Green Apple Sales Blog

Many business owners have enough on their plate already and when things get tough it would be nice to have some help.

Give me 2 minutes to tell you how we can help you and your business.

Ok depending on what type of business you are in the solution varies.  Lets pick something like an automobile repair shop.  This will be good.

Now if there was say a small shop that did automotive repairs and has done well for 20 years.  Things are getting more competitive.  Some corporate chain opens down the street with a fancy facility and a huge sign.  They have a half a million dollar marketing budget annually.  Tough crowd huh?

Whatever.  Small business is still the closest to the people and personal service can not be replaced.  The key is finding a competitive edge, maybe you should do what they do?  Yeah right.  What you do is form a plan and use various cost-effective methods to market your business and bring it back to life.

It really is not as hard as you would think.  Sometimes people just ask themselves the wrong questions.  That is where we come in…  So back to the Garage.  John’s Auto Repair calls Green Apple Sales and explains that he is tired of Roman Noodles and business is slow.  He has all the situations I described above.

We begin by running a gorilla marketing campaign locally which costs very little and requires a little effort from the employees.  We come up with a creative approach to create a local “buzz” about the business.  Then a digital marketing launch.  You see one thing corporate America can never overcome is word of mouth advertising.  Well we now have the ability to do that through the internet and reach thousands of people with word of mouth.

The internet gives every business the ability to communicate directly with customers.  In the past you could only try to reach customers through advertising or media.  If you did not have tons of money for advertising or a connection that could get a reporter to write about you, you had no means.

The rules have changed, the web changed everything and we can show you how to harness this marketing tool PROPERLY to benefit give long term benefits to your business.

Call me if you have any questions…  We are here to help.  Small businesses are the blood that pumps through the heart of our communities.  We enjoy helping them prosper.

Cheers,

Dan O’Callaghan

Many online business start-ups (ecommerce) struggle the first year or two. The reason many do is they are looking for something for free.

Here does this sound familiar? “I will have an ecommerce store built and then I can just use Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to market it!” Sounds great in concept.

Here is the deal, some people will do it and succeed. Do not be fooled though, it was not free. They spent 60+ hours a week producing content, posting to blogs, updating Twitter and Facebook.  9.5 out of 10 people do not deliver effective marketing messages, thus resulting in sluggish sales.  These social media tools are very powerful if used properly.

Then there is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and PPC (Pay-Per-Click) and affiliate marketing and and and….

Time is money. The funny thing most people want to get into the online business to avoid having to work all the time.  Only to work more promoting their store.  Why?  When a pro can get you much better results in half the time.  You know owning and running a successful business is not the art of knowing it all.  It is the art of finding the people who know what you don’t and working with them.

Starting and running a business online or expanding your physical location to the world online is no different than opening a new location. You must invest properly. Not cut corners. Put your dollars where they produce the greatest results first. Keep it simple and find experts to help guide you through the process.

The internet has produced a ridiculous amount of millionaires in the last decade. Not because they had big bucks. Because they had a good idea and an even better plan to launch it. They stuck to what they know best and found experts to cover the rest.

If you want to own a business, act like a business owner. Takes money to make money. This does not mean you have to buy some huge expensive marketing package.  I don’t think you should need to sign a contract either.

Actually if the company doing the marketing are as good as they claim to be they should be willing to start off with something small to show you results and gain a lifelong client.  My theory is, when I make someone money they will always do business with me.

So I will repeat it one more time.  Nothing is Free. Time=Money=Time=Money….  But marketing always makes you a lot more than you spend, so I guess that’s close.

Call me if you want to brainstorm ideas for your business… and maybe you will end up doing business with us.  Don’t be surprised.

Dan O’Callaghan

www.GreenAppleSales.com

If you have a business and no website it is probably because they never mention websites on your 8-track player!

Seriously how does a business expect to keep with the market and stay competitive if they are missing the fastest growing marketing in the world, the internet.  I recently spoke to a business owner who said “If my sales where up I would invest in a website”  I said “If you had a website your sales would be up”.

I really think a lot of people still underestimate how powerful the web is for all businesses.  To me not having a website in 2010 is like not having a sign on the front of a retail store and keeping the lights off all the time.

There is a ton of benefits a company gets through having a website.  It is often the first thing a prospective customer sees that brings them to your business.  Without one they never even see you.  However they do see your competitors who have websites and they win the business.

Having a website is as important as having customers, as a matter of fact it will bring you more of them.

Cheers,

Dan O’Callaghan

I just would like to make a point. In the last decade customer service in the US has tanked.

Companies outsourced it to people you can not understand, or they put you on the 5 hour voice mail; “if you wear shoes press 2, thank you,  if you like milk please press 3, if you are happy with your cable service and would like to leave a compliment press….” Ridiculous.  I would like to ban those customer aggravation systems.

As much as they cut cost by outsourcing they have felt the loss of customers. This is an opportunity for all the small business owners. You can provide superior customer service compared to any of the large outfits.

Our company has one person the account manager that each client deals with. Their AC knows their business and what is going on at all times and has a personal relationship with them.

We have no customer service, just the same person you talk to every time. I believe this is what has led to our explosive growth in the last few months.

Just a thought.  I just went through a 45 minute dance of stupidity with customer service only to get disconnected and nothing accomplished. Oh well I am sure I would not have understood a word they where saying if they did answer.

It is the companies who offer their customers a good value followed up with excellent service that will prosper in the new decade.

Cheers,

Dan O’Callaghan
Green Apple Sales, Inc.

I would like to tell you how and why the business “game” has changed.

The marketing methods of today are changing fast all while becoming more effective. Some digital marketing sources like, social media, search engine optimization, and pay per click are a few powerful tools. Although there are many more methods.

We are not far from things like Facebook and Twitter virtually replacing news outlets, you can find out what is going on around the world directly from the people. That is pretty exciting as we all know money influences everything that comes through a television.

LinkedIn threatens to take over the business news sector as well, as there are thousands of articles on all industries added constantly. Not to mention you can get specific news on your industry everyday, not when the paper decides to cover it.

With social media we are all able to affect the news!

Some do not know what to make of the changes we face in todays business world. Those who embrace digital marketing are seeing the best R.O.I (Return On Investment) they have ever seen from any other form of marketing.

The internet is the most powerful marketing tool that has ever surfaced. You are able to drive more qualified traffic to your business locally and get world wide exposure if your business can benefit from this.

Social media is the new form of news, but you control it. You have the ability to keep your customers constantly informed about your business. This also keeps you in the back of their minds. That is the entire point of marketing, to make sure people remember you whenever a conversation brings up your profession.

Not only is digital marketing extremely effective it also gives you better metrics to track results than any other form of marketing. You can see how many look, inquire, and convert.

These are a few ways the “game” has changed. In a good way, giving you and every business owner an equal opportunity to market your business as aggressively as the largest companies out there. Digital Marketing is cost effective and if done properly will bring long-term growing success to your business.

Call 815-462-3476 for a free 30 minute brainstorming session on how you can increase sales through digital marketing.

or email us at: info@greenapplesales.com

Dan O’Callaghan

www.greenapplesales.com