Back in 2001, Daft Punk had it down. We want everything better than yesterday and faster than ever before. With the rise and repeated rise of the digital landscape we want answers immediately, we are constantly searching and asking questions.

Step in Live Chat.

Customers can chat to a representative of your company right there on your website to get instant answers before making a purchase. People are making less calls to each other and using messenger services more to the extent 34 BILLION WhatsApps are sent daily.

It is also more convenient to the user. We are also in the age of convenience where we hate being stuck on hold and would rather be alerted when our queries have been answered. And wince Wi-Fi is everywhere now, people can have better data than phone signal, making chat options easier than calls. This also works for the business owner. Your chat agents can help multiple people at the same time, increasing productivity and sales!

In our multicultural world, Live Chat also breaks down the language barrier should there be one where the customer and operator do not speak the same first language. You can also send helpful links to the customer, directing them exactly where to go when they’re stuck on your website.

But what happens when the office is closed?

It’s unrealistic, especially for the small business owner, to be on hand 24/7. Adding Live Chat to your website will give the impression you are always there to help. If there are no agents online to help, your customers can leave frustrated and disappointed. If you add a chat service to your website, make sure to add auto replies when offline. These can include a link to your help centre, advise of staffed hours or give them the chance to leave a question and email address for their question to be answered as soon as your team are back online. Always give your customers some options so they don’t feel ignored. We all hate being ignored!

There are so many options now to go ahead with your Live Chat services which range dramatically in cost and features. Some popular ones available are LiveChat, Zendesk and our favourite Intercom.

Not sure if it’s for your company’s website? Have a look at some businesses who use it and interact with them. Hey, while you’re here, say hi to us on our Live Chat!

To get started with your first website, get in touch! We're here to help you every step of the way. 

By January 2018, it will no longer be legal to charge customers for making credit or debit card payments. As part of a EU directive, the UK are also banning charges added to American Express, Apple Pay and Paypal transactions.

Whilst this is mainly an attack on large scale retailers who are profiting from these charges, this will have an effect on the small business owner who may rely on this small income to balance costs.

The surcharge is applied to reflect the cost of processing payments where large businesses are usually charged approximately 0.6% for credit card transactions and 10p – 20p per debit card. These charges will be higher for small shops to process purchases. Local authorities have also been brought to attention with the DVLA applying a flat fee of £2.50 for a card payment. This has led to a huge £42 million in fees since 2012.

The highest offenders have been seen to be take-away giants JustEat and Hungryhouse who both add 50p to the bill for paying by card. Whilst this may not seem a lot, it equates to 5% of a £10 bill. Airlines were next to come under fire, Flybe charging 3%, Ryanair and Norwegian asking for 2% each.

The abolishment of these charges is part of a broader campaign to increase the household income by reducing the cost of living. Stephen Barclay, economic secretary to the Treasury said “Rip-off charges have no place in a modern Britain and that’s why card charging in Britain is about to come to an end”.  In a society where we are going cash free and making an increasing volume of ecommerce transactions, the charges are outdated.

This change is likely to encourage businesses to increase their prices to combat the deficit. An easy solution which may not be possible for the small business owner.

Are you a small business owner? How will this affect you?

For any ecommerce advice, or to set up your own online store give us a shout!

Nadia and Lorraine started Love Restored as they both felt that modern furniture just didn't create the style and robustness that they needed in their homes. Having picked up some old vintage furniture they set about finding creative ways to make these pieces their own and to make them fit for contemporary living. This is where the passion for re-using old items started.  Having grown from painting in the garage, we proudly sit on our local High Street in Kirkcaldy, not only to share freely the secrets and benefits of the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, but also to provide you with lots of ideas, inspiration and importantly confidence for you to create your own furniture magic.

The team are now the top stockists for Annie Sloan in Scotland and have built an active following on their social channels. A great tip to take away from their online presence is the warm and genuine tone that comes across from all their posts. They immediately feel approachable – and they are! The engagement on their posts is high, filled with questions from customers asking for advice on their painting techniques and products. The Love Restored ladies are more than happy to help, responding to comments and messages quickly with expert advice.

On top of the tone they have adopted, they’ve mastered the art of mobile photography. Just check out their gallery! Experimenting with different angles and distance creates depth and allure in their photos to showcase their products. Lighting has also been key for their images to really stand out

The consistent and engaging content works well for Love Restored, they mix posts on furniture projects of their own with sales messages. But showing customers what they can do rather than telling them what to buy works fantastically for subtly selling their pieces and paints.

Powered by Kommand, visit loverestored.co.uk to buy Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, sign up to Workshops and find inspiration for your next furniture project.

Turn your hobby into a career with a beautiful website just like Love Restored, contact our team at suppport@kommand.me

Started a business and wondering how your competitors manage to get their websites onto that coveted first page of Google? Ranking highly for search terms such as ‘personal trainer + [your location]’ can greatly benefit your business by increasing your monthly customers and improving your brand’s exposure. Combined, these changes will ultimately lead to an increase in your business’s revenue.

But how do you get your site to rank for these local search terms? Especially when your competition is equally cottoned on to the techniques and is already reaping the benefits.

Unfortunately search engine optimisation (SEO) for any industry website is not a quick, one-time process and you should be wary of any SEO company that offers this as a service. Ranking highly on Google and other search engines requires a combination of knowledge, understanding, best practice and persistence. In short, it’s a long-game, adjusted to suit ever-changing algorithms.

That doesn’t mean however that you should give up before even starting. If your business is just beginning to utilise SEO and you are looking for SEO tips to steer your site in the right direction, then the five steps described in the rest of this article can give you the necessary foundation to help Google start recognising and crawling your site.

Before You Begin...

Before you start working your way through our SEO steps it is important that you understand the basics of how Google results pages work and how they have changed in recent years. Ever since mobile technology, such as tablets and smartphones, became a common commodity increasing amounts of people are opting to conduct searches from these devices over desktop.

