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September 2019 Edition

Are Your Company's Online Reviews Frightening Potential Customers?

by Dawn Varga
September 23, 2019

You have probably heard that 95% of shoppers read reviews before making a purchase. But did you know that 8 out of 10 shoppers will change their mind about a purchasing decision because of a negative review they read online?

Scary Reviews

That’s scary, especially if you’re like most companies and occasionally receive not-so-happy online comments from consumers. I’m sure you would agree that one customer lost due to a negative review is one too many!


But a negative review doesn’t have to always mean lost business. There are ways to turn a ghastly review into an opportunity. For example, responding to the review and addressing the issues right away is a great way to show potential customers that you are concerned about your customer’s experience. In fact, 78% of consumers feel that if a business responds to reviews,it shows they care, and 67% of customer who receive a response to a negative review will either update or remove their original review.

Another way is to gather more positive reviews from your customers. The comments left by satisfied customers are one of the best kinds of referrals your business can get. Not every customer will be satisfied, but hopefully the majority are happy with the products and services they received from your company. You should put an efficient and simple process in place to ask your customers for feedback. 68% of consumers left an online review for a business when asked, so the odds are in your favor.


Stay vigilant and know what is being said about your business online. Monitor your review listings and social media pages for new consumer posts. Don’t let bad comments spook your potential customers from doing business with you. And you don’t have to do it alone.  Enlist the help of OnTarget Digital Services, and let us manage your reputation, monitor your business online and respond on your behalf. Let us provide you with the tools to gather reviews and the reporting keep your abreast of what is being said about your company. 


Online reviews can seem nightmarish for a business, but if managed professionally it can be a great referral source for potential customers.

   
   

What’s a Reasonable Digital Marketing Budget?

by Manta Team

August 6, 2019


Digital marketing is a lot less expensive than the older methods of advertising that it replaced. Even so, it’s not free. In fact, some businesses spend about as much or more on online marketing as they did on cable TV ads and magazine slots 10 years ago. This is true even when you adjust for inflation. As a small business owner, you may have wondered how your digital marketing budget ranks against your competitors of equal and larger size. Are you spending too much or too little? Should you be looking at the dollar value or the percentage of revenue?

Digital Marketing

Recommended Allocation for General Marketing


The general rule of thumb is that a business should put 10% of its revenue toward its digital marketing budget. However, some companies spend more or less than this amount, depending on their size and existing connections in PR and marketing.


Their marketing style may also dictate the budget, since some companies focus on strategies that require more investment of time than money. The CMO Survey estimates that the actual amount spent is closer to 11.1% on average.


One strong contributing factor dictating how much a company spends is the type of business. Companies marketing to other businesses tend to spend more on marketing, with 16% of revenue being the norm. Meanwhile, companies marketing to consumers spend anywhere from 9.3% to 14.9% on their marketing budget. READ MORE

   
Search Marketing Ad

One-Bowl Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cake with Chocolate Ganache

by Betty Crocker Kitchens


Prep time:    20 MIN

Total time:    2 HR 20 MIN

Servings:     12

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake
Ingredients For Cake:
1 box Betty Crocker™ Super Moist™ spice cake mix
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup chopped semisweet baking chocolate
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa

For Chocolate Ganache:

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup chopped semisweet baking chocolate 


Directions:

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Generously spray 10- or 12-cup fluted tube cake pan.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, water,vegetable oil, eggs and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes.

3. Pour 1 cup of the batter into the glass measuring cup you used for measuring the water and oil. Stir in the 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate and the baking cocoa until well combined. Pour half of the pumpkin batter into pan. Spoon chocolate batter over batter in pan. Top with remaining pumpkin batter.

4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; turn upside down onto cooling rack or heatproof serving plate and remove pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Place cake on serving plate.

5. In microwavable bowl, microwave cream uncovered on High 45 seconds to 1 minute or until cream just begins to simmer. Add the 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate to the cream and stir until smooth. Cool 5 minutes.Drizzle over cake.

   
   
   

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OnTarget Digital Services, LLC

Canyon Lake,California

Phone: (951) 394-1952

Email: info@ontargetdigitalservices.com

Website: www.ontargetdigitalservices.com

 
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