Kit: Your Virtual Marketing Assistant

Kit We help small businesses save time and money by turning everyday social engagement into a new sales opportunity.

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Kit is joining Shopify

Today I am excited to share that Kit has agreed to be acquired by Shopify. We are thrilled at the opportunity to continue to build the future of commerce as part of the Shopify team.

I couldn’t be more thrilled and proud of what our small team has accomplished together over the years, and am truly thankful to all our customers who have been on this journey with us.

Our shared commitment to help small businesses grow and succeed is what makes Kit and Shopify such a great fit. Shopify is going to drive, support, and help us build what we envision deep into the future. Together we will make commerce great 😊

On a personal level, I have been working in the SMB world since I was 7, and feel very fortunate that I get to work everyday on something I care deeply about. I am grateful for the amount of support I’ve received that allows me to do so, and I will continue to dedicate my life to this. I am ready for the next chapter and the opportunity to grow Kit at Shopify.

Our best is yet to come…

Full steam ahead,

Michael Perry, CEO

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Kit can now use other marketing apps!

Today we are incredibly excited to announce the next big thing that Kit can do for your business. Starting today, Kit can use other apps to save you time and market your store, all with a simple "Yes." Connect Kit to the apps you already use and Kit will send you texts for smart marketing tasks suggested by those apps. Respond 'Yes' and Kit will handle it for you.

Watch how easy it is:

Kit can use Bold's Product Discount app

Kit can use NewLeaf Lab's SEO Manager app

We have hand-picked our launch partner apps just for you – each of them is best-in-class. The list of apps that Kit can use is growing fast as we partner with the most popular and powerful apps in the Shopify app store:​

If you are already using any of these apps, it will just take a minute to connect so Kit can start using these apps for you. 

Visit the Kit Skills tab in your dashboard to get started.

Learn more about how it works.

This benefit is exclusively for Kit Pro users so if you're not already a Pro user make sure to upgrade now!

                Sign up for a webinar to learn more

This month we are featuring our app partners in our expert webinar series. Sign up to learn more about what these apps can do for your business and how Kit will use them. March 17, 4pm PST - Register SEO Manager: Easily optimize your website to attract more traffic from search engines.

March 30, 4pm PST - Register Kit Karts: Recover abandoned carts and increase revenue.

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Unboxing the benefits of branded, personalized packaging

The following is a guest post from Harrison Dromgoole, Content Creation at Ordoro

There's something satisfying about unboxing and unwrapping products. Whether it's a gift, or a product bought to treat yourself, unboxing a package is part of the customer experience that both engages and brands a brand into the customer's head. Much of that experience relies on product packaging.

Unboxing the appeal

Have you seen those YouTube videos of people ‘unboxing’ packages? Sure, they’re almost 100% sponsored, but people actually enjoy watching others unbox products for some odd reason. Google backs it up, claiming that unboxing videos grew in views by 57% between 2014 and 2015. Maybe it reminds customers of the magic of Christmas, or maybe it's just human nature to wonder what's in the box. Clearly there’s something to it.

Just for emphasis, here's a Google Trend search showing the growing interest:

There are a variety of theories on why unboxing is so appealing, all of which suggest an opportunity for e-retailers:  

It's a chance for interested customers to get a real look at the product before purchasing

People enjoy the excitement of unboxing, even from a viewing perspective

It adds a level of specialness to both the experience and product

The key part to unboxing is the packaging. There's something inauthentic about tearing apart your standard brown cardboard box wrapped in tape, only to trash it later. Instead, turn the customer's experience into a theater where the climax is the final, pristine product. Customer's are bound to be impressed, and they're far more likely to remember your brand as opposed to your product.

Operating out of the box  

That said, the leading factor deterring e-retailers from investing in custom packaging is the cost, in terms of both time and money. Not only are your average cardboard or USPS boxes cheaper to use, who wants to spend more time on fulfillment than necessary? There are other business operations, like marketing and customer service, that need attending to.

It's also dependent on fulfillment model. Merchants fulfilling in-house have the greatest ability to utilize custom packaging, but outsourced warehouses may be less willing to allow it. Third-party logistics are far more likely to prioritize efficiency over the TLC involved in custom, branded packaging.