Google understands this and has changed the way it displays its results to provide the best system it can to fulfil the changing requirements of its users. Through developed technologies Google is also able to get a user’s approximate location based on the following:

• The user’s IP address.
• The Location History if it is turned on.
• Google Toolbar’s My Location feature if it is turned on.
• Recent locations that have been searched for.

If you have been using Google for a while you may have already be aware of the changes and if you are even more in the loop you may even have noticed the changes to Google + Local listings specifically. The new results pages for local searches (those with a place name) often include a map with pinpoints of relevant results and three businesses listed below.

You can see an example of what we mean in the screenshot below:

Where there would once be around four or five organic (non-paid) results, such as Ayrshire Spray Tan Salons in the example above, the Google + Listings box now commands that space. Studies have shown how many users are likely to explore the map function or click on the results shown in this box before exploring the results below so getting your own webpage on here is crucial to increasing visibility.

If your business has a physical address and provides products or services to a geographically targeted area, then tailoring your online goals to rank in these local searches can really become a valuable expedition.

Here are 5 steps to help you achieve that goal.

STEP 1: Claim your Google My Business listing

Last year Google made the move to create Google My Business, a unified interface aimed to help make life easier for local business and brands. Using Google My Business is crucial in helping get your business on the map, literally. Google+ pages are now managed through the Google My Business dashboard so if you already have a Google + page you will easily be able to set up a My Business page.

As a local business, a Google + Local listing is going to be one of your most important online marketing tools. The first step to getting your business showing on map results is to claim your location via Google My Business. You can do this by visiting this link and setting up an account, or logging in if you already have a Google Account.

Once you have done this you will need to choose between Storefront, Service Area and Brand as your business type. The former help you find an existing business, whilst the Brand option is reserved for those wishing to create a non-local Google+ page.

STEP 2: Verify your Business on Google

After creating your Google+ and My Business pages you will need to verify your business. Once you have set up your account you will be able to search for an existing listing using an address, or create a new one if no business exists. You will be sent a verification mail through the post (how old fashioned) although in some circumstances can be done via phone of instantly (visit this webpage for more information) which you can use to claim your listing.

Once you have claimed and verified your listing you should add images of your business and post relevant and engaging content using keywords and hashtags. You can even create a 360 degree tour, such as the example from The Berkeley Clinic below:

It is important that you keep the information up to date including your opening hours and post updates regularly. Regular posts allow Google to see you are active and this helps build authority for your business.

STEP 3: Optimise for mobile

Google have openly showed their preference for responsive websites (those which adjust to the size and resolution of different screens) and penalize websites which are non-responsive. You can check if your website it responsive here.

A responsive website has also proven a great way to decrease your website’s bounce rate as users are able to navigate more easily and don’t have to pinch the screen to access information. The need for a mobile site is imperative in today’s market and will only set to continue. Not having a responsive site will seriously limit your website’s ability to grow and rank.

STEP 4: Get to grips with the basics of SEO

As a starting point for checking your website’s SEO you can use free tools such as the Local SEO Checklist to see all the areas your website is missing. Checking all the boxes will help you to tell Google your website if a quality one and the right site for your given location. Another great way to boost your business’s SEO efforts is through producing great quality content. Adding a blog to your website offers a simple way to do this, for free.

STEP 5: Reviews = Gold Stars = Clicks & Rankings

Once your Google page is up and running you can start asking customers for reviews.

Reviews have proven time and time again to be a key influencer in click rates. Your business will need at least five reviews to get the stars showing on your results and since Google bought over YouTube many people already have a Google account setup, making the review process even more straightforward.

If you are looking for a simple way to ask your customers for reviews you could try using follow up emails after appointments or recent purchases to link clients to your page to review. If the experience is fresh in their minds, they will be more likely to fill out a review so make sure you don’t miss the opportunity and provide timely follow-up emails.

It is also a good idea to reply to reviews to help add personality and warmth to your business. If a potential customer is searching for your product or service in your area then they will often read what others have to say about their experience, good or bad. Reading a response from your business can help them get a feel for your professionalism and can also be a good way to encourage others to review. It is also important to respond to negative reviews so that potential customers can see your level of customer care.

Digital Marketing Help from The Experts

The above steps are just some ways that you can use to start improving your website’s online presence. Following them will help your business to show for local listings, a key part of search in today’s world. For more help or advice, just contact our team here at Kommand!

Make a Good First Impression.

Whether you have over 50 employees or operate just by yourself, a polished professional website can give the impression that you have a dedicated team behind you. This gives you a strong presence potential customers can immediately feel confident in. So if a small business doesn’t have a website, it will be missing out on all of the potential customers. Even if the customers aren’t turned into leads straight away, a small business still needs to have a site so that future customers can learn about it. 

Isn’t Facebook Enough?

As we (well, 1.86 BILLION of us) are Facebook savvy now, many people create a professional page to advertise to new customers. But for new small businesses, it can be difficult to cut through all the noise to reach people. Also, if your only online presence is a free social media account, potential customers can be wary of your trustworthiness as a business. While social media channels perfectly complement your website and keep your customers updated, a website establishes a professional approach.

Be Found!

Long ago are the days of flicking through the yellow pages to find a local service. When looking for recommendations, people generally turn to the internet or more specifically – Google (which has even turned the website into a verb – “just Google it”). Looking for nearby bars, paint shops or photographers, you want to be one of the top to pop up in searches. In such a competitive business age, word of mouth can be difficult to achieve in the early days of a new venture.

With over 70% of adults in the UK owning a smartphone (rising to 90% for 16-24 year olds), thinking digitally is essential for businesses. We use smartphones for shopping, banking and booking appointments so those who are easy to find will come out on top. Speed, efficiency, and ease of access are all top priorities for consumers looking for a local service. If a customer can quickly fill out an online form to book the service they need, they are far more likely to book than if they need to speak to someone directly.

