Marketing and the Future: The Who, What, Where and When…to Use It
Linx’s moto has been “THINK AHEAD” as we have been providing our clients with out-of-the-box strategic marketing plans for generations.
My grandfather started this business with newspaper ads at grocery stores in the 60s and followed trends until the 90s. My father took this business to new heights through every possible digital transformation and continued to be ahead of the curve all the way through retirement.
Linx has undergone rebranding and reinventing over four times to adapt to ever-changing corporate landscapes. The rapid transformations across industries in recent years truly epitomize the meaning of the word “shock.”
Here’s an idea. Instead of scrambling and trying to catch up, let’s take a second to really explore what is going on and what the opportunities are. I’m sure you have seen the infiltration of competition popping up one new business at a time. For the simplicity, I am going to pick an industry and go through the numbers with you.
Let’s discuss the “roofing industry.”
There are 110,000 roofing businesses in the USA in 2024. This is up from 81,000 in 2022. Obviously as a roofing company you would localize your business endeavors to specific areas you would service, and target your customers on the specific platforms they visit to get information to them, both offline and online.
There are 19,500 incorporated cities in the US and 15,000 have fewer than 5000 people. So, let’s say for ease of understanding, we take 100,000 business in 4500 towns. That means statistically speaking, you have 22 other competitive roofers in your town who are pursuing your customer and bidding for the same job. Remember, this is an average across America. There are over 200 companies on Long Island, NY.
How in the world do you stand out as a roofer in a competitive landscape like that? Word of mouth works. If you do the job well and can get a referral, nice. The old school way is a great way, but it doesn’t always happen like that.
Let’s do a little exercise. Go to Google, type in “ROOFING COMPANY.” In .2356 seconds, you have 50 pages of roofing companies all organized by paid, business, and organic search results based on your specific location. Later when you go to Facebook, scroll down about 5-7 pages. How many “sponsored” roofing ads did you see? Sorry, this search query just inundated your entire week with roofers, but the point is, this is how roofing, or any company, is trying to get their business across to their customers. Forget watching Hulu tonight, some of those 30 second ads will be saying you need a new roofing now, and you start asking yourself, do I?
Believe it or not, this isn’t enough to always get a new client, even on rinse and repeat being a numbers game. What about those reviews? Anything less than a 4.5 rating will cost you A LOT of business. 63% of consumers won’t purchase from a company with less than a 4-star review.
Let’s step back now. We understand that we need to hit our customer at the right time, with the right message when they are ready to pick up the phone and say, “I need a new roof now.” There is still a quoting phase, a scheduling phase, and an entire sales funnel you have to worry about after the initial interest.
Regarding the marketing, it surely feels like a lot of these companies are just throwing as much information and content out on every possible platform hoping that it will one day be there waiting for their customer on a silver platter when they finally want to make a choice. And it works for some, but for how much longer can you wiggle your information to your audience through all this noise? Consumers subconsciously have been overrun with options while these companies are hoping to wait around long enough for when they are ready to pull the trigger.
What is the magic marketing equation? Ha, you thought I was going to lay it all out here for you. That’s what we get paid the big bucks for (wink wink). I’ll give you an overview, but believe me, the biggest thing we learned over the years at Linx is a truly successful marketing plan, is customized for YOUR business. It’s an omni-channel play where all the moving pieces work together.
We spent time learning hundreds of industries, but if we don’t know yours, we take the time to, and not just the industry but your unique sales and operations process. We then integrate our custom strategies through the appropriate channels to reach your customers. Because let’s admit it, you’ve been doing something right to keep your business going and so have we.
If we have any advice, it’s don’t use a cookie cutter strategy where AI promises to do it all for you. Your business will never outlast your competition and you will be changing your strategy very often to stay afloat. Remember, customers want to be heard, not just hear what you have to say. They buy for specific reasons, out of necessity, out of convenience, out of security, FOMO, pricing, or just plain happiness. Why does your customer buy from you?
There are questions you need to ask yourself to really understand what you need. I will start off with these, but there are other questions that help clarify exactly what needs to be done.
