Improving your online business Te whakapai ake i tō pakihi ā-ipurangi

Video transcript: Benefits of using web analytics

[Audio/Visual: Upbeat music starts playing with blue introduction screen with white business.govt.nz logo. The word “presents” in smaller, thinner lettering is beneath the logo. These words disappear and are replaced with white text “Why using web analytics will help you understand your customers”.]
[Visual: The screen changes to a profile shot of the presenter, standing in an office. In the bottom right is the business.govt.nz logo which remains there until the end of the video.]
As a business owner, it’s important to understand what’s working on your website and what isn’t. Web analytics allow you to have a better understanding of who your customers are and how they’re using your website.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of someone typing on a laptop, then to an analytics software showing a pie chart, then to a woman working on a laptop in a café.]
In this video, we’ll share why analytics are important and how you might use them on your website or online store.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of the presenter in an office.]
Web analytics is the process of understanding how your customers use your website. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a web analytics software with graphs, a world map, finances and sales breakdowns.]
The analytics can show you lots of really useful information like what products or services are most popular, how customers are finding your website, how long customers are staying on your website, and where your customers come from – like search engines, social media or other websites.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of the presenter in an office. “Business goals” and “Digital presence” pops up as the presenter says them. The text disappears after a few seconds.]
It’s important to understand your business goals and digital presence. Knowing your goals will help you understand what data you can capture and why.
[Visual: the screen turns solid blue with the title “Business goal” in the centre of the screen in white text. The white business.govt.nz logo remains in the bottom right corner.]
Let’s say your business sells socks. 
[Visual: the screen changes to a solid blue screen with the title “Examples of Business goals”. Below this, bullet points appear as the presenter lists them:
•    “sell a particular product, for example white cotton socks
•    Increase the number of people visiting your website
•    Increase sign ups for your marketing email”]
Your business goal might be to sell a particular product, for example, white cotton socks, or you might want to increase the number of people visiting your website, or increase sign ups for your marketing email.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a profile shot of the presenter in an office.]
Once you know what you want to achieve with your website, it’s a great idea to check that it looks its best before setting up analytics.
[Visual: the screen turns solid blue with the title “Digital presence” in the centre of the screen. The white business.govt.nz logo remains on the bottom right corner of the screen.]
Look at your digital presence. Is it as good as it can be?
[Visual: the screen cuts to a man working on a laptop in an office.
This includes things such as having a website that customers will find easy to navigate.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a person scrolling through a website on a laptop. After a few seconds, the screen cuts back to the presenter in the office. Words appear on screen as she lists them:
•    “Products
•    About us
•    Contact us”.
All text disappears after a few seconds.]
This might include:
•    having clearly defined pages, like products, about us, and contact us
•    Whether your website can be found through a Google search, and
[Visual: the screen cuts to a Google search page, then to someone looking at a website on a smartphone.]
•    If your website displays properly on a mobile phone.
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
Once your website looks good and is aligned with your goals, it’s time to choose what tool to use to measure your web analytics.
[Visual: the screen turns solid blue with the title “Choose your web analytics tool” in the centre of the screen. The white business.govt.nz logo remains in the bottom right corner. After a few seconds, the title moves to the top of the screen and words appear as the presenter lists them:
1.    “Your website provider
2.    Google Analytics.
3.    Research other providers online”]
Find out if your website provider has it’s own version of analytics that suits your needs. Google Analytics is a free, comprehensive and popular method for tracking analytics. Google isn’t the only provider. You can find other providers online.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a person working on a laptop in a café, then to a laptop screen displaying analytics software]
Once your analytics are setup, refer back to your business goals and use the metrics from your analytics to see if your goals are being met.
[Visual: the screen cuts to two women working on a laptop in an office.]
For example, say you want to drive sales towards your most popular pair of basic cotton socks.
[Visual: the screen turns solid blue and words appear as the presenter lists them:
-    “300 people visited your website last week
-    150 clicked on basic cotton socks”.]
Using an analytics tool, you see that 300 people visited your website last week, 150 of them clicked on basic cotton socks.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a profile shot of the presenter in an office.]
After seeing this, you add these socks to your homepage. The next week, 200 people view that product and the number grows each week. By tracking which products are getting the most views and selling well, you can then feature that product more prominently on your website, which could lead to more sales.
[Visual: the screen cuts to an analytics software displaying graphs and different metrics.]
If your goal is to grow your customer base, you can look at whether your website is driving clicks to your social media accounts and your mailing list.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of the presenter in an office.]
As well as an overall increase in sales.
If instead, your goal is to see which of your products or services is most popular, you can look at pageviews. If you’re wanting to grow a loyal customer base, check new or returning visitors. This data can usually be found under ‘audience’ in your analytics tool.
There is so much more an analytics tool can do, so it’s worth giving one a go and seeing what your insights tell you about your customers. You’ll no longer have to guess what your customers are doing, and instead be able to make informed decisions. You might be amazed at what you find.
[Audio/Visual: Upbeat music plays while a blue outro screen appears with the business.govt.nz logo in the centre of the screen. This logo disappears and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment logo appears on the left-hand side and the Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa, New Zealand Government logo appears on the right-hand side.]
 