Website’s Are Too Expensive!

 Hiring a professional web developer can be pretty expensive with some sites built from scratch costing up to £10,000 to include all the bells and all the whistles.

For small businesses, a website can naturally seem out of reach in terms of budget. That’s where we come in! Our websites are easy to build, including multiple pages and online stores. You don’t need any design or programming experience; our expert team have done all the hard work for you. We’ve also included a nifty advanced SEO feature to increase your visibility. This will help you rank high and fast in Google searches.

Build your own site with Kommand from as little as £9 per month and get your first month absolutely FREE.

Analyse your existing customers especially the loyal ones – break into categories after determining their common traits like age group, gender and occupation. Also, find out about your competitors and their respective customers. Perhaps, there might be a particular niche that was missed out by your competitors. Focus on this niche to market your products or services and gain a special group of customer base. If there is no such particular niche, then think about how to market your services or products better to the similar category of people as your competitors.

Think about what you can offer to whom

A problem-solving business has the potential to gain a great customer base. For example, you can set up a baby-sitter business, targeting full-time working moms with an age range of 25 to 35. As you know, there are many others who offer the same baby-sitter service. So think about how to make your business different from others – offering something that would appeal to your customers. For example, you can include an extra service like taking cute photos of the child in your advertisement. Put up the photos for your customers to see on their respective social sites - this would please working moms and assure them that their children are fine.

Marketing your products or services

Create personas or imaginary people to represent various groups of customers based on buying decisions, location and behaviours. Add as much information like income, age and gender about these personas as possible. Personas help you gain information about the type of customers who buy from you and aim for new customers based on various segments. Think about creating one persona for every segment to gain more information about your customers.

Social networking sites like Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram are great places to put up your photos, videos and advertise your value-added services. You can target specific groups based on location, age, “likes” and gender.

The Internet is filled with millions of blogs, several of which are discarded after only some few months. Regardless of this, thousands of new blogs are setup each and every day. While there are huge debates and arguments about what constitutes good blogs, and yet the phrase "good" is very one-sided, here are a few tips on how to make an excellent website.

1.) Try to be informal

A successful blog is about YOU and your company. Bear that in mind. Your visitors must be able to find a real sentiment of who you are after they read the website. This is the number one reason why people enjoy reading blogs.

2.) Keep posting regularly

Sometimes you might see blogs which run for months between posts. A good site must regularly be posted to keep readers coming back and sequentially for them to look upon it as a valuable information source. Your posts do not have to be so long, but they should be regular.

3.) Keep it visual

Pictures are a great way for spicing up your blog. Folks enjoy images, and it aids to make the blog look attention-grabbing. This means mean if you are going to speak about a certain topic, why not use pictures or images to make your blog post to be noticeable. Pictures will regularly do more for the website than you might imagine!

4.) A good site encourages conversation

The best of blogs get many comments - so enthusiastically encourage the audience posting comments in your site and when they do so ensure you reply. Create a dialogue!

5. Use bold texts to highlight ideas and thoughts.

For the lengthy posts, it is essential to emphasize key details. Bold texts generally make the words stick out and draw the interest of readers successfully. Post a query, if probable, as this is the most efficient method of getting feedback from your readers. This query will create a dialogue between your readers making it simpler for you to reach out and chat with them. Using some spaces is also an effective method because it gives the audience time to have a break and grasp what they have presently read. Hopefully, these tips might be a great help in making a good blog that will surely attract people to your website, if you aren't sure on where to begin - Use our platform Kommand to build yourself one. We have an easy set up and are always here to answer any questions you have! 

Good website content helps attract clientele and it also helps boost the authenticity of your business and brand. Here are some tips to ensure that your site has the best content.

Create an attention grabbing homepage-
Since this is often considered the most important page of your site, you would need to pay special attention to the content on this page. The page should ideally not be text heavy, and it should offer a basic introduction to your business. Also, it should tell visitors why they need to browse the rest of the site, and what unique product or service you offer.

About Us page-
Your site will also need to put in an about us page, detailing your business history, brand value, mission, and so on. People will want to know more about the business owners, the team behind the site, and so on. Like all good web pages, the content here should not be too lengthy. If you have a lot more you want to tell people, considering creating different sections for all topics.

Contact Us page-
Many people judge the authenticity of the website by the availability of contact information. Ideally, you should offer a physical address, such as office or mailing address. It is a good idea to include a phone number, but you can instead also include an online form that people can use to contact you easily.

Products and services-
This is where you have the chance to impress visitors with the speciality of your offerings. The product descriptions should have accurate titles and descriptions and as many photos as possible. A call to action at the end can nudge visitors into making a purchase, especially if you have included easy to find links to payment gateways and shopping carts.

Keyword and link-building -
Use only relevant keywords, naturally incorporated into the site. Also create links where needed, to boost your authenticity. Do not link with irrelevant sites or phrases.

In addition to expertise, you need time to update website content and to maintain a blog, very important factors if you want to maintain search engine rankings or stay relevant. That is why , Kommand helps businesses create websites and blogs easily, with plenty of customization options to make your site stand out, from only £9 per month with no contract!

With digital marketing being one of the fastest growing industries today among businesses, there is an urgent need for start-up businesses to get a marketing strategy in place that will ensure that they reach their goals.  For the companies out there that have yet to appreciate how important marketing is, here’s an article we published earlier this year that highlighted how it is an area of business that shouldn’t be overlooked.

For those of you out there that already appreciate this point, you might be wondering how you can see to it that your marketing budget is used in a way that will help your business now and in the foreseeable future. Below you will find four ways to make sure you’re getting the most out of your digital marketing budget.

1) Only Invest In Digital Marketing When You’re Ready To Scale Up

It’s no fact that digital marketing can have a very positive impact on business; otherwise, it wouldn’t be a billion dollar industry. In fact, many reports like this and others, are reporting that in 2017 digital advertising and marketing is expected to surpass that of marketing on TV.

