Four States Small Business Blog

Jeannette Royle

Recent Posts

Why Local Marketing with Radio Works

Posted by Jeannette Royle on June 6, 2023 at 7:00 AM
In today's fast-paced digital era, businesses constantly explore various marketing channels to connect with their target audience. While the rise of social media and online advertising has been significant, a timeless medium continues to hold its ground: radio. Utilized by businesses of all sizes, radio has proven especially beneficial for smaller, more local companies. In this blog, we'll examine why radio is an effective and valuable medium for businesses aiming to connect with their local audience.

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Topics: Radio Advertising

Why Storytelling Is So Powerful in Marketing

Posted by Jeannette Royle on May 16, 2023 at 7:00 AM
In today's fast-paced digital world, businesses constantly search for ways to connect with their target audience and stand out. One powerful way to achieve this is through storytelling. Storytelling has been a fundamental part of human communication since the dawn of time. It is an incredibly effective way to convey a message, create emotional connections, and inspire action. For these reasons, it's also one of the central tenants of the marketing system we recommend here at Zimmer Marketing:   Brandsformation. In this blog, we will explore why storytelling is so important in marketing and how it can be used to help businesses succeed.
 

Storytelling Builds Relationships

Storytelling helps you to create a personal connection with your audience. By sharing stories about your brand, your team, or your customers, you can help your audience to understand who you are, what you stand for, and why they should choose you over your competitors. When you tell a story, you invite your audience to become part of your narrative, see things from your perspective, and empathize with your experiences. This can be a powerful way to build trust and credibility and create an emotional bond with your audience.

Storytelling Answers "Why?"

As humans, we understand our lives in terms of progression and presume that things happen because of the forces of cause and effect. We think in terms of narrative. As a business owner, your marketing success depends on your ability to position your brand in terms of a story. And your story must answer for your potential customers why they should buy your product or services. Vehicle manufacturers do this excellently when they show their products enabling the lives people want to live. Why would you buy this car? Because it will get you where you already know you want to go, to your next ski trip, business deal, or family wedding. The product must make sense in the story you tell.
 

Storytelling Simplifies the Complex

By telling stories, you can help to make complex ideas or products more accessible and relatable. Presenting information in a narrative format can help your audience understand and remember key points more easily. This can be especially useful if your business sells technical or complex products or services. By telling stories illustrating how your products or services have helped real people in real situations, you can help your audience see the value in what you offer.
 

Storytelling Differentiates Your Brand

Creating a compelling story that succinctly describes your business can help to differentiate your brand from your competitors. It can take a lot of work in a crowded marketplace to stand out and capture your audience's attention. By telling unique, memorable, and emotionally resonant stories, you can create a point of difference that sets your brand apart. Whether you are sharing stories about your brand's history, your team's values, or your customers' experiences, the key is to find a way to connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Start Your BrandsFormation

For small, local businesses, there is no more effective way to establish your company as a growing and recognizable local brand than to follow the BrandsFormation system. BrandsFormation has helped dozens of businesses in the Joplin area find their unique and compelling stories and tell them impactfully, staking their claim to growing market share in their industries.

Get in Touch with a Marketing Consultant
 
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Topics: BrandsFormation, Branding

Case Study: Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs Website

Posted by Jeannette Royle on April 11, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Every once in a while, it's good to cover a topic that's more tangible than it is conceptual. So, this week, we'll be doing a case study on one of our favorite websites we created in the last year:   FrenchieBulldog.org for Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs.

Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs Scenario

When we began working with Dogood Hills, they were already running a fantastic, fine-pedigree French Bulldog breeding program. What was the catch? Although they had great referrals and excellent dogs, their online presence was limited to a Facebook page. With no website, their business opportunities, visibility, and e-commerce capabilities needed to be improved.  
 

Unique Web Design and Brand Development

The Zimmer Marketing web design team started by creating an entire Dogwood Hills branding package, with logo creation, brand colors, and open-source web fonts. Afterward, we used these elements to craft a web design that emphasized the beauty of Dogwood Hill's bulldogs and the elegant motif of blooming dogwood trees.  