[Video ends.]

Video transcript: Benefits of using CRM systems

[Audio/Visual: Upbeat music starts playing with blue introduction screen with white business.govt.nz logo. The word “presents” in smaller, thinner lettering is beneath the logo. These words disappear and are replaced with white text “The benefits of using a customer relationship management system”.]
[Visual: The screen changes to a profile shot of the presenter, standing in an office. In the bottom right is the business.govt.nz logo which remains there until the end of the video.]
Managing your relationships with your customers and potential customers is a key part of growing your business. 
[Visual: “CRM – Customer Relationship Management System” pops up on the right of the screen and disappears after a few seconds.]
A Customer Relationship Management System - or CRM System - is a tool that can help by managing all your customer data. 
Having your customer data in one central system - instead of different spreadsheets, databases or files - makes it easier to keep it current, which is a legal requirement. But the most powerful benefits are how it can help your business be more efficient, grow your customer base and encourage loyalty. 
By keeping all your customer data in one place, like a CRM system, everyone in your business
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of a woman working on a laptop in a café.]
can have access to basic customer information, like name, address and email. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of a woman working on a laptop in the storage room of a small retail business.]
Plus, you’ll also be able to see useful information about their purchasing habits. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office. Words appear on the right side of the screen as the presenter lists them:
-    “What items they are buying
-    How often they buy
-    When they last bought
-    How much they spend with you
-    Where they bought from
-    Any correspondence about their purchase
-    Permission to send them marketing information”
This can include:
•    What items they are buying
•    How often they buy
•    When they last bought something
•    How much they spend with you
•    Where they bought from
•    Any correspondence you had with them about their purchase
•    Whether you have permission to send them marketing information
[Visual: all on screen text disappears.]
You can use this information to help you build your business strategy and your marketing. Say you’re an online pet store owner. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman petting a cat, then to a woman working on a computer, then to a group of cats eating out of food bowls.]
Based on the customer data you collect, you could spot customers who buy cat food. If you start stocking a new line of cat food, you can let these customers know about it. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
By understanding how your customers behave, you can make sure you send updates that are relevant to them. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman in a park holding a cat and looking at her phone.]
This keeps them engaged and could make them more loyal as they’ll feel like you understand what their needs and interests are.
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
With a CRM system, you can also decide how much detail you collect about your customers and if you want to sort them into even smaller groups. Using the same pet store owner example, you could also collect information on the age of your customer’s cats and any of their health needs. This would allow you to provide a relevant service. 
So, how do you get started with a CRM system? The first step is to choose a system that suits your business. 
[Visual: words pop up on screen as the presenter lists them:
-    “Ease of use
-    Technical support
-    Works well with other systems
-    Grow with your business”.]
To help you decide which system, consider how easy it is to use, what technical support is available, whether it will work well with your other business systems, and if you can still use it as your customer numbers grow. 
You should also see if it has built in marketing automation. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of a laptop with marketing automation software showing. The software shows options for automation workflow actions”.]
Marketing automation is a function that allows you to automate some of your marketing activities. One example of this is automated email marketing. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office. The title “What is marketing automation and how do I use it?” pops up with a thumbnail of the marketing automation video. The thumbnail shows the presenter in an office with the words “Email marketing, Social media scheduling, Lead generation, SMS marketing” on screen. The title and thumbnail disappear after a few seconds.]
To find out more about marketing automation, watch our ‘What is Marketing Automation and how do I use it?’ video.
You can have a separate marketing automation tool but check that it can plug into your CRM system. Typically, most CRM systems will let you do this. 
[Visual: the screen shows a computer with a CRM system on screen. The CRM system shows a workflow screen made up with the status of deals that a small business has made. The user navigates to different pages of the CRM system, showing a customer list, a financial spreadsheet, leads inbox, and a dashboard with graphs.]
Next you need to gather your data. You may be able to take information of existing customers from your other business systems and copy it across to your chosen CRM system. The system will also have tools to help you gather information from online purchases or enquiries, point-of-sale systems, web forms, social media interactions, online ads and so on. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a man working on a tablet in a dive shop, then to a woman working on a tablet in the same dive shop.]
If you have a team, it’s key to get them on board and make sure they enter information from their interactions with customers into the CRM system too.
[Visual: words pop up on screen as the presenter lists them. The words disappear after a few seconds:
-    “Only gather what you need for business purposes
-    Your responsibility to keep customer information safe
-    Can’t keep it longer than you need it
-    Don’t send overseas without checking it will be protected
-    Do not keep financial information in your CRM system”]
When collecting information, you can only gather what you need for business purposes. It’s your responsibility to keep customer information safe, and only use it if you are reasonably  sure it’s accurate and up to date. You can’t keep it longer than you need it, share it without permission or send it overseas without checking it will be protected. Do not keep financial information, like credit card details in your CRM system. Customers are entitled to see what information you hold about them. If a customer asks for any changes to the data you hold about them, be sure to make the changes.
Remember, you don’t need to gather all the data on all your customers, all at once. It can build over time. With even a little bit data in place you can start grouping customers and sending emails to these groups.  
[Visual: the screen cuts to a CRM system showing a dashboard with graphs, finances and customers.]
Your CRM system will allow you to see who is reading them and how they respond, whether it’s following a link, signing up for something or making a purchase. This can help you refine your marketing messages and strategy to keep and increase your customers.
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
When used well, a CRM system can make your business operations easier, increase your engagement with your customers and help your business grow, while saving you time and effort.
[Audio/Visual: Upbeat music plays while a blue outro screen appears with the business.govt.nz logo in the centre of the screen. This logo disappears and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment logo appears on the left-hand side and the Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa, New Zealand Government logo appears on the right-hand side.]
 