- How many new customers do you want to be successful for growth?
- What is the real value of your average customer?
- How much are you willing to spend to acquire a new customer?
- Does your company have the trust and creditability to be better than your competition?
It’s time to start Thinking Ahead of your competition and creating a plan for growth that will last more than six months. Let us help you build out the foundation and implementation of your marketing that will create the success you are looking for.
Marketing in 2024: A Year of Rapid Evolution
The year 2024 has witnessed a seismic shift in the marketing landscape, driven by technological advancements, changing consumer behaviors, and evolving economic conditions. Here’s a breakdown of some of the key trends that have shaped the industry:
The Rise of AI-Powered Marketing
- Personalized Experiences: AI-driven algorithms are now capable of delivering highly personalized content and recommendations to individual customers, enhancing engagement and conversion rates.
- Predictive Analytics: AI tools can analyze vast amounts of data to predict customer behavior and optimize marketing campaigns for maximum impact.
- Automated Content Creation: AI can generate content, such as product descriptions, social media posts, and even video scripts, freeing up marketers to focus on more strategic tasks.
The Importance of Ethical and Sustainable Marketing
- Consumer Demands: Consumers are increasingly demanding brands that align with their values and prioritize ethical and sustainable practices.
- Transparency: Brands must be transparent about their supply chains, environmental impact, and social responsibility initiatives.
- Purpose-Driven Marketing: Effective marketing now involves telling a compelling story that connects a brand’s purpose to its products or services.
The Shift Towards Privacy-Focused Marketing
- Data Privacy Regulations: New regulations like GDPR and CCPA have forced marketers to be more mindful of data privacy and obtain explicit consent from consumers.
- First-Party Data: Brands are increasingly relying on first-party data collected directly from their customers to build more accurate and targeted campaigns.
- Cookieless Future: The transition to a cookieless future is forcing marketers to explore alternative tracking methods, such as contextual targeting and privacy-preserving technologies.
The Growing Influence of Social Media
- Short-Form Video: Platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels have become dominant forces in social media, requiring brands to adapt their content strategies to cater to short attention spans.
- Live Streaming: Live streaming platforms like Twitch and Instagram Live offer opportunities for real-time engagement and building community.
- Influencer Marketing: Influencer marketing remains a powerful tool, but brands must be selective in their partnerships and ensure authenticity.
The Importance of Customer Experience
- Omnichannel Experience: Providing a seamless customer experience across all channels, from online to offline, is essential for building brand loyalty.
- Customer-Centricity: Brands must put the customer at the heart of everything they do, from product development to customer service.
- Feedback Loops: Actively seeking and responding to customer feedback is crucial for continuous improvement.
As we move forward, marketers must stay ahead of these trends and embrace the opportunities that they present. By leveraging AI, prioritizing ethics and sustainability, and focusing on customer experience, brands can thrive in the rapidly evolving marketing landscape.
Why Local SEO is Critical for Your Home Service Business
Imagine this: a homeowner in your area is frantically searching for a plumber after a pipe bursts. They whip out their phone, search “plumber near me,” and boom—your competitor shows up first. You, however, don’t even make it to the list. Sounds frustrating, right? That’s exactly why Local SEO is necessary for your home service business. Let’s dive into how it works—and how it can get you seen by the right people, at the right time.
What Exactly Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is your way of saying, “Hey Google, show my business to people around here who need what I offer!” It’s all about ensuring your business appears in those super-specific local searches—whether it’s someone looking for “electricians in New York City” or “landscaping near me.”
For home service businesses like yours, Local SEO helps get your name in front of customers ready to book, not just browse. It’s the difference between being invisible and being the first call someone makes when they need a hand.
How Local SEO Works (And Why You Should Care)
So, how does Local SEO actually help your business stand out? Here’s the play-by-play:
- Google My Business (GMB) Profile: Your Google My Business profile is like your business’s digital storefront. When someone searches for your services, GMB makes sure they find you. If it’s optimized (and we’ll make sure it is), you can show up in the “map pack” results, which means more clicks, calls, and visits.