Disadvantages aside, research shows custom packaging truly does have an impact on how customers perceive a product and brand. According to a study by Shorr Packaging, custom packaging tends to make a product appear and feel more valuable, regardless of what it is. Over half of the study’s nearly 500 respondents felt that way.

And those respondents are right; the product is more valuable with custom packaging - or at least more costly. Merchants that offer custom packaging have no choice but to bundle the added costs into the product's price point less they want to shrink margins drastically. But don’t worry, a higher price is completely justified. Customers are buying more than just the product. They’re also paying for an experience like the ones so many viewers watch on YouTube.

Plus, the customer made their purchase from you because they wanted your product, and that's all they really expect. Adding some impressive packaging both exceeds their expectations and provides an opportunity for them to engage with your brand.

Boxing up the brand

Like many things in life, it helps to leave it up to the experts. Plenty of services exist to help e-retailers customize packaging at a scalable price. Here's a list of some businesses that specialize in such services:

Pakible

Packlane

Brand in Color

SoOPAK

Packlane's customizing interface

Although packaging materials can be personalized to fit your brand, it's important to also bring that p-word to the purchaser too. Throw in a note to the customer thanking them for their business. Or turn the note into another version of an about us page - something that walks the customer through your brand, hammering it into their brain even further than the packaging.

Wrapping up

By no means is custom packaging for all merchants. There is no reason to rock the boat and the bottom line if business is booming and customers are already fans of the brand. But for e-retailers hoping to build a powerful brand that’s distinguishable from competitors and massive marketplaces, it is a powerful weapon.

All merchants strive for customer engagement, and the customer's experience unboxing a product, although sometimes overlooked, is a prime opportunity for it. It may not be tweeting, liking or favoriting on social media, but it's a moment when your business' brand engages with the customer in a meaningful way.

Regardless of how often we're told not to judge a book by its cover, we still do it. It's just natural. And the same goes for your products. First impressions are crucial, and when customers see some quality, unique packaging, they're likely to judge your product and brand by its cover too.

Image: Stephen Depolo, Flickr

Harrison Dromgoole is the Content Creator at Ordoro, a shipping and inventory management tool. Ordoro tackles the unsexy but essential function of supply chain and order management, allowing merchants to streamline their back-office processes across all their sales channels so they can focus on growing their business.

[kitcrmblog]

Manage and Switch Between Instagram Accounts

The days of logging in and out of your business accounts are in the past! 

With Instagram’s latest update, they have finally added one of the most requested features of all time. You can now easily manage multiple accounts and switch accounts with just a few taps. 

This is a great feature for small business owners, as it allows you to manage business accounts while easily keeping up your quota of pets and selfies over on your personal account.

Make sure your app is up to date (version 7.15 on iOS and Android)

Go to your profile and tap the settings icon in the top right

Scroll down and tap Add Account

Enter the username and password of the account you’d like to add Note that you can add up to 5 accounts

To switch between the accounts you’ve added: tap your username at the top of your profile, or hold down on your profile picture in the bottom right corner of the navigation.

As for push notifications, they will work for all accounts that have them enabled, according to Instagram.

This update will save tons of time and make sure that none of your accounts start collecting dust. Awesome!

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How to get your first e-commerce customers: What Beeketing has learned from 17,000+ online stores owners

Editor's note: this article is a guest blog by Daisy Nguyen of Beeketing on what they have learned in helping e-commerce businesses grow.

I have been following Facebook groups for e-commerce store owners, both experts and newbies, and am accustomed to SOS questions from those just starting out about why only a few people visit their site in the first 90 days or how to get their first customers and have them keep coming back.

In the e-commerce world, many people give up within the first few months of trying to make a fortune, but those who succeed will persist, optimizing the whole conversion funnel step by step.  However, the starting point is the same: all e-commerce beginners have to face the very first basic obstacle: how do you get that first customer for your store?.

We struggled at first trying to get our very first customers. By now, we have grown our customer database to 17,000+ in just 15 months, giving us chances to talk with owners of so many types of e-commerce websites and helping them grow their businesses. What we’ve drawn out is straightforward: that the same first steps in getting your first customer can be generally applied to all types of e-commerce websites.

“Dating” with your target customers before trying to sell things to them.

Trying to sell products to people, from the viewpoint of romantics, is like making a proposal to a girl. How could you succeed without dating the girl first? The secret to success in both dating and doing business is to understand your partner / customer.

