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Problem:

Betty set up a deal with a local Groupon-type website to promote her nail salon. The “50% off pretty mani and pedi” coupon is a BIG hit: over 200 purchases and it’s not even noon! Instead of celebrating her success, Betty feels butterflies in her stomach. “How will I manage all these new appointments without a receptionist to answer the phone?” Oh no!

How to beat Deal of the Day anxiety?

Solution:

Book an Appointment online with Agendize

So you sold many coupons. Now it’s time to impress your new guests with a flexible online scheduling platform that is quick, easy and stress free — for you and your clients. With Agendize Book an Appointment, your customers can reserve, modify and cancel their appointments at any time of day. As an administrator, you can choose which services, employees, breaktimes and openings to offer. This tool is ideal for businesses that have a high volume or appointments and/or no receptionist to pick up the phone. Instead of wasting time and money on the phone, checking voicemails or hiring extra help, allow your customers to book with you 24/7 via your website or Facebook page.

Learn from Betty’s mistakes and plan ahead for your success. Sign up today and receive $5 of free credit.

Nancy E.

Note: This guest post was originally published on iBlogZone. 

Health matters. Even in the tech industry. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. But in this business, you want to keep all the doctors, designers, shoppers, entrepreneurs—you name it—to browse your site for longer. To keep a healthy business online, you need to find new ways to engage your visitors so they don’t click the back button and wave goodbye forever.

Once you grab their attention, you only have a few seconds to impress—less than one minute for most eCommerce websites. The solution is simple: The more unique conversion opportunities you have on your site, the greater the chance that customers will convert.

So how do you make the most out of the short time that you have in the spotlight?

A 5 minute daily website workout is all you need to keep your business strong and conversion rates growing. Here’s your workout plan for the week…no slacking!

1. Stretching: SEO

Are your keywords up to date? What keywords link to your website? Are they coherent with the information your website offers? If people are visiting your site because of these claims, make sure your content follows through. Spend a few minutes on Google Analytics reviewing which pages are least viewed. How can you improve these pages? If they are less relevant to customers, they may be stopping them from spending more time on your site.

2. Flexibility: Feedback

The conversion process begins with research. Knowing your target audience inside and out is crucial to turn your leads into loyal customers. Real-time survey tools like KISSinsights and 4Q prove that gathering feedback doesn’t have to be a long and boring process (for you or your customers). These tools invite visitors to answer short questions on a small pop-up window while they surf your website. Both tools are easy to install, manage and offer free versions.

3. Cardio: Conversion Tools

Enhancing your customer service techniques is another method to increase conversions. Click-to-Call and Live Chat bring back the personal salesperson experience that’s missing online. Offer your visitors help, advice and answer their questions first. Don’t give them the chance to search a competitor. Take a look at IfByPhone for Click-to-Call and Olark for Chat. For a tool that offers both Click-to-Call and Live Chat, you can try Agendize.

4. Balance: Backlinks

According to Building Backlinks- 14 Easy Ways, a post on Convince & Convert blog, “Google optimization is based on the premise that the more people that link to your website, the more valuable it must be and the higher ranking it deserves in search results.” There are many social networking sites that help create legitimate backlinks to your website. Social networking sites like Google Plus, Places, LinkedIn, Digg, Foursquare, Youtube are all on the safe list.

5. Cool Down Period: Photo Gallery

A photo gallery is a good way to showcase your work and keep visitors browsing longer. It also gives your potential customers an idea of what you can do for them. Using a tool like SlideShowPro.net can add a classy touch to your site in minutes.

What all these steps have in common is the benefit of increasing time spent on your site and drawing visitors back in the future. Offering your leads more opportunities to browse longer and engage with your company increases your chances of conversion. Like any fitness and health routine, it’s important to be patient and wait for the results to show. All you need is 5 minutes a day to strengthen and grow your business. Give it a shot. You won’t regret it.

Nancy E.

Source: http://www.iblogzone.com/2011/08/are-you-ready-for-a-5-minute-conversion-workout.html

Hi friends,

At Agendize, we’re always happy to lend a helping hand. We make sure that creating, installing and managing our conversion tools is always a quick and easy process for our new and returning customers.For those of you who asked for an extra guide on getting started, we’ve created the Agendize Support Library, our very own audio-visual collection of helpful screencasts and resources.

Scroll down the list of guides and select the relevant screencast based on each of our products.  Our tutorials will guide you step- by- step on creating and managing your Agendize buttons.Be sure to check out the Agendize Support Library, Forum and Blog regularly to find the answers to the questions you have been wondering about.

