business marketing jeannette pa Archives - Page 2 of 8

July 9, 2019

Intro Blog-Jessica

Hello there!

My name is Jessica Cochran and I am 77 Design Co’s newest sales intern. I study

Marketing and Finance with a minor in Biomedical Science at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (I know it’s a mouth full).

Jessica Cochran. 77 Design Co sales intern.

Why Marketing?

Marketing always caught my attention because of the creative, yet crucial role, it has on a business. Part of the American dream is starting a business and building that business into a success. I believe there is something special in helping business owners reach their dreams, which in return helps their families. It also helps the local economy, and likewise, our society.

Marketing is a team sport. When the business is successful

the client is successful. I plan on bringing my passion of creative marketing and work ethic to 77 Design Co. We want to help business owners reach their highest potential!

About me:

I love to be busy every single day! I’m a student athlete on IUP’s swim team and recently became a NCAA division II Scholar All-American. Waking up at 5am every day has finally paid off! With athletics being a huge part of my life it makes me a very competitive individual.

Jessica IUP swim team photo. NCAA division II Scholar All-American.

I also have a soft spot for golden retrievers. I’m basically a blonde sorority girl while being a nerd at the same time… yes very legally blonde-ish. Other things I enjoy are drawing and listening to Taylor Swift in my free time. Yes, I’ve seen her 9 times in concert! White wine is my new favorite thing to drink with my sorority sisters and family. Even more, on top of that I enjoy being outside and working on my grandmother’s farm. So I guess I’m just your average athlete-sorority girl-farmer??

Jessica rock climbing.

However, even though these are all things I enjoy in life, my absolute favorite is simply talking to people. I’ll talk to everyone from CEO’s to the company’s janitor. Everyone has different backgrounds and stories that shape them into the person they are today. Certainly, it’s interesting to hear how someone got started in their field too. I’m excited to reach out and learn about as many small business owners as possible while being a member of the 77 Design Co team!

Jessica makes a friend while fishing. An outdoorsy “average athlete-sorority girl-farmer.”

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

June 18, 2019June 18, 2019

Learn About Click Through with Email Marketing Girl

Hello world, Email Marketing Girl here again.

Click Through

Want a better click through rate?

Let’s start by understanding what a click through rate really is. Sounds simple, right? It is!

Don’t let marketing metrics scare you. A click through rate is just a percentage of customers who open up the email and actually click on a link. There, click THROUGH.

As of March 2019 ( Constant Contact), the overall industry average click through is 7.43%. The open rate is 16.74%. This all makes sense. Email metrics are just a funnel. Starting with a big number of people. Not everyone will open. Not everyone who opens will click. And not everyone who clicks will buy.

However, the better content you have, the better open rates, the better click rates, and so on. This is common for most marketing strategies also. Not everything will work immediately because it takes time. For instance, as we’ve stated before, any marketing is like a slow drip. It takes a little time to build up to your successful goal.

So let’s think, who are your customers and what content do they want to see come through their email? You don’t want to send the same email content to person A that likes outdoors and hiking as person B that likes shopping and going to the spa. Some of that content should be targeted to their wants and needs. Customize, baby, customize! Therefore, the more targeted, the more the person feels you understand them. In short, know what they want so it becomes a 1:1 conversation with them and the brand.

Want to know more about email marketing metrics? Want a better click through? Call us!

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

June 6, 2019

Introducing-Email Marketing Girl!

New chick in the office? Yep, that’s me.

If I had three things in my apartment that best describes me, it would be: wine, my dog, and lots of workout clothes that, you guessed it, I don’t actually use to work out in.

More random thoughts about me. I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket. Secondly, I have 8 weddings to go to this 2019 year. Of course, I want another dog. Slow drivers are annoying. Therefore, I don’t like slow walkers either. I’d love to travel to every state in the US. Crab legs rock! Was that random enough for you?

I Like It!

And I’ll tell you this… I love marketing and I’m deeply involved in email marketing. That’s what led me to 77 Design Co. I’m working with them on the digital messaging side of things. They pay me in wine and a paycheck of course…. great gig we got! It’s pretty neat how well we all click. Rob likes wine. I like wine. Bobby likes baseball. I like baseball. And we all love marketing and what we do. We have fun doing it! Imagine that.

I’m sure everyone gets certain emails they signed up for and some ask, why on earth did this get sent to me? We have all been there. Consequently, that’s the fun of email marketing! For instance, let’s create content that is targeted to YOU as an individual. Nothing boring and canned. What are your wants and interests? Let’s send you a different email than the receptionist at your doctor. Or, maybe you guys are in the same segment? I guess we will find out!

Email Marketing

So who has ever gotten a 50% off email pop up in your inbox before? Have you clicked it? Or did you delete it right away?

50% off is pretty awesome I would have to say! Heck, that may entice me to click through and do a little shopping. But what if there isn’t a sale…. is there anything in it for you?

For example, let’s say the last thing on this retailers’ website you were looking at were shoes but you didn’t buy them. Cool, everyone can use an extra pair of shoes am I right? Well, I think I am right… I like shoes. ****day dreaming about those cute flips flops I was looking at three days ago… **** Sidetracked… Anyway, you get an email a week later WITH THE SAME PAIR OF SHOES YOU WERE LOOKING AT BEFORE front and center of the email. MAGIC? Or Email Marketing?

What’s Possible?

Email marketing is a universe where anything is possible. Yes, you can track cookies on your website. If you don’t know what cookies are, they are in the junk food aisle at Giant Eagle…. bad joke? OK… Cookies are data that can be traced, and they leave “crumbs” based on your browser activity. WE ARE WATCHING YOU. Weird, I know. However, if it’s a business trying to sell something, it can really help profit. Business baby. Business.