Most people start their business as they have some products they THINK people will like, without making attempts to learn people’s tastes and preferences first. My very first piece of advice for you before launching a business is to learn people’s need and behaviors. Here are some bullet points you can start with:

What are the demographics of your target customer group? (Eg: age, occupation, location, marital status…)

What are their common needs or pains in life?

What are their shopping habits? (where to go, what time, what types of products…)

What is their monthly or annual budget for shopping?

Are they technology-savvy?

What goals do they have in life?

Where do they regularly meet, offline and online?

The purpose of this whole learning process is to actually understand your customers, know their needs and thus figure out the right solutions for them (your products or services). If you start with just your products, there is a possibility that nobody will need them. But if you start with your customers, you’ll surely have a group of people who will need your products. Those will be the ones you target when launching your business and finding your first buyers.

Start making friends with customers on social media

Social networks are the world. People post and tweet about their daily life, make friends, chat, work, entertain, connect and shop on social networks. If you overlook these channels, you’re missing out on a goldmine. According to Shopify, 37 million visits via social media have converted into 529,000 ecommerce orders. With an average order value of $50, this is equal to nearly 27 million dollars.

If you’re confused where to start approaching your first customers, social media is the ideal place begin. If you already have a good understanding of your target customer groups, one great way to find them on social media is to use the hashtag #. For example, if you are looking for people who are interested in fitness and bodybuilding you can search for #fitness, #fitgirl. #fitnessaddict, #fitnessmodel etc. to find people in these community.

While Facebook and Twitter are popular platforms, niche platforms have arisen in the forms of Instagram or Pinterest. These latter sites are much more focused on product and the monetization thereof.

The power of referral and word of mouth

Referral and Word-of-Mouth marketing are effective tools to multiply your leads in a short time. Chances are that your target customers are active members of communities of people who have similar needs and interests.

You can run referral programs, such as giving people rewards or incentives to invite their friends to use your products or services.

Dropbox’s referral program to give people more space if they invite their friends who convert to Dropbox users is an excellent example of a successful referral marketing campaign.

Social media is also a rich source of referral and word-of-mouth leads. One example of simple but super-popular referral campaigns usually run on social media is to ask people tag, like, comment and share their experiences with the company to get discount, free gift or free shipping.

(One online store owner used to reach 25% in conversion rate and 10K dollars in revenue a month by running this simple social word-of-mouth marketing with the Checkout Boost app)

Offer a discount code for grand opening to get more customers.

You’re lucky if you have hundreds of visits in the first weeks of opening your online store. But if they don’t buy, you don’t actually have customers. Thus, giving people a discount always works in converting visitors into paying customers.

This is an example of using the Better Coupon Box app to grant discount code to first visitors who follow social profiles of store or submit their email for newsletter subscriptions. This method not only encourages customers to purchase but also grows the number of social fans for companies.

Conclusion

Doing business is never easy in the competitive global market. People have so many choices at hand in such a saturated market. However, among thousands of ecommerce merchants, there are quite a few who succeed and have a group of loyal customers because they take the process step by step and persist in making it work.

I have mentioned just a few among a long list of methods that you can try to find your customers. Get our e-book “40+ Ways To Find Your First Customers” - where we include all tips and tricks we have learnt from our 17,000+ e-commerce customers.

About the author:

Daisy Ng - Sales & Marketing Specialist @Beeketing - a marketing automation platform for online sellers. She is also a marketing guru in e-commerce industry and dedicated to quality content. She believes customer happiness and great content are the two keys to unlock the ultimate success of a business.

[kitcrmblog]

Understanding what makes your customer who they are is of vital importance to every single part of both launching your company and your ongoing brand development.

Check out our recent guest blog post for our friends over at Shippo where we help your e-commerce business better understand who your customer actually is.

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This week our Kit Spotlight showcases Nicole: builder, designer, creator and owner of Ciseal. Ciseal is bent plywood furniture and home goods for designed for bold modern curators. Nicole has been using Kit's simple and quick SMS features to quickly post to her Facebook page on the fly.

We had her answer a couple questions for us about her e-commerce business, inspirations and being a small business owner.

To kick us off why don't you give us a rundown of Ciseal, who you are, and your impetus for creating Ciseal.

