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Happy New Year! This greeting is going out later than i had planned but i have been busy working on some new services to help drive more customers to your business.

Many of us have set goals of increasing business in 2017 and my goal is to provide tips/tricks and ideas to help you do so. Below are my top 3 online-marketing related activities that you should be doing in your business to grow this year. They are (not necessarily in order of importance)

Build Your Email List 

Are you actively collecting emails from current and prospective clients and reaching out to them? Are you offering a valuable product or service that will entice them to sign up, participate, and come back for more?

Build Your Online Reputation 

According to industry expert, BrightLocal.com,

• 88% have read reviews to determine the quality of a local business
• 72% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more
• 88% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
• Reliability (27%), expertise (21%) & professionalism (18%) are the most important reputation traits for a local business

Ask For Referrals

Like asking for reviews, referrals can be a great source of new business but many of us are hesitant to ask for fear we might appear “needy.” Below are 5 tips from Rick Roberge from The Rain Maker on how to ask for referrals without feeling desperate.

a) You have to start somewhere – don’t expect immediate results
b) Be excellent at your job – delighted customers will be happy to refer you
c) Don’t accept just any referral – you want referrals for people you customer has a strong relationship with
d) Don’t treat a referral like a cold call – Act like you’re already in their inner circle — in a way, you are.
e) Develop a referral mindset. – If you want to get referrals, you should also give referrals. This is what I call a “referral mindset.”

As we go through 2017 my goal is to offer insights and ideas to help you grow your business while I use the same techniques to grow mine. Some you may be able to implement on your own…some you may need additional help or resources. I am here to help and share whatever I can to make 2017 a banner year.

If there are any topics you would like me to include please just let me know.

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Author

Shonda Rogers

Shonda began her career in the hotel business. After working with 5-star properties in San Francisco and Houston, she eventually took her service industry knowledge into the online hotel marketing world. In 2009 SEO is Local was born, with the goal of helping small to medium sized businesses succeed in the ever-changing world of internet marketing.