Autumn Consulting

Client Success: DUECO’s Time-Saving, Web Portal

Nathan Misirian — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:36:16 +0000

We recently wrapped up a new cloud-based portal with our client DUECO, Inc. The result is a tech-savvy, user-friendly web portal that’s helping the company save time, money and creative energy.

DUECO, a final-stage manufacturer that sells and services utility equipment like bucket trucks, has a regional sales team that could not easily access key company files. So, the staff would have to call individually to get copies of key documents to support their work in the field. Calling, waiting and sending files through email was time consuming and clogged up the system.

To find a better solution, DUECO partnered with Autumn Consulting to build a new, cloud-based company portal. This web-based tool allows each sales person to log in, search or browse for the key company or sales file. Each salesperson even has their own “secure” folder where staff can share and communicate private documents for “their eyes only.” The new system is saving so much time and effort that the Human Resources department is moving key procedures, documentation and materials available for staff, managers and executives, each with their own level of security.

Louise Hermsen, Marketing Manager for DUECO, shared, “For the first time, the sales team is able to conveniently access all the tools we have created. The system is very user-friendly and easy on the eyes. As we expand the materials on the portal, the entire organization will tap into it as a key resource. Autumn Consulting turned this project around for us in 45 days so we could launch it in concurrence with a sales meeting. We appreciate that level of support.”

Autumn Consulting, a Milwaukee marketing agency, loves helping clients leverage web technology to not only improve their marketing, but also make their company more efficient. Whether you’re in Chicago, Milwaukee or around the country, we can help your company grow with cloud-based solutions, and:

•   prospect-driven social media marketing
•   search engine marketing in Milwaukee and Chicago
•   personalized email marketing

Let us help you engage your customers and qualify your prospects through marketing with clear and consistent messaging and branding. Contact us today to get started.

Apple’s New Siri Ads: Effective & Relevant

Nathan Misirian — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:40:10 +0000

Apple has a new Siri campaign and according to a recent Ad Age article, consumers are loving them. Ace Metrix, a company that measures ad-effectiveness, feels that these Siri campaign ads are actually rejuvinating the Apple brand. For those who may not know, Siri is the newest application to the Apple iPhone operating system. iPhone users interact with Siri through a natural language user interface and Siri responds by performing desired tasks and answering user’s inquiries.

When these ads first started airing, some critics thought that they were “horribly out of touch with modern consumer culture” and were a “rare mistep” for Apple. However, the massive positive response they’ve received from consumers has put those critics comments to rest.

The ads performed well in particular with younger women, a demographic that was not reacting strongly to Apple’s more feature-focused ads which aired earlier in the year. According to Ace Metrix, the two Siri ads were the most-effective ads to premiere in the week of April 20th. The ads were also the second and third most effective mobile phone commercials of 2012.

These successful ads continue to engage consumers and bring awareness to the Apple’s new style of campaigning.

Want to make your advertising or web marketing campaign engaging and effective? Autumn Consulting will work with your business to create a powerful advertising or web marketing campaign that qualifies prospects and engages current customers. Contact us today to get started!

Listening: The Key to Great Marketing and Relationships

Nathan Misirian — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:26:28 +0000

As a business owner, your passion is running your business. Yet, most owners call upon an IT company or technician to assist them with making “basic” website or web-related changes.

Unfortunately, what should be a quick and easy experience, often turns into an extended, frustrating and sometimes costly endeavor. If you’ve ever tried to update your website, change your domain name or add a new feature to your website, you’ve likely run into a tech-oriented, acronym-slanted conversation with an IT specialist who leaves you more confused. Do any of these questions ring a bell:

•   What’s your domain authorization code?
•   In what programming language is your website written?
•   What’s the FTP path password to your website?

1. Relationships Make the Difference

Our Autumn Consulting team believes that talking, listening and understanding our clients is key to our continued communication and success. Unlike other integrated marketing companies, we ‘get’ that you’re very busy and appreciate our ability to break down the facts. We strive to serve our clients with tailored service by:

•    Owning responsibility. Give us the task, we’ll get it done.
•    Interpreting the complicated details. We find out the correct answer and get it to you.
•    Saving you time. We love buying you time by getting the job right the first time.