I’m Nicole, and I bend plywood by hand into furniture and home goods in my tiny studio just outside of Detroit, Michigan. Born and raised in Detroit, I was initially drawn to the field of engineering. Through my job at the GM Technical Center in Warren, MI, I was introduced to the simple, understated beauty of mid century modern architecture and design. That influence (and a deep desire to get out of engineering) led me to enroll at the College for Creative Studies to study Product Design. There, I took a furniture class that focused on bent plywood, and I was hooked. I loved the process of designing and hand making durable, functional products from what was previously flimsy, bendy wood. After graduating from CCS, I started making bent plywood things in my spare time. It eventually grew from a fun hobby making dust in my parents cluttered basement to a legitimate business with happy paying customers.

What is an important lesson you can pass on to other e-commerce vendors that you have learned while building Ciseal?

For a little while I hoped that just building a web site and selling stellar items meant that people would find my company and trust enough to buy my products. But I quickly realized that I can’t hope that my friends and family would share my products and eventually get my brand to go viral for me. If you want to make sales and create sustainable growth you have to reach out to people you don’t know - a lot. Whether it’s bloggers, store owners, influential Instagrammers or magazines - you have to be confident and friendly to get your products in front of these influencers' eyes. Know that not all of them will like your products or even take the time to respond, but that’s not a knock against you or your work. It’s just a part of the job of getting the word out about your business.

Ciseal is unique both in location and offering, how has living near Detroit contributed to your aesthetic?

Detroit’s always had a rich design and manufacturing history, and that definitely influences my products’ designs. So many mid century modern icons honed their design sense in the Detroit area, and the architecture, cars, green spaces, and furniture that they created are still inspiring designers in Detroit today. There’s also a camaraderie and a commitment to this city that you don’t always see in other places. No one’s entitled to anything here - you have to make your dreams happen. Along the way you’ll get help and support, but only after you’ve demonstrated your commitment. Detroit values entrepreneurs and creativity, and the community loves it when people with ideas have the guts to try something new.

How has social media played a part in Ciseal's success?

If I’m being honest, I’m still playing around with social media and how to use it effectively. Up until now I’ve been pretty nonchalant about my posts, but since I started to use Kit it’s been a lot easier to post more regularly and relevantly. Before Kit I would get stuck on what to share or how to say it because my shy nature is still getting used to the idea that people really do care about what I do and how I do it. Kit absolutely makes it easier and has helped me to post more confidently.

Are there any other designers out there that really inspire you?

I adore the designers of the mid century era - many of whom studied at nearby Cranbrook like Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Harry Bertoia, and Charles & Ray Eames. As far as what’s happening today, I love seeing what Jory Brigham, David Trubridge, Uhuru, Isaac Krady, Ali Sandifer, and David Okum are creating next.

A final word for our readers?

I know it’s cliche, but nothing can substitute for a solid work ethic. If you’re not bringing your dreams into reality every day, then no one else will. Do what needs to be done to move forward. And when you get stuck, rely on curiosity and you’ll find the next step.

Happy to have you and Ciseal on board with Kit, Nicole! Thanks for joining us!

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Whenever a new member signs up for Kit we like to have an initial call to learn more about their business, their goals and some of the areas they would like to improve. After hundreds of these calls I started to notice a troubling pattern — businesses were dropping off Facebook. Owners were more interested in some of the newer ‘sexier’ social channels, many of them having abandoned Facebook all together. Now don’t get me wrong, I fully understand the reason people are drawn to the proverbial shinny new object. Networks like Instagram have become full fledged sales machines for businesses who understand how to use them and hey, if you are one of those businesses then kudos to you. The reality is, despite what people may currently believe or the results that you may feel you aren’t getting, dropping off Facebook is a bad idea and could do more harm than good in the long run. Here are a couple reasons why.

VALIDATION

One of the big reasons businesses first flocked to Facebook was the fact it gave them the opportunity to connect with customers, specifically the ‘younger more tech savvy’ generation. In recent years there has been this shift in perception that Facebook has been abandon by young folks and inhabited by older generations. Part of this is true. Older generations have adopted Facebook, but the younger crowds have NOT abandoned it. If anything, they are the ones still ‘Liking’ Pages and following brands (i.e. the people you probably care about most). Behaviorally, people are not just using Facebook in the traditional sense. For many, Facebook is their first taste of what your business is all about and can have a huge effect on their emotional decision to shop with you.

