MRX Agency, Monroe, NC (2026)

11/21/2024

How To Avoid The Holi-Daze

As business owners, contending with the holidays can be difficult so it's best to tackle some turkeys before your profits get gobbled up. Before the decorations start going up and employees flip the "holiday click-off" switch, it's best to set boundaries and manage expectations.
Start with setting clear work hours. Explain the benefits of setting firm start and end times to create a work-life balance. Offer tips on communicating holiday hours to customers and clients to manage expectations. You don't want to show up to your business mid-morning with a line of customers waiting outside and you definitely don't want to come back from the holiday break with boxed orders still waiting to be shipped.
You want to show gratitude to your customers and employees, but you also need to learn to say no. Suggest ways to decline additional, unnecessary responsibilities gracefully. Emphasize that saying “no” is often a path to better focus on high-priority tasks.
Practicing these methods will allow you and your team the relief of not being swept up in the holiday rush and yet still satisfying all your business needs. Now you can turn on the holiday switch without regret.

11/18/2024

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to take this time to wish everyone a Happy Thanks-Christ-Boxing Day!

This time of the year can be stressful, with preparing to cook big meals, traveling long distances, spending time with family, shopping for presents, oh, and don't forget, you also have to run a business.
It's times like these we need help to stay calm, focused, and resilient during this high-pressure time so our business doesn't suffer from our festivities.

We can prepare for the holiday rush by planning ahead. We need to emphasize the importance of setting clear goals and priorities for the holiday season. Create holiday-specific workflows and to-do lists to stay organized for yourself, your team and anyone else involved.
Learn to delegate and outsource anything that isn't vital to your business' livelihood. Take a moment to think of all the tasks that are mundane. Then delegate those tasks to employees, contractors, interns, and volunteers. Outsourcing non-essential tasks (e.g., hiring seasonal help or using virtual assistants) will help you focus on the more important things. Fresh bodies might also provide fresh eyes as to what can help improve business.
This is also a great opportunity to identify star employees. If an employee goes above and beyond everyone during with their tasks, recognize their efforts and reward them.
Take some initiative on planning ahead, tuning in, delegating and outsourcing. Doing these step will allow you to keep calm and holiday-on.

11/16/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem! (Finale)

Having no money sucks. Trying to build a business without money really sucks. Just because we lack one resource doesn't mean we are resourceless. It only means it will take a little longer to accomplish what we want to do. But when we finally succeed, it will be one hell of a story.
"How do I succeed in my business with no money?"
Glad you asked!

1. Get Personal With Everyone. Reach out to potential clients and partners directly with customized messages that address their specific needs. Don't be bland and CRTL+C / CRTL+V emails. Do you save time? Yes. Do you stand out from the other 100 emails they receive every day? No! Write something meaningful that they WANT to read so your message doesn't become another crumpled up electron in their digital trashcan.

2. Participate in Online Webinars. Most webinars or online events have chats where you can network and connect with others. Ask attendees if they want to continue the webinar conversation afterwards. You both joined the webinar because you had the same ideas and interest. Why not build upon that?

3. Get Engaged! Send connection requests and personalized messages to potential leads or clients on social media. Participate in your local chamber of commerce events. Socialize at church, book clubs, and farmer's markets. It's not about who you know, it's about who knows you.

We have become so accustomed to paying someone else to do something for us that when our only choice is to do it ourselves we don't know how. When that happens we have a choice: throw up our hands and admit defeat, or roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Every one of us has the same qualities to succeed: Time, Talent, Determination. We all have time to give.
We all have a talent to share.
We all have determination to prove we are good enough, we are worthy enough. Don't let something as minute as the lack of money stop you from succeeding. You have everything you need right now! You got this!

11/15/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem! (Pt. 9)

The best kind of publicity is the free kind. We all have access to emails, networks, blogs, vlogs, social media, and word of mouth. However, when we want to market our business we tend to overlook one other outlet that's available: news outlets. I know what you're thinking so go ahead and ask...
"How can I market my business in the news without money?"
Glad you asked!

1. Pitch Your Product/Service/Business To Local Media. Reach out to local journalists or bloggers with a compelling story about your business. News outlets don't want to report news. They want to report stories. If your business has a story, it will help them fill their time and you get free publicity. Win-Win!

