by regular mail.

It takes everything easy and reliable about gift cards, but makes for a vastly cooler and more personal gift. In other words: the Internet is finally making gifting awesome.

Ok...sounds good - but how is it really different than a prepaid Visa card?

Check out the FAQs section for any questions you may have. Looking for ideas? There are many and Giflty has an entire section dedicated to great ideas. In fact, they provide categories by audience, price or location.

With the holidays upon us, using a stylish, technical approach to gift giving will give that personalized touch insuring that your recipients won't need to return items they don't want or need.

Learn more at the Giftly website or 'like' them on Facebook. Either way - you need to check these guys out. 

Best!

Denice MacDonald

Earned Media is basically free media. Earned Media specifically refers to publicity gained through editorial influence and has become the backbone of many social media initiatives and social content development strategies.

With so much user generated content these days, it would behoove an organization not to take advantage of the magnitude of earned media – integrating an earned media strategy during content conception into execution.

Definition

To get the definitions out of the way, those in the marketing and agency world are privy to the buzzwords “paid,” “earned” and owned.” Traditionally, they stand for the different types of media and can be easily broken down like this:

• Paid: Buying a 30-second Super Bowl spot
• Earned: Coverage on Mashable (aka user word of mouth)
• Owned: Your company’s website

The business case for Earned Media

Don’t forget all content — whether it’s text, a video or a microsite — will be “reduced to a link” for social spheres making Earned Media an easy thing to do. There were 500 billion word-of-mouth impressions made by Americans online according to Forrester. Such volumes of word-of-mouth marketing can spread awareness of a product incredibly quickly, and it’s why earned media has become so important to a marketing campaign.

Understanding its usage

Let’s run through a scenario. Earned Media, for example, is what you get when you develop a connection with someone that’s compelled to write a Yahoo review, a blog post, a comment or a tweet, sharing their thoughts on your brand with their social network. It sounds simple but it does take forethought.

Specifically, you will need to develop a strategy at content conception and then filter everything through its earned potential. That is, did I get the right audience, is the content compelling to share (good or bad) and do we make it easy to ‘syndicate’ the efforts (share tools, icons, other channels and formats) and, most importantly, does it integrate nicely as a natural springboard from traditional paid or owned media?

More on Earned Media:

For Social Media Marketing, Earned Media Rules -- MediaPost

How Social Media is Changing Paid, Earned and Owned Media -- Mashable

Defining Earned, Owned And Paid Media – Forrester Blogs

Best

Denice MacDonald

Had to make this recommendation! CMO.com is an excellent resource for professional marketers with little time on their hands who need access to current trends and digital marketing ideas.

Specifically, CMO.com offers digital marketing insight for chief marketing officers. It has four major sections:

1. News -- Headlines about digital marketing news, trends, announcements, marketing analytics, marketing resources, marketing Web sites, blog marketing, and other information about digital marketing and key players in the digital marketing space
2. Insight -- Articles, reports, surveys, statistics, commentary from industry experts, and other digital marketing resources that have a relatively long "shelf life"
3. Blogs -- Select posts about blog marketing from influential bloggers, other CMOs, and industry publications
4. CMO Perspectives -- Interviews with leading CMOs, findings from surveys of marketing executives, and a listing of industry events for CMOs and their staff.

Easy to Navigate!

Select articles from these sections are shown on the CMO.com home page. Additionally, each section has an "index page" that lists all articles for that section. Drop-down menus allow you to browse articles that cover more than 70 specific digital marketing topics, including: brand marketing strategy, email marketing strategy, mobile marketing strategy, news marketing, search marketing, social marketing, video marketing strategy, Web blogs, and Web site marketing strategy.

I strongly suggest you connect with this great resource!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

Fast and furious - that is how all users want to access AND consume content. QR codes are being used to make that possible.

What is it?

Quick Response code is a type of matrix barcode or two-dimensional code consisting of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background.

When you scan or read a QR code with your iPhone, Android or other camera-enabled Smartphone, you can link to digital content on the web; activate a number of phone functions including email, IM and SMS; and connect the mobile device to a web browser.

Aligning and integrating lots of cross-channel initiatives:                  

Digital strategists like myself LOVE this new and evolving technology. The ability of QR codes to connect people with each other and to multimedia digital content is very useful for businesses and consumers alike. From locations, to hours to freebies, QR codes can engage all types of buyers readily and without distraction (less friction and more interaction).

Of crucial excitement is the ability to really integrate offline initiatives to measurable online actions. Consider adding QR codes to your print, name tags, event material, advertisements, door signs and more.

Want to create your own QR Code? Simply go to this website http://keremerkan.net/ where you can create any or all of the following code to:

• Browse to a website.

• Bookmark a website.

• Make a phone call.

• Send a short message.

• Send an e-mail.

• Create a vCard (v2.1 or v3.0) with coordinates to add a contact to your device.

• Create a meCard to add a contact to your device.

• Create a vCalendar event to add to your calendar.

• Create Google Maps URLs.

• Create Bing Maps URLs.

• Create raw geological coordinates.

• Create iTunes app and review URLs for iOS devices.