With that being the case, before any money is spent on bringing in new business opportunities, it’s important to make sure that your business is ready to handle the growth the comes along with it. Far too often we hear of businesses and start-ups investing in digital marketing, sometimes millions of dollars, yet their products & services are not being offered or supported in a way that their target audience prefers or expects. That has been the root problem as to why that so many companies fail as a whole despite aggressive marketing campaigns.

2) Be Sure To Hire & Work With Experienced Digital Marketers With A Proven Track Record

Due to the fact that there is no industry accepted training or certification that is widely accepted and recognized as a standard for digital marketing professionals, literally anyone can claim to be a digital marketer. What that has resulted in is many companies hiring self-professed experts or outsourcing to digital marketing agencies that end up wasting valuable time and resources on digital marketing campaigns that do not positively impact the revenue that the said businesses are bringing in.

It is for that reason a company should ensure that their marketing budget is going to a digital marketing professional or vendor that has a proven track record. For example, think about a company that is looking to hire and build an in-house marketing team to help with a specific area of digital marketing; like Search Engine Optimization. Many of the most successful companies with that goal are investing in SEO consultation services, which is a rapidly growing business, to ensure their in-house team stays on the right marketing path. It greatly increases the chance that their investment in that form of marketing will succeed.

So whether you prefer to have an in-house marketing team, or you outsource to a digital marketing agency… it’s important that you protect and get the most out of your marketing dollars by ensuring you have the right experts to assist.

3) Ignore The Shiny Object Syndrome

With this being such a large industry with different marketing tactics available to put in place, to get the most out of digital marketing requires that a business understands which marketing channel is best suited for their industry and clientele.

Some business perform well with social media marketing, others see the most return on investment from content marketing, while others prefer and do well with the immediate returns that come from paid search engine marketing. Whatever you feel is best for your business, it’s best to research, strategize and implement a marketing strategy and stick with it.

With so many reports of companies rapidly switching one form of marketing to another hoping to see quick growth, it often results in a company not sticking with a certain type of marketing long enough to reap the benefits of doing so.

4) Develop A Marketing Strategy That Will Pay For Itself

Unfortunately, it’s a common practice for freelance digital marketers and some agencies to tell their clients that digital marketing has to take months or years before there can be any real ROI. Depending on how competitive a particular industry is within the realm of digital marketing, and how substantial the available budget is in comparison to some of the most successful companies… and experienced digital marketer can usually create and implement a strategy that will allow a business to reap financial benefits as a result of their investment within a matter of months.

If the priority is getting an ROI within a reasonable amount of time on the available marketing budget, be sure to hire and work with marketers that will keep that goal as an important aspect of the marketing campaign.

With That Said…

These are just four of the many ways you can get the most out of your digital marketing budget. If you’re at a place where you’re trying to make a decision on what aspect of digital marketing you should focus on or what your expected marketing budget should be, consider speaking with a digital marketing company like Adeogroup.co.uk. Their experienced web specialist can help with these and any other concerns you might have on succeeding with and properly using your digital marketing budget.

The internet is pretty much a free-for-all when it comes to photos and images. Content with an image is shared a lot more often than content without images, this means watermarking your images could lead to more viewers on your site or buying your product because your name/company is being shared more often. Anybody can copy your images and use them however they want. A good way to protect your online images is to watermark them. Use your name, website or brand, which doubles as a quick, visual marketing tool.

The marketing argument is a strong one. Adding something to your images to make them quickly identifiable could really help your brand. A great example is many fashion brands now create quotes or have their own images with a watermark, if something has humour to it they normally post it on Facebook, in recent weeks an image or video of a pet ( nothing related to what they are selling ) was posted on their page. This then was shared 1.2k times, we don't know how many sales that would of made the brand but this is a great way for their page to be noticed, by sharing content not relatable to your service of product. This may seem strange to some people, but sometimes not selling to people 4/5 times will really help with frequent engagement.

Use a watermark app

If you're adding photos via your phone, you can use one of several apps specifically designed to add a watermark to your work. Try Marksta, iWatermark or A+ Signature. They're easy to use and you can add text, graphics and borders. These apps are available in the iTunes app store.

Use photo editing software

If you already have photo editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, you can watermark images for free. Use Actions or Layers to add your text or logo and then adjust the opacity until you're happy with the appearance.

Use an online editor

If you use Google Picasa, you will need to export existing photos and then choose Add a watermark from the Menu. Otherwise, you can add it while uploading photos, by selecting Tools from the Options menu, and then Add a watermark.  In PicMonkey's Design tab, un-tick Transparent canvas in Basic Edits. Next, create your watermark and tightly crop it. Tick Transparent canvas, save and add it using the Overlays option to your chosen photo.

If you require anymore information on this topic then why not send us a tweet? We are happy to help.

“I think one of the reasons why so many small businesses blog today is most certainly because of a real opportunity for growth, whether it be in search visibility, thought leadership, lead nurturing, or brand awareness,” – Romain Damery.

Blogging is very personal this means you can connect with your customers and potential customers on another level. It is a platform to be real, it provides a great sense of trust for viewers. This is the ideal platform to get across your point, whether it be a product or service, blogging means you can go into detail about new features or functions in a fun way.

People are put off with blogs if they don’t go viral straight away. It is easy to feel un-motivated if you are getting very little views but putting in a lot of work and effort into your content. There could be many reasons to why this is happening, but the main is it is simply not an easy read. This could be because you are wanting to get SO much information out there that it turns into a novel. Many people these days simply do not have the time to sit and read long blogs – Keep it very simple, straight to the point. Highlight important sections and use many visuals – from pictures to gifs to videos. This will keep them highly engaged. A blog is something people go to, to find answers to questions they simply do not know. So keep your posts as helpful as you can this will get you a lot of views.

