Get a Custom Logo Design from LogoMojo

Posted August 21st, 2014 in CityMax.com News, Website Design by Brett

logomojoWe are excited to announce that CityMax has partnered with LogoMojo.

LogoMojo is passionate about developing exceptional quality logos to help small businesses develop a unique and memorable brand.

Direct, personal communication and exceptional in-house designers set LogoMojo apart from other companies. They take the time to get to know you, and you’ll get to know them too. It’s that relationship that makes for extraordinary, perfectly you results!

LogoMojo creates a logo design that is uniquely you, and offers a Free Logo Design Consultation so you can speak with an actual designer about your logo needs before you even get started.

For a special offer from Citymax on logo design by LogoMojo, simply visit the “Logo Design” page under the Marketing Tab in your website or visit this link.

Get Professional Pay Per Click Marketing Services from TitanPPC.com

Posted March 12th, 2013 in CityMax.com News, Contests, E3, Online Marketing by Emily

A lot of customers ask us what companies we think are the best for Pay Per Click advertising. As a result, we would like to officially recommend a new partner company — TitanPPC.com. Here’s a message from them about their services:

Advertise your business using PPC on Google!

We’ve partnered up with CityMax to provide you with world class Pay Per Click Services. TitanPPC.com has over 7 years of PPC experience and we are Google Certified Pay Per Click Experts. This partnership is a huge win for all CityMax customers! The best part is that TitanPPC.com really knows the needs of CityMax users. We have worked with CityMax customers in the past and know the website builder in and out.

What is PPC?

Pay Per Click allows you to get to the top of the search engines by paying for your ad to be there. Compared to SEO (search engine optimization) PPC gets you instant traffic to your website or business much faster. PPC simply means you are paying every time someone clicks your advertisement, thus: “Pay Per Click”.

Is PPC Right For You?

Every business big or small should be running PPC. If you’re a small one person operation, or a fortune 500 company, you should be running PPC. PPC is our passion and we believe that every business in the world should have the opportunity to grow like they have never imagined. No matter what your budget, we can help!

We Have a Special Deal for CityMax Customers

We know marketing budgets aren’t always big, so we are offering 2 special packages just for the needs of CityMax customers. You won’t find rates this low anywhere else online for world class pay per click services.

Please visit us at www.titanppc.com/citymax or call 1-888-325-4508.

5 Tips to Making a Successful Sales Call

Posted August 23rd, 2012 in Small Business Tips by Brett

The telephone has long been the primary source of communication in business but slowly that has changed. With Email and Social Media, communication can now spread infinitely faster and customers and clients can find out everything they need to know about you online. However, the human element of the telephone cannot be replaced. Sales Calls can still be a resourceful tool to increase sales.

Here are a few tips that can help you form a successful sales call:

1. A proper introduction can go a long way

When you call your perspective client you should always introduce yourself and your company. “Hi, my name is Bob; I’m calling from Citymax.com, the Easy Business Website Builder.” If you are cold calling your leads, you might want to keep it more general, “Hi, my name is Bob from Citymax.com, and we’re a company that enables you to build an affordable website for your company.” Your goal is to keep them on the line as long as possible, so try to find an introduction that keeps them intrigued in what you are saying.

2. State the purpose of your call

Try to phrase the purpose in the form of a question. You are more likely to get a good response when you make them answer a positive question. Once you have gotten your positive response to your question, you can begin the process of giving them the required information that they need to buy your product. Always talk about the benefits that the product provides your client, not just the product itself.

3. Qualify your prospect

The qualification process is the most important aspect of a sales call. You only have so much time in the day, so wasting time on a lead that has ultimately no interest in using your product takes away time you could be talking to someone that does. Once you have completed your introduction, you need to ask the right questions that not only qualify the client, but also put you in position to make a sale. Get to the point as quick as possible, and try to get in touch with the person in charge of buying. It’s great if you build a rapport with someone but if that isn’t the person who makes the buying decision, that relationship will be all for naught. At the end of this process, you should know exactly what you need to do to earn their business; otherwise it will be an uphill battle trying to make the sale.

4. Ask for the sale

This is the one thing that can set you apart from becoming a good salesperson. There is no shame in asking and pursuing the sale in your initial call. If the call is positive and you feel that the client has bought into what you’re selling, ask for the sale and close the deal right there and then. Here’s an example:

“Jeff, it sounds like CityMax is exactly what you are looking for as a way to grow your business and make sales online. Let’s get you signed up so we can secure your domain name and get you started right away.”

5. A new call = A new attitude

Not every call you make is going to be successful, but it is important to move on from a failed call immediately and not let it affect your next call. Tone and confidence is everything in a sales call. Every new call you make is a new opportunity, so move on quickly and don’t let past failures affect your tone of voice or demeanor on the phone.

Try a couple of the above tips into your next sales call and enjoy success!

Get Mentioned on ShoestringVenture.com

Posted July 14th, 2011 in Online Marketing by Emily
Photo courtesy of ShoestringVenture.com

Photo courtesy of ShoestringVenture.com

For small businesses interested in some free publicity, Steve Monas of ShoestringVenture.com:  The Startup Bible Blog is looking for startup businesses that were started on a shoestring budget and that have a website. You can submit your interest with a brief synopsis to query-1bwf@helpareporter.com. Submissions must be received by 7:00 PM EST on July 20th, 2011. If your story is chosen, you may also get published in a future book as a case study.

You can see examples of the kind of stories they’ve published before here. Please don’t contact him if your story has already been published before on his site. ShoestringVenture.com gets 2,000 visitors per day so it’s worthwhile to give it a try.

Have You Defined Your Target Market?

