By Kynan Albassit & Janty Ayoub

Are you afraid of the dark? No? Good, it’s something most people grow out of but these days, most business owners seem to be more afraid of the light. They are scared that under the harsh commercial glare of their profit and loss (P&L;) sheet, it will come to light that their business is in trouble, or heading for trouble, or… that a change needs to happen.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, change is one of the few constants in today’s world and yes, that includes the business world. Change absolutely is going to happen but understanding how your business may need to adapt in step or ahead of market forces, will determine how your business thrives in this environment. But again, at the heart of it all, is the need to know where exactly you are, which means… knowing your numbers.

Running from reality is easier to do in the dark
Have you ever seen something shocking or disturbing or gross that you simply couldn’t unsee, or perhaps heard something you wish you could unhear? It can shake you up and stay with you for quite some time. We actively try to avoid those scenarios, don’t we?

Now, what if your accountant or a business partner revealed to you that your business was losing $100k a month, or a week, or depending on the size of the entity, a day! How much worse is that than a clip on a social channel? I’m guessing you would immediately, call a meeting, call a halt to everything, call an accountant, a lawyer, something. And there might be some pretty immediate changes and hard discussions to be had. And from there, there’ll be two distinct impulses:

• Try to stop the bleeding immediately, essentially attempting to go from minus $100k/month or year or week, to plus $50K in the same time frame. That lofty goal requires more upheaval and strain on the commercial infrastructure than most businesses could bear – they’ll be at risk of breaking apart.
• Take a more measured approach and act immediately to reduce the losses by $10k-20k at a time. But to achieve that, you’ll need to know your numbers (and the number behind those numbers).

How much easier would the next days, weeks and months be if you simply didn’t know about any of those shocking financial revelations and could carry on, blissfully ignorant, through the darkness for just a little bit longer? Thousands of businesses, even as you read this sentence are doing exactly that. Are you one of them? You don’t have to answer that but let’s take a quick look at some of the reasons behind the unconscious or conscious preference to keep the lights turned off.

Here’s why some business owners prefer to bask in the darkness
Sure, trying to avoid the horrible truth is definitely a reason for staying in the dark. But there are a couple of other reasons to dig into before we get to the benefits of knowing your numbers:

• It’s all too hard. I mentioned the P&L sheet in the opening paragraph. Yes, to the uninitiated and experienced, the P&L sheet can seem complex and depending on the complexity, there can be an awful lot of numbers. My advice? Stick with it and get help if you don’t understand it – there are a lot of positive and negative indicators in there that can be a warning or… an opportunity!
• Ignorance is bliss. Perhaps for a while, but as demonstrated, ignorance can take you from a bad spot to a disastrous one in no time at all if left unattended. Still, there are those who prefer to stay in the dark, put it off and face the music another time.
• Knowing your numbers means knowing everything – including yourself. Nobody gets into business to get into debt they can’t get out of yet people still get into business without ever looking at the numbers! The mentality is similar to someone that withdraws money from an ATM but never looks at their balance, knowing deep down, that it may affect how they spend that money. Again, it may mean they have to… change: their plans, their spending habits, their expectations.

Whatever the reasons, it’s better to know – it is to your advantage and to the advantage of everyone involved in and with your business.

Okay but exactly why is it better to know your numbers – how does that help?
Put simply, you can’t afford to not know the numbers that count, such as:

• Incoming gross revenue – don’t be fooled by the big numbers though, it’s all about nett profit.
• Expenditure – how much are spending and on what… and when. The more detailed this section, the easier it is to make adjustments if you need/want to.
• Net profit – if it’s sustainability you’re looking for, you will want to keep an eye on the direction your nett profit is heading. Staying the same is a bit like going backwards when your market, the economy and the rest of the world is moving forward. “Staying ahead of the game and your competitors” means more than simply keeping up. You can speak with our experts about ways to ensure you’re not left behind.

This is not an exhaustive list but it is a good place to start.

The advantage of knowing your numbers lays in the advanced notice of the good, the bad and the ugly of your business and where it’s all heading. All crucial to thriving in this environment of change.

3 simple steps you can take immediately to improve your business
At AiiMS we pride ourselves on uncovering the heart of the problem and getting straight to the solutions. So, here are some things you should do right now:

• Wake Up – Face the music, look at your numbers, and know what they mean. You don’t need to make any changes straight away, just know your reality.
• Take ownership of your numbers, don’t palm this task off to someone else, be actively involved, learn, strategy, work with your accountant.
• Do it today, take action now, don’t wait for reality to bite, down the track.

I’m not saying, it will be easy but, having done it, you will realise that it was absolutely necessary.

A final thought. I know some of you will be saying to yourselves, “I’m not a numbers person, it’s not what I’m good at.” The answer is to enlist the services of a “numbers expert” – an accountant, a specialist in this area – that actually cares and understands your business and where you want to take it. Listen, knowing your numbers will help you make the right budgetary calls, minimise poor decisions, help you scale your business and give you some confidence around resourcing which is vital.