• Create market:// URLs for searching for publishers or packages on Market app for Android.

• Create Foursquare venue URLs.

• Create special youtube:// URLs for YouTube app on iOS.

• Obtain and encode the latest tweet of a Twitter user.

• Overlay a Twitter profile image over the code.

• Create a mobile URL to tweet on Twitter.

• Initiate a chat to a particular Blackberry PIN on Blackberry Messenger.

• Connect to a WIFI network on Android devices.

• Read plain or free formatted text on your device.

As you can see, the ideas are endless. Take advantage of this new technology now and make it a staple in your digital and offline marketing campaigns and initiatives!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

BTW: Here's the MacDonald Consulting Services QR Code:

I recently completed a new website that concentrated on inbound marketing and sophisticated lead generation. As part of the strategy, it was imperative to create relevant, enticing conversion pages.

In the past, most companies would do 'overkill' on these conversion pages - resulting in less conversion and more confusion about the company or product. Moreover, the content 'promise' delivered 'less than expected' and left the visitor disappointed. As we know, a disappointed visitor never comes back.

I recently received an email from Infusionsoft for a recently published white paper on marketing strategies for SMB's. The email was quite enticing and, with one click, landed me at this page - providing an exemplary example of a strategic conversion page:

Infusionsoft used 5 key elements to get me to opt in:

1. The logo or brand element is not overwhelming - just a reminder that this opt in is for Infusionsoft and/or available to click should I want to get to their home page.
   
2. The overarching message or 'grab statement' is Dream Big! Who doesn't want to dream big! Got me didn't it?
   
3. The item is FREE!
   
4. There are several easily scannable bullet points so that I get the gist of the offering.
   
5. There are only two opt in fields for me to get the goods!

About Infusionsoft

Infusionsoft is an all-in-one marketing automation software used by thousands of savvy small businesses to leverage personalized marketing automation to convert leads, grow sales and save time. Take a look at their product - I have been impressed with their content and would suggest a peak!

Enjoy!

Denice MacDonald

Website Magazine has written a superb article on Rethinking Reputation Management - a practice that has not gone unnoticed by businesses both large and small.

Basically, Website Magazine defines Reputation Management as: a business and personal reputation that is measured by a consumers’ perception of the brand’s products and services.

Let’s face it, not all businesses can afford to invest in sophisticated online reputation management tools such as Marchex [which is a great tool by the way]. So what to do?

Website Magazine suggests that organizations do ‘Reputation Management in Reverse’ – basically identify the companies you are competing against by actively following, tracking and monitoring them. Moreover, the article emphasizes that you need to track new competitors and their followers, engaging that audience frequently and building your social network with one competitor’s downfall after the next [competitor social listening].

According to the Website Magazine: “whether you have brand equity and brand awareness or not, it has been proven time and again that knowing what customers and prospects are saying and feeling about your business is of importance — the same holds true for what is being said about the competition.” 

Read full article. 

About Website Magazine: Website Magazine is a ‘must-have’ resource.  Reason simply, Website Magazine is the one magazine to focus exclusively on the business of running a website: tips for successful websites, solutions for enhancing website traffic, the latest Internet industry trends and statistics, as well as news analysis on the Internet industry. Go here to subscribe.   

Best,

Denice MacDonald

[Graphic courtesy of: http://social-media.co.uk/]

Check this out – a side-by-side comparison of the top 10 social networking websites compiled by Top TenREVIEWS. Although we assume Facebook and MySpace are the top channels – there are others worth taking a look at.  

For example, most social
networking websites offer additional features:    

In addition to blogs and forums, members can express themselves by designing their profile page to reflect their personality.   

The most popular extra features include music and video sections. Members can read bios of their favorite music artists from the artist's profile page as well as
listen to their favorite songs and watch music videos.  

The video section can include everything from member–generated videos from hundreds of subjects to TV clips and movie trailers. 

About Top TenREVIEWS: 

TopTenREVIEWS gives you the information you need to make a smart purchase. They make a recommendation for the best product in each category. Through their side-by-side comparison charts, news, articles, and videos, they simplify the buying process for consumers.  

What a great website and I would highly recommend it to you as an ongoing resource.

Best
Denice MacDonald

Many organizations are obsessed with volume – measuring their web metrics strategy by how many web pages that were viewed or by how many people that have visited. In many cases, this type of information is meaningless as it is not directly linked to a web plan or strategy.

Whether its website traffic analysis, search engine optimization or tracking business success metrics, you need to develop a web strategy ‘up front’ to support measurement objectives. This thought process seems so fundamental but rarely exercised.  Take these simple rules:

A strategic plan for evaluating your website will help you:

1. Collect only the data you need to make informed, strategic decisions
2. Identify priority “action areas” for improvement, measure the impact of those actions -- and keep your customers coming back
3. Determine benchmarks and performance goals you should aspire to, and the extent to which you’re achieving them
4. Determine whether you’re getting a return on the investment you’ve made to build, operate and maintain your website(s)
5. Evaluate how well your website is performing relative to competitors, your company's brand, mission statement or hiring criteria

Develop a plan – a strategy – and review and adjust it regularly by asking these questions:

• What do you need to measure
• What are your requirements
• How will you measure it
• What tools will you use
• What methodologies are needed to gather the data you need
• What will you do with the results
• How will the results help meet the goals for your website and your company's mission
• How does the plan fit with your company's overall strategic and performance plan

Once armed with this process and validation, you will find that your ROI exceeds expectations. 