Imagine two companies that sell identical products. One has a totally dead page on Facebook, the other is highly active — posting interesting content and engaging with their fans. Upon first glance, which would you be more drawn to?

Now a days, people judge businesses (rightfully or wrongly) by their Facebook Pages. We live in a society where first impressions make or break a buying decision. The last thing you want is for a potential new customer to think less of your business, or even worse, that your business is dead because they happened to search you on Facebook and found what looked to be a dead page.

MESSENGER

Social networks are all about communication and Facebook Business Pages are no different. To many people, Facebook has become their primary tool for communication with friends, family and businesses. Outside the traditional realm of posts and comments, Facebook Messenger has grown drastically and is now a hugely powerful (and might I add, super quick) way for you to communicate with customers who don’t have the time to go to your website, hammer out an email or pick up the phone and call. At Kit, we receive anywhere from 5–10 Facebook messages from new potential customers every day. As a business owner you want life to be as easy on your customers as possible. Facebook is just another way for them to get in touch with you, and frankly, Messenger is going to continue to grow as people’s number one form of communication.

ADS

Facebook Ads are an incredible tool for you to grow your business. Think about this for a second, there are over 1.32 BILLION people on Facebook. Now, not all of them are the ‘right customer’ for you, but I guarantee you there are a few in there. Facebook Ads get a bad-rap because business owners either aren’t interested in paying Facebook a penny or they’ve tried them in the past and had a bad experience. The reality is, Facebook Ads are cheaper than the majority of other ads out there and if done right, can be a huge goldmine. If there is one downfall to Facebook Ads, it’s that the process to build them is confusing. At Kit, we built technology that makes the Ad Buying process as easy as sending a text message to a friend. When done correctly, you can literally pin point people who fit the profile of your ‘ideal customer,’ target them, and drive them directly to your website to buy your products. You don’t need a big budget either. On average, Kit members are spending as little as $10 and generate results.

At the end of the day, the places business owners invest their time and money is up to them. Facebook, while no longer 100% free, is still a tremendously powerful and a massively important place for your business to represent itself in the best possible light. Sure, there are some really frustrating aspects, but nothing in life is perfect. If you are one of those businesses worried that Facebook ‘isn’t cool’ anymore the do me a favor, walk down the street to a cafe or restaurant and I’ll guarantee you that close to 98% of the people you see on that walk have Facebook and use it regularly. That’s something I can honestly tell you Instagram and Twitter can’t boast.

Best,

Aram

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This week our Kit Spotlight shines on Danielle Pettifor, creator of HandBand Pro. HandBand Pro handbands are comfortable, durable, simple to wear, and they protect your hands from blisters and rips while offering an amazing grip during your workouts. Danielle has been working with Kit for quite a few months now and has realized enormous success and growth via her paid Facebook advertising efforts.

We asked her a few questions about business, life and her role as a small business owner so she could pass on all she has learned so far.

First things first! Tell us a bit about yourself, HandBand Pro, and what inspired you to go out and build HandBand Pro.

I haven’t always worked out. I spent the first 42 years of my life avoiding any form of exercise and enjoying food. I found myself 25 lbs. overweight and feeling very lethargic. I realized that at my age things would never get better on their own, so something clicked and I started eating right and working out at home in my garage. I was inspired by Crossfit, and so for 3 years I blistered and ripped up my hands doing countless pull ups, toe to bar, and other high-rep exercises. I tried every glove, grip, pad, chalk and tape known to man, but nothing worked. Most actually made the problem worse. Something in the back of my mind kept urging me to create something that worked, but it wasn’t until I prayed about it and asked God for help that the inspiration came.

I’m a recovered home business junkie. I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and over the last 20 years, I’ve joined just about every direct sales company that was presented to me. (I loved the sign-up kits!) They were products I loved and used, so I determined to build a business with each of them at one time or another. I failed at all of them. It’s awesome to realize, however, that each of those failures taught me something valuable that I’m now using with HandBand Pro®.

What is an important lesson you can pass on to other e-commerce vendors that you learned in building HandBand Pro?