In other words, knowing your numbers makes your business better and that’s the truth.

Janty and Kynan are important resources within our brains trust and are on hand to help set your business up for ongoing success with the right type of guidance during these ever changing times.

By Kynan Albassit in collaboration with Microsoft Advertising

Don’t gamble with your reputation, your business or your livelihood. Calculated risks are fine but gambling, as in games of chance? No, don’t do it. Yet that’s what thousands of businesses and commercial entities around Australia are consciously and unconsciously doing every time they decide to place all their eggs in one “search” or “Ad-spend” basket.

That said, I want to urge you, as business owners and commercial decision-makers, to also think long and hard about broadening your reach across audiences that feature a higher percentage of:

• Higher-income earners
• Homeowners
• Tertiary education graduates
• White-collar workers 

In short, find decision-makers ready to make purchasing decisions.

As digital marketing experts, our reputation is built on the collective successes of our clients. One of the pivotal factors in securing, embedding and sustaining that success is understanding the advantages offered by a variety of channels and means by which your brand is amplified. By talking with us, we can help you present your business to the right audience at the right time for maximum ROI.

Back to that thought on putting all your marketing dollars in one “search” basket. Short answer – don’t do it. The slightly longer and better answer: let’s talk about the potential to power more sales through Bing and bust some myths about the network while we’re at it.

Microsoft Advertising myth-busters deliver the numbers that count!

Full disclosure: we believe deeply in the value that Microsoft Advertising brings to the marketing mix of our clients. So much so that we invest heavily, on behalf of the successful businesses we help, in Microsoft Advertising to ensure that their approach to gaining new business through new audiences is complete. And with a 17% market share among search engines, can anyone really afford not to be found on Bing/Microsoft Search?

If you’re surprised that Microsoft enjoys an almost 1 in 5 share of search, you’ll be shocked that:

• 6 out of 7 search engines are powered by Microsoft
• 25 – 54 years old is the primary age bracket of users searching on Bing (the search browser powered by Microsoft), thoroughly disproving the idea that only “old people” who struggle with tech use it. Myth Busted!
• Microsoft 10 is currently installed on over one billion devices throughout the world, with the default engine being Bing, the reach and numbers involved are absolutely worthy of every business owners’ attention, interest and investment.
• Bing is just one part of the owned and operated/syndicated Microsoft network, joined by Verizon (DuckDuckGo and Ecosia), AOL, Yahoo… the point being that Bing is not a lonely search outlier, it is a worldwide search engine powerhouse that is enjoying year on year growth. Myth busted!

To help make an informed decision about where your ad and media spend will serve your business best, glance through our guide to intelligent search to learn more about Bing.

Making an impression is fine but making a sale is even better
Simply presenting your brand, your offer, your business to a broad audience is one thing but it’s rarely enough – certainly not enough to justify your entire marketing/search budget.

If you’re truly looking to broaden your sales funnel (get more users intentionally looking at your business), you need to look at the Microsoft Audience network. There are 3 key reasons why this programmatic, native display offering that presents your ads to 11 million unique Australian users across MSN, Edge, Outlook and other third-party sites impresses us:

• You only pay for clicks. That’s right, you’re not paying money because a searcher may or may not have noticed your ad. There’s intentionality there. You are investing in an action that progresses your audience further along your sales funnel towards a purchase.
• Users are actually redirected to the advertisers’ page, not a third-party destination. This demonstrates a real understanding of sales focus – which is what you need and what we recommend for our clients.
• The “native” ads integrate seamlessly into the look and feel of the site you are visiting so that you’re not yanked from your workflow. This shows confidence in a way of presenting information that speaks to searchers instead of screaming at them.

We are also impressed by the fact that independent research has shown that potential customers on the Microsoft network are:

• 178% more likely to search for the brand they’re focused on
• 378% more likely to consider your product or service once interested
• 238% more likely to purchase your product

Make no mistake, these are the numbers that count and it makes sense given what we know about intent, income and the connection to users that are searching with a buyer’s mindset. In short, the quality of leads from the Microsoft network is measurably superior. That’s not a guess, it’s not a gut feel – these are facts that we would like to discuss with you to help grow your business.

Your business is your business – Microsoft helps keep it that way
When I sat down with Renee Stubbs (enterprise and partner director) and Paul Korber (AUNZ partner development director) from Microsoft Advertising during our recent podcast episode, we enjoyed a far-reaching discussion on the benefits of the Bing network for our clients. But far from being purely a back-slapping exercise, I wanted to be sure, and in turn assure our viewers, that Microsoft had a definitive stance on the hot, hot topic of privacy. Online privacy is one of those pivotal phrases that can sway an audience by association because our right to privacy and our right to conduct our business without fear of security breaches needs to be protected.