WHY BLOG?

A blog is something that gives your company edge over competitors. If you are providing content and something for people to go to other than just offering a service then it will likely be a hit because sometimes people don’t want to go online to spend money, they simply just want to learn and read interesting things.

A blog attracts traffic instantly so if you are connecting it up with your site and re-directing people to your products or service then they are likely to look at them which could lead to a sale. A good way to get more traffic is to share your blog posts on all social – create a cover image with your blog title and include your business name or website on it. That means if it is shared on social people will know where it came from and where to go to find out even more on the topic.

A blog will really strengthen the image of your brand, this is great because small businesses aren’t well known – so connect with other bloggers and build yourself a community. Because a blog is personal and you can chit chat away on it and give it personality that perhaps you can’t do on your main website because you want to be highly professional – Giving your posts personality will make people interested to read more, thus giving you a foundation for a brand image.

MORE INFO.

The lists goes on – If you need any more help or information regarding blogging for small businesses whether it be: How to start, what content to post, which social platforms should I be on – Then send us a tweet @Kommandme we will be happy to help. And why not use our platform to create yourself a blog –  We offer a 30 day FREE trial.

A Level Playing Field

The internet and social media have helped to level the playing field between big businesses and startups. However social media is still a minefield of different variables and unfortunately, there isn’t a set formula to follow to drive desired engagement. Instead, social media takes time, knowledge and effort to perfect.

Having said that, there are some standard areas you can check to aid in minimizing social media failure. Today’s post guides you on the areas you should review before launching a social media campaign.

Set Goals

Setting goals is important in every marketing effort your business undertakes, however it is often not given enough - or any - consideration. Think about what you want your social media campaign to achieve – is it a footfall? Website hits? Likes/followers on a social media page? Online sales? Or something completely different? Try and make whatever you chose time-specific (and realistic!) so you are able to distinguish between failure and success, and to help your business in the long-term.

Divide Up Responsibility

If you are a sole-trader, then of course this isn’t applicable. However if you have more than just yourself in the business, consider who should be doing what. Does one member of your team know a lot about your products or industry and could support content creation for a blog or social media post? Do you have an employee who has photography skills that could be used to improve your social media posts?

You should designate someone in charge of responding to social media comments and messages. These channels are, after all, social and lack of engagement is an easily avoidable occurrence.

Fill Out Your Profile(s)

Make sure you fill out your social media profile(s) with as much information as possible. The more information you provide the better you will help customers understand your business, particularly if you are new. Using the right keywords or appropriate hashtags in your posts and profile descriptions will help you show up for people looking for your services. Think about what information is useful. If you own a shop, update your map, opening and parking directions. Own a restaurant? Consider uploading your menu or any special offers.

Make sure your profile pictures and header banners are of a high quality and if possible consider having specific ones made for your business. You should also try to claim vanity URLs on Facebook and Google+.

Make Sure Your Website Tick the Boxes

For many social media campaigns run by small businesses the overall aim will be to drive online sales or visits to the website. If your website is confusing, slow to load or lacks conversion drivers you are missing out converting on potential customers. Review any landing pages and check you have a solid website design that works great on desktop, tablet and mobile to improve user experience for customers once they are on your website.

Looking for Help?

If you are looking for support in growing your small business or would like to move your website to a responsive, user-friendly design why not get in touch and find out how Kommand can help? Our websites are simple to set up and run, look professional and work on any device.

Speak to us today: support@kommand.me

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130

Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069

London - Tel: 0203 026 0730 

In today's post we have listed five motivations you can use to convince customers to buy products or services from your small business.

1. They Need Your Product

The first motivation is convincing your potential customers that they don't just want your product, but that they need it. If your customer is currently dissatisfied, they may be looking for a way to right a wrong. Your aim is to convince customers that your product or service will make that wrong a right.

One way you can do this is to distinguish between a feature and a benefit. This can be done through the language. Avoid using general statements. Say "our customers report an average 30% decrease in costs, about twice the industry average when using our products" rather than "our product makes you more productive."

You should also be aware that the greater the dissatisfaction, the higher the urgency a customer will feel.

2. You Product Will Make Their Life Easier

We live in a time where convenience is highly valued. Why do you think fast food and microwavable meals have become so popular? By using this motivation you can convince customers that your product will make their lives easier, will save them time or will save them money. Some companies market their products by indicating how quickly the customer recovers the spend purchase. Highlight how simple your returns policy is or how much time previous customers have saved using your product.

3. Fear & Safety

If your customer is scared of something, for example their safety, they may be more likely to purchase your products and services to prevent any bad eventualities. Fear is often used in advertising and works well at engagement.

By using shocking images or statistics you can stir a feeling of fear in your customers. The car industry does this particularly well, often highlighting safety features and how these can protect loved ones, however the technique used in a range of industries from security (alarms and locks) to beauty (SPF preventing sun cream, anti-wrinkle creams preventing ageing).

4. Convenience

To use this motivation you need to show how convenient your brand is. For example if you run a dental practice late night or weekend appointments provide this convenience. Your method of delivery, physical location, or simply the ease of use of your website can all contribute to this motivation. If the shopping experience is straightforward this will motivate customers to buy, and even to come back to purchase again.

5. Exclusiveness

Customers like to feel as though they are special and by offering exclusivity within your product offering you will help to ignite this feeling. You can do this in a number of ways - perhaps through offering an exclusive discount via email marketing to certain customers, or through selling an item made in limited numbers, or which is custom-made.  

Think About How YOU Buy

It is easy to forget about how you buy yourself when you run a business. Think about what has convinced you to buy in the past and how you can use implement this in your own business. For more tips about running a small business why not check out our Small Business Advice category?

We thought we would pass on this information for everyone else by putting together today's post explaining why a small business should consider email marketing, and the benefits it can provide.

