Akela Digital

Full service digital marketing agency

Akela Digital

Leader of the pack in digital marketing

Get your internet marketing right.

If you want to grow sales, you must get your internet marketing working for you.

Growing your business and your sales starts with marketing. And today, marketing means internet marketing.

The process of getting your ideal target prospects to pay attention to you. To engage with you. To request a quote and then to hire you.

Your customers are online. They have a problem and are looking for someone who can solve that problem and deliver the results they are looking for.

The big question is, will they find you? And, if they do, will they engage with you?

Our TONS marketing system breaks this process down into five simple steps.

Step 1 - Website that converts visitors to qualified sales leads

Your website is your modern business card and it really serves to answer questions:

Who are you?
What services do you offer?
How much does it cost to hire you?

We are a big believer in simple websites. Lots of white space. Pictures and video that tell a story and help to answer the questions, who are you and what do you do.

You have multiple options for websites. From free to expensive. As with all things, you get what you pay for. But when starting out, some of the free or low cost options work just fine. There is no need to spend thousands on a website until your business is ready to monetize that investment.

Website options:

Google My Business listing - free and can serve as an initial address on the internet.
Hosted site - A website that is hosted and managed by someone else. For example, as past of our Akela Marketing Platform, we offer a free 5-page website. ?
Professional website and blog - When you are ready to produce content that attracts organic traffic (SEO or Search Engine Optimization) a WordPress website with company email and content focused blog is the way to go.

Step 2 - Traffic

Now that you have staked out a corner of the internet for your business, you need to attract your ideal target customers. You need website traffic. Traffic always costs money. There is no such thing as free traffic. It is the basis of all marketing.

Traffic options:

Digital advertising - buying ads on the internet is the fastest way to drive traffic. There are many options for paid traffic including Facebook, Google, YouTube, Houzz, Yelp and many others.
Social media - the world is online using social media platforms. They engage with friends and they engage with the brands and service providers they like. A social media strategy meets your ideal target customers where they are and engages with them by providing education and content they want.
SEO - when marketers say SEO, they mean using a content management strategy. By setting up your website so it is easy for Google and others to find it AND by having content on your site that your ideal target customers want to consume. Done right, an SEO strategy will generate free leads from people who are on the website and looking for the very solution you provide.
Email - having a database of target customers email addresses means you can put your marketing message right into their inbox.
Print, Billboards, TV, Radio - Good old fashioned advertising. Put your message into the community. Wherever the eyeballs are is a potential place to put your marketing message. One thing to remember with traditional advertising. Don't just use a phone number. Drive them to your website.

Step 3 - Your Offer

Once you get someone to visit your website. What action do you want them to take? What's your offer?

The most important part of any website design or marketing campaign is the offer. Websites are investments. Traffic always costs money. Your offer is what converts traffic to sales leads.

What do you offer your website visitors in exchange for them taking the action you want them to take? All offers have friction. The higher the friction (the more you ask) the lower the conversion rate.

Without conversions you have no prospects. The goal is to turn visitors into prospects

Offers - from good to bad:

Best - 24/7 instant estimate - Give your visitors exactly what they want. A way to understand the product you offer and the general price or budget required. Do this and you will dramatically improve conversions AND increase the trust you develop before you even speak with the prospect. This is exactly what our Akela Lead Configurator does - check it out!
Better - Lead Magnet - Item of interest. Provide value first. Give your site visitors something that makes them a better customer. A better buyer of your services. Things like training videos, how to guides, checklists, and more.
Poor - Call me. There is a lot of friction associated with picking up the phone and calling a service provider. If you have a phone number on your website, the implied offer is call me and I'll answer your questions. If you get 1% of your site visitors to pick up the phone and call you, you are doing great. But you are losing out on the other 99%.
Worst - Contact us form - Put a form on your website and say - "give me all your information and I'll call you" is the worst possible offer. It's so easy to put on a website and everyone has one that you probably think it's a good idea. But it's not. Almost no one fills out a form and if they do, your chances of connecting with them in the future is tiny.

Step 4 - Nurture

You've got a lead. Now what?

Nurture is all about building trust and authority with your audience. They have taken the action you want them to take. Like going through your lead configurator or downloading your checklist. They are now in your database and you can communicate with them forever.

It takes at least seven touches or points of contact for someone to even know who you are. Don't assume that just because they scheduled an appointment or gave you their contact information that they are ready to buy.

Types of Nurture Campaigns:

Videos on the thank-you page - Once a visitor becomes a prospect, take them to a "thank you page" They will never be more engaged with you then at this very moment. A video where you introduce yourself and tell them what to expect going forward will engender tons of "know, like and trust"
Email and text. Whether it is an appointment or just an opt-in. Communicate with them. the first few hours and days they will be engaged with what you are saying. Aim for at least five touches within the first three days.
DRIP Campaigns - Don't stop. Have a plan to communicate with all your clients and customers at least weekly. Every week. 52 weeks per year. Now that someone know who you are, keep them engaged. Offer them discounts. Get them to leave you 5-star reviews, ask them to refer their friends, show them your amazing work product.

Step 4 - Systems

To pull this all together, you need to systematize your marketing. It can't be done well using manual tools. No more spreadsheets as mailing lists.

To systemize your marketing you need just a few key tools.

Our Akela Marketing System has all these tools you need to execute your marketing strategy including:

CRM System - Keep track of all your contacts and document all your interactions.
Landing Page - Have "offer specific" landing pages that solve a specific problem and convert efficiently.
Scheduling Calendar - Minimize friction by offering your site visitors the ability to schedule with you automatically. Don't rely on having to call someone back just to schedule the appointment.
Ad platform integration - Manage all advertising, SEO, and Social Media campaigns from one place
Email and text capabilities - Nurture leads and clients through email and text messaging
Opportunity tracking - Manage sales in one place. Integrate marketing with your other operating systems.
Workflow automation - From scheduling to email automations and so much more. You must have programmed automatons so critical steps aren't missed.
Mobile App - Never be far from your business. The system must run on a mobile app.

Free Strategy Session

Let's talk about your business specifically. Schedule a free internet marketing strategy session.

We will review your current marketing platforms and strategies. Understand your business goals and then develop a plan for you to get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future. And do so within the budget you set and at the speed you want.

Free Marketing resources to get you started

We believe in educational based marketing. That is, making sure that your site visitors learn what you do and why they should buy from you.

So we do the same thing. We produce FREE educational content we feel will help you become a better digital marketer. Or at a minimum, a better buyer of internet marketing services.