The Power of Follow Ups
One of the best ways to create synergy and boost your marketing reach via your partnerships is to share content. Cross posting and guest posting on your clients’ or partners’ blogs and social media platforms increases your reach, generates additional trust and loyalty for your business, and opens doors to more interesting and relevant content.
For example, this month we’re sharing an infographic and guest post about Sales Skills from IRC that talks about the power of following up with your prospects. Check out the article, written by Nicholas Rubright, and the infographic:
The importance of following up with sales prospects is undeniable. Research shows that 80% of sales happen after the fifth interaction. Despite the fact that this approach has proven effective time and again for closing deals, only 44% of salespeople actually make more than one attempt to close a sale.
A key takeaway from this data is that consistency and perseverance are the backbones of any sales strategy. Your ROI will always seem low when you give up too soon, or never try at all!
Research indicates that 40% of your prospects will be at the beginning stages of their buying process, which means they won’t have a clear idea of what product will best suit them. That being said, you can make sales by continuing to show up while the competition has given up.
To ensure maximum success in your sales and marketing strategies, follow the tips provided by this infographic. And be sure to remember this: success in sales isn’t creating the perfect circumstances to close, it’s about being confident and prepared enough to make a sale whenever your prospect is ready.
The Complete Guide to Cause Marketing
“Cause marketing” is rapidly becoming one of the smartest decisions you can make for your business as more and more people are making ethics-based decisions, choosing to work with cause-conscious companies as a priority. Perhaps the most recognizable cause marketing campaign is Subaru’s “Share the Love” initiative, in which every car sale includes a donation to a charity.
This practice of partnering with charities and non-profit organizations, or taking a social responsibility stance, generates brand trust, goodwill, and loyalty that reflects positively on your company but also enhances your position in the B2C and B2B marketplaces. Check out Brandwatch‘s cause marketing guide to see how these strategies can help YOUR business.
Website Accessibility & the Law: Why Your Website Must Be Compliant
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 wrote into law the right of all persons to have access to public facilities, spaces, and resources regardless of visible or invisible disability. While this legislation has been very helpful in increasing physical accessibility through initiatives like ramp-building, TTY programs, designated parking areas, and more – the ADA was drafted before the internet became a mainstay of daily life, and does not provide clear guidance on how to adapt accessibility to the digital and virtual realms. Because general accessibility liabilities apply equally to your business’ physical store or office location and to your company website, it’s important to understand how the ADA applies to your digital presence. Learn more about accessibility law and how to be in compliance in this article.
Read the full article at: www.searchenginejournal.com
What is Digital Accessibility?
You’re probably familiar with the concept of accessibility – adding wheelchair ramps, reserving disability-friendly parking, including Braille on signage, providing automatic doors, and many other initiatives and adaptations that allow equal access to stores, facilities, and resources. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has enforced the right of all people to have equal opportunity regardless of ability status. This legislation has made sweeping improvements in physical accessibility, but did you realize that the ADA applies to the digital world as well?
Website accessibility is often overlooked, in part because the ADA legislation was drafted in 1990 – before the internet boom created a new set of virtual and digital accessibility issues. From a legal perspective, the gray area in the ADA regarding internet accessibility isn’t an excuse to forego the same standards on a company website or application. And of course, you could be missing out on customers if your website isn’t adaptable to different needs and accommodations – that’s about 25% of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control!
Consider some of these situations:
- Can someone with a visual impairment still learn about your business from your website, or is all of your content directed at someone who can read your words and see your images? For instance, does your site design incorporate high contrast and legible font size?
- Can someone with limited physical mobility interact with your website? Is your site navigable without the ability to use a keyboard? Is it navigable without the use of a mouse?
- Can a screen reader access your site to properly translate it as needed? Are your pages dependent on a style sheet that might confuse a screen reader? Do you use an HTML table that cannot be parsed properly by a screen reader? Do your images have alt-text screen readers use to speak text aloud?
- Do your videos or other content negatively affect groups of users? Are there flashing elements on your site that might cause seizures? Are you using a color scheme that may be difficult to parse with color blindness?
If you’re not sure about any of these questions, you’re not alone – many businesses aren’t well acquainted with website accessibility yet. It also used to be much more expensive and difficult to implement accessibility features, often requiring highly specialized (and high-cost) consultancies to create a program, and though the ADA laws apply equally to all companies, many small businesses simply couldn’t afford the price tag.
Unfortunately, a lack of understanding or a smaller budget have not been shield enough against legal action, and the number of ADA claims are on the rise. The Wall Street Journal reported a 23% increase in web, app, and video accessibility lawsuits from 2019 to 2020, possibly linked to COVID shutdowns forcing greater scrutiny of virtual and digital accessibility for work-related purposes.
The first step towards making your digital content more accessible and meeting compliance guidelines is learning about web accessibility and how to apply it to your company’s sites, applications, and content. We recommend checking USAbility.gov’s Accessibility Basics for a quick snapshot of website accessibility. If you’re looking for a deeper dive, deque’s Beginner’s Guide to Web Accessibility offers a more robust set of discussions about different facets of accessibility.
Additionally, we at Sales Renewal offer accessibility packages to bring your business’ website into compliance, then continue to monitor and fix any issues that arise as your site evolves over time. If you’re interested in seeing how an accessibility solution can help ALL of your website visitors, not just the ones with disabilities, try clicking the universal accessibility icon at the bottom right part of your screen, available on any Sales Renewal webpage!
Let us know how we can bring accessibility to your business. Contact us today!
The $242 Billion Business Of Corporate Gifting Pivoted From A Routine To A Priority In The Pandemic
Somewhere between the gratitude of Thanksgiving and the gift-giving of December traditions lies the industry of corporate gifting. Companies can deepen connections, build loyalty, and increase a sense of mutual value with both clients and employees through thoughtful, intentional tokens of appreciation. Here’s an inside look at this rapidly growing business as we head into the business gift giving season.
Read the full article at: www.forbes.com
How to Get Content into the Hands of Influencers Who Can Help Amplify It
This week we’re going to chat about a problem that many of you have mentioned .. to me and to other folks here at Moz when we talk about content marketing and specifically content amplification like, “Okay, I made some great content. But how do I actually get people to share it? In particular, how do I get content into the hands of the influencers who might amplify it?”
Sales Renewal’s insight:
Finding, following and most importantly getting influential people (aka, influencers) to quote, republish or link to your content seems like a natural way to build an audience, but it’s really quite hard. After all, by definition influencers are popular and therefore busy so getting their attention to make them aware of your content is challenging.
This MOZ Whiteboard Friday can help. Also check out Getting Started with Influencer Marketing.
Read Original Article