We believe in working with our clients differently. We approach all of our clients from the standpoint of a relationship. As with any great relationship, it involves listening, understanding the other person and relating to them at their level.

2. Great Relationships: Responsive. Caring. Accountable.

Here’s an example of how we fostered a great relationship through website hosting:

A recent client needed to change the company’s website domain name. This required that he communicate with someone using language unfamiliar to him, taking an exorbitant amount for time and delaying his travel schedule. And after two days and 6 hrs of teleconferencing with no results, we worked out a creative plan that was cost-effective and quick. Unlike some IT companies, Autumn Consulting doesn’t make clients jump through hoops to get results. We make it happen. Our genuine care and focus in this situation provided the right answer to our client and we implemented the solution within one hour. When it comes to hosting your company’s website, nothing matters more than security and care. Not money. Not gimmicks. The best-quality protection we provide is a no-interruption service that a safe hosting environment offers.

So whether its website hosting, search engine marketing, social media marketing or any other topic, our philosophy remains the same. The way we engage with you is always genuine and professional. This is why we’re blessed with many long-term relationships. Contact us today to see how we can help clarify messages and get your eMarketing IT challenges solved.

Adwords Success: Birkey’s Farm Store

Nathan Misirian — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:00:24 +0000

Birkey’s Farm Store, a successful Case IH and Case Construction dealer based in Illinois, sells new and used equipment to farmers. Birkey’s has been in business for over 55 years and focuses on serving the agricultural community. While their mission is to exceed their customer’s expectations, they also pride themselves in taking the lead in their sales and marketing efforts. That’s why Birkey’s reached out to Autumn Consulting and asked for help in driving more farmers to browse their equipment listings.

Based on Autumn’s background providing web marketing strategy to Case IH and Case Construction and assisting dealers throughout North America with electronic parts catalogs, our Autumn Team worked with Birkey’s to create state-centric, Adwords campaigns. Autumn developed customized Google ads that appeared in local states. These ads highlighted used tractors, combines, and planters for sale. Autumn even promoted one of Birkey’s biggest sales of the year, Parts Days.

During our 4 month campaign, Birkey’s received over 7,000 clicks on their ads.

There was a nearly 30% increase in organic, new visitors to their website.

Birkey’s Farm Store leveraged Autumn’s marketing and advertising skills to attract new, qualified leads to their web site for used equipment. Using our prospect-focused approach, Autumn continues to support Birkey’s through the development of a new web site to further attract qualified prospects and engage customers. Be sure to check back for more information.

Want your Adwords campaign to provide qualified leads or ready to start one? Autumn Consulting will work with your business to integrate an effective Adwords campaign into your business’ web marketing strategy. Contact us today to get started!

Tempur-Pedic’s Website: Integrative and Engaging

Nathan Misirian — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:00:08 +0000

Tempur-Pedic, well known, worldwide manufacturer and distributor of mattresses, pillows and other sleep and relaxation products, is channeling one of the most successful and effective forms of marketing on their website: word of mouth.

Tempur-Pedic’s website links to their Facebook page where happy customers share their love for their new Tempur-Pedic purchase or satisfaction with previous purchases. Their Facebook page is actively maintained by posting new content and asking questions of their Facebook fans and customers two or three times a week.

In addition to customer testimonials on their Facebook page, Tempur-Pedic also displays a video on their homepage where real Tempur-Pedic mattress owners talk about their mattresses; they call this video “True Love.”

Integrative customer testimonials aren’t the only ways Tempur-Pedic makes their website exciting and engaging. They also utilize fun and informative infographics and tables that showcase the facts that set Tempur-Pedic mattresses apart from any other kind or brand.

These integrative and engaging features help make Tempur-Pedic’s web marketing strategy successful and make Tempur-Pedic “the most recommended bed in America.”