Feedback/Suggestions? Tell us today! We’re always excited to hear from our friends.

Have a nice day,

The Agendize Team

Earlier this week, Agendize was featured on Sarah Shaw’s blog Entreprenette. She asked over 30 online businesses and entrepreneurs to share their call to action tips. The testimonials are great!

Since I only had a few lines to share Agendize’s call to action success, I decided to make some space on our blog to go more in depth. After seeing the big appetite online for call to action advice, I’ve added a third element to our tasty Call to Action Combo, transforming it into a delicious trio.

Hungry for conversions? Try this:

1. Social Proof

According to Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, an action is considered more appropriate when we see others doing it. In online marketing, social proof keeps visitors browsing your site longer and converting through signups, clicks, shares, likes etc.

2. Freebies

Offering your new customers free credit or a trial is a great way to prove the usefulness of your product or service. Freebies are also a great incentive to promote your brand on a large scale. People love to brag about the free stuff they got online. Add a Share button beside your offer so your customers can easily share it with their social networks.

3. Conversion Tools

Ever think to link your call to action button to a real person? Adding a Live Chat or Click-to-Call button to you website can do just that. By making it easy (and free) for your customers to get in touch with your customer service team, you will reduce shopping cart abandonment, while increasing upsales and conversions.

Bon Appetite!

Nancy E.

Hi Agendize friends,

Matt met with Ashley and Leah Bodi from The Business Beware Show to answer a few questions over Skype. The two sisters were excited to learn more about Agendize and listen to Matt’s tips for small businesses and new entrepreneurs.

Watch the interview here: http://businessbewareradioshow.com/interview-agendize.html

The interview will also be aired on Biz TV in a few weeks. Stay tuned!

Nancy E.

The Business Beware Show is the edgy, non-fluff show for business owners and customers that brings you business humor, business advice and interviews with small business owners from all over and customer service education with a twist.

Remember the expression two heads are better than one? The principle is simple: people perform better and make wiser decisions by working together. In the eCommerce world, customer support is greatly value: Research shows that between 40 – 63% percent of online consumers will read a review guide or testimonial before purchasing a product or service.

Giving your online customers what they want can be challenging at times. It’s important to find new ways of gathering the necessary information to improve your business and find out what interests your leads. Creating a venue where customers and prospects can share information is also required. People want to communicate with real people online and not only a salesperson or brochure.

Comment & Rate is a quick, effective and free solution to gather, organize and share powerful feedback and user testimonials.

When running a small or medium business, you especially want to play it safe. You have less time and money to waste. By inviting your users to comment and rate your product/service, you will discover new ways to improve your business and satisfy your customers. By adding Comment & Rate buttons throughout your website and blog, you create stronger relationships with your audiences, increasing dialogue and traffic on your website. People want to know their opinions are valued. Show them you do and create a loyal following.

In less than 5 minutes, you can create, install and moderate your Comment & Rate buttons. Watch the screencast here:

Nancy E.

Did you know that business cards have existed since the 17^th century?

For decades, business cards have become an essential tool to introduce yourself and your company to leads and business connections. They’re appropriate to bring out in new conversations without being pushy and unprofessional. On the other hand, carrying and collecting cards can be inconvenient. You risk having your cards left behind or lost in a pile. Not to mention they can be pricey to design and print. As more and more networking opportunities and conversations are initiated online, business cards are changing face too. Saving content digitally is more reliable, fast and convenient.

So how can you exchange your information so it will be stored in your online visitors’ laptops, cell phones and iPads without ever meeting your leads in person?

Offer them the option to Save to Address Book—an easy and quick way to store your ‘stuff’ to their Outlook, Entourage, Lotus Notes or Palm Desktop.

What can be saved to address book?

The options are endless to what can be shared with your online visitors. Your contact information including your phone number, email and physical address is essential. People like to have options on how to contact you. While some prefer email, others are comfortable setting up a meeting or demo on the phone. Adding your website invites new clients to further explore your company too.

Since you create and manage your own button with Agendize, you can tailor your customer service experience too. Choose which content you want to offer for saving.  Test it out with Agendize Analytics and help your campaigns and company grow.

Offer your visitors more ways to get in touch with you and increase your conversions and customer return rates. Add a Save to Address Book button to your website, blog or email campaign to promotes real conversations and meetings.

Nancy E.