This new feature also makes it easier for you to fully measure the results of your ads by allowing you to track how many calls you actually receive. If you are not using Google AdWords click here to learn more.

What’s more, the ads and phone numbers you see are based on your location. So, if a store or restaurant has multiple locations, you’ll be calling the nearest one, and not making reservations in some other city. You can use My Location to make sure you get search results that are tailored to your location.

A December 2009 MarketingSherpa survey indicated that learning about specials and sales was the top motivation of those who friended or followed a brand online, supporting the results of earlier surveys. But looking for savings was followed closely by learning about new products, features or services.

Users described as “max connectors”—those with at least 500 social connections—were less interested than average in getting deals. Instead, they cared about new products and company culture, demonstrating the deeper engagement expected by social media power users.

An earlier study, by Razorfish, also found that exclusive deals and offers were the primary motivation of US Internet users following brands on Twitter.

Respondents who friended a brand on Facebook or MySpace responded similarly, though they were more likely to become a fan because they were a current customer (32.9%) than were users of Twitter.

Sharing interesting content that users care about, along with the deals and discounts they have come to expect, will both keep them engaged and spur them to pass along marketing messages.

It may have all of your e-mail (Gmail), your appointments (Google Calendar) and even your last known location (Google Latitude). It may know what you’re watching (YouTube) and whom you are calling. It may have transcripts of your telephone messages (Google Voice).

It may hold your photos in Picasa Web Albums, which includes face-recognition technology that can automatically identify you and your friends in new photos.

And through Google Books, it may know what books you’ve read, what you annotated and how long you spent reading.

Technically, of course, Google doesn’t know anything about you. But it stores tremendous amounts of data about you and your activities on its servers, from the content you create to the searches you perform, the Web sites you visit and the ads you click.

Google, says Bankston, “is expecting consumers to trust it with the closest thing to a printout of their brain that has ever existed.”

How Google uses personal information is guided by three “bedrock principles,” says Peter Fleischer, the company’s global privacy counsel. “We don’t sell it. We don’t collect it without permission. We don’t use it to serve ads without permission.” But what constitutes “personal information” has not been universally agreed upon.

Google isn’t the only company to follow this business model. “Online tools really aren’t free. We pay for them with micropayments of personal information,” says Greg Conti, a professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and author of the book Googling Security: How Much Does Google Know About You? But Google may have the biggest collection of data about individuals, the content they create and what they do online.

Below is a copy of an article from emarketer.com which includes very interesting facts about video sharing on the Internet, the original article can be found here.

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Source: emarketer.com

In a world of continuous technological change, the concept of “new” can get old.

Take online video, for example.

A few short years ago, the term “online video” was wishful thinking. Clips could only be slowly downloaded. They had to be viewed in tiny windows on the computer screen. Sound and graphics were primitive. Video was hardly a killer app.

But then, in a rush came—sometime between 2005 and 2006—YouTube in the US, Dailymotion in Europe and Tudou in China, video-sharing sites that all had three basic elements in common:

• Flash Player technology that enabled instant viewing in the browser, without downloading
• Upload-ability that made file-sharing with friends (as well as viewers around the world) quick and easy
• Embedding code that allowed users to post video clips on Webpages and blogs

Suddenly video was an open, consumer-driven platform, with virtually no cost of entry. As a result, online video moved from niche to mass market, and in the process became one of the fastest-growing media platforms in history.

According to “The Global Web Index,” from Trendstream, with research conducted by Lightspeed Research, early this year 72% of US Internet users watched video clips monthly—making video bigger than blogging or social networking.

According to the survey, 62% of US Internet users watched at least one clip a week, a figure that Lightspeed analysts translated into 97 million weekly viewers.

By contrast, Nielsen Online pegged the number of US online video viewers in April at nearly 117 million.

That scale of usage would mean online video in the US is now as big as network TV.

“This research shows that in just three years we’ve reached a watershed in the way that consumers expect to watch, contribute and share video content,” said Tom Smith of Trendstream. “Web users want to participate at every stage, including the creation and sharing of material.”

The age of online video viewers trends younger: 82% of teens (16-to-17-year-olds) and young adults (18 to 24) streamed video, compared with 73% of Generation X (25 to 34) and 65% of older boomers (55 to 64) who said they watched.

Online video-sharing was less common, with only 46% of users participating. While teen, young adult and Gen X sharing percentages hovered around 50%, the older the Internet users, the less likely they were to send videos.

One-half of all respondents shared videos via e-mail to friends and family. Twenty-three percent sent video out to friends on social networks, 21% by instant messenger and 14% to their friends on video-sharing sites such as YouTube and Hulu.