Want to make your web marketing campaign integrative and engaging? Autumn’s Consulting’s team of social media and web marketing experts can help create a web marketing campaign that’s effective and right for your business. Contact us to get started!

Case Study: How to Master Storytelling like a Marketing Pro

Nathan Misirian — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:27:22 +0000

Who doesn’t love a good story?

That’s exactly the kind of thinking the BlackBerry marketing team must have had when creating their latest web marketing ads. Just rolled out are a series of new videos that are doing all kinds of good from an emarketing perspective.

Each of these four short videos follows a day in the life of a BlackBerry user who leverages their BlackBerry capabilities for maximized business success. From global DJs to a cupcake shop owner, BlackBerry does a great job of illustrating how something as small as a cell phone can propel businesses into successful ventures, no matter what your industry.

Pictured here is Hailey Kwon, owner of Dots Cupcakes in Pasadena, CA, talking about the business advantages of owning her BlackBerry:

“I use my BlackBerry in order to connect
with my customers through social media.
While I’m baking, I’ll take a picture of a
cupcake I just baked and I’ll send it out to
all our fans. We’ve had customers come in
literally 5 minutes after they’ve gotten a
message from my BlackBerry. It’s like a
cupcake alert and literally brings thousand
s of customers to our door. I really would not
be able to run my store without the BlackBerry.”

In addition to great publicity, why else would a similar video marketing campaign work for your company? Here are a few reasons:

•   Engaging customers through storytelling
•   Promoting brand marketing and awareness
•   Providing real customer testimonials and success stories
•   Clarifying brand messages through your clients’ powerful testimonials
•   Creating an opportunity to qualify prospects through a social media marketing campaign

If your business needs a shot of creativity for ads or strategic eMarketing consulting, contact us today and let our Autumn Consulting team help tell your unique story. We are a Milwaukee web marketing agency that specializes in web marketing, social media marketing and content creation.

New Ways to Engage Customers with Google+

Nathan Misirian — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:33:24 +0000

Google+ is a fun social media marketing tool that can help promote your business and engage customers. In addition to functioning as a website to connect and network, Google+ also has video chat capabilities, called “hang-outs,” where as many as 10 people can video chat together. This month, Google released a guide to helping businesses get started on Google+. This guide contains some exciting new features for businesses that allow integration between Google+ pages and other Google marketing services.

Your business may already be using Google marketing services such as paid ads, but also having a Google+ page allows a business to integrate and display the recommendations they receive from qualified prospects. When prospects use the “+1″ feature on Google search to recommend an ad to their followers on Google+, a log of prospect recommendations can be enabled to display on a business’ Google+ page.

Google+ can now also be integrated within a Google Adwords campaign so that prospects can recommend your business on the ads themselves and those recommendations (+1′s) will display with your ad on the Google search network.

Ready to get started with Google+? Our team of social media experts can help create a web marketing strategy, including Google+, that’s effective and right for your business. Contact us today to get started!

Good Sense: How a Social Media Marketing Strategy Can Boost PR Success

Nathan Misirian — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:47:04 +0000

Everywhere you turn, people are talking about social media and how it’s here to save the day for companies, businesses and organizations across the globe.

But the truth is not having a grounded eMarketing strategy in place to guide this tool is like buying a Lamborghini and never putting gas in the tank. A fantastic outer shell can’t mask an empty or incomplete inside. Begin by considering the benefits that a social media strategy can have on boosting PR:

• Using social media means creating more visibility for your company and brand. This helps in engaging with customers

• A social media strategy also helps you expand brand visibility. Even if it from a single user perspective, that one user can share your website link with their community, helping you better qualify prospects

• Writing for different social media mediums means condensing content down so that you can better clarify messages and connect more effectively with users

To illustrate the success that a social media marketing strategy can have on PR and sales, consider the recent success of our client, Goodwill of North Central Wisconsin.