So as I was saying, you can do a lot with email marketing. That is to say, someone signs up for a newsletter, bam! They get a welcome email, “Thanks for signing up, here’s a little bit about what we will be sending you.” How about when you make a purchase on a website? “Here is your order info, thanks for your purchase! We hope you enjoy it!” What about a few weeks later, getting an email, “How did you like your purchase, can you leave a review on our website?” Then I go back to my initial thought about shoes. If I “abandon” my cart and not buy, the retailer can send me an email saying, “Don’t forget about those shoes girl, you know you want them.” Dangit, how did they know? I really do want them! MAGIC. SOLD.

Fun

It can be fun being on the customer side of some creative email messages because you are receiving content you WANT to receive. Above all, it can also be exhilarating being on the creative side trying to get your customers to buy, or whatever need be. You can send anything, almost anything, in an email. “Share this post of ours. Write a review of our business. We are hosting an event near you. Since you bought this, you may like this.” And many more.

I can go on and on about best practices of email marketing and how you can automate your processes so you don’t have to put many hours into it. Certainly, we can dive deeper into all aspects of email marketing, however, I have some tacos in front of me right now that look really good so I’ll save that for future blog posts.

What would you email your customers? What email are you looking for that you haven’t received from a retailer or business? Do you like tacos?

– Email marketing girl

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

May 24, 2019

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a time of reflection. A time that we all remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Despite the divisive political views in our country, Memorial Day serves as a day of coming together. Take a few moments this Memorial Day to pray for, or acknowledge (however you want) the men and women who currently serve and those that lost their lives or suffered tragic injuries, protecting our freedoms. Our world would most certainly would be a different place without them.

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

May 15, 2019

How Creative Art Works within Marketing

Marketing, and specifically content marketing, requires a little outside the box thinking. A little creativity can go a long way. Applying some important artistic techniques to your marketing materials and online presence can really make your business stand out.

Here are a few compositional elements that can add an aesthetic look to your marketing products. As a result, you can learn to train a customers’ eye towards what you want them to see.

*Line– lines can be a powerful tool in design and art. If used correctly they can guide a persons eyes towards something. Maybe its an offer or an image. Lines can also be simple or complex in creating borders. However, if they are used incorrectly they can look messy. Use your best judgement.

*Shape-shapes play an important role in logo design. Triangles have been used throughout the history of art. They have a significant role leading a viewer to a focus point. Triangles can be harmonious. For example, all sides connect to a point. This point can be used intentionally or subconsciously.

Circles and ovals create powerful logo designs. They also make for a specific singular observation. All sides spherically connect driving attention inward. Many famous works of art contain circular elements. In addition, circles balance and keep your undivided attention.

*Texture-Why not add a little texture? It helps create depth too. Texture creates a sense of touch. This makes a business card, brochure, or even web page really alluring. Not too much though, because you can draw too much attention to it. Furthermore, you can lose the message or offer you are presenting.

*Pattern-In addition to all of the above, pattern elements can be added. Patterns can be created by using texture, line, and shape. Patterns can also create any of the above.

There is way more that you can do artistically than could fit in this blog. However, hopefully this gives you or your team some ideas for creating new engaging marketing materials!

Analyze. Create. Achieve.

May 2, 2019May 2, 2019

Workshops for SCORE

One of the things new business owners may struggle a little with is marketing. If you are a small business owner of 1 or 2 people, it’s probably not the easiest to self-promote. Self promotion is hard! However, it is a necessity. We want to help. For that reason (and many more) a few months back we have aligned ourselves with SCORE.

SCORE is the largest network of volunteer retired business professionals in the nation. The SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) mentors help individuals and small businesses with free mentoring, workshops, and multiple resources. These individuals volunteer their time to help local small businesses grow and succeed. We are proud to be a part of this fantastic organization.

As a side note, did you know that Spike TV’s John Taffer of Bar Rescue partnered with SCORE?

If you are starting out, or even if you have been in business a few years, SCORE can help. For example, by pairing with a SCORE mentor, your business can gain access to valuable developmental resources and increase revenue. In short, the mentor(s) will be happy to guide you in the right direction.

Our role with SCORE

At 77 Design Co our goal is to help small business. Period. That is to say, we offer free consults and advice whenever possible. Building a brand from scratch takes a lot of consideration. It takes a lot of work, thought, and creativity too. This is one reason we created our full service marketing firm, because we want be of assistance to others. We want them to succeed. Hopefully, they’ll take our marketing advice and build something special.

Our role within SCORE is to serve as marketing consultants. 77 Design Co is still very much an active business, therefore mentoring clients isn’t something we can do for SCORE. However, we help with advising on social media strategies, evaluating new business plans, marketing ideas, and volunteering to present for workshops. This role is something that we take great pride in.

The SCORE workshops that we present are fun, engaging, and informative. We’ve taken into consideration that not everyone who attends may be as familiar with certain marketing aspects as others. Consequently, the presentations are structured to be easily understood by all. We talk about the simple basics. For instance, some of the topics discussed are:

Branding
Social Media
Web Design
Commercial Photography
SEO
Graphic Design
Direct Mail
Content/Technical Writing, and much more.

Furthermore, the presentations are meant to be informative and humorous. We like to have fun with them. We like to poke fun of ourselves too. So far, the responses we’ve got have been very positive.

In conclusion, if you own a business in Westmoreland County and interested in learning more about SCORE, or would like to attend a workshop feel free to contact SCORE at (724) 539-7505 or visit https://westmoreland.score.org.

Analyze. Create. Achieve.