2. Use HARO (Help a Reporter Out). "Founded in 2008 by Peter Shankman, HARO is a free service that allows journalists to submit queries or requests for information on a particular topic, and receive responses from experts or individuals who have relevant knowledge or experience." HARO is a great opportunity when used as a backlink strategy. (The Google bots will be loving all over your website, i.e. more online visibility!) Offering your expertise to journalists will give you free media exposure, more credibility, and enhance your brand reputation.

3. Create Shareable Press Releases. If you’re launching a new product or service, write a press release and distribute it to relevant outlets. Most news outlets have difficulty filling their time slot because they don't have much to report. Creating a press release for news outlets is like doing homework for the cool kid in school. They get credit for something they didn't do and you receive recognition for being on tv!

Freedom of the press is a powerful tool, but it's one that businesses tend to overlook. Learn to take advantage of every tool possible when your business is new. Use every strategy you can think of to market it, especially when it's free!

11/14/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem! (Pt. 8)

You are your business and your business is you. So why not use your best asset to grow your business? You are the face of your business and you can use that wonderful face to market your business.
"How can I use my face to market my business?"
Glad you asked!

1. When you are the face of your business, you can build upon it by sharing your journey, your successes, your failures, your struggles and your surprises to connect personally with your audience. You give your business a personal touch when people see, experience and realize that business is more of a winding path through the mountains and not a stroll in the park.

2. Network with online business forums more often. Respond to thought leadership posts, engage with industry discussions, and showcase your expertise to attract potential clients. as much as you. Everyone has knowledge about a certain topic. Share yours with a group.

3. Volunteer your voice at free speaking opportunities (virtual conferences, podcasts, tours) to promote your expertise and reach new audiences. Whether online and in-person, speaking gives you an amazing platform for your audience to hear the real, authentic you. Every time you speak is a chance to educate, motivate, inspire and more importantly, prove to yourself that you have something to contribute.

4. When your voice gets sore from public speaking, turn to blogging. Offer to write articles for reputable blogs or industry websites to establish authority and link back to your site. Blogging will also ignite your creative juices for your next event.

5. Don't be shy and smile for the camera! One of my mentors every month has a professional photographer take personal photos of her that she uses for her business. It's a fantastic way to showcase her personality, energy, drive, and it gives her brand a human touch. If it's good enough for seven figure earner, it's good enough for you.

If you want to be successful you have to be more than a face in the crowd. You have to standout! The only way to do that is get your face, and your voice, out there!

11/13/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem! (Pt. 7)

Whether you're building a bird house, dog house, out house, or farm house, you will need tools and materials to complete the project. The same principle applies to building a business, whether it's a brick and mortar or digital.
"But how do I build a marketing campaign?"
Glad you asked!
Campaigns aren't something that can be solved with a trip to the Home Depot or Lowes. It's going to take time, ingenuity and most importantly, you guessed it: TOOLS.
What some business builders don't know is that there are tools available to you that are very affordable and some that are absolutely free! Let's get to building!

1. Instead of hiring a graphics designer, we can create visually appealing marketing materials (social media posts, brochures, business cards) for free using Canva or Vistaprint.

2. Business is a numbers game and one of the best ways to track our numbers is using Google Analytics. We can learn how to track our website traffic and where exactly our visitors are coming from. If knowledge is power, analytics is the power supply for our business.

3. A good way to keep our business in front of eyeballs is consistent online posting. Schedule social media posts in advance for free to keep a consistent presence online using Buffer or Hootsuite. These tools will save you so much time by creating a month's worth of content in less than a day.

4. The best way to find out what's working and what's not is to ask our customers. Using free tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms, we can gather customer feedback and insights to improve our business processes.

The best tools for the job don't always have to be the most expensive. Marketing on a budget can be difficult, but it's not impossible. As a wiser man once said, "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

11/11/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem! (Pt. 6)

It's almost Thanksgiving and you know what that means.... it's time to start Christmas Shopping! List making isn't something you should do just for yourself, you should do it for your business too. Building a client list is the best way to grow your business anytime of the year. Here are some of best, and easiest, ways to build your list starting today.