Our team recently installed social media icons throughout their website, leading to an overnight response. Within 24 hours of posting a page link, 16 people had already shared the link with friends on Facebook. Since the average person has about 130 Facebook friends, imagine the ripple effect this can have on website traffic.

“We’ve expanded our Facebook footprint and gotten savvier in how we’ll use these tools,” says Avi Stern, Goodwill NCW’s Online Publisher. He went on to say, “With Autumn’s assistance, we launched a new format that was much more user-friendly with the use of social media and marketing.”

Even local news outlets are crediting Goodwill NCW for its “good work” on sound marketing and PR strategies.In his marketing review, columnist Dave Willems had this to say, “In the “living-your-brand-every-day” category, Bob Pedersen, Karen Laws and the rest of the brain trust at Goodwill simply get it. This fact is not just good for them, but it’s proven to be good for our communities throughout this region, too.”

Stern adds, “It’s opened up a new avenue of conversation and expanded the spectrum through which we can manage our relationships. But it’s also helped us deepen it; meaning now if we’re handing out a donation bag on your doorstep, we can add a plug for our Facebook or website page.”

If you’re looking to grow your business or organization through a social media marketing campaign, and get noticed, our Autumn Consulting team of marketing, journalism, communication, design and programming experts are ready to help you get started.

Think Pinterest Can’t Work for Your Business? Think Again.

Nathan Misirian — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 19:50:14 +0000

In a recent Autumn Consulting blog post, we discussed ways businesses can benefit from being on Pinterest. Pinterest is becoming a hugely successful web marketing tool for businesses to connect with customers, drive traffic, and increase brand awareness. However, it’s difficult for some businesses to take advantage of Pinterest’s strengths if they have a business that is less “visually stimulating” than others.

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted two less-than-visually-stimulating companies who are finding strategic and effective ways to engage customers on Pinterest. Virgin America and British Airways, both successful airlines, knew that pictures of flight equipment and planes probably wouldn’t stir up a lot of interest within the Pinterest community. (Flight equipment is far from making it onto Pinterest’s top ten areas of interest) However, both airlines now have a strong presence on Pinterest due to their strategic decision to pin, and encourage users to pin, photographs of destinations around the world where they fly.

People want to talk (pin) about their interests and seem to be more receptive to brands that pin more than just their own products. Whole Foods, for example, along with pinning their products, also pins images of health, organic lifestyles, and gardening tips.

Businesses with an effective Pinterest strategy are already starting to see results in their website traffic with users clicking on Pinterest pins that link back to their website. Pinterest, now, also can integrate with Facebook, letting users on Pinterest share their activity with their friends and family, which greatly expands the audience for a business’ marketing messages.

Ready to add Pinterest to your business’ web marketing strategy? Autumn’s Consulting’s team of social media experts can help create a web marketing strategy that’s effective and right for your business. Contact us to get started!

5 Tips for B2B Social Media Success

Nathan Misirian — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:26:56 +0000

Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. The benefits of integrating social media into your company’s marketing strategy is not only recommended, it’s essential to staying top of mind with customers and prospects.

And while social media is an excellent way to engage with your customers, our Autumn team avoids the one-fits-all modeling approach. Instead, we work hard to create tailored eMarketing solutions that meet each client’s unique needs and showcase their distinct value.

Using social media wisely helps you distinguish yourself from your competitors and establishes your brand as an expert in your field. This extension of your marketing activities can lead to business and sales success.

Still not sure if social media is right for your business? Consider this…

Here are five keys that we use to get clients on track and thriving in their social media marketing campaigns:

1. Integrating social media with SEO using tailored keywords.
2. Creating prospect and customer-focused marketing content.
3. Promoting marketing messages through the social media platform that best meets your audience’s needs.
4. Making regular marketing content updates via blogging, Twitter, Linked In, etc.
5. Writing in the voice of your customers.

Autumn Consulting is a Milwaukee web marketing agency that specializes in social media marketing. Not tuned in? Raise the bar for your PR efforts by incorporating social media marketing and get ready to experience increasing engagement with your customers.