Westwood, New Jersey (PRWEB) August 29, 2014 - Marketing and sales consultant, Matt Maginley says, "after 20 years in media sales and marketing, you develop a gut for these things. Back-to-school used to mean shoes, clothes, notebooks and pencils. Now, families are used to having the latest electronics, and are using them to shop on-line for everything for everyone. People are buying everything using and including, smartphones, tablets and laptops, to get everything from home furnishings to apparel at stores such as JC Penney, Sears, Target, Walmart. Small and medium local businesses who don't take steps to get on board now, will be scrambling come October."
The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced on August 15th that the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2014, adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes, was $75.0 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent (±1.2%) from the first quarter of 2014. Total retail sales for the second quarter of 2014 were estimated at $1,174.1 billion, an increase of 2.3 percent (±0.4%) from the first quarter of 2014. The second quarter 2014 e-commerce estimate increased 15.7 percent (±2.8%) from the second quarter of 2013 while total retail sales increased 4.4 percent (±0.5 %) in the same period. E-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2014 accounted for 6.4 percent of total sales.
On a not adjusted basis, the estimate of U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2014 totaled $70.1 billion, an increase of 4.8 percent (±1.2%) from the first quarter of 2014. The second quarter 2014 e-commerce estimate increased 15.9 percent (±2.8%) from the second quarter of 2013 while total retail sales increased 4.8 percent (±0.5%) in the same period. E-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2014 accounted for 5.9 percent of total sales. Source: U.S. Census Bureau CB-14-12
“Business owners who use this Labor Day weekend as a bench-mark for outcomes for the remaining 4th Quarter 2014 holidays will have an advantage going into the main part of the selling season. Although this marks the end of summer vacation and time for back-to-school, from a marketing standpoint, it marks the beginning of a rolling selling period. Many businesses will do between 50% and 75% of their annual sales between now and Christmas. Business will also pick up a sales boost on Halloween, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday and Cyber Tuesday. Understanding buyer behaviors now can help improve sales later in the year.” says Matthew Maginley , President of Managed Media Services and Marketing.
He says there are four things that will impact local business marketing that owners can address between now and the end of the year.
Customer Email
Get emails into a list to do email marketing. EXTRA VALUE: Get cell phone numbers to be able to text about coupons, special deals sales events, and schedule changes. Be connected.
Website
Mobile makes up 60% of web traffic which is primarily used for searching and ordering of products. EXTRA VALUE: If you haven’t heard, Flash does not show up on mobile devices. Use sliders and video. Get a responsive design and consider a mobile app for your business.
E Commerce
Online ordering is now the standard and .pdf menus, and product lists are not mobile friendly. EXTRA VALUE: Consider selling via Amazon, Etsy, and Zaxaa and other selling platforms if you don’t have time to overhaul your website.
Events
Planning and participation in open houses, parties, and holiday festivals takes time and money. Book gourmet catering early. Review the impact of last year’s events and make adjustments early EXTRA VALUE: Consider doing something of value for the customer rather than just a selling opportunity.
Communicate online as much as possible using video and connecting with social media for referrals and online reviews. Offer as many “done-for-your” services. Things such as delivery, gift wrapping, and free-shipping which were once special are now the standard.
Business categories that will need “done-for-you” business solutions to help maximize holiday sales including: web hosting, desktop optimized web site design, mobile site design, mobile apps, logo design, Facebook management including Facebook ads, Fan page, Timeline and Fan gate design, email marketing are as follows:
Restaurants, Hotels, Bars, Lodging, Catering, Arts and Entertainment, Pet Services, Spas, Beauty Care, Personal care. Tours, Sightseeing. Local Business Organizations, Chambers of Commerce, dentists, Plumbers, used Car Dealers, Smoke shops, Novelty shops, Florists, Tea Houses and Coffee Houses.
Businesses should also look to specialized mobile site development for the high demand, emergency repair types of service as the wet season approaches. Providers such as: car repair, chiropractors, dentists, attorneys, locksmiths, pest control professionals, plumbers, and roofers.
“We are interested in communicating with freelance consultants and entrepreneurs that are interested helping as many businesses as possible this holiday season, by managing a portfolio of at least four (4) local businesses. We provide training, coaching and support through vendor agreements with three programs that are under the auspices of Global Virtual Opportunities (GVO)."
"Our entry level group is called Pure Leverage with provides a sales and marketing platform for consultants and entrepreneurs who are interested in building a team, and who want to provide marketing services to local businesses."
"The next level is Host Then Profit which provides a comprehensive marketing agency that a consultant can scale if they are able to run only four (4) domains for separate businesses. The suite includes email, lead generation, video hosting and web conferencing."
"The final level, GVO Reseller Web Hosting, provides dedicated servers, reseller services, and unlimited domains. The suite of hosting, email, video hosting and web conferencing is competitive with companies such as GoDaddy, HostGator, iContact, Constant Contact, and Webex and GoTo Meeting."
“What makes our company unique is that we have a group of dedicated mentors, teachers and coaches who have all come out of the private sector with the need to learn new skills such as coding, website and app development. Many are college educated with graduate degrees and most have some kind of background in sales and marketing and now run their own businesses,” concludes Matthew Maginley, President of Managed Media Services and Marketing.
Managed Media Services and Marketing is a private consulting firm owned by Matthew Maginley. They provide comprehensive business marketing solutions to small and medium sized businesses.