[Video ends.]

Video transcript: What is marketing automation and how do I use it?

[Audio/ Visual: Upbeat music starts playing with blue introduction screen with white business.govt.nz logo. The word “presents” in smaller, thinner lettering is beneath the logo. These words disappear and are replaced with white text “What is marketing automation and how do I use it?”.]
[Visual: The screen changes to a profile shot of the presenter, standing in an office. In the bottom right is the business.govt.nz logo which remains there until the end of the video.]
When you're a business owner or self-employed, marketing is key to getting your product or services in front of customers. Automating your marketing can free up your time so you can focus on other parts of your business. 
[Visual: “Digital tools for marketing automation” pops up on the right side of the screen and disappears after a few seconds.]
Let's talk about what digital tools are available to get you started with marketing automation.
[Visual: “Marketing automation uses technology to automate marketing activities” pops up on the right side of the screen and disappears after a few seconds.]
Marketing automation is when you use technology to automate marketing activities.   
[Visual: the types of marketing automation pop up and stay on the right side of the screen as the presenter lists them:
- “Email marketing
- Social media scheduling
- Lead generation
- SMS marketing”]
There's a range of marketing automation options - some common forms are email marketing, social media scheduling, lead generation and SMS marketing. 
[Visual: “Email marketing” stays on the screen. The other words all disappear.]
In this video we'll focus on how automation can help you with email marketing. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to two women with laptops in a home office, then to a man in a different home office.]
Email marketing is when you contact customers who have subscribed to your emailing list and send them information relevant to them, your business or other interesting topics they may care about. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a man sitting at an outdoor table with a coffee and tablet. Email marketing topics pop up on the left side of the screen as the presenter lists them:
- “Promoting products
- Offering deals
- Sharing news or tips”]
This can include promoting products, offering deals or sharing news or tips. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a profile shot of the presenter in an office.]
This builds relationships and engagement with your customers and can lead to benefits like increase in purchases, and them recommending your business to friends and families.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman sitting with a laptop in a home office.]
Sending a marketing email is one of the cheapest ways to connect with your customers and has one of the highest response rates. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman standing in her kitchen looking at a laptop, then cuts to a man and women sitting at a dining table looking at a laptop.]
That means more customers are likely to do what you’d like - such as buy a product, book a service, visit your website or follow you on social media. Email marketing is most effective when you talk to your customers directly about things they are interested in at that time - when it’s personalised, relevant and timely. Automating your email marketing helps you do this without having to manually create and send a personalised email one by one for each customer. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a profile shot of the presenter in an office.]
Before you get started on email marketing automation, it’s important to have a system that securely gathers and stores your customer information. 
[Visual: “Customer Relationship Management System” pops up on screen, followed by “CRM”. All text disappears after a few seconds.]
A Customer Relationship Management System or CRM. Having your customer data in one central system - instead of different spreadsheets, databases or files - makes it easier to keep the data current and helps you to personalise, target and time your automated marketing emails. 
[Visual: “The benefits of using a customer relationship management system” pops up on screen, along with the thumbnail of the video. The thumbnail shows the presenter in an office with the words “CRM – Customer Relationship Management System” on screen. 
This disappears from the screen after a few seconds.]
To learn more about CRM systems, watch ‘The benefits of using a customer relationship management system’.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman sitting on a couch with a laptop. “Email templates” pops up on the right side of the screen.]