As a small business owner, I found myself wearing ALL the hats and working 16 hour days! I needed help, but I wasn’t ready to officially hire anyone. When I explored the app store in Shopify, I felt like I had discovered a hidden treasure. I currently have about twelve apps helping me with different aspects of my business – from invoicing and shipping to marketing, remarketing and abandoned cart protection. The apps have streamlined my business, saved me loads of time, and have helped increase my sales. I feel like I’ve got a small team on my side! I highly recommend exploring the apps available to you, and don’t be afraid to use the free trials to see what works.

What is your favorite part of Kit?

With Kit, I feel like I have a personal marketing assistant. Kit’s dashboard is simple, and the app is easy to use, but what Kit does behind the scenes is incredible, really. I guess I’d have to say that my favorite part of Kit is the simplicity. There has been a 57% increase in site traffic and conversions because of what it does behind the scenes with my ads and with posts to Facebook and Twitter, so I’m talking about simplicity on the user’s end. Kit works magic.

How has advertising on Facebook played a part in HandBand Pro’s success?

Facebook ads have been instrumental in HandBand Pro®’s success, and though I’m not a techy, I consider myself very fortunate to be able to use and find success with this social platform. I got lucky initially with some of the ads I created, and then by seeing what worked, I continued to formulate similar ads. Then I happened upon Kit. I installed it and began to run 22 Kit test ads alongside and identical to my own. The results were incredible. With Kit’s Facebook advertising, the ads received an average of a 1600% [ed: you read that right] increase in reach, clicks, and actions over mine for the same cost.

Are there any other entrepreneurs out there that really inspire you?

Anyone who loves what they do and they do it for the benefit of others inspires me, but the late Jim Rohn is truly one of my inspirations, and his words continue to encourage.

One parting thought for our readers?

HandBand Pro® handbands were created out of a need in the fitness industry for a better grip and hand protection. They really work, and I am so happy to help athletes increase their performance, but I believed there was a reason God inspired me to create these beyond what I initially thought. Then we started receiving unexpected positive feedback from many people who rely on wheelchairs for mobility, saying that they prefer HandBand Pro® handbands over their gloves for their wheelchairs because they are easy to put on and off, they don't cover their whole hand, they protect their hands and help with grip, and they love how they look. Talk about inspiration, though! To see these ‘disabled’ people skydiving, playing rugby, sailing, surfing, and competing as adaptive athletes in Crossfit - it puts life in perspective. And it’s then when you realize that it’s never been about you. It’s what you can do for others that matters.

Thanks for speaking with us Danielle and so happy HandBand Pro is part of the Kit team!

[kitcrmblog]

To wrap up a long week, the team over at Kit would like to share some recent articles put out on the topic of marketing automation, it’s current climate, and it’s future. Building an automated marketing assistant is no trivial task and is a topic everyone at Kit is very passionate about.

The future of marketing and therefore marketing automation is intriguing and will be a competitive and constantly evolving field for the foreseeable future.

According to Foundation Capital’s report on MarTech and the Decade of the CMO:

“Technology will play a crucial role in this evolution as CMOs overall spend on technology is expected to increase from $12 billion to $120 billion in the next ten years. That’s 10x in 10 years. This will create a huge opportunity for MarTech entrepreneurs to play a larger and more crucial role in every aspect of a company’s business.”

So off to the races and let’s take a look at the state of marketing automation in the press.

Kate Maddox at Advertising Age opens with an analysis of what Small Businesses want in their marketing automation software.

Nearly all (98%) of small-business software buyers are shopping for marketing-automation software for the first time, according to a new report by research firm Software Advice, a division of Gartner.

Thomas Davenport over at the Wall Street Journal writes about the introduction of digital tools and better decision making.

Successful adoption of automation requires new processes, disciplines, and approaches to data and decision-making. It clearly requires access to data—both that in internal transaction systems, and external data on customers and markets.

And he follows up with a piece on how the means to achieve existing marketing goals have changed.

Marketing is becoming increasingly automated, and before long there may be little need for lights in the marketing department. Humans will still oversee these automated efforts, but there will probably be substantially fewer of them. It’s not that the goals of marketing have changed, but the means to achieve them.

Finally, Vik Singh (@zooie), writes about the direction marketing automation is going.

According to industry expert David Raab, almost 70 percent of marketers are either unhappy or only marginally happy with their marketing automation software. According to Bluewolf’s new “State of Salesforce” study, only 7 percent are seeing good, measurable ROI from those investments. There’s a lot of fragmentation and dissatisfaction in this category despite the huge potential benefits of automating marketing.