Great Resources:

Coremetrics Web Metrics
Get powerful website metrics with the leading provider.

Web Measurement Data Fast
ClickTracks web measurement shows behavior, conversion, groups, SEO.

WebTrends Analytics
Marketing Intelligence Solutions, leading analytic & metrics software.

Web Analytics
Compare web analytics products and get a free report sample from CMS Watch.

Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics
If you have an interest in measuring the success of your website, then this book is definitely for you!

Best,

Denice MacDonald

A heat map is a picture of a web page that shows where users click when they visit a particular page.  From a techy perspective, a heat map is artificial intelligence that simulates human vision during the first 5 seconds of exposure to visuals.  

How does it work? 

The areas that are clicked most often appear in red (hot spot), while the areas clicked least often appear in blue or with no color at all.   

Why should you care? 

Heat maps are a tool used by web developers as part of usability testing. Understanding how visitors behave when they visit your web site is crucial to improving its effectiveness – not to mention conversion.  

Looking at the image to the right, it appears that MacDonald Consulting needs to improve image placement on the header and within center copy real estate to increase visitor interaction and conversion. 

Doing so will encourage visitors to click on header links (top blue area to the right within the graphic).

How to build a website heat map: 

Two of the most popular heat map generator applications are CrazyEgg and Feng-GUI.

Give it a try! You'll be amazed!

Best

Denice MacDonald

Nielson Online called LinkedIn, “The world’s largest audience of affluent, influential professionals.”  In fact, you will find more than 80 million of them from more than 200 countries. LinkedIn’s population is highly educated; more than 80 percent have bachelor or graduate degrees.  

With that being said, LinkedIn provides the greatest opportunity to create business relationships, partnerships and highly refined / qualified leads. Most of the research I’ve done on this topic is fairly straight forward and easy to do.  Here are just a few suggestions - check out the links below for specifics:

1.     Don’t assume your LinkedIn profile should be a quick thirty second sell – this is an opportunity to layout your personal and company information in a way that says ‘let’s create an ongoing dialoque’ --- and  by the way, I’m an expert with information I want to continually share with you…

2.     Have a complete profile - include polls, videos, your blog feed and PowerPoint presentations. Using the new publications application, post your e-books, books, articles and other publications.

3.     Connect via groups – not only sign up but participate on an ongoing basis. Share information and begin creating relationships.

4.     Create a community on LinkedIn – one that is authentic and consistently shares pertinent and relevant information to the group. 

5.  Lastly – don’t forget to optimize your profile – that is, insure that you are using relevant keywords within all rich media links that will get your profile noticed on search.  

To learn more – check out these must-have resources: 

LinkedIn Cheat Sheet by my favorite Hubspot Certified Partner Kuno Creative:
http://www.kunocreative.com/linkedin-cheat-sheet/ 

How to optimize your profile with keywords by Linked Strategies:
http://www.linkedstrategies.com/linkedin-keyword-optimization-video/

View Denice's Linked Profile:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/macdonaldconsultingservices

Good luck!
Denice

[LinkedIn photo image from http://technorati.com/]

Time magazine just released their listing of the 50 best websites for 2011.

According to Time, they honor the scrappy newcomers and established players that make the Web so useful, entertaining and just plain indispensable.

Read more.

Best,

Denice MacDonald

On average, customers lose anywhere from 10-20% of their existing client base from mismanagement or simple neglect. 

How do you keep clients while winning new ones? Staying connected - tradition methods still work.  Here are a few simple rules to keep clients happy and coming back for more:

• Email is a great way to stay connected to your clients - but a call or meeting (regardless of a project) will go a long way in staying connected. In fact, invite a client to a seminar, event or other gathering of similar interests or needs. The more time you spend with your client, the more you can connect with them on a personal basis.

• Ask your clients opinion on new products or services.  Clients are your best critics and their input will help you in the long run.

• Keep up with your clients competition and share ideas. Use google alerts or other online clipping service to stay ahead of the competition and show you're vested in your client's success in the marketplace.

• Acknowledge clients by asking for their testimonial or inclusion in your next press release or case study. Send them a copy of what is created along with a personalized note thanking them for their valued contribution. More than likely during the conversation, you can ask for a referral!

Lastly, be honest with your client. If you feel there is a rough spot or a misstep on project expectations, address the situation immediately.   

Facebook is the most popular social network, and with over 750 million users, it can serve as an important marketing tool for any business. Let's face it: your prospects are on Facebook whether you like it or not.

A successfully maintained Facebook presence can help your business:

•Get found by potential customers

•Connect and engage with current customers

•Create a community around your brand

•Promote and expand the reach of your content

•Generate leads!

Download This Free eBook Now!   

Denice MacDonald