Most email marketing systems have ready-to-use templates that you can easily tweak to suit your needs - so you don't have to create great looking emails from scratch. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of a laptop with the user navigating through a marketing automation software. It shows a list of templates and options for scheduling the marketing email.]
You can also set it up so that the emails can be personalised and sent out at any time or day you like. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of the presenter in an office.]
In the email marketing system, you can set up rules so the system will know which email template to send and when to send it. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman on a couch with a laptop working on her phone. Words appear on the left side of the screen as the presenter lists them:
“Welcome email
- Create an account
- Purchase for the first time
- Sign up to your mailing list”.]
For example, you could set up your system to automatically send a welcome email to new customers when they create an account with you, complete a purchase for the first time, or sign up to your mailing list. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
In the email you could do things like encourage them to follow you on social media or ask them about preferences related to your products or services - then you can send personalised marketing. Be careful not to ask for too much too soon or you could overwhelm your customers. You could spread these messages or requests over several emails to build up trust.
[Visual: the screen cuts to someone sitting at a table and working on a laptop. Words pop up on the left side of the screen as the presenter lists them:
“Automatically send:
- Birthday emails
- Recommendations
- Reminders
- Shopping cart items”.]
You can also set up your system to automatically send birthday emails, recommendations based on previous purchases, reminders about regular purchases or about items customers have left in their shopping cart.
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
You could send automatic emails to ‘touch base’ if your customer hasn’t purchased anything for a while. If you run a customer loyalty programme, you can let people know when they’ve reached a new reward level or can redeem a gift.
There is a fine line when it comes to how many emails you should send. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman sitting in her kitchen working on a laptop]
Too few and customers can forget they have joined your mailing list, or too many and they may feel bombarded causing them to unsubscribe. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
Opinions about emailing too much or too little differs from person to person - there is no ‘golden rule’. One way to keep customers subscribed is to focus on ‘what’s in it for them?’ How can you make each email valuable to the customer in some way? This doesn’t have to mean offering them something at your cost every time. 
[Visual: “handy tips or links” pops up on the right side of the screen and disappears after a few seconds.]
It could be things like handy tips or links to fun or interesting sites or events that relate to your products or services. These don’t have to be things you’ve written or organised yourself - just make sure you acknowledge your sources!
[Visual: “Only send marketing emails to subscribers” pops up on the right side of the screen.]
When sending out emails, it’s important to know you can only send marketing emails to someone who has subscribed or signed-up to receive your emails. 
[Visual: “Must remove from mailing list” pops up on the right side of the screen. All text disappears after a few seconds.]
Plus, if they unsubscribe, you must remove them from your mailing list. The good thing about automated email marketing systems is that they will usually manage this for you, taking another job off your list.
[Visual: the screen cuts to a shot of two women sitting at a table in a home office. They are looking at a laptop and taking notes.]
Businesses that use CRM systems and marketing automation tools typically perform better than those that don’t. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to a woman in an office working on a desktop computer.]
There are some great tools out there which are easy to use, well-supported with tutorials and training, and are even free for small businesses. 
[Visual: the screen cuts to the presenter in an office.]
Spend time researching what system will work best for your business, and take time to set up your automated emails properly as it will help free up your time in the long run for other tasks. As your business grows, marketing automation will also be useful in growing your marketing - with little extra effort from you.
[Audio / Visual: Upbeat music plays while a blue outro screen appears with the business.govt.nz logo in the centre of the screen. This logo disappears and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment logo appears on the left-hand side and the Te Kāwanatanga o Aotearoa, New Zealand Government logo appears on the right-hand side.]
 
[Video ends.]