Free online tools for your business success
There are a great many success stories about small retailers beating big players in the online world with social networking tools. Check out the Dreamworthy.com story (http://www.prlog.org/10225484-social-networking-helps-small-online-webstore-beat-out-major-retailers-to-win-coupon-contest.html) and New York food cart Twitter presence (http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/05/a-list-of-street-food-vendors-trucks-carts-using-twitter.html). You’ll be amazed at how magical social networking can be. Now is the time for you to jump in and utilize these online tools to create the buzz and attract more business. They’re fun, easy-to-use and most importantly, FREE.Even if you don’t have a company website, you can start with a Facebook page for your business. Ask friends or family members to join the fan base and spread the word. Keep updating them regularly and put all the special store promotions out there. Of course, don’t forget to frequent Evergreen’s Facebook page and expand your network.
Google Map is a simple but powerful tool to place your stores on the map and let them be found or rated by others through keyword of zip code search. It will be a big strength in a region where customers are searching for you. And those are the people you’re really targeting.
If you haven’t an online store presence on Google Map, here are the simple steps to create your own.
http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en-uk&answer=143059
Blog
You can also create a blog which is good for search engine optimization. That means, the more relevant content you have, the more likely it is for your site or blog to appear in search engines when customers are searching terms. Drive more traffic to your sites with content like product placement and promotions. As to the blog service providers to choose from, free ones like Blogger or Wordpress are highly recommended. Since Wordpress is a bit complicated, I suggest you start with Blogger, which is easier and not as tech-savvy. Show your customers what’s new and cool as well as their stock availability. Have one-on-one conversations with them on a regular basis and incentivize them with a coupon or promotion. I’ve heard lots of success stories from mom and pop stores in this area. No time to blog? Just set aside 15 minutes every morning and make it part of your workday when running your business. You know how to keep a balance and make the most out of that.
One of retailers’ concerns is that they don’t have a website and don’t know how to sell the products online. That’s why I recommend the above free social tools which have already held these built-in search engine optimization capabilities.
Brianne Keating Forst
Director of E-commerce
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