Retailing: From A to Z

Free Advertising Tools

Posted on April 17, 2018 by bermanevansretail

In this post, we cite free advertising tools for small businesses. By using these tools, a firm can hold down its costs. And it can advertise more effectively.

Because we like free, also consult these other resources:

FOURTEEN Free Advertising Tools for Small Businesses

According to Caroline Forsey, writing for HubSpot:

“When you work at a small business with a limited budget, it’s not really possible to shell out $340,000 for a 30-second TV commercial,. Or even $10,000 for an E-mail marketing campaign. Thus, it can be frustrating when your budget dictates how many people your business can reach.”

“But surprisingly, we can turn to a lot of free ways to supplement our paid advertising efforts. By incorporating free advertising tactics into your strategy, you can remove some nonessential costs. And you can dedicate your budget to deeper, more long-term plays. In fact, we suggest some of these methods regardless of your budget. To help you spread the word about your business without breaking the bank, we’ve compiled 14 ways to get advertising for free.”

Click here for an in-depth discussion of the tips listed below.

In addition, HubSpot offers a free E-book on 20 outstanding marketing and advertising campaigns:

“We’ve compiled our own list of the top marketing and advertising campaigns ever. And we and include a few juicy details explaining what made each campaign so remarkable. Thus, you’ll learn strategies you can use as inspiration for your next marketing initiative. Examples include: Interactive ads that are easy to share, like Office Max’s ‘Elf Yourself’ E-cards. Showing gratitude for your customers with a surprise ending, such as Cardstone’s ‘World’s Toughest Job’ video. Content that creates a movement for a good cause, for example ‘Small Business Saturday’ by American Express. And many more!”

Click the book cover to access the free signup and download.

Posted in Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged advertising tools, free advertising, HubSpot, small business | Leave a comment

Uncertainty with Just One Year Until Brexit Occurs

Posted on April 16, 2018 by bermanevansretail

In one year, Great Britain will officially exit the European Union. Yet, for many British retailers, questions remain.

For example, as Silvia Amaro reports for CNBC:

“In 365 days, the U.K. will no longer be a member of the European Union. But U.K. businesses are still unaware of how much they will have to change to continue trading with the rest of Europe — making it harder to plan for the future. Paul Clarke, chief technology officer at the online food retailer Ocado, told CNBC that he is concerned about future funding. The £3.59 billion ($ 5.09 billion) company has benefited from European money in the form of business funding to develop its operations. ‘How will the UK government replace that?,’ he wondered during a phone call with CNBC.”

Click the image to read more.

Uncertainty with Just One Year Until Brexit Occurs

Loop Images | UIG | Getty Images. Looking down on the New Oxford Circus crossing at sunset.

Posted in Global Retailing, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business | Leave a comment

Comparing Customer Satisfaction Assessment Tools

Posted on April 12, 2018 by bermanevansretail

The level of customer satisfaction leads to customer repeat business — or abandonment. To be a leader in customer satisfaction, firms must understand how to measure it. Thus, today’s topic: comparing customer satisfaction assessment tools.

To start, look at these posts:

Background on Comparing Customer Satisfaction Assessment Tools

In fact, many customer satisfaction tools exist. And let’s learn about some of them.

According to Gert van Deesel, writing for CheckMarket:

“In market research. we love acronyms almost as much as the IT world does. Here are three of them: CSAT, CES and NPS^®. Indeed, all three measure customer satisfaction. So what do they do? And how do they differ? Can they be used in conjunction?”

“Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT). As a typical question: How would you rate your experience with your … (e.g. recent support requirement)? With the CSAT, the score represents the sum of respondents that answered somewhat or very satisfied.”

“Customer Effort Score (CES). As a typical question: The organization made it easy for me to handle my issue. After aggregating the replies, a high average indicates that your company is making things easy for your customers.”

“Net Promoter Score (NPS®). As a typical question: On a scale of 0-10 how likely would it be for you to recommend [company name] to a friend or colleague? The Net Promoter Score = % of promoters (respondents that gave a 9-10) – % of detractors (respondents that gave a 0-6)

“In some instance, these measures could stand on their own. But they can also complement each other. For example, we could imagine a survey to measure the satisfaction among attendees of a recent event. When building a feedback survey, you could ask the respondent to fill out some Customer Satisfaction scores (CSAT). And split up into different areas of the event (satisfaction about content, timing, speakers quality, location, etc.). In addition, you could ask the CES question to measure the efforts your customers needed to sign up for this event. At the end, you could ask how likely your customers are to recommend your company.”