“Your News” Articles: Are You Making the Most of Your Website?
Posted By: Sherrie Brindley
Are You Making the Most of Your Website? Sharing short news updates about your business on your website is a great way to keep customers engaged and thinking about you. Your website is the only real estate on the internet where you have total control. You can use that space to promote your business with... Read More
Posted By: Sherrie Brindley
EMAIL MARKETING: A CASE STUDY Earlier this year, as the Coronavirus swept through the country, small businesses discovered that the ability to communicate sudden changes to customers quickly is a vital — and often overlooked — part of a marketing plan. In mid-March, clients started calling PISTN for help with emails to let customers know... Read More
Posted By: Sherrie Brindley
RESPONDING TO REVIEWS 101 No matter what industry you’re in, online reviews can directly impact your business. Positive customer reviews can amplify your marketing efforts; but all of the marketing dollars in the world may not be enough to overcome a negative online presence. The only space on the internet where you can maintain 100%... Read More
Quick Tip for Growing Your Facebook Audience [FREE]
Posted By: Sherrie Brindley
A Quick Tip for Getting More Likes on Your Facebook Business Page One way to keep your customers engaged with your business is to post photos and updates on Facebook. But, if you want your customers to see your posts they have to “Like” your page (or you have to pay for advertising.) In the... Read More
CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE: 6 Recommendations for Small Businesses Deemed “Essential”
Posted By: Sherrie Brindley
(4 Minute Read) In this unprecedented time of “Stay at Home” and “Shelter In Place” orders across the country in response to the Coronavirus and Covid-19, our small business clients have been contacting us asking how they can best respond. This blog post will address our 6 best recommendations for small businesses that have been... Read More
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
As the digital age picks up speed, so has the expectations of your customers. Most people expect fast communications and nearly instant service, whether they’re asking a question or voicing a complaint and it’s up to you to provide it to them. More and more often, that means some form of messenger. As many as... Read More
How to get reviews (without bribing your customers)
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
Customer reviews are vital to the success of your small business. The more you have, the better you’ll look, both in terms of the quality of service you provide and the loyalty of your customer base. Not only that, but they will lead to new customers and, hopefully, increased reviews. Consider that 90 percent of... Read More
How to stay ahead of your competitors on social media
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
Social media is just like your business: you have to get ahead to stay ahead. With so many people taking advantage of social media in 2018, you have to be smarter and faster than your competition in order to stand out, lure in new customers and keep your current audience engaged. Fortunately, that’s not all... Read More
How to give your website a spring tune up
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
The ice, snow, sleet, hail, frost and other assorted winter ills are grudgingly giving way and soon the world will be born anew. As you’re taking stock of the changes that are going on in the world and thinking of attracting new customers just now emerging from the long hibernation of winter, it’s a good... Read More
How KFC used humor to respond to a PR crisis–and won the day
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
For business owners, there’s nothing worse that running out of the one thing your customers are seeking from you. An oil change shop running out of oil, a tire shop running out of tires (all of them) or a chicken restaurant running out of chicken. That’s exactly what happened recently, when a change in suppliers... Read More
Commonly misused business terms
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
We’ve often said that if your customers don’t trust you with the little things, they won’t trust you with the big things—like giving you their business. Proper word choice is one of those “little things.” If you’re positioning yourself as an expert in a field of service, your task will be more difficult if you... Read More
Use your social media feeds to improve customer service
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
Your social media channels are not just another way to reach out to new customers and engage with the ones you have. They’re also very effective at dealing customer complaints and improving customer service. More than 42 percent of mobile patrons use social media to direct their anger or general dissatisfaction at businesses—or to ask... Read More
Four ways social media can help your CRM
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
Marketing with social media is effective because it can help build or strengthen your connections with existing customers. Used properly, it can enhance your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) results and build a solid, loyal customer base. There are plenty of reasons to improve your CRM, of course. The biggest is the cost factor. According to... Read More
Digital marketing trend for 2017: Permission Marketing
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
When it comes to marketing in 2017, one early trend is becoming clear: if you want attention, you’re going to have to earn it. That’s particularly true in the digital world, where more and more people are hanging out and advertisements are increasingly getting ignored. Banner ad click-through rates continue to decline, your organic reach... Read More
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
No matter where you are in the business world—just starting, just catching your stride or a long-time veteran—you won’t get any further without loyal customers who trust you. To build up that foundation and to improve on it you need feedback from your customers, old and new. You need a viable Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy—or a... Read More
5 customer retention strategies
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
Customer retention is an important part of maintaining a healthy business. It’s cheaper to keep customers than to attract new ones, and the longer a customer stays with you, the more likely he or she will be to bring other consumers to your doorstep or your web site. In fact, Harvard Business Review reports that... Read More
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
You’ll have more success if you treat your customers like friends, not dollars. It’s not enough to have a lot of friends or followers subscribe to your social media channels. The number may look comforting and you may be able to brag about it, but what you’re really looking for, as a business, is the quality of... Read More
How to give a five-star response to a one-star review
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
How to give a five star response to a one-star review Online review boards and social media channels have taken the place of the complaint lines of the past. You may think you can ignore negative reviews posted on your site—particularly if there are only a few and the good ones far outweigh the bad.... Read More
How to get started with Facebook Audience Optimization
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
Like the ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz, the key to increasing your Facebook engagement may have been with you all along. Or, in this case, recently added. Facebook has added a new feature, Audience Optimization, that will allow you to specify the audiences most likely to engage with each Facebook page post, based on... Read More
How to handle customer complaints
Posted By: Scotty Spielman
Customer complaints are as much a part of doing business today as they have been since the first person traded coin for product. Obviously, the methods have changed. Back in the day, people would either bring it up in the store or, perhaps, stew a bit and then give the owner a call. Now, more... Read More