I was heartened to hear from both of my guests that privacy and trust are key pillars of the Microsoft business. Both Renee and Paul confirmed what we at AiiMS already suspected – 85% of consumers would only consider a brand if they trusted it and that goes for investment in ads, searches and of course the advice, guidance and services that we provide as well. Happily, the three of us agreed that building trust is, in fact, a long process but it can be destroyed in a moment. But by pledging to protect customer data and refusing to export and sell it, the Microsoft teams across the entire organisation (including Xbox, store, surface, advertising…) actively build and preserve trust.

Diversifying ad and media spend to maximise ROI makes sense
There is more to growing sales, profit and brands than simply being available on the off chance someone looks your business’s way. Being seen by additional audiences, audiences that tend to spend more, actively search for the products and services they want and value trust is a key consideration when investing in growth. Our advice is, and always has been, to cover off as many viable options as possible in terms of reach, connection and opportunity in your chosen market. Relying exclusively on one search engine is a risk you don’t need to take.

Take that first important step towards gaining more qualified leads for growth through smart, informed, diversification and talk with us today.

Kynan Albassit is the Product Director at AiiMS, a digital agency specialising in connecting people, businesses and brands, to power growth and profitability. Renee Stopps is the Enterprise and Partner Director at Microsoft Advertising and Paul Krober is the AUNZ Partner Development Director at Microsoft Advertising – we thank them both for appearing on our podcast.

Digital marketing: just keeping up is no longer enough! Connect with more people, win more business Take a professional approach to connect with your customers

Marketing sounds expensive, digital marketing sounds complicated and expensive, and social media just sounds like an investment in time and effort none of us can afford – after all, we have businesses to run. Right?…Not necessarily. What if we could agree that almost all of your past, current and future clients have a mobile phone and before they call you, they use it to research you and your local competition. Add to that, your customers and clients are time-poor and need to make the right decision quickly.

Article by Kynan Albassit, Product Director at AiiMS. Article features in MPAQ (Master Plumbers Association Queensland) Autumn Magazine 2021

A guide to getting your website and social media working as hard as you do

Marketing sounds expensive, digital marketing sounds complicated and expensive, and social media just sounds like an investment in time and effort none of us can afford – after all, we have businesses to run. Right?

Not necessarily.

What if we could agree that almost all of your past, current and future clients have a mobile phone and before they call you, they use it to research you and your local competition. Add to that, your customers and clients are time-poor and need to make the right decision quickly.

“Now, more than ever, being in the right place at the right time means taking the initiative, seizing the advantage and putting your best digital foot forward.” Kynan Albassit, Product Director, AiiMS

Change is happening faster than ever and we all need to keep up

The good news is that plumbing businesses that work to stay in the market’s “line of sight” have always thrived. Looking back to the early 2000s to about 5 years ago, Yellow Pages and Google search were still important weapons in the marketing armoury. But today, exponentially faster internet speeds and the ability to conduct multiple searches while sighting 4-5 reviews inside of a minute, have escalated client expectations in the blink of an eye.

So, your aim should be to have your brand’s digital footprint appear everywhere your audience looks when they’re eyeing plumbing businesses online. But how?

3 things to know about digital that will change everything for your business

Thanks to the internet and the ability for anyone to search up the details on almost anything, anywhere, at any time, it’s a buyers’ market – at least in terms of information. What do these advances in social media mean for you and your business? It means that:

1. All businesses large and small are now competing on a level playing field – there’s nothing more level than the screen your clients are looking at when they search for plumbing businesses
2. No more smoke and mirrors. Customer reviews, research and ratings, allow potential clients to make comparative assessments with just a couple of clicks.
3. Your website together with your social media activity will determine the impact and impression you make on your audience.

That last point is a critical one so let’s dig a little deeper.

Your website speaks your truth while your socials provide the proof

Let me explain the role of your website and your socials in quick and simple terms using a comparison:

Your website:	Your social media platform(s):
Explains how and why we help our customers and clients	Gives searchers a more objective insight into your business
Emphasises your genuine point of difference or USP (unique selling proposition)	Validates (or invalidates) your claims. It’s easy to say 95% client satisfaction, less so if half of your reviews are poor.
Acts as your billboard, displaying your business in the best possible light	Maintains accountability to the people that count – your clients and customers
Appeals to your audience because it solves their problem(s)	Rewards you with a high profile and a reputation for quality – if worked properly
	Amplifies word of mouth 5, 10 or 50-fold

So, before your new client or customer decides to speak to you, there are 4 steps they will take using their phone:

1. Find your business via a search engine
2. Check your ratings
3. Click on your website to see if you can help them
4. Cross-check against social proof/comments/recommendations from your clients

Remember, search engines function to present searchers with the best, most relevant information available – that could be yours if you tick all the right boxes. But if people can’t find you, they won’t trust you.