Why Use Email Marketing?

When you read anything about online marketing you may notice the focus is often on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and using social media marketing for promoting a business online. 

Contrary to what some business owners may think, email marketing is not a thing of the past and if you are not yet using it, or not using it properly you could be missing a key way to generate more leads.

Email Marketing Provides Direct Contact with Prospective Customers

One of the downfalls with social media is the immediacy of it. Whilst this can be beneficial in some respects, it can also be a hindrance.

According to research by management consultancy firm, McKinsey & Company, an estimated 91% of US consumers checked their mail inbox at least once every day. This means that unlike social media - where information is essentially infinite and continually updating (meaning engagement can be lower) - when an email is sent to a person’s inbox, the person is less likely to ignore it.

Either the person will spam it, read it or send it to the trash folder depending on what he or she feels about it. Immaterial of whatever action the person may take, he or she has to open the email that was sent to the inbox and skim through it before deciding what to do with it. Engagement with email marketing can be far higher than that of social media because of this, something you should remember when investing time into tweeting vs. sending out an email campaign.

You Can Gain More Understanding About the Interests of Your Followers

Perhaps you’re wondering why a certain social media user decided to follow you on Facebook or Twitter. Of course, you can always look at your most popular posts on Facebook and Twitter or use Google Analytics to find out your most popular content but, this doesn’t give an insight into the interests of each follower.

With email marketing you can find out about which links your subscriber clicks, the method the person used to opt into your email list and which emails the person opens depending on the email provider you use. By spending time and energy to segment your email list, you will be able to send content to your subscribers depending on their particular interest, e.g. recent subscribers or first time buyers, or even by gender, age or interests.

Another benefit is that your social media posts may be seen by those who don't follow you and it can be difficult to work out how effective the campaign has been. With email marketing the user has actively signed up to join your mailing list therefore you may have a stronger customer base through this channel.

Email Marketing Stats

With email marketing, you have a better chance of engagement:

• Emails initiate purchases that are three times more than that of social media in addition to a 17 percent higher average order value compared to that of social media.
• Email marketing is 40 times more effective than the combination of both Twitter and Facebook for acquiring customers.
• Average investment return for each US$1 spent on electronic mail marketing is US$44.25.
• Online marketers ranked electronic mail marketing as the sole, most effective method for retention, awareness, conversion and acquisition.
• It is estimated that more than half of emails are now checked using mobile devices.

Remember to Optimise for Mobile!

There are still many marketers or business owners who don’t optimise their emails or their website landing page to adjust to smaller screen sizes – this is something that we at Kommand can help your business with. If you are looking for support in growing your small business or would like to move your website to a responsive design why not get in touch and find out how we can help?

You can reach us: support@kommand.me

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130

Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069

London - Tel: 0203 026 0730 

A website gives you a controlled way to portray an image of your business as you would like it, giving your customers an idea of the atmosphere and offering before even stepping a foot inside.

Why Should Your Restaurant Have a Website?

While there are general advantages for every business in creating a website, there are a number of specific advantages that can benefit a restaurant. Here are eight reasons your restaurant should have a website:

1. Low Advertising Costs

Print ads and commercials are expensive. With a website you can display an endless amount of print information at a fraction of the cost. Information is available 24/7 to anyone with internet access and you can easily update out-dated information on your website whereas the cost of re-printing flyers is far greater.

2. You Can Give Key Information On Your Location, Menu, Opening Times and Special Offers

A website gives you a platform to provide the basic information your customers may need to know about your restaurant including hours of operation, directions, payment methods and more. By answering these basic questions, you can decrease the amount of time your managers and staff need to spend answering phone calls. You can also keep customers aware of any promotions, such as pre-theatre menus, lunch deals or Christmas offers.

3. You Can Include Customer Testimonials

You can include customer testimonials on your website or if your restaurant has been lucky enough to be featured in a publication such as a review by a restaurant critic in a newspaper you can link to this from your site. This will help to build your restaurant’s credibility.

A website may also help your chances of being reviewed by bloggers as they have a resource to gain information about your history to add to their article.

4. Increases Awareness of Your Business

When people are looking for information the first place they will look is on the web. It is important that if someone is looking for your business they can find the information that they need quickly so they are less likely to become disgruntled and consider your competitor(s).

5. You Can Improve Search Rankings

By investing time into search engine optimisation (SEO) you can help your business show for related search terms. For example if your website shows for someone searching ‘late night café’, ‘Italian restaurant’ or ‘family friendly pub’ you will gain more exposure and hopefully more customers.

6. You Can Build a Solid Brand Image

A website will help your business to build a professional image. Particularly if you are just starting out, a website is a great method for helping customers become acquainted with your brand. With the correct marketing it may even convince customers to seek you out and try for themselves. High quality images will help entice customers to visit.

7. Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

If all of your competitors have an online presence it only makes sense that you should too. Many competing restaurants may already use a website to promote themselves; stealing your business. A well-presented easy to use website will help you highlight what you do well and may persuade customers to pick you over alternatives. Lack of a website may also suggest that you are no willing to invest into your business

8. Book Online Features

You can easily add an online booking link or app to your website giving your customers a quick way to make reservations on the go. 

9. A Way to Promote Other Services

A website gives you a channel to promote your other services. Offer catering or private events? Creating pages for these and using SEO (see point 5!) can generate more business.

10. Sell Gift Cards

With a website which enables online selling you could even sell gift vouchers online. This can help drive more business, particularly around Christmas or other events where people are looking for gifts.

Interested in Setting Up a Website for your Restaurant?

If you don't yet have a website for your restaurant you are missing out on potential customers. Kommand help small businesses build easy-to-use, reliable websites that perform well and have all the features needed to build an excellent online presence. Our websites are designed to rank - and with our bistro theme the building blocks are already in place to set up a user-friendly, beautiful website in just a matter of hours in four easy steps.