- NAP Consistency: Not the kind of nap you take after lunch—NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. You want this info to be the same across all platforms. If your phone number is different on your Facebook page than it is on Google, that’s bad news for your rankings.
- Online Reviews: People trust reviews. It’s just how it is. The more 5-star reviews you get, the higher you’ll rank, and the more trust you’ll build with future clients. Don’t be shy—ask happy customers to leave a review!
Why Local SEO Is a Game Changer for Home Service Businesses
Let’s get real—if you’re a home service provider, your customers are coming from your local area. They’re not looking for a handyman in the next state over; they want someone nearby. Here’s why Local SEO is essential for home services:
- Capture Local Customers: Homeowners searching for HVAC repairs or plumbing services want fast, local results. Local SEO helps you show up when they’re looking, and that means more business for you.
- Outshine Competitors: If you’re not investing in Local SEO, you’re leaving money on the table. The businesses that are focusing on local rankings are grabbing your potential customers. Time to change that!
- Drive Traffic, Calls, and Bookings: When people see you in local search results, they’re more likely to visit your website, give you a call, or book an appointment. Local SEO puts you front and center for those ready-to-buy customers.
- Build Trust with Reviews: You know that feeling when you’re checking out restaurants and you see one with a ton of glowing reviews? That’s exactly how your customers will feel when they see your highly-rated business at the top of the list. Reviews = trust, and trust = business.
Simple Tips to Boost Your Local SEO
Ready to start showing up where it counts? Here are a few quick ways to get your Local SEO in shape:
- Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Profile: This one’s easy. Claim your GMB profile, fill it out completely, and keep it updated with photos, services, and correct contact info. Don’t forget to post updates—it helps your rankings!
- Sprinkle in Local Keywords: Make sure your website and blog content includes keywords that reference your service area. Instead of just saying, “We’re experts in tree removal,” try “We offer tree removal services in New York City.”
- Get Those Reviews Rolling: Ask your satisfied customers to leave reviews. More reviews = better local rankings = more customers.
- Make Sure Your NAP Is Consistent: Everywhere your business info is listed online, it should match exactly. No different phone numbers or addresses on different platforms!
Ready to Be Found Locally? Let’s Chat!
You don’t have to be a marketing pro to win at Local SEO—that’s what we’re here for! At Linx, we specialize in boosting home service businesses with a tailored Local SEO strategy that’ll get you on the map (literally). Whether you need help with Google My Business, local keyword strategies, or getting more reviews, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s connect today, and we’ll make sure your customers find you first!
It's Time to Use AI in Marketing
If you and your competition aren’t using artificial intelligence in your marketing strategy, this might be the year that changes. It’s expected this year will be when a lot of businesses wake up to the power of AI, and leverage its abilities to analyze consumer behavior and search patterns, and use data from social media platforms and blog posts in order to better understand how customers find their products and services.
Artificial intelligence is the biggest commercial opportunity for companies, industries, and nations over the next few decades. It’s anticipated to increase global GDP by up to 14% between now and 2030. For this reason, latecomers to AI will find themselves at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Reasons for Adopting Artificial Intelligence in Your Business:
- To obtain or sustain a competitive advantage
- To move into new markets
- Because new organizations using AI will enter your market
- The pressure to reduce costs
- Customer desire
- And more!
For AI integration into your marketing platform, you can look to the big players like Salesforce, which integrates Einstein AI into their platform, or a slew of third-party applications that offer single use AI tools, such as nurturing automation, personalization, and even offers. The new tools are based upon historic behavioral actions as well as aggregated data from target personas.
Linx has found that by using these toolsets, we can improve our Conversion Rate Optimization programs by 2-3x.
Chatbots at Your Service
Chatbots are one of the many ways you can introduce artificial intelligence into your marketing strategy. Chatbots are an AI-based technology which uses instant messaging to chat with customers, leads, and site visitors in real-time. Their natural language processing allows AI chatbots to decipher what information a user is looking for, and the bot will respond as if it were a real person instantly 24/7 (with outstanding customer service, never losing their patience!), which is why they’re widely used across the web and on social media.