Your website and social media checklist …and some tips for free
To make it easier for clients to connect with your products and services, here are 7 tips I’ve gathered over my 10 years of supporting the digital marketing needs of plumbing businesses:

1. Keep it real, authenticity is the key. Get into the habit of using real photos (not stock images) of your work (before and after). Share images of you and your staff in uniform, demonstrating your professionalism and expertise.
2. Invest in a bulletproof website – if your website loads slowly, is full of glitches or forms that don’t load – it’s over. People will simply move on.
3. Go where your customers are… searching. Residential customers may take more notice of what they see on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest while for project managers, strata and corporate clients, LinkedIn and Twitter might be best.
4. Create a content or engagement calendar to remind you to engage with your audience across the appropriate channels in a timely fashion. Ad hoc engagement and posting erratically can really damage trust – consistency is key.
5. Get ready to be ready – you’ll need a phone with a good camera(s) then, take pictures, record recommendations and even air some product reviews (ask for video testimonials from grateful customers while they’re admiring your work).
6. Volunteer helpful tips. Your YouTube channel or video posts can become a “destination” for potential and existing customers. Offering helpful solutions to common problems (changing washers, basic maintenance etc), makes your business a trusted, local authority with a reputation for helping out.
7. Build relationships. If you have completed a job well done for a new customer and leave without them knowing your name, you have wasted an opportunity. Engage them, get a recommendation and give them another reason to remember your business.

Two final points that will definitely help you

Put simply, winning at social media to grow your brand and win more business is essentially a team sport so the key to victory is going to be about assembling the right players with the best capabilities.

• But let’s start with your existing client base and your mindset. Plumbing businesses fail because they may do a good job but fail to adapt to the social demands of today’s business environment. This takes practice and a mindset that embraces the challenge of engaging their audience. Ask your followers for their opinions, their recommendations and ask them to pass on reviews and share content. You shouldn’t have to do it all and with an active database, you won’t have to. Build these habits, lean into the processes and understand the power of your website and the influence that social media holds over your ability scale or consolidate your plumbing business.
   
• When you engage a digital marketing agency to take the burden off your shoulders, make sure they know your industry, otherwise they’ll be experimenting with trial and error and I know that from my years working with plumbing businesses, the guesswork has no business in your business!
  Again, success always was and always will be about understanding, connecting and impressing your growing customer/client database and adapting to the way they like to do business – and that’s the bottom line.

Kynan Albassit is the Product Director at AiiMS, a digital agency specialising in connecting people, businesses and brands, to power growth and profitability.

Common mistakes that will spell the end for your business in 5 years or less

What a terrifying title but we have to shake ourselves awake if we want to recognise and learn from some cold hard truths before it’s too late.Who or what is killing our businesses?

You’re going to hear or read some pretty straight talk here because this is important and our aim is to not only support businesses but see them grow, enjoy success and make a difference.

Who or what is killing our businesses?

You’re going to hear or read some pretty straight talk here because this is important and our aim is to not only support businesses but see them grow, enjoy success and make a difference. But let’s focus for a moment on a telling statistic published in last year’s “Small Business Counts” report from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO):

65% of small businesses survived over the reported 5-year period. Great. But 744,525 other small businesses disappeared beneath the waves. That’s right, almost three-quarters of a million small businesses failed.

So, the shocking reveal is that oftentimes, it is actually the business owners themselves that are leading the race to the bottom and why? It’s because of their reactions to two factors:

• Guidance or advice
• Change and the challenge of adaptability

This conclusion is based on our combined 30+ years of experience consulting with, managing and growing accounts in the digital business environment. Our experience means we can also provide some useful insights and tips to help you avoid disasters related to these two factors. Firstly…

If you don’t learn how to listen, you’ll learn how to fail

“Guidance” is a wonderful word because if we feel, as businesspeople, leaders or technicians, that we have guidance or are being guided, achievement and success is just around the corner. Here are three ways guidance can go wrong:

1. Listening to poor guidance. This is the most obvious and so it’s both surprising and disappointing when this occurs. People will offer advice and guidance and they… well… have no clue what they’re talking about. They’ve never helped a business succeed, they’ve never run a business, it’s guesswork, cliché and BS. Pro tip: be polite, filter it out and move on.
2. Mistaken identity. With all due respect to accountants, generally, asking them about achieving broader reach or online traffic would be a mistake. They will tell you what worked for them in their business but that doesn’t mean that their 5 -star rating for bookkeeping will raise your ratings from a 4 to a 5. Horses for courses, as they say.
3. Not listening enough. Yes, listen to everyone. The challenge though is to realise what’s useful, redundant or simply not relevant. The same is true of guidance. Pro tip: speak to as many people as possible about your challenges around your industry, your business and even your products and/or services. Be interested but more importantly, be discerning. Not all of what you get will be useful or right or relevant. You’ll need the wisdom of experience to tell which is which. But yes, if you have the option of “playing your cards close to your chest” and speaking to only one or two trusted advisors or getting a broad range of opinions from a large and diverse group, choose the latter. Remember, you can learn as much from a wrong answer as a correct one – wisdom and experience are the keys.