Posted May 16th, 2011 in Online Marketing, Selling Online, Small Business Tips by Mara
Image by jronaldlee

Image by jronaldlee

Do you find yourself saying any of the following statements?

“I want to sell to everybody.”

“Everybody can benefit from my product/service.”

“I want to cast a wide net – everyone should know about us.”

If so, I want to give you a high five for your enthusiasm – but I also want you to read the rest of this article so you understand why your marketing consultant looks really uncomfortable when you say any of the above.

The world would be a wonderful place if everyone was the perfect candidate for your product or service. But the truth of the matter is, we’re all different. We all have different wants, needs, tolerances, and preferences. We’re all drawn to different things and we’re all trying to solve different problems. Which is why when you try to sell to everyone, you end up wasting a lot of time, energy, and money on people that are never going to spend money on you.

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5 Tips for Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Posted February 28th, 2011 in Selling Online by Patrick

Most business owners know about word of mouth marketing. “How do I get people to talk about my product/brand/company?” is a common question we hear. Today we’ll look at five ways you can start and see some instant results in your marketing efforts.

1) Ask Your Customers the Hard Questions

These aren’t difficult questions, but sometimes the answers might be tough to hear.

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How Kenneth Cole Lost Thousands of Customers in 1 Easy Step

Posted February 3rd, 2011 in Branding, Online Marketing, Selling Online, social media by Patrick

Kenneth Cole, international shoe brand and fashion trend-setter, decided to comment on the horrific situation in Egypt this morning. In past blog posts, we’ve explored how your small business can leverage timely events to boost marketing efforts, but we didn’t mean like this:

Trendsetters, Influencers and Connectors

andrea-headshotclr_Guest post – Andrea Baxter is a senior marketing professional and a co-founder of Smart Cookies, founded in early 2007. Educating women on how to be smart with their money while living fabulously, the Smart Cookies have appeared on CNN, Oprah, MSNBC, and ABC News. They have published two best-selling books and host their own TV show.

As a businesswoman, more importantly, an entrepreneur, I have come to learn that there are 3 very important people you must surround yourself with in order to help your business grow and make it successful: trendsetters, influencers and connectors. Why? Because these are the people who are going to believe in you, believe in what you are doing and will want to help you grow your business as ferociously as you do.

Continue Reading »

Expand Your Small Business Reach with Group Discount Sites

Posted August 24th, 2010 in Selling Online by Mara

grouponDo you wake up every morning and check your inbox to see what the latest online deals are? If so, you’re like me – and I’m starting to think I have a problem.

If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, then you haven’t yet been exposed to the wonder of the Group Discount Site, such as Groupon, TeamBuy, and LivingSocial just to name a few.

These websites work by offering a city-specific, limited-time deal (typically one a day) which must be purchased by a minimum number of people to make it happen. The deals are delivered by email each day and usually offer more than 50% off a product or service, so they almost always sell enough to push the deal through.

What does this mean for your small business? To put it bluntly – a HUGE influx of customers.

Consider this – your business offer gets delivered directly to the inboxes of thousands of people who are looking for great deals. Not only that, but these deal sites encourage their subscribers to refer their friends and reward them for referrals that purchase deals. You get to capitalize on the social nature of the site to expand your reach even further.

The diversity of the types of businesses using this type of promotion is impressive. Through these sites, I’ve bought everything from diving lessons, to house cleaning, to wine making to dining out.

Bottom line – if you’re looking to grab new customers, a group discount site might be a great option for you. Just make sure that you decide how much business you can handle and set a limit on the number of deals you’ll put up for grabs. Some of these businesses are now backed up for months!

Have you promoted your business on a group discount site? Or, have you signed up for one? What kind of deals appeal to you?

Lights, Camera, Action: Why Video Needs to Be a Part of Your Small Business Marketing Plan

Posted June 30th, 2010 in Branding, Online Marketing by Patrick

handycamRecently I read that 34 billion videos were streamed in the U.S. in May. I’m not big on stats, but some quick grade school math indicated that it’s equal to every single person on the planet watching more than five videos! More than 14.6 billion of those videos were watched on YouTube, with each user watching an average of 101.2 videos in one month.

With YouTube being the second-most used search engine after Google, video is no longer a marketing luxury for businesses.

So how do you incorporate videos to work for your online business?

1. Testimonials

There is nothing more assuring than a real, objective person telling you how and why a product worked for them. Reach out to the customers that already love you and ask if they could put together a 30 second video testimonial if they find value in your product – and put that on your home page.

2. Education

You can find how-to videos these days on anything from online marketing to how to make a calzone. The plain fact is that people thirst for knowledge, and the best way to transmit that (aside from having a one-on-one instructor) is through a simple tutorial video. If you’re not comfortable in front of the camera, you may want to create a computer tutorial instead, using screen-capture video software. Some programs even have the ability to add captions.

3. Product Demos

This cheesy video demo for a remote car starter might not be your style (or budget), but it works. There’s a reason it has over 212,000 views! These are all people who were exposed to Viper’s branding, and they are all assured that the product isn’t a lemon. Sometimes a money-back guarantee isn’t enough – people want to actually see your product or service in action.

4. Entertainment

Sometimes you just want to show that your company has a human side – that you have a sense of humor. Recently on our staff retreat, our team ended up playing one of most challenging sports known to man: tether-ball. The sight of grown men (yes that’s me in the yellow) reduced to swinging away incompetently at an elusive ball is the kind of thing I can spare a minute to watch – and forward to a friend as well.

These are just a few ways you can start using videos for your business. If you haven’t already begun, get out there and start shooting! And, if you’ve already started using video for your business, let us know in the comments how that’s working for you!