[kitcrmblog]

Kit featured in the Huffington Post!

Last but not least, Kit takes CRM to the next level with its SMS-based service that acts as your personal marketing assistant, reminiscent of blockbuster movie Her.

The CRM market is ripe for disruption and the combination of the mobile-social revolution and the demand created by sellers of peer-to-peer marketplaces is creating a perfect storm. For a while, Salesforce would likely ignore the threat of a company providing such service much the way its predecessors ignored Salesforce. This will result in many opportunities for marketplaces and their developers to innovate and create value.

[kitcrmblog]

Multi-Product Ads: Every Retailers #BFF.

Our CEO, Michael Perry, just posted an excellent op-ed piece on Facebook's Multi-Product Ads and how they are a huge boon to e-commerce companies.

Click through to learn more about Multi-Product Ads and find out how Kit is at the forefront of implementing them for small businesses.

Do you have experience with these kind of ads or want to learn more? Email me at [email protected].

[kitcrmblog]

Rush, but rush with patience.

You’ve set a day to launch and it’s quickly approaching, but you still have all those last minute details you need to finish up. You haven’t decided on your shipping provider (we recommend Shippo) and you still need to take some better product photos. Instead of waiting the extra day you go ahead and push your site live along with all the marketing budget it entails. Know that all the scrambling you will have to do for the next week trying to get everything in order while you have orders coming in will not be worth it. Take your time when it matters.

Have Spirit, Have Soul

Why should customers shop at your store? Your presentation and the way you wrap your products speaks volumes to your customers. People, by nature, are hooked on personality. Build your brand identity up around your niche and run with it. You should be using your brand to tell customers why they should shop at your online store and you will do this best by putting your best self forward.

Visual Reinforcement

Just like we touched on in our last blog post, image and the overall visual quality of your website are extremely important and worth spending time and effort to get right. Nothing will turn potential customers away more than an e-commerce website that harkens back to the Geocities era. Building trust with your customers is key to holding on to their business and a little work on your layout and presentation goes a long way.

Find Your Next Customer

Given the number of ways you can advertise your online store and the sheer amount of information available, this can be one of the most difficult hills to climb. Between Google Adwords, Facebook ads, advertising on Twitter, Yelp, traditional print advertising and the list could go on, you have a lot of options and not all of them will work for you. Make sure you do your research first and don’t spend money until you have a solid strategy in place. Nothing will make you feel more frustrated and deliver worse results than trying to spin up an advertising initiative with no planning in place.

Clean Navigation

A follow up to the point on image quality and layout, but worth giving it’s own section: make sure your customers can get where they want to on your website. Ensuring that people can navigate to a section with information on shipping or where they can contact you will help convert likely buyers into guaranteed customers.

How have you been able to conquer these challenges? Or do you have ones impacting your business that we missed? Let me know: [email protected].

As always, come visit us at Kit!

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In this week's blog post we will, with the help of publications from around the web, illustrate the effect of images and image quality on conversion rates in e-commerce stores.

Good quality and visually appealing images are extremely important in increasing product sales and volume. When you go to the store, window shop, shop online, or scroll through your Instagram feed, your brain picks up on the images first. So photos and images of your product should be something you are investing significant resources in.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, our average attention span is now about 8 seconds long. I might have even just lost you after that last sentence.

This means you need to be better at catching eyes and attention than everyone else. In the competitive landscape of online sales this is not an easy feat.

So what are some best practices which will help you excel in grabbing attention at the product level and making sales?

Appeal Visually To Your Customers

Jessica Ann's guest post on iStock's blog gives us some excellent insight into how you can make sure your images are engaging, effective, and meaningful. Your visual content must be powerful to ensure you make the most impact and keep your customers loyal.

Image Quality and Context

TopoHQ has a great post on whether the the quality of images has an effect on conversion rate, cart abandonment and more. Answer? It certainly does. Your angle of photography, zoom, and context should all be considered when posting new products or updating existing ones.

Size Matters

So what is one simple and effective way to increase sales? Larger product images. Over at VWO they conduct a simple test which led to a 9% increase in sales. There are always simple improvements you can make to bring your numbers up, make sure to take advantage of them

As always, come visit us at Kit. and lets grow your business together.