Try this today – Every time you seek or receive guidance, feedback, opinions or reviews, identify at least one useful takeaway that you can use to improve your business. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Thick skin – not everything you hear is going to be positive. That’s life and that’s the truth. Use the useful stuff, discard the rest but stay resilient and realistically optimistic.
2. Open ears – if you are closed to feedback it will show in everything from your attitude, your inaction and reactions. Listen to everything, hear the relevant pieces and action the important items.
3. An “actionable item radar” – there will always be something positive you can apply from every interaction. Seek and you will find.

Adaptability makes all the difference when change occurs – and it will!

We’ve already agreed that misusing or ignoring guidance is every bit as fatal to a business as failing to adapt to change.

So, let me just jump in with a Pro Tip spoiler alert: if you do not recognise and respond to the waves and winds of change that are constantly reshaping the business landscape (proactively or at the very least, immediately) your business will not survive. Harsh but true!

But what kind of change are we talking about?

The 3 changes that can kill your business – if you let them

Okay, we know that there are many changes that can shape the environment in which we all operate but it’s how you manage those changes and how we plan for those changes that determines your fate. Going back to the early 2000’s I’ve seen three clearly-defined categories of change that affect businesses:

1. Customer influence and opinion

At no time has the balance of power been more skewed in your customers’ favour. With the advent of an ever-increasing range of social media platforms and the ability to post, publicise and share opinions through ratings, customers can remotely cement a business’s reputation – for better or for worse.

Pro-tip: lean into this. Listen to what your customers are saying. Engage with them and if by chance you get a bad review, work as hard you can to ensure the next five are brilliant. This tells people that you are listening and that you have their best interests and satisfaction in mind.

2. Customer expectations of products

Recognising that customers consume product differently today than the way they 5 years ago is another important step in “change-proofing” your business. People like rapid service but they love convenience. There was a time when people would purchase a pie, circle back for a drink and then maybe a bit later, grab a dessert – something like that. In today’s market, if you can offer an all-in-one tradies lunch (pie, drink and cake) with some sort of loyalty token thrown in, you’re actually matching and maybe exceeding customer expectations. Cue a 5-star rating, a like, a comment and maybe a share. Again, the world has changed and the rules are adapt or disappear!

Customer expectations of user experience/customer service
Once upon a time, most shops, vendors and service counters could get away with asking for cash payments and today, believe it or not, there are still some businesses out there that won’t take on EFTPOS payments. They refuse to adapt for whatever reason and it’s costing them – daily, hourly, every minute.

Consumers want flexibility and options, what options are you offering them? Are presenting quotes, do you offer finance, product bundles?

Pro tip: take a step back from your business and ask, how am I meeting modern customer expectations?

If you fail to adapt, then this and the next generation of your customers/clients, which is only ever 5 years away, will choose to go where their preferences and needs are accommodated. Letting all this slip – along with your business is all too easy and there’s a price to pay.  BUT getting on top of things by learning these lessons around guidance and adaptability will set you up for future success.

Janty and Kynan are important resources within our brains trust and are on hand to help set your business up for ongoing success with the right type of guidance during these everchanging times.

Lock & Roll is a part of the Alchin Long Group which is the parent company of leading global hardware brands including Doric, Cowdry & Azuma.

With offices, branches and distribution networks across the globe. AiiMS created a pathway to tackle the digital world and set out to rapidly expand the fleet across Australia.

The Problem
 Lock & Roll services Sydney across the window and door industry. They’ve always looked for new opportunities in the marketplace, they’ve tried it all in terms of marketing they’ve gone into local papers, magazines, trade shows, franchise expos and advertorial. Their biggest challenge was not being able to tangibly see how their campaign was performing. Their previous attempts were a shot in the dark and needed a more strategic approach.

Our Approach
Our strategy was to increase brand awareness and website traffic through organic and paid search campaigns by strengthening existing SEO strategy and building a targeted Paid Search Campaign through Google and Bing ads.

First stop, build a custom website that featured:

• High-end development and functionality
• Consideration of user experience and target market through high-end UI/UX Design
• Brand strengthening design
• Device responsiveness to all devices including all phones, tablets and desktop
• Lead generating features and call to actions to create a site that actually converts!
• SEO compatibility
• Custom and fresh copy and content
• Custom Code (NOT a template)
• Strong site architecture
• Custom photography & video throughout
  

Second, was to set up and establish SEO along with Google Ad Campaigns that allow us to achieve:

• An increase in volume of leads whilst decreasing ad spend and cost per lead with Gooogle Ads
• An increase in relevant organic traffic through SEO to 1000 impressions /month

Visit their website lockandroll.com.au

Campaign Results
Lock & Roll’s journey with AiiMS in the last 18 months has been tremendous in regards to growth and especially ORGANIC growth. Their growth through our online strategies and implementation of social platforms has resulted in a strong foundation. This all came about as the client’s trust for online marketing grew through careful monitoring of their website and campaigns.

We’ve set up tracking tools to monitor the performance of every strategy that we implement – from Phone Tracking to Email Conversion being pinpointed to the exact customer’s profile and their search term. This allows Lock & Roll to continuously grow as they know what results to forecast for every month as they increase their investment in online marketing.