Transparency & Credibility

Reputation building is essential to the success of any business, and doubly so for those that care for animals. Our website design and content creation emphasized the outstanding standards of care that Dogwood Hills maintains in three areas of the website:

Veterinary Endorsement
Dogwood Hills has a fantastic relationship with Monett Veterinary Hospital, which enthusiastically wrote an endorsement for the website. The veterinary page also features comprehensive information regarding the healthcare the Frenchies at Dogwood Hills receive.

Breeding Program Information
The about page offers detailed information on the Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs breeding program, complete with an explanation of the American Kennel Club registration process that Dogwood Hills utilizes.

Frenchie Owner Testimonials
The new website by Zimmer Marketing features over a dozen long-form testimonials by verified owners of French Bulldogs from Dogwood Hills. 

Puppy Listing System

Each puppy born at Dogwood Hills can quickly be listed on the website with all relevant information, including:
  • AKC Registration
  • Height 
  • Weight
  • Price
  • Parents
Additionally, each puppy has an attached gallery of pictures and a video!
 

Stud Dog Listing System

Every Dogwood Hills prized Frenchie stud has its own featured page. Every puppy it has sired is automatically listed beneath it.

Online Payments

Finally, every modern business website needs e-commerce capabilities.   FrenchieBulldog.org  has online payment portals for credit, debit, and PayPal.
 

Project Completion

We increased Dogwood Hills French Bulldogs' online visibility through unique web design and search-engine-optimized content creation. Additionally, our innovative dog listing solution greatly increases the ease of posting puppies for sale and maintaining accurate breeding records.

Build Your Pet Breeding Business Online

When you're ready to take your pet breeder business online, we're here to help!

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Topics: Website Design, Case Studies, E-commerce, Online Sales

How Radio and Digital Marketing Work Together

Posted by Jeannette Royle on March 7, 2023 at 7:00 AM
Radio has long been a staple of successful marketing campaigns, but there are an ever-growing number of ways to reach audiences with your messaging through digital marketing. That raises the question,   How should I allocate my marketing budget between radio and new digital channels? The short answer is that traditional marketing media, such as radio, works well with digital as part of a multi-channel marketing campaign. So, it's almost always best to use a blend. Below, we'll explain how best to balance radio and digital marketing.

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Topics: Radio Advertising, Marketing Strategy, Marketing ROI, Digital Marketing, Advertising

What is Integrated Marketing?

Posted by Jeannette Royle on June 28, 2022 at 7:00 AM
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Topics: Integrated Marketing, Radio Advertising, BrandsFormation, Digital Marketing, Branding

4 Ways Local Radio is Such a Powerful Branding Tool

Posted by Jeannette Royle on March 1, 2022 at 7:00 AM
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Topics: Radio Advertising, Marketing ROI, Branding

4 Reasons Why It Matters to Have Professional Video Production

Posted by Jeannette Royle on February 15, 2022 at 7:00 AM
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Is Your Website Fast Enough? How to Improve Your SEO!

Posted by Jeannette Royle on November 30, 2021 at 7:00 AM
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Topics: Website Design

Grow Your Electrical Service Business with a New Website from Zimmer Marketing

Posted by Jeannette Royle on July 13, 2021 at 7:00 AM
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Topics: Small Business Resources, Joplin Market, Website Design

Why You Claim Your Business on Maps and Search Engines

Posted by Jeannette Royle on December 17, 2020 at 8:00 AM

In this modern age of technology and the internet, your business needs to be absolutely prolific on online maps and search engines. Ideally, when people in your area search for services or products you sell online, your business should be visible to them. But this can only happen if you have an excellent SEO strategy. If you get your SEO strategy right, you will drive massive traffic to your site, leading to more business. In this piece, we have outlined several essential reasons why you should consider claiming your business on maps and search engines.

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Topics: Digital Marketing