For more information about getting your restaurant online why not drop us a call? We specialize in helping small businesses make their stamp online and will be happy to talk you through the options and monthly price packages available.

You can reach us: support@kommand.me

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130

Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069

London - Tel: 0203 026 0730 

At Kommand we like to keep up to date with any developments in APIs we integrate into our system. We recently got news of a new Mail Chimp feature we think our clients could benefit from - Product Recommendations - and wanted to pass the information on to help you take advantage of the feature to better connect with your customers.

What is Mail Chimp’s Product Recommendations Feature?

Product Recommendations have been added by Mail Chimp to assists in analysing the purchase history of customers to detect patterns in their buying behaviour to predict which items they’ll buy next.

The days of personalised email marketing being reserved for big brands with equally big marketing budgets is coming to an end. This new feature allows businesses of any size to create personalised recommendations quickly and easily.

What Does It Do?

By using the personalisation tools in Mail Chimp you can find out more about your audience and in turn, increase the relevancy of the messages you send them. If you sell online, this new feature makes it incredibly easy to deliver the right content at the right time.

The enterprise-level technology detects patterns in your Ecommerce data and uses this to predict your customers’ buying behaviour to target the right customer with the right product. Mail Chimp builds a profile of each individual’s purchase history which can see by viewing their subscriber profile.

Why Use Email Marketing?

If you aren’t yet using email marketing as part of your online marketing strategy, then you are missing out on a vibrant and powerful way to connect with your customers.

Email marketing has managed to remain a key element in marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes. Think about it yourself: how many people do you know with an email address? Lots. And all of these people can be targeted through email marketing.

And for those that think email marketing is dying? Smartphones put a clear stop to that. In fact, reading email has been the number one activity on smartphones for a long time, and with better technologies and designs continuously being developed marketers are always able to find new innovative ways to push conversions through email marketing to catch users on the go with targeted, personalised messages.

Why Start an Online Store?

Ecommerce (online shopping) has grown rapidly in recent years. Popular product categories in the UK include fashion and sporting goods, followed by travel and household items. Other popular categories include movies/music and books/magazines.

There are a number of reasons why you should open an online store. You don’t have to pay rent and you can reach millions of customers from the comfort of your home. However to have any shot at success you need to have a user-friendly, secure, solid website. Kommand’s website builder offers just that, and more, with integrated SEO features making it straightforward to get your website ranking highly on search engines such as Google. If you already have a Kommand website and want to make the switch to an online shop, or are brand new to our brand why not get in touch for a friendly chat about how we can help you make the most of your business online?

Emails us: support@kommand.me or call:

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130

Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069

London - Tel: 0203 026 0730 

The popularity of coffees is mimicked in recent news that 2016's drink of choice the turmeric latte, with its distinct golden glow, is pipped to be the new 'it' drink to hit our shores this year.

In a new report about food trends in the US, Google backed these predictions showing turmeric's growing popularity after searches for the spice increased by 56% from November 2015 to January 2016. Coupled with that, "golden milk" searches also experienced a surge, gaining fans from a widespread as Sydney and San Fran.

In the UK, the Modern Baker (cafe in Oxford) said sales of its turmeric lattes are now outnumbering the regular alternative. Notting Hill's Nama experienced a similar influx. And as with many food and drinks trends, what happens in London is often copied across the rest of the country.

Why Has the Golden Latte Become So Popular?

Like many of today's power-foods (coconut oil and ghee for example) turmeric's popularity is accredited to South Asia, where it is often mixed with milk as a restorative, anti-inflammatory and as an alternative to a caffeinated drink. It is a popular morning drink, and even works iced. 

The drink has being doing the rounds on some of the big "clean eating" influencers' blogs, Pinterest and Instagram account with users showcasing their recipes and love for the golden sip.

Get Your Cafe Ahead with This South Asia Trend

If you currently run a cafe getting on the turmeric bandwagon could be a great boost to your business. Online isn't just for Ecommerce and if you don't yet have a website for your cafe you are missing out on potential customers who will search for local cafes and information.

Kommand websites are designed to rank - and with our bistro theme the building blocks are already in place to set up a user-friendly, beautiful website in just a matter of hours in four easy steps. Better still they are built to boost your search engine ranking meaning you can show for relevant keywords to your industry. For more information about getting your cafe online why not drop us a call? We specialize in helping small businesses make their stamp online. 

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130

Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069

London - Tel: 0203 026 0730 

When our team at Kommand work with startup businesses we are often asked for help in choosing a domain name for a website. Some are more savvy when it comes to SEO and suggest the idea that using relevant keywords in their domain to potentially help in improving the website's ranking. But is this SEO technique a smart idea in today's digital world? And what is the basic structure and rules you should follow when choosing a domain?

Should You Use Keywords In Your URL?

EMD, which is short for exact-match domain is the name given to the technique of including a keyword phrase in a domain. For example, if you sell wedding favours then the main keyword and the EMD could be www.weddingfavours.com.

Choosing an EMD as a domain name was a common SEO technique back in 2012 and earlier, resulting in a high page ranking and great SEO even without good quality content or website.

But, this is not the case any longer due to Google’s more recent updates, which don’t emphasise on keyword phrase when it comes to SEO.

Be Aware How People Search

An online user will typically choose one of the three kinds of search queries: navigational, informational and transactional. The former (navigational) refers to a query performed for finding your company’s website such as typing in your company's name. For example, to find Facebook a user may type Facebook into Google. For strong brand names your website may show for misspellings e.g. Face book, Facebok, etc.

The second type of query, which is the most common among the three types, refers to a more generic kind of search. For example, words like 'California' or 'cars' might be used. The transactional type refers to a query done with the purpose of finalising a transaction like purchase. For example, the user may use a phrase like Samsung Galaxy J1.

By not using your brand name in your URL e.g. your business is called MacDonald Gifts but your domain is www.weddingfavours.com you may confuse searchers who may think that address is not the correct site. It may mean your business fails to show for navigational searches.