“Working with Lock & Roll has been a great experience for me. Dom the General Manager who has over 15+ years of experience in his industry and trialled many marketing strategies – Online and Offline such as Newspapers, Magazines, Email Marketing, Online Articles, Facebook, Google, etc. His knowledge and experience from learning from all these different marketing ventures opened up discussions on What Lock & Roll required to build an effective website and marketing strategy that can be tracked to pinpoint the funnels of success. This relationship has also educated me on a lot of the difficulties and limitations faced by even a well-established business in their industry. There is always room for improvement and growth!” – Ravi, Client Experience Manager at AiiMS

“I’m wrapped with current engagement with AiiMS, to grow as close as we have, it’s like a family you know you have your ups and downs but you know at the end of the day there’s a common goal and objective. From my point of view, having someone like AiiMS that cares about our business and responds to our needs and listens to what we’re planning for the future of our company as well as the need at hand to accelerate our growth, development & progress, that’s what makes the partnership work. That said make sure the partner you engage with is somebody that has your interests at heart.” – Dom Galluccio, General Manager at Lock & Roll
 

Watch Dom’s interview about Lock & Roll’s growth with AiiMS… 

Over the last 14 months, we’ve consistently delivered quality results. Over 310% growth in total revenue, 333% increase in booked jobs and 1069% increase in total calls November 2019 vs. November 2020. And that’s just the beginning.

Two brothers from Sydney decided to start a pest control business. Still, they faced a common struggle that most small businesses suffer from, to generate and convert enough leads to keep the business alive.

Our Approach 
We hit the ground running with creating a high converting landing page, and hyper-targeted ads campaign targeted to pest control in their service locations. Since Sydney Pest Crew started with AiiMS in Nov 2019, their business growth has been exponential.

Campaign Results 
The Sydney Pest Crew Brothers were delighted by the results they were able to achieve within a short period! Ten months into their campaign, they decided to elevate their strategy and online presence by building a full custom website that translated into their brand, mission and values. You can visit their website here.

“The success we have with our clients work only when the advice given is deployed correctly and the communication channel is open and honest. Shady from Sydney Pest Crew is an excellent example of this; our upfront and honest ideas have allowed us to optimise the online marketing strategies to gain amazing growth. We will not stop in offering new ideas to improve and grow his business constantly.” – Gurkan, Client Experience Manager at AiiMS

Having powerful online assets including a landing page, custom website, paid search campaign, an organic social media following along with a robust Google My Business profile with positive reviews that reflected nothing but their fantastic service. They can now tackle the digital jungle and gear themselves up with enough tools to navigate it further and get to the top of the food chain.

Ending 2020 on a high note, they converted 100 jobs in Nov/Dec. Their work ethic and drive for success along with a winning formula was the best recipe to achieve what they have so far. Here’s to a bigger and greater things Sydney Pest Crew Bros! 

“I have used AiiMS for the last two years for two of my companies, and they have been nothing but professional and responsive in all my requests and work overtime to attend to the needs of my business. They have helped expand my businesses greatly, and we couldn’t be any more grateful for the work they have done for us during this time! Thank you AiiMS!” – Shady, Sydney Pest Crew

Visit sydneypestcrew.com.au

Watch Shady’s interview about Sydney Pest Crew’s growth with AiiMS… 

Need a hand with your business strategy?
Get your FREE 30 min Business Strategy Session and Chat to AiiMS on 1300 397 603 or e-mail us at info@aiims.com.au.

Mark & Julie, owners of Techmark noticed a gap in the market for support and electrical installation service for automated blinds awnings, shutters & curtains.

As you can already probably see, their business is incredibly niche. Their business was in great need of a REAL and EFFECTIVE marketing strategy and realised word of mouth could only go so far. They needed to get in front of the RIGHT customer that brought in high-quality leads that brought in revenue for the business.

30 Oct 2020, Article by Microsoft Advertising (repost) Mr. Splash Plumbing builds a pipeline to growth

AiiMS is a digital marketing agency headquartered in New South Wales, Australia. Founded with a vision to help Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) compete in the same marketing spaces larger organisations commonly thrive, AiiMS launched in 2010 and has now grown to 50 employees serving clients in Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. Their vision for the future is consistent with what has fundamentally worked so well for them to date — serving the SMB market through innovation, unique technology, content collaboration and building trust.