1. Create A Free Lead Magnet. Offer a valuable resource like an ebook, guide or checklist in exchange for email addresses. The marketing term for this action is called a Lead Magnet. A great promotional example of this is:
"Hey everyone! I just created the perfect guide to finishing ALL your Christmas shopping in one day saving you the most money on the best deals! Interested? Get your free copy here! (Enter information below)" They enter their contact information. You send them the ebook. Your list begins.

2. Optimize Your Website For Lead Capture. Most business owners think their website is just for sharing information about what they do, who they are and how to contact them. There's nothing wrong with that, but a website can do so much more! If your website was a brick and mortar business, you wouldn't want customers to just drive by, you want them to come inside and do business. A Call To Action does just that. Adding CTA buttons throughout your website, top, middle and bottom, will get visitors to take action! Some of the best CTA buttons to use are: "Schedule today", "Play video", "Download now", and "Grab our limited edition content".

3. Segment Your List. Once you have an email list, separate it into groups based on your customers interests, behaviors, and purchase history. Once you have your list groups, send each group a personalized email of items you feel they would be interested in buying. This client focused email campaign will be more appealing to them as it will give them more of what they want, and less of what they don't. They'll appreciate the personal touch and you'll appreciate their business.

These are a few ways you can build your business client list now and throughout the year. Over time, you will learn how to reach more people, drive them to contact you and build a loyal customer base. Remember, if making a list is good enough for Santa, it's good enough for you!

11/10/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem (Pt. 5)

"EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!"

Do you remember that famous call to action in the old movies? A news stand kid on the corner, holding a newspaper high in one hand while shouting out the major headlines to the pedestrians? He knew what got people's attention. That's because he knew about Content Marketing.
Content Marketing is the sharing of information, not to promote a brand or product, but simply to stimulate interest in the brand or product. This is one of the best ways to market your product or service today.
"I don't want to stand on a street corner shouting at people. How do I do that?"
Glad you asked!
In this digital age here are some of the best ways to Content Market.
1. Start A Blog. You've heard the saying "facts tell and stories sell." It's true. In 1950, Martin Conroy wrote a short story, a total of 122 words, that over the span of 25 years generated $2 billion in revenue. The story was of "Two Young Men". There was no mention of the brand or product and yet it was one of the most successful marketing campaigns ever. Sharing valuable, informative, and motivational content is a great way to attract organic traffic.
2. Use Videos To Market Your Business. Create some videos - tutorials, how-tos, and customer testimonials - using just your phone and post them to YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Even if you're not an expert, people are willing to watch a video that will help them learn a new skill, improve upon what they already know, or learn more about how your business has helped others.
3. Craft Email Newsletters. Use free email tools like Mailchimp (for small lists) to nurture leads by sending regular updates, offers, or educational content. Newsletters are the best way to build a customer list because you can educate your audience on a topic and have a call to action on the same page.
4. Repurpose Content. Turn blog posts into social media snippets, videos, or infographics to maximize reach across platforms. This is a great cross multi-platform technique. You can write a blog. Shoot a video with the caption "Learn More In My Blog!" Tweet to your followers "New Video Posted!" Thereby, covering all your social media bases and giving your audience the option to gain information in more ways than one.
Find out which is the best way for you to content market and get better at it. Build rapport. Build an audience. Build a list. Before you know it, your business will be growing. That's something to shout about!

11/10/2024

With Jess Cotter – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉

11/09/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem (Pt. 4)

Zappos. Under Armour. Chipotle. Red Bull. Dropbox. Tesla. What do all of these major companies have in common? Believe it or not, a vast majority of their marketing, and in turn their success, was established and attributed to word of mouth. That's right. In 21st century, where we control the direction of electrons, these companies are still marketing their businesses using verbal communication. And so should you!
A whopping 92% of all consumers trust recommendations from their friends, family and peers more than any other form of marketing. And 83% of Americans say that word of mouth recommendations from people they trust make them more likely to purchase a product or service.
"But word of mouth can be unpredictable and unreliable. So how do I get people talking about my business?"
Glad you asked!

Option 1: ASK! Encourage satisfied customers to refer friends, family, or colleagues. If they like what they're buying from you so much, ask them to share their thoughts and experience with people they know.

