Archive for June, 2018

Cultivating Customer Advocates in a B2B Environment

Tuesday, June 26th, 2018

Hiring marketing or content marketing talent?by Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA

 

Few things can be as effective at generating sales as positive customer reviews. Similarly, and conversely, few things can be as damaging to sales as negative customer reviews. In terms of online retail, a recent survey found that positive reviews influence the purchase decisions of 90 percent of respondents, while negative reviews influence around 86 percent. But that’s in the B2C (business-to-consumer) world. In B2C, there are a relatively large number of customer interactions compared to B2B (business-to-business). This means that while B2B has fewer potential customer reviews to base a purchase decision on, each one is that much more impactful. (more…)

Online vs. Brick and Mortar: Balancing the Best of Both Worlds

Thursday, June 21st, 2018

content marketing, content management, content strategy, strategic marketing, marketing strategically, strategic communicationsby Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA

 

We often hear narratives about how online retail is replacing traditional brick-and-mortar businesses. Online is more convenient and has much lower overhead. At the same time, others point out that brick-and-mortar still makes up a strong majority of overall retail sales. Customers prefer the tactile experience, the ability to talk to sales representatives and being able to take their purchases home when they walk out of the store instead of waiting for packages to arrive by mail.

The truth is that both sides of this debate are right. (more…)

Is Retail Really Dead, Or Are We Misreading the Numbers?

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018

Customer reviews, client reviews, best PR firm, public relations, content marketingby Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA

 

We keep hearing about how the growth in online retail represents the ultimate demise of the brick-and-mortar retail store. We hear how online retail giants like Amazon are killing Main Streets across the country, and we hear anecdotes of local brick-and-mortar businesses closing their doors, blaming the rise in online retail. But does that common sentiment assign blame where it belongs? (more…)

Real Retail Shopping Experiences Aren’t Dead – Yet…

Friday, June 15th, 2018

8970947 - illuminated light bulb in a row of dim ones concept for creativity, innovation and solutionby Justin Grensing, Esq., MBA

When we hear news stories about a local brick-and-mortar business closing its doors after being in operation for generations, the presumed culprit is often the growth of online retail, which grew by 16 percent between 2016 and 2017. People just don’t want to go to a store to make purchases anymore, the logic goes. Online shopping offers far more choices than can be offered in a physical location — which can’t store infinite inventory — and it’s so much more convenient to shop online instead of going to a store.

But don’t make the mistake of writing off in-store shopping. You may be surprised to learn that consumers still predominantly favor the in-store experience! (more…)

How Negative Reviews Can Help Boost Your Business: If You Handle Them Effectively

Wednesday, June 13th, 2018

Sales professionals will be quick to tell you that a positive customer review goes a long way toward converting prospects into eventual customers. What better way to convince the market that you can walk the walk than to have satisfied customers tell your story for you? Conversely, negative reviews can be quite damaging. Data suggests that positive reviews influence the purchase decisions of 90 percent of respondents, while negative reviews influence around 86 percent.

But negative reviews and customer complaints can actually be good for business. Let’s look at some potentially counter-intuitive reasons why. (more…)