Client support has been in much greater demand during this time, and advertisers are relying on AiiMS to help them make critical digital marketing decisions and provide direction. Their digital suite includes web design, video, photography, content production, phone services, lead tracking, bot frameworks, and paid search marketing. With a large portfolio of clients, having a cohesive communication platform has been critical for AiiMS — particularly during COVID-19. AiiMS estimates having sent 450,000 chat communications during the first half of 2020 alone, to ensure their clients stay up to date on their campaign planning activities. Teams in both Australia and Jakarta working opposite hours means AiiMS can provide support 24/7. With search marketing at the core of the agency’s strategies, constant, up-to-date, and transparent performance updates and adjustments are critical. They heavily utilise sophisticated bot programming to assist with these tasks. They find this especially helps provide quick answers to those working from home on flexible hours, as well as those around the world and on-the-move. Overall, the benefit their offerings provide to SMBs is marketing service, support, and production at a reasonable rate.
“Microsoft Advertising has been essential to the growth of the Mr. Splash Plumbing business.” — Janty Mohammed, Managing Director and Founder, AiiMS

AiiMS and Microsoft Advertising deliver a big splash
Among the small businesses within the AiiMS portfolio that have grown to be a noteworthy success is Mr. Splash Plumbing himself through school, he made a career shift and never looked back. Early marketing efforts, however, were not without leaks and included chasing average position on the paid search results page at the expense of Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) goals. But education and experience has led to better cost management, lead tracking, and a greater focus on ROI. A full-service plumbing company that leans on its experience and ability to build trust, Mr. Splash Plumbing has grown from a husband and wife operation that struggled to navigate digital marketing to a 12-person, multi-vehicle service operation covering the Sydney and Melbourne areas. One of the proprietors of the business is a former car salesperson — someone who certainly had observed the value of clear client communication and building trust. After putting himself through school, he made a career shift and never looked back. Early marketing efforts, however, were not without leaks and included chasing average position on the paid search results page at the expense of Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) goals. But education and experience has led to better cost management, lead tracking, and a greater focus on ROI.

Trusted partnerships deliver value
Microsoft Advertising has played an integral and efficient role for Mr. Splash Plumbing’s marketing strategy with keywords and sitelink extensions providing value. “Microsoft Advertising has been essential to the growth of the Mr. Splash Plumbing business,” says Janty Mohammed, AiiMS Managing Director and Founder. Mr. Splash Plumbing started working with AiiMS in 2017, and the two have been able to finely tune the company’s campaign goals over time. Occasionally, AiiMS will conduct some “Google-neutral” A/B tests, which involve running Microsoft Advertising paid and organic traffic only for a month at a time. Through testing, they began discovering that the purchase intent is greater among the Microsoft Advertising audience. Furthermore, it was evident the average order size from Microsoft Advertising conversions was much higher, with the average order at $2,500, compared to an average order from Google at just 10% of that figure. If you also consider that Microsoft Advertising accounted for 23% of the Mr. Splash Plumbing phone call leads in July 2020 with a smaller audience, versus 31% from Google, Microsoft Advertising is far and away the more valuable channel. Going beyond the $28 vs. $52 CPA from July 2020 and incorporating the previously mentioned average order size, the Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) comparison is a stark 90:1 with Microsoft Advertising, versus just 4:1 on Google. “Working with Microsoft Advertising and AiiMS teams has helped our business experience tremendous growth. Leveraging paid search to reach people when they are researching plumbing solutions has given our business the marketing support we needed to build a successful small business,” says Jon Tsingolis, owner of Mr. Splash plumbing services. Efficient performance goes a long way and is helping drive the localised franchise growth strategy Mr. Splash Plumbing is planning with help from AiiMS.

“The ethos behind AiiMS valuing paid search marketing has a great deal to do with discovery, and putting clients in the best position to win — especially when user intent is high,” says Mohammed. AiiMS and Microsoft Advertising have had an opportunity to play a part in seeing a small business experience 775% monthly revenue growth, comparing to just a couple short years ago. “All new AiiMS clients are activated on the Microsoft Advertising Network because we are an agency that values the power of search, and we have witnessed time and again the value of the Microsoft Advertising Network in action,” ads Mohammed. Retail is not the only segment seeing commercial success during these trying COVID-19 times. Home services like Mr. Splash Plumbing, are succeeding as well. For this small business, support, a sound strategy, trusted relationships, and delivering on the promise of performance have cleared the path toward growth.

“Leveraging paid search to reach people when they are researching plumbing solutions has given our business the marketing support we needed to build a successful small business.” — Jon Tsingolis, Owner, Mr. Splash plumbing services

See a summary
Download the infographic to take the Mr. Splash Plumbing success story with you.

Unlocking the Impact: Why Influencer Marketing Matters Today

In today’s digital age, influencer marketing has emerged as a dynamic force driving brand engagement and growth. It goes beyond mere buzzword status; it’s a strategy that consistently yields remarkable results for businesses. Influencer marketing leverages the power of individuals who have cultivated dedicated online followings and credibility within specific niches.

Why Influencer Marketing Matters 

In today’s digital age, influencer marketing has emerged as a dynamic force driving brand engagement and growth. Influencer marketing is not just a buzzword; it’s a strategy that yields tangible results. Here are a few reasons why it’s an indispensable component of your marketing toolkit:

🔍 Authenticity: Influencers, often with loyal followings, bring authenticity to your brand. Their genuine endorsement can resonate more powerfully with their audience than traditional advertisements.