- Of the 71% of people willing to use messaging apps to get customer assistance, many do it because they want their problem solved fast
- 63% of people prefer messaging an online chatbot to communicate with a business or brand
- 80% of businesses want chatbots by 2020
- By 2022, chatbots will help businesses save over $8 billion per annum
At Linx, we frequently deploy chatbots on client websites, such as the live chat we implemented on Suburban Exterminating’s website, which allows website visitors to get in touch with a customer service agent within seconds, amplifying the company’s web leads 24/7.
Ready to embrace AI in your marketing strategy? Get in touch with Linx today!
Video Marketing Isn't Going Away
It’s no secret that video marketing is, and will remain to be a huge marketing trend. Not only does video content marketing have the potential to drive sales through compelling content and storytelling, if your website includes video, but it’s also actually 50x more likely to drive organic search results compared to text. This is because users find video more captivating, and Google pushes pages that include videos higher in its rankings.
Here are a few more reasons why you should be using online video marketing in your business:
- 84% of people say they’ve been convinced to buy a product or service by watching a brand’s video
- 93% of brands got a new customer because of a video on social media
- 43% of video marketers say video has reduced the number of support calls they’ve received
- 88% of video marketers reported that video gives them a positive ROI
- 99% of people who use video marketing say they’ll continue doing so
Through the use of strategies such as sequential storytelling and day-in-the-life videos, for example, you can truly bring your brand to life on social media through video marketing.
Video SEO marketing is also important—YouTube and other online videos are displayed in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), so it’s going to be important to optimize your videos, as well—text overlays, closed captions, descriptions, titles, and file names are all important to your video SEO.
Linx has a robust history of video marketing for businesses across a variety of industries. Here are a few highlights from some of our recent video production projects:
ELMO Board Product Video
- Created a product marketing video for ELMO, a global leader in educational technology, introducing their new ELMO Board
- Released in 5 different languages to drive product sales around the world
Suburban Exterminating 5 Second Video Ads
- Developed a catalog of 5-second video ads for Long Island-based pest control company, Suburban Exterminating, promoting their “Pests Today, Gone Tomorrow” guarantee
- Used in YouTube retargeting ads to remind Suburban’s past website visitors of the company’s services
Ready to implement video into your marketing strategy? Click here to get started.
User-Generated Content is on the Rise
Content for your audience, created by your audience is a huge marketing trend and is a powerful, often unexplored resource for marketers trying to reach younger markets like Millennials and Gen Z. Creating a user-generated content marketing plan involves coming up with innovative ways to encourage your audience to share their own unique content, often by offering them something in return, such as a discount or partnering for a cause.
Recently, Linx created a monthly social giveaway program for Farmingdale Meat Market, a Long-Island-based butcher shop with a new national e-commerce website. Farmingdale’s social followers were encouraged to share photos of their cooked Farmingdale meats with their own followers in exchange for the chance to win a Farmingdale gift card, resulting in greater social engagement, brand recognition, and customer loyalty (during a pandemic, no less).
As a whole, user-generated content significantly increases brand engagement, helps SEO, builds loyalty with your customers, drives conversion rates, and according to a recent study by PR Newswire, has the potential to influence the decision to purchase in as many as 90% of shoppers.
So how can you create user-generated content?
- Encourage your audience to share photos of your products in exchange for an entry in a giveaway
- Create branded hashtags for your audience to use in social media posts
- Develop campaigns your audience buys into, with a shared effort toward a specific cause
- Leverage both product and service reviews
If you’re looking for help developing a marketing strategy that includes user-generated content, reach out to Linx today at thinkahead@redesign.dev.linx.com.
Welcome to a Cookieless World
After an unprecedented year that impacted marketing around the world, a new year brings exciting new ways to attract, engage, and delight your audience to drive business growth.
Today we’re sharing the first part of our new blog series, The Top Marketing Trends You Need to Know.