The most widely used platform for discovering and viewing video online was YouTube, followed by e-mail, music sites, Yahoo! and news sites.

Sharing appears to happen mainly among close friends, as 72% of video-sharers sent to just one, two or three people.

“Those who access video are completely engaged in the content that they choose to watch,” concluded Mr. Smith. “It’s an impactful universe.”

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In this market situation entrepreneurs should weather the economic storms by adjusting their offerings to meet changing customer needs. In fact, small businesses can be more flexible at creating innovative products or services to take advantage of new opportunities, unlike many large enterprises.

Once your product or service is designed to meet the current needs of your customers, the next step is to maximize your marketing. Many organizations look to cut costs by reducing their marketing budgets, but to outlast the tough times, you actually have to increase your promotional efforts.

Low Consumer Confidence
It’s important to understand consumer psychology in a financially challenging environment. Even if their jobs are not at risk and they have enough money to buy, the consumers’ natural inclination is to keep their money in their pockets, just in case something disastrous happens. In addition, for those who have lost their jobs, spending on anything except necessities is not a priority.

How can small business owners continue selling their products and services when the consumer confidence to buy them is low?

Here are two ways to encourage consumer spending:
1. Give customers a financial benefit to buy;
2. Look far and wide for willing customers.
The good news is that you can use free or low-cost methods, in addition to traditional forms of marketing, to achieve these goals.

Create a compelling need
If customers are shunning your product or service because they perceive it as being non-essential, is there any way you could create a compelling reason why they really have to buy it? Marketing is all about promoting your offerings as the solutions to people’s needs.

For example, a salon could run a campaign offering layoff specials designed to give customers the professional look they will need to get a new job. A computer store could offer low-cost computers and support services to help people start a business from home. These businesses could target workers at companies that have announced redundancies.

Construct a customer referral system
Referral marketing is a way of using your existing customer base as a sales force to spread the word about your operation. Think of how eager you usually are to check out a new restaurant or movie when a friend gives you a glowing recommendation. The same process can work for your business, if you give your customers a good reason to encourage others to give you a try.

If you have regular patrons who can no longer afford to buy from you, how about creating a system that allows them to get discounts, free products or even cash, in exchange for bringing in new paying customers? It’s a win-win proposition!

Campaign to catch customers
Networking, the art of making connections with people to expand your circle of influence, is one of the most important tools to grow your business. However, it is often overlooked by entrepreneurs who sometimes neglect to even tell close friends and associates about their business ventures.

Get out of your comfort zone and go around and tell people what you do. Start by focusing on groups that you may already be a part of, such as past students’ associations, religious institutions, or your children’s PTA. Then increase your networking efforts by joining service groups such as the Kiwanis or Rotary clubs, or professional groups within your industry.

Collaborate to canvass support
Social networking is simply the grouping of individuals according to shared interests or demographics. Social networking takes place in schools, workplaces, churches and communities, but it is most popular on the Internet. Millions of people use online social networking to introduce their businesses to the world.

Join a social networking site by going directly to the website and registering. Depending on your particular business interests, select the network that provides the best contacts. MySpace is essential for music industry practitioners, while LinkedIn and Plaxo concentrate more on business professionals. Facebook, the most popular social network, has a great mix of personal and business users. You can set up a special page for your business or create your own community that can attract persons with shared interests.

When a prospect is referred to you, they’re relying on someone else, another client or a supplier to vouch for you and your products and your services. Your credibility and the value you provide is already established.
And this is a big relief because I don’t know anybody who truly enjoys having to prove themselves to prospects.
Typically you’ll convert 5 to 7 times as many referred prospects to clients. Let me repeat that; typically, you’ll convert 5 to 7 times as many prospects that come to you through referrals. Referrals make it a lot easier to be highly profitable.

For most business owners and sales people the occasional referral drops out of the sky like a pleasant surprise. Don’t you love it when a new client is sent your way pre-sold and ready to buy? Everyone does!
If you like getting referrals so much, and they are so profitable, what are you doing to generate more? For most business owners and sales people the answer is… nothing.

If you don’t have a systematic referral programme you are missing out on one of the simplest, lowest-cost ways to generate your highest quality customers. Referrals are the lifeblood of small businesses. But do you actually know how to ask for one?
If you want to develop referrals here are some tips:

1. Ask!

Many people believe that doing a good job is all that’s necessary to generate referrals, but the truth is even when customers are terrifically satisfied, they forget to refer business mostly because your needs are not on their minds. Get in the habit of asking every satisfied client if he or she knows somebody who would also appreciate your services.