Nowadays search engines have become smarter at recognising which keywords your business is related to. As your brand name grows, major search engines like Google link your brand name with relevant keywords, decreasing the need for including it in your URL. For example, "amazon" is a word in typical English vocabulary. But when you key in the word, “amazon” into Google, it shows the link to Amazon, the world famous online retailer for books and other items. If you wish to use the keyword as part of the domain name for your company’s web address, then consider opting for PMD or partial match domain. 

Tips for Picking a Domain Name

The key to choosing a good brand name is to bear these elements in mind - it should be: short, simple, memorable, descriptive, clear and unique.

Here are some tips to keep you right:

- Consider a Partial Match Domain

If you are just setting up your business from scratch and don't even have the company name you should consider PMD when naming your business, e.g. if you provide gifts, consider adding the words gifts into your business name.

- Avoid Numbers & Deliberate Misspellings

If it is possible, you should avoid using numbers in your domain name. In the event that someone hears the name, the person may not know whether to spell the numbers or use them as they are. You may also want to avoid deliberate misspellings (unless you already have a company wish a deliberately misspelled name) for the same reason. 

- Double Check Combining Words

Though combining two or more words for the name is fine, be careful when you do so. It may be the case that when your website URL is written without spaces it could read as something else. 

- Keep It Short

If possible try you should try to keep your domain less than 15 characters.

Which Extension? .com or .co.uk?

Though there are some sites which use ".biz" as their domain extenstion however there have been instances of such sites being classified as spam by Google. One of the best choices of generic top-level domains or for online businesses is “.com.” If your business operates in a particular country for example the UK, and is a local business (that would never offers services or sell abroad such as a dentist or hairdresser) you may be better using .co.uk over a .com to improve rankings in your local area.

Start Your Business Today!

If you have a great idea for a business and need some help turning that idea into an online reality why not give the team at Kommand a call? We have helped many small businesses create a website that reflects what they need (whether that is to sell products online, adding a recruitment portal, or simply creating a great-looking brochure site).

For more information you can reach us:

Email: support@kommand.me

Glasgow - Tel: 0141 345 2130
Middlesbrough - Tel: 01642 989 069
London - Tel: 0203 026 0730

- You can also check out our last post to see some recent websites built with Kommand.

Starting your own business can feel like a bit of a whirlwind. With so many new challenges and decisions it is easy to get caught up with all the little things and spend time concentrating on areas which in reality don't require as much attention.

Making mistakes is an important part of learning with a new business but unfortunately it is too often the case that business owners overlook the key aspects when it comes to building a successful business. Because we see this time and time again we've decided to use today's post to outline four business rules to live by. Think of them as the foundation of your business, the important aspects that will support any other plans.

Rule #1: Where Possible Show, Don't Tell

There have been numerous studies carried out which indicate the effectiveness of images and videos over text. Yet, for many businesses their websites and social media posts are still too text heavy. 

Don't just tell customers your product is great as an attempt to impress them, show them how it is great and let them decide whether they are impressed. There are a number of ways you can make your website more persuasive. Instead of dry, generic messages, try included statistics, images, videos and personal stores as a way to build credibility in your business.

If you run an ecommerce business it is far more effective to demonstrate your products in use and the benefits they will bring your customers. You can do this by including photos of your products, or better still, videos. Think of the variety of ways to indicate your product's effectiveness: a before and after photo alongside a testimonial is a great way to build trust in the review. Statistics and infographics can bring out an emotional response; fear, anger, etc.

Another way to implement this rule is to include badges from organisations you are a member of, or qualifications you have on your website. Most industries will have certain practices or bodies that qualified workers should be a registered with. Including these will develop trust in your business, particularly if it is a startup.

Rule #2: Be Original

Ultimately your business is trying to find a way to differentiate itself from its competitors. If you simply copy another business in their design, product offering, logo, language, etc. you will never be able to build your own strong brand identity. You should find your business's USP whether that is your product or service, a particular niche, the ability to solve a problem or your customer service. If all of your competitors use the same marketing strategy or language try offering something different to stand out to your customers. Are you cheaper? More reliable? Wittier? 

Rule #3: Stick to Your Business Goals

All too often small businesses lose track of their business goals. When starting any marketing campaign, particularly those which require investment consider how it is benefiting your own individual business goals. Just because your competitors, or a business you admire is advertising on Facebook or sharing a lot on LinkedIn for example, this doesn't always mean you should do the same. Figure out what is the best for your business without getting too caught up in your competition.

This rule can also be applied to your business image. For every marketing campaign, letter, email, social media post, etc think about how it represents your brand. Creating a style guide with standard business fonts and colours will help you keep on track.

Rule #4: Don't Forget About Your Customers

"Remember your customers or they will forget about you"

For B2B or B2C businesses your overall aim is to sell and to sell you need customers. This rule can be applied to your business in a number of ways.

Firstly you should be aware of retaining current customers. Don't make too many marketing campaigns targeted to new sign-ups or first-time shoppers or you could alienate a group that could have become loyal customers. A second side to the coin is to be aware of your customers' changing attitudes. Building a sound understanding of their habits, likes and dislikes and how these change is important. If your business has been around for a number of years is your audience still the same? What has changed in their individual preferences and external factors? Do more shop on mobile now? Has your business responded appropriately? Is there a new social media channel you don't have that could work effectively to target your customers.

Reviewing these areas on a quarterly, or yearly, basis is key to strengthening your business offering!

Start Your Business Today!

If you are thinking of starting an online business but don't know where to start, Kommand can help. We have helped hundreds of startups and small businesses create a professional online image, catapulting their business into the competitive arena. For more information or an informal chat about how we can help your business drop us a line: 0845 241 8228.

Or to continue the conversation why not tweet us: @kommandme the business rules you live by!