Goodbye, Web Cookies
Web cookies are small pieces of data stored on users’ computers by their web browsers, allowing websites to remember information, such as the user’s browsing activity or the items they added to their shopping carts. For many years, cookies have played a vital role in the digital marketing machine by providing key data used in targeting and retargeting audiences at the right time, harvesting data, and improving ad performance.
Now for the mic drop. From now on, you can expect a cookieless world. Popular browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, and Firefox have already blocked third-party cookies, meaning you’ll have to get more creative in your efforts to make up for the loss of valuable data cookies provided.
So, here’s what you can do:
- Embrace AdTech in new ways, such as media mix modeling (MMM)
- Build your own Customer Data Platform (CDP), a process providing long-term control over targeting
- Be at the forefront of alternative technologies; demand-side platforms are a good start
- Rely on the data provided by FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet); in many cases, this data is sufficient when combined with robust analytics
- Educate, test, and train, from the C-Suite down on this issue and new ways to manage targeting
If you’re looking for help setting a marketing strategy in a cookieless world, reach out to Linx today at thinkahead@redesign.dev.linx.com.
In Simple Terms, What Is Predictive Marketing?
This question is best answered by example and by thinking about how things have started to change in the marketing world. Nowadays, businesses can measure and record many aspects of their interactions with individual customers. This information can be used to help businesses better understand which customers are most interested in their product, what their customers’ needs truly are, and which marketing efforts are working best for each customer segment. Once businesses better understand their customer-business interactions, they can make data-driven decisions to improve these interactions. In some cases, this data can even be used to make predictions about new customers.
Making predictions involves creating a mathematical or statistical model which learns from historical data to forecast future events. Being able to predict which customers will interact with your product allows businesses to prioritize their marketing efforts and marketing spend.
As an example, one of our clients is a lending company which keeps track of every customer which was both approved and not-approved after they’ve applied for funding (this company counts conversions as customers who were approved). In addition, the company also keeps track of each applicant’s credit score, industry, state, and annual sales information. Armed with this data, we leveraged statistical modeling techniques to create models that could predict the chances that new customers will be approved. In other words, using the model the company can now classify new customers as “fundable” or “not-fundable”. Why is this useful?
To see how the model could be used, suppose that the company will spend $100,000 over the next few months marketing to new customers, and that 40% of those new customers will not be approved for funding and 60% will be approved. These percentages are not known in advance because the company (obviously) cannot see into the future. This means that $100,000 x 40%=$40,000 will be wasted on non-fundable customers and $100,000 x 60%=$60,000 will be spent on customers who are funded. Alternatively, if the company had used the predictive model from the outset, they would have identified those non-fundable customers and specifically not spent money marketing to them. If the model was perfect, this means the company would have only spent $60,000 instead of $100,000 to acquire the same number of total conversions, thereby reducing their cost per conversion by 40%. In this example, the data collected and the predictive model saved the company $40,000 which can be used towards other marketing efforts or investments.
This is just one of many different applications of predictive marketing. In general, predictive modeling should be used to answer specific business questions such as: which markets should I decide to attack next? How should I adjust my budget over various channels to increase revenue? What products should I recommend to my existing customers? One important requirement for predictive modeling is to have high quality data. There are several ways to approach this:
- First define your business goals and then decide what data is best to record.
- First collect a bunch of data and then mine the data for insights.
- Augment you existing data with 3rd party data sources.
Most people would probably say that option (1) is best, but it all depends on your own specific goals and limitations. As newer data-recording and data-storage solutions are created, the demand and utility of predictive marketing will continue to climb. From this perspective, marketing is destined to become an increasingly scientific field. So, we will have physicists, biologists, chemists, mathematicians, and marketicians. Marketicians? Maybe marketologists is a better name. Or not, time will tell.
To check a sample predictive report, click here.
43rd Annual Golf & Tennis Charity Classic
Cohen Children’s Medical Center has greatly benefited from the hard work of the members of the Children’s Medical Fund. On June 18, CMF hosted its 43rd Annual Golf & Tennis Charity Classic at Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury. The event featured a friendly golf and Tennis tournament followed by a cocktail reception and dinner where there were live auction items and raffle prizes available for purchase to help support the children. During the dinner, a silent auction was held where several superheroes emerged to promote CMF’s new program: Heroes with Heart. Guests were able to bid on the Super Heroes, to send them to the Children’s Hospital. A total of $19,000+ was raised that night.