2. Wait until clients are happy

Going the extra mile can pay off big time. A recent study conducted by NRS Consulting, a Madison, Wis. research firm which specializes in home building, found that builders that rated 91% or better in customer satisfaction earnered six or more referrals from previous buyers, while builders with ratings of 67% or less got only one. Every time you get positive feedback, you have an opportunity to ask for a referral.

3. Don’t worry about rejection

There’s nothing wrong in asking for a referral. “Not everyone is going to need what you are selling, but a quality product has a market. Ask. Ask. Ask,” says John Chappelear, a Fairfax, Va.-based executive coach who has founded and sold two successful businesses.

4. Flatter egos

Make a big deal about a referral or testimonial, so customers know how important it is for your business. Vickie Sullivan, a marketing strategist in Tempe, Ariz., turns client testimonials into multimedia presentations that she posts on her Web site. “An objective third party interviews them over the phone, and we work up a multimedia file with photo, Web site link and so on,” she says. “These stories have been instrumental in converting ‘mildly interested’ prospects into clients.”

5. Invest in customer relationships

Keeping your clients up to date is a sure route to getting referrals. The most cost effective way is regular newsletters. You have to keep an up-to-date database of all your clients, and even your potential clients, then run a regular newsletter with new products or service, or even just news to keep your business in their minds. This will not only create referrals but it will also generate repeat buisness.

6. Join a networking group

Trade associations and professional organizations are good places to generate referrals. Don’t forget community service or religious groups, the chambers of commerce and charitable organizations. There are also groups specifically set up for referrals, such as Business Networking International which has local chapters around the country.

7. Offer incentives

Most people need a reason to refer you, an incentive is always a great reason, this can be a few dollars off the next purchase, a free upgrade, or an extra free service, you also can send a thank you gift to make referral worth your clients’ time.

8. Create Partners

Your suppliers, vendors and support services is a great source of referrals, you are already their client and they should have a sound knowledge about your business, so make sure they also have your “referrals kit”. Also a good way to get referrals from these businesses is to start by refering them some clients then you can create a partnership or reciprocal agreement.

9. Prepare the tools

To generate more referrals, make your “referrals kit” ready. Give your existing clients, suppliers and sales partners the marketing materials they need to promote you so they can spread the word.
This can be as simple as giving them the words to use to describe your business. A concise statement (8 to 12 words) of the problems you solve and the benefits of your products and services will help them spread the word. They can easily explain the value of contacting you to people they know.
You could go beyond just sharing your marketing message and produce a client-focused brochure that paints a clear picture of the situations you help people with and details the benefits of your services.
Or write and share articles that entertain and educate, and help prospects see you as the go-to expert.
And you could make sure that all of this information is readily accessible on your web site, so that existing clients can point people to your site.
In sum, if you want to generate more referrals, give your network of referral partners the right tools to promote you.

• Website audit: Optimize your website to retain visitors and increase orders or inquiries.
• Google-sponsored keywords campaign: Make it easier for new customers to find you on Google.
• Targeted advertising: Find the type of customers most likely to respond to your ads through a mix of well-selected media channels in order to deliver the most customers for your advertising budget.
• Email marketing campaign: Inform your current customers about new products and services to increase repeat business.
• Referral program: With referrals from satisfied customers, you greatly increase future prospects. 

For more information about the Sales Boost Package, call now or fill in the form below

• Digital Marketing plan
• Your own domain name (www.yourcompany.com)
• 3 professional email boxes (name@yourcompany.com)
• 5 page website
• Email marketing template

For more information about the Business Start-up Package, call now or fill in the form below.  

Today, your website needs a lot more than just a good design, you need to get customers engaged through an intuitive interface with web 2.0 features, you need search engine friendly content to rank high on Google, you need email marketing programs to build loyalty and retain customers, internet videos, viral marketing, social media and much more…

If you need an online strategy that gets your customers working with you and for you, you’ve come to the right place!

The answer to this problem is commonly misunderstood. Most new entrants into business will answer the above question with “advertising”. The problem with this answer is that advertising is only one part of Marketing, besides, it is the most expensive part of Marketing!

Most small businesses can’t afford the advertising cost in the early days, and if they try and squeeze the cost into their budget hoping for huge returns most of them end up facing huge frustrations instead; due to the lack of understanding of Marketing and how to create an integrated Marketing Mix based on a preset Marketing Strategy. And given you are a small business, you will be tied to a small budget, and therfore you will have to work smarter!

In this blog I will try to explore many different options and ideas that can be used to obtain new customers, and maintain sales from your existing customer base. To be successful in small business you need to understand ‘Smart Marketing’. So watch out for new posts!