Marketing

  Hi all, Well what can I say?  As a new ecommerce small business owner I have mixed feelings about the state of the world, business wise.  On one hand I am grateful for not being a brick and mortar with very low overhead.  Yet on the other hand I am definitely at a stand still and feeling the crunch of all my events being cancelled this year!  I received  the very sad news a few days ago that the LA County Fair this September is officially canceled.  I was personally emailed by the event director, who owns one of my sports bras.  She sent me a very heartfelt email explaining how it is one of the saddest times in her 20 plus years there.  I was happy to read that she invites us back for next year and that our product is her go-to sports bra!    

     Having gotten that off my chest here is some good news or what will hopefully help promote our product and get the word out.  We hired videographers, a couple team recommended to us by our sports photographer.  Their business name is Couple Of Wanderers and they are simply adorable.  We are doing small video clips and some still shots.  This will really help us with content for our social media marketing!  One of my intentions is to use the video for a Kickstarter campaign to help generate revenue for a new sports bra design, wouldn’t that be lovely.  We also signed up with a PR Marketing Company ChecExecs.  The deal I could not pass up, because believe me I was not in the mind frame to spend what we are barely making, was a one time fee for a t.v. segment and one month of their marketing service.  Prior to this we had yet to pay for professional marketing, due to expense and the unknown of its success. Most companies also make you pay for at least 3 months worth.  I love how they tell you a price monthly but then at the end state must invest in 3 months.  Part of me understands that it takes longer than a month to get results but for small startups like me I just can’t do that much investment for “well lets hope we get our ROI” So we are only doing a month with ChicExces and if Vai goes viral well of course we will continue with their services. I am super excited to see the results of this investment and will definitely report back here to ya all!  

      Fundera(is an online loan broker focussed on small business) made some small business statistics for marketing I found quite interesting. By Maddie Shepherd updated Dec. 31 2019.  Here are the top 10. 

1. 41% of local businesses depend on social media to drive revenue. This is totally us! 
2. 74% of consumers rely on social media to guide purchasing decisions.  This helps back up number 1, and why we depend on SM marketing 
3. 96% of small businesses say they use social media in their marketing strategy. Not a surprise but you have to be savvy with social media and how it works.
4. 81% of shoppers research online before purchasing. I have started to do this more lately but my husband has been researching online fist for years
5. 60% of consumers begin their product research with a search engine before heading to a particular website. And this is why I need to figure out how to get Vai on top of the url search! 
6. 75% of local-intent mobile searches result in offline store visits within 24 hours. Wow did not know, so good news for stores.  I still love going into a store and buying vs buying online.  That is why I hope to do as many events in the future as I can, I want our customers to be able to try on the bra and get the history of how it came to be. 
7. 11% of small businesses that don’t have a website don’t see value in it.  And that is why that percentage is low because it is so beneficial to have and be able to sell online. 
8. 92% of business owners believe that having a website is the most effective digital marketing strategy. Most definitely which is why I blog for our website. 
9. Customers who engage with a business on social media spend up to 40% more with them in the long term. And that is why SM is where it is at, we do IG, FB, Pintrist, and LI.  
10. 41% of brick-and-mortar buyers read reviews before making a purchase.  

Some fun statistical reading, but this isn’t fun and games. This is my company’s future and it is so unknown.  I have to remember to stay positive and give it to God when I get so stressed out about failing that I make myself physically sick. Good luck and positive thoughts to all the entrepreneurs and small start ups out there in the same position I am in! 

Thanks For Reading 

Heidi Parker