Option 2: Create a referral program. Offer discounts or exclusive deals to customers who bring in new clients, even if the offer isn’t monetary. Gameify your reward program with points, stickers, tier levels, etc.

Option 3: Encourage Reviews and Testimonials. Positive reviews on Google, Yelp, or Facebook can increase credibility and lead generation. Remind your customers to leave a review, good and bad. Good reviews will garner more business and bad reviews will give you insight to what you can improve. Listen to feedback, and deliver what customers want.

Option 4: Use Social Proof. Share success stories, testimonials, and user-generated content to build trust on all your social media platforms. Social media is an amazing opportunity to connect with your audience and grow your business so share and interact as much as possible!

Word of mouth is a great way to generate buzz, tell a compelling story, and set yourself apart from your competition. Before you know it, you'll be the talk of the town. 😉

11/08/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem! (Pt. 3)

It was Tim Sanders, former executive at Yahoo and bestselling author, who coined the phrase, "Your network is your net worth." This was a very profound quote because it was true. We have all been lead to believe that self-made millionaires and billionaires were successful because they did it all by themselves when in reality they didn't. They had a network of people helping them to achieve their goals.
"How do I build a network?"
Glad you asked!
1. The cheap and easy way is to join an online community. Participate in Facebook groups, LinkedIn Groups, or Reddit threads related to your industry or niche.
2. Help others by answering questions people pose in these group forums. Sharing your expertise by answering forum questions on Quora and Reddit will spotlight you as an expert in that particular field. If you don't have any answers, you can ask questions to the community and from their advice gauge which is best for you. When appropriate, you can backlink to your website to promote your services and products.
3. Collaborate with other small businesses in your community. Form partnerships with local businesses to cross-promote each other's products and services. This is especially beneficial if your businesses complement each other like peanut butter and jelly. Oh yeah, peanut butter jelly time!
4. Attend as many free networking events as often as possible! Virtual meetups, webinars, or free business events (especially those with snacks!) are great places to connect and promote your business. It will help others put a face to the business name and also give you the opportunity to practice speaking in public.
If you want to be successful, do what successful people do: build a network! The people you meet will support you, educate you, they might even become life-long customers. Start connecting today!

11/07/2024

No Marketing Budget? No Problem (Pt. 2)

In the late 1990s as the internet became more popular and people began searching for information online, the need for relevant search results increased. This lead to businesses investing in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to rank higher in said search results and reach their target audience quicker than others.
If marketing isn't in your operational budget, local SEO is your next step. Here's how to get started.

1. GMB (Google My Business). You can set up a free listing on Google My Business for better local visibility. A simple Google search will show you how to get started and verified.

2. Create SEO-Optimized Blog Content. Writing blogs on your website that address common questions and common pain points of your target audience is a great way to optimize SEO searches. Every time you blog on your website it's the equivalent of adding another room to your house. People will notice, and more importantly, Google will too.

3. On-Page SEO. Learn to optimize meta descriptions (the short summary of content you see below a webpage link that helps users decide if that is the link they want to click on), headers (everything at the top of your webpage: business name, logo, contact info, and Call To Action button. You can always add more.), and keywords (words that help Google bots find and give searchers the information they are looking for) on your website.

4. Backlink Building. Backlink building is when you offer guest blog posts to other relevant sites on your blog board and on their website they have a link that refers back to your website. This is the equivalent of two neighboring brick and mortar businesses putting a flyer on each other's front door or bulletin board. Of course, it's best if you ask (email) the other business if you can blog about them and link their business before you do so. Backlinks help determine a webpage's relevance and authority so make sure your backlinks are high-quality. A high quality backlink is one that refers to similar subject matter (a tattoo artist blogging about how great another tattoo artist is) or a well-regarded website (a local farm-to-table restaurant blogging about a famous chef cooking at their location).

5. Use Free SEO Tools. Tools such as Moz, Wordstream, Ubersuggest and Google Search Console can help you monitor your SEO performance and find new keyword opportunities that are specific to your business.

Then again, for the best local SEO experience you can always contact MRX Agency for a free 1-on-1 consultation on how we can give your business the most visibility on Google searches. We pride ourselves on getting your business to the top of Page 1 within 3 months or less!

MRX Agency

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