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In order to keep our heads above water, small businesses need to stay savvy and scrappy. Tighter budgets mean whatever endeavor you undertake or whatever service you use has to have a big impact. With a neverending stream of new challenges and the competition ever-present, it is important for small businesses to be creative and always be on the lookout for new tools and opportunities that will give them the edge.

So how do you do more with less and stay competitive? I hope to provide you with some informative insights gathered from my personal experiences and learnings and conversations with our current customers.

Remember, define your own success.

Who You Are

It is important to embody the spirit of your company in everything you do. As a small business, your brand is more than just a logo, more than just the products you sell; your brand is an extension of your personality, of the sweat you put in everyday. Make sure that all the elements of your business are aligned: how you present yourself, what you share on social media, how you interact with your customers, and ultimately your product.

Consistency and Reliability

Set standards for your brand and stick to them. This includes shipping time, communication, branding, packaging and more. Since small businesses depend heavily on referrals it is important to maintain the level of service your customers have come to expect. Loyalty depends on great service, happy customers are loyal ones, loyal customers are ones who know what they are getting every time they do business with you.

Excellent Service and Excellent Products

Excellence in both products and service is key to word of mouth marketing, one of the most important lead generation tools every small business has. If your products or service don’t redefine expectations for a customer, how are you going to keep them coming back? If you are investing in paid advertising, make sure your hard earned dollars are not only bringing new customers in, but keeping them around. Great products and great service go hand in hand.

If you can, make sure to follow up with every customer, after every order. This type of excellence keeps people coming back. Remember, the experience should come first, not the revenue it generates.

Measure, and Measure Again

One of the hardest things to do well, and something that all small businesses can always improve on is measurement. No, I’m not talking about tracking shipments. I mean knowing who your customers are: who is buying what, where they are buying it from, and how often are they purchasing. Using a service like Kit can help make this process easy and painless.

Saving Time

As mentioned in our previous post, saving time where you can is key to growing and strengthening your small business.

Aim High

Being a small business means bootstrapping where you can and always thinking about unorthodox solutions to your problems. Don’t accept the bare minimum, always strive for greater success and bigger goals. Don’t give up and don’t set your sights low. No matter how you have to bootstrap or hustle, always aim high.

Have any questions/comments? Shoot me an email: [email protected]

Come say Hi! to Kit

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What is the most valuable resource you have? Time.

So where does Kit come into play? Kit is designed to minimize the time you need to spend paying attention to lead generation, advertising and sales. Take that time and put it where it is most important to you. Spend time with the family, with the kids, with your friends and with your customers. Getting to know who uses your service or who purchases your product is key to improving your relationship with your current customers and adding new ones!

Essentially, you can outsource all of your marketing needs to Kit. Kit covers three important areas you look for in a new hire.

Kit is your secretary. Kit sends personalized Thank You notes to your customers ands you on-demand business reports. Delight yourself and your customers by not wasting time adding new followers or fine-tuning the dollar amount of your ad spend.

Kit is a highly skilled expert. You don’t need to hire a social media guru or an expert social media consultant.

Kit is a specialist. You are awesome at what you do and you run the business. Writing ad copy, turning the ads on and making sure they stay running doesn’t need to be part of your day in and day out. Let us handle the heavy lifting while you keep the big picture in mind.

Stay tuned for more time saving tips from the Kit team. In the mean time, feel free to reach out to us directly at [email protected] or come visit us at Kit.

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Our CEO, Michael Perry, recently appeared on Wharton Business Radio’s Bay Area Ventures program. During the course of his hour on the program he discussed his leadership ethos, the journey that has brought him here, and the brilliance behind Kit.

Business Radio features world-renowned and distinguished professors and alumni as regular weekly hosts, plus executives, entrepreneurs, innovators and other experts as special hosts and guests. Broadcasting from Wharton’s Ivy League campus and Silicon Valley, Business Radio covers every aspect of business in an informative, entertaining and approachable manner — from the biggest headlines of the day to the nuts and bolts of how to build a business from the ground up — with some shows offered via live, call-in format.

If you would like to listen to Michael’s segment again you will need to access it through Sirius’ on-demand programming. Michael appeared on the March 16th episode of Bay Area Ventures at 8:00 PM.

Come visit us at Kit.