🚀 Extended Reach: Leveraging the social clout of influencers allows you to tap into new, highly-targeted audiences. It’s like gaining access to a VIP club of potential customers.

💬 Engagement: Influencers excel at creating engaging content. By collaborating with them, your brand can become a part of compelling narratives, boosting your visibility and engagement.

🤝 Trust Factor: Influencers are trusted figures in their niches. When they vouch for your products or services, their followers are more likely to trust your brand.

💰 Cost-Effective: Influencer marketing often offers a better ROI compared to traditional advertising. It’s a smart way to allocate your marketing budget.

So, How Can Your Business Utilise Influencer Marketing

Your business can harness the immense power of influencer marketing to reach new heights of brand visibility and engagement. Here are some ways that this can be done:

🤝 Collaborative Posts: Partner with influencers to create engaging co-branded content that showcases your products or services in an authentic and relatable way.

🎁 Giveaways and Contests: Run promotional giveaways or contests with influencers to boost brand visibility, create excitement, and encourage audience engagement.

🚀 Brand Ambassadors: Establish long-term relationships with select influencers who become dedicated brand ambassadors, consistently promoting your offerings to their loyal followers.

👁️‍🗨️ Product Reviews and Demonstrations: Send your products to influencers for honest reviews and demonstrations, leveraging their expertise to build trust and credibility among potential customers.

How Can AIIMS Help?

At AiiMS Group, We understand the significance of influencer marketing. We aim to design influencer marketing campaigns to maximise the impact on your business. With industry knowledge, Aiims actively can source and collaborate valued influencers within any specific industry to highlight and differentiate your business from the rest. 

Are you ready to grow?

Are you ready to unlock the potential of influencer marketing for your business, taking your brand’s visibility and engagement to the next level?

Speak to the team at AiiMS to get started!

Upcoming trends for 2024. read and stay ahead of the competition!

Explore the evolving landscape of B2B affiliate marketing in 2024 with insights from AiiMS. Discover how AI-driven matching, unified partnerships, increased collaboration, and the rise of influencers are shaping the future of affiliate marketing. Stay ahead of the competition – contact us today to unlock the full potential of B2B affiliate marketing.

In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, one strategy that’s making waves is affiliate marketing. While traditionally associated with B2C companies, this marketing approach is now finding its way into B2B partnerships, and businesses are increasingly recognizing its value as a cost-effective means to boost brand exposure, generate leads, and drive sales.

The affiliate marketing industry is undoubtedly thriving and shows no signs of slowing down. To get a glimpse of what the future holds, we turned to the experts at AiiMS for insights into the emerging trends that are poised to dominate the B2B affiliate marketing space in 2024.

AI will change the affiliate marketing game

AI-powered affiliate matching is already in use across different networks. It simplifies the process of reaching out to potential affiliates and recruiting them. This technology reduces the time-consuming tasks associated with managing affiliate programs, which, in turn, helps businesses grow faster.

Automation capabilities within affiliate platforms include:

• Identify and analyse potential partners and their audiences.
• Accept or decline affiliate applications based on a set of criteria.
• Detect and prevent fraudulent activity.
• Provide personalised affiliate support.
• Make performance optimization recommendations.

Businesses will take a unified approach to partnerships.

In the B2B affiliate marketing realm of 2024, we’ll witness a shift towards a unified approach to partnerships. Different teams and partner types will intersect, fostering long-lasting and multifaceted partnerships. Rather than being isolated within the marketing department, affiliate marketing will become integrated across the entire organization. This holistic approach promises a more cohesive and impactful affiliate marketing strategy.

Collaborations with partners will increase

Collaboration will be the name of the game in 2024. Advertisers and publishers will explore innovative ways to immerse themselves in each other’s marketing efforts. Brands and affiliates will forge closer relationships, going beyond the conventional affiliate partnership. This could include co-creating content, organizing joint webinars, and exploring revenue-sharing models, resulting in more dynamic and mutually beneficial collaborations

Influencers will take the centre stage 

In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, influencers will take center stage in B2B affiliate marketing. While influencer marketing has been a dominant strategy in B2C marketing, it’s set to play a crucial role in B2B marketing as well. This shift is driven by the fact that modern B2B buyers are younger, digital-first, and rely on social content to make informed decisions.

“Savvy” affiliate marketers will collaborate with B2B influencers who prioritize audience engagement. B2B influencers are typically experts in their respective fields, possessing highly authentic and loyal followings. These influencers could be consultants, analysts, journalists, authors, or speakers. Their expertise and reach will provide a fresh and effective avenue for B2B affiliate marketing efforts.

AiiMS Paving a Way For Future Trends

The dynamic nature of the marketing space is constantly challenging marketers to stay informed, adaptable, and open to embracing new strategies and technologies.

AiiMS has been and will continue to help businesses expand their reach and connect better with their audiences through trusted sources.

As we look forward to 2024, it’s crucial to stay ahead of these trends to unlock the full potential of B2B affiliate marketing.

Want to stay ahead of the competition?

Get in Contact With us TODAY