Linx partnered with CMF in creating this program to help facilitate some happiness for hospitalized children. This program is designed to bring popular superheroes to the bedsides of children to remind them that they’re not alone in their fight. The superheroes come into the hospital rooms with toys and activities to give them a sense of hope and joy during these difficult times.
All the proceeds generated from the golf outing helped fund The Children’s Medical Fund Center for Diagnostic Studies, located on the fourth floor of the new pavilion at Cohen’s. This pediatric diagnostic suite is a state of the art MRI and X-ray area designed specifically for children in the hospital. The NASA-themed suite features two MRI machines, a mock scanner that child life specialists use to ease children’s apprehension, and special goggles that allow children to watch movies during their examination.
For several years, Linx has partnered with CMF to aid in ongoing marketing efforts, including writing email blasts for their events and integrating other client companies’ marketing into CMF events. We also designed the front cover of the journals given out at the golf outing.
Please contact us if you’re looking for ways to boost the marketing of your company or business.
If you’d like to donate or volunteer with The Heroes with Heart program or are interested in learning about the charity, additional information can be found at Cmfny.org.
Augmented Reality – How Can It Be Used to Enhance Your Brand?
Last week, at our weekly “lunch and learn” session, Linx discussed the topic of Augmented Reality and its increasing adoption for marketers.
Augmented Reality (AR)… You might have heard the term, but what is it and how can it be useful to your company?
To start, let’s clear up any questions around the difference between Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and even Mixed Reality.
A Quick Synopsis:
Augmented Reality is when digital content is placed on top of the real world. An example of this was the wildly popular trending app, Pokemon Go, where users searched for Pokemon characters in real-life locations. Or, for a more common example, Snapchat and Facebook filters that place accessories on your face or give you animal ears in a photo.
Virtual Reality is a digital environment that is created that shuts out the real world. In this case, think of utilizing the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive and being immersed into different worlds.
Finally, Mixed Reality is digital content that interacts with your real world and as of now, the king of Mixed Reality is Microsoft HoloLens.
These new technologies are bursting with opportunity and are projected to rapidly grow over the next few years. In fact, according to XXX, it is expected that by 2023, Augmented Reality will become a $60 billion dollar industry.
Think Ahead: Leveraging New Technologies for Marketing
Over the past year, Linx has been following the trend of the new technologies that are crossing-over with reality to create new opportunities for our clients to utilize augmented reality to enhance their brand and promote their products and services in new and unique ways.
While something like Augmented Reality might seem like a complicated and expensive undertaking, that is not necessarily the case. There are many simple ways for every business to create unique experiences for their customers utilizing the technology. While we round-tabled our thoughts at our “lunch and learn”, we discussed some basic ideas for how specific clients could create interactivity around their brand or showcase their products and services using Augmented Reality.
For our e-commerce clients, we talked about how we can easily allow their customers to try on clothing to see how they would look before making a purchase. For our food industry clients, we explored how customers can take a look inside the packaging and the food items by opening them up right in front of them. For a client who sells home decor and furniture, we discussed enabling their customers to see how the products would look in their home house – a new couch, a lighting fixture, and accent piece – by taking a 360 image of the room. For construction and development clients, we brainstormed how to let their customers see a finished building or home on the exact land or plot to make sure everything is designed to perfection and fits the vision of those creating it. There are endless opportunities to utilize this new technology, but those who find the creative ways to do so will ultimately triumph over those who don’t.
Our responsibility is to bring our knowledge of these emerging technologies to our clients to help them continue to adapt to the changing world. Ultimately, Linx is here to Think Ahead for our clients and our goal is to make your company stand out in every way possible.
For more information on how we can help you use Augmented, Virtual or Mixed Reality to improve your brand, get in touch!
