25 Apr 2017

The Retail Store Bust Could Be Your Boom

As consumer shopping preferences turn towards the convenience of shopping online, many retail store chains are shutting down or consolidating their efforts into many less stores. Consumers prefer to shop with their devices – phones and tablets – and computers, instead of sitting in traffic, wasting time looking for parking spots, and walking miles and miles inside of shopping malls.

The Fingers vs. Feet revolution has begun, and it’s changing the landscape of retail shopping drastically. Which could be a serious good thing for your online e-commerce website. Or for that start up business you’ve been thinking about. Time to make a plan and put it into action.

The list of retailers who are either on the brink of bankruptcy and considering shutting down, who have already shut down, or who are streamlining their efforts to keep their noses above water (they hope) is major. Many have been around for years. It is the price they are paying for not being vigilant and observing the trends and shifts in consumer shopping.

Payless Shoes, J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Sears, K-Mart, The Limited, Crocs, CVS, Sports Authority, Womrath’s Book Store, and Bebe are just a partial list of casualties.

Consumers lead busy lives. The convenience of shopping on their devices at any time of the day or night and the deals they receive far outweigh the traditional shop til you drop shopping methods of the mall. Free shipping, online discounts built into the shopping cart, coupons, deals of the day, free returns and more are very attractive.

If you currently have an online e-commerce store or are considering starting an e-commerce business online, this could be a golden time for you. Yes, there is a great deal of examination, planning, implementing strategies, and good old fashioned work involved. But when you find your sweet spot, the rewards are priceless.

We work one on one with businesses throughout Bergen, Morris and Sussex County New Jersey, with all aspects of business planning, implementation, marketing, website design, seo and more. As a soup to nuts marketing agency, we’ll guide you down the path and away from the costly mistakes towards success.

Not sure how your company, product, brand or service should be effectively marketed? Do you need to set YOUR business apart from the competition?

Maureen McCullough LLC is your Bergen County New Jersey website design, SEO and marketing agency. We care about your business and want you to succeed. Give us a call today at 201.753.1677 for a free 20 minute consultation.

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6 Sep 2016

If Your Business Isn’t On the Internet, Nobody’s Looking in the Phone Book

A group of small business owners had a discussion about how times and technology have changed. Back in the day, many small business owners relied solely on word of mouth (which is still valid) and the phone book. The Yellow Pages, the local phone book, etc. Now, if your business isn’t utilizing the Internet for everything it is worth, you will suffer.

Why?

Because no one is looking in the phone book. No one uses them anymore. All the information one needs is available at your fingertips via your smart phone, iPhone, tablet, and iPad. It is absolutely essential, without a doubt, for your small business to make the most of its presence on the Internet.

There are many tools for the small business owner to use to give them the visibility they need to make their business successful. Some are obvious, some a little less. Some are used incorrectly and may have detrimental results. Some are not used at all and therefore could be costing you potential customers and search engine visibility.

Here’s the list:

  • A well constructed, easy to navigate website
  • If the aforementioned website is not yet mobile responsive, that would be a priority to convert it
  • A Facebook business page
  • A Twitter page
  • An Instagram business page
  • A business profile on Pinterest
  • A business profile on Google+
  • If you sell products, an e-commerce website would be a priority
  • A blog about your business
  • Consistent branding across all of your venues
  • An app – iPhone or Android – that lets customers and prospects interact with you, your products, and your services

Not everything listed above is appropriate for all business types. If your business is product based, then all apply. If your business is service based, the visual profiles of Instagram and Pinterest “may not” apply unless they could be used as creative marketing with images that can promote your business. Creative content writing, organic SEO (search engine optimization), consistent branding across all online venues and your printed promotional materials and correct use of Open Graph tags and Twitter Cards will all help your website get the visibility it needs to make your business become a serious contender on the Internet.

Maureen McCullough LLC is your Bergen County New Jersey website design, SEO and marketing agency. We care about your business and want you to succeed. Give us a call today at 201.753.1677 for a free 20 minute consultation.