Our Monmouth Blog

In a July 30th Press Release, a Yahoo and comScore study finds online consumers who pre-shop on the Internet spend more in-store. The compelling study showed that consumers who search and pre-shop online spend 41% more in-store when compared to consumers not exposed to online advertising.

“Although recent research cites 89 percent* of consumers shop for information about products online, less than 7 percent** of retail sales actually take place online,” said Amy Vener, Senior Director of Retail Category at Yahoo! “This means retailers have a prime opportunity to engage this audience of ‘pre-shoppers’ through online advertising to capture incremental sales in-store.”

This represents a competitive advantage for you over businesses that do not effectively market on the Internet, but also as a means to increase your average transaction. In order to make the most of your Internet opportunities make sure you are following a basic website maintenance schedule which I outlined in a previous post.

Here are a few things to do in order to improve your online marketing effectiveness:

• Review your website for any visual defects
• Check your links, nothing turns away a potential customer like a 404 page not found error
• Update your online marketing campaigns (Google Adwords or others)
• Complete a search engine optimization project

Remember the importance of a professional appearance and reaching your target audience online. The fantastic thing about the Internet is the ease and convenience it allows your potential clients and prospects to find out information about you. Put your best foot forward!

Regards,

Howard

* BIG Research 2007

** Forrester State of Retailing Online 2007

In the age of identity theft there are a few precautions we should take as Internet users and business owners to safe guard our personal information. Most of us are aware of how viruses are passed via email and generally know how to stay clear of most problems. There are other pitfalls, but even worse there is a common misconception that email is private. This may be a surprise to some but your email is absolutely not private.
Emails can be picked off on the open Internet, retrieved from junked computers, unknowingly or accidentally forwarded to the wrong party, open to system administrator review; the list goes on and on. Small business owners are extremely vulnerable because they often use their POP3 business email as a primary email account. Are you comfortable with your web host protecting your emails?
I recommend that everyone open a third party account like a gmail or yahoo email account and make that your primary email. This email should be guarded carefully and only given to only trusted associates and family. Unfortunately, if dad loves sending the (bad joke) chain email you received 6 months ago don’t give him your primary email address. It’s a tough judgment call but security and privacy take priority. Guard this email carefully but remember that it too is not private.
What precautions do you use to keep your email and personal information safe? Share your tips!

Regards,
Howard

Freehold Center Partnership’s Restaurant Committee will be hosting its second “Dine Around” on Tuesday, August 21, 2007 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Participants can enjoy an evening of sampling signature dishes from: The Court Jester, The Cornerstone Cafe, Federici’s, Metropolitan Cafe, Oyako Tso’s and Solo Trattoria; all fine restaurant located in downtown Freehold, NJ.

Tickets are on sale for $50 per person and can be reserved by calling 732-462-3584.

These and other fine Monmouth County Restaurants can be found online at ourmonmouth.com.

This month I had the opportunity to work with several local businesses from the Monmouth/Ocean Chapter of NJAWBO. NJAWBO is the largest statewide women business owners’ organization in the United States. I was fortunate to work with and get to learn about a few of these successful business owners. It is nice to see so many women expanding their businesses successfully on the Internet, not only in our local Monmouth County New Jersey community but the larger Internet community.I would like to acknowledge their successes:

Bloggers:

eMoms at Home - The Internet Home Business Blog for Moms & Dads - Wendy’s thoughtful and informative blog covers topics like Entrepreneurialism, Blogging, Online Marketing, and Work-Life Balance.

techipedia - Tamar Weinberg’s blog of stuff - Tamar’s passion and knowledge really comes through in her blog about Internet marketing, social networks, and business development.

Surviving NJ - A Jersey girl survives daily life - Deb blogs about herself, family, New Jersey, and life in general.

GoOutJersey - provides reviews, features, regular columns and editorials — all with a tone and approach unique to Jersey.

Local Businesses:

Joanne Moustakas - Independent Senior Sales Director for Mary Kay - Joanne has done a great job with her website.

Seniors A2Z - National Senior Care Directory - Grazina has built an easy to use online index of services and resources for elder care.

Monmouth NJ Real Estate - Tracy is a licensed NJ real estate agent who specializes in Monmouth County, NJ. Tracy is a active blogger and maintains the website supporting her business.

These business owners are just a few who have successfully enhanced their business with technology. It should serve as motivation that you do not need to be a technologist or web developer to be successful on the Internet. The most important ingredients are passion and commitment to excellence.

I recognize that there are many more people that should be listed here. I look forward to your comments.

Wishing you success,

Howard

Please take a moment to tell us about yourself and introduce yourself.

If you enjoy wine, bbq and bluegrass music this looks like a nice local event.

August 4 & 5, 2007 12 noon - 5pm
16th Annual Bluegrass Music and BBQ Festival
Blue Grass Bands playing all day. Wine tasting and tours and sample products from the gourmet shop. Childrens games, moonwalk, and BBQ available for purchase.
Glass with $10.00 admission, children free, no pets please.

Oh and by the way, Cream Ridge Winery was also awarded the 2005 NJ Winery of the Year.

Where:
Cream Ridge Winery
145 Route 539
Cream Ridge, NJ 08514-0098
(609) 259-9797

When was the last time you asked a satisfied customer for a referral? If you don’t do this on a regular basis you are missing an important opportunity to generate more business. Asking for referrals takes a bit of discipline and strategy, but once you have established a system becomes a habit. Asking for referrals is a trait that successful businesses have and embrace.

Why are referrals so important?

Referrals are the best way to generate a future source of warm leads for your business by tapping your most valuable resource, your clients. Here are a few more reasons why referrals are important to your business:

• instant credibility
• cost effective (asking for one is cheap!)
• are easy to get
• most importantly, their ability to generate future prospects and leads

When to ask for a referral?

The best time to ask for a referral is right after you complete a transaction, especially if you dazzled your client with exceptional service. Asking for a referral should not be limited to any one particular time so position yourself for future opportunities. For example, a thank you note for past business is a great opportunity to ask for referrals. The thank you note is a great way to stay in contact with your client (relationship management) and ask for a referral. Another opportunity could be a holiday or birthday card.

Remember the key to getting referrals is to ask for them. Referrals are another powerful relationship marketing tool to generate more leads and prospects for your business.

How do you generate referrals for your business?

Regards,

Howard