Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) mark some of the biggest sales—and profits—every year across e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country. Even with all hands on deck, businesses find themselves stretched to the limit to deliver incredible experiences for their customers that will keep them coming back after the sales are done. Being prepared for BFCM with the right tools is essential for a successful sales week. With over $9.8 billion dollars spent online during Black Friday 2023, having the right e-commerce marketing tools implemented ahead of time can help you capture ..read more

HubSpot is a powerful platform for customer relationship management (CRM)—including marketing, sales, and customer service—but when it comes to accounting, QuickBooks reigns supreme. It’s far and away the most popular accounting tool among small businesses.  If you depend on QuickBooks for your billing and invoicing and HubSpot for other core processes, this can create a bit of a snag without the right integration. With a HubSpot and QuickBooks integration, you can gain more transparency into your data across platforms, and you can save time and enhance consistency by automating foll ..read more

If you’ve taken a peek into HubSpot CMS (or, now, HubSpot Content Hub) recently, you may have noticed HubSpot’s rollout of powerful, efficient, and effective AI tools.  Maybe you’ve experimented with an AI-assisted email or used one of the built-in wizards to whip up a social media caption or two. Maybe you’ve wondered about how to leverage these tools for greater content strategy—but figuring out exactly how to level up your entire enterprise’s content management with AI is still on your to-do list. We’re here to help you check that box today. HubSpot AI and its CMS and Content Hub appli ..read more

Digital communication and AI-driven sales workflows are dominating the modern business landscape. However, technology will never replace the power of a personal connection in nurturing successful business relationships. Trade shows provide a unique opportunity for sales teams to interact face to face with prospects and existing customers, building and strengthening these relationships. That’s not to say that technology doesn’t play a valuable role in a comprehensive trade show lead capture strategy; digital tools, including the right lead capture system, are essential for adding qualified lead ..read more

A persistent challenge for franchise networks is establishing and maintaining the balance between brand consistency and individuality. Although each location’s response to its local demographic contributes value, a network’s overall franchise marketing strategy must align with the established brand’s image, values, and goals. Maintaining consistent branding across a franchise network enables franchisees to start their marketing strategy from the halfway point. Franchise marketing essentially uses an established brand identity as a jumping-off point for business success. Put simply, instead of ..read more

Highly anticipated online discounts and deals make Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) the busiest shopping week of the year. Brands compete to attract shoppers and maintain margins. The biggest sales week of the year will be here before you know it! Although we’re in the heat of summer, e-commerce brands are already preparing for the year's busiest sales season. Reduce stress on your team and drive higher BFCM sales this year by preparing ahead of time. Create excitement and anticipation with an omnichannel Black Friday marketing strategy. The Importance of Preparing Ahead for BFCM Prioritize yo ..read more

Data is crucial for shaping business strategies and customer interactions. But marketers need to handle data with care—especially in regulated industries, where customers expect their sensitive data to be secure. As healthcare and other regulated sectors increasingly embrace e-commerce and digital transformations, the need for robust, compliant solutions for managing confidential information has never been more pressing. Enter HubSpot’s Smart CRM—a game changer for businesses looking to leverage customer data while maintaining stringent regulatory standards. The Challenge: Managing Sensitive D ..read more

Franchises face plenty of challenges when it comes to maximizing visibility and improving customer engagement amidst tough competition. Marketing agencies play a critical role in driving growth, but not all agencies are equipped to meet the unique needs of franchises. A franchise marketing agency has specific multilocation expertise and knows the nuances of owning a franchise. This specialization is essential in a marketing partner because multilocation marketing is different from marketing for a single brick-and-mortar location or SaaS company in the cloud. Let’s take a look at how franchise ..read more

The best practices for rolling out top-tier content are always changing. That shouldn’t be a surprise, because the tech available to us—and the needs of the people we’re speaking to—is always in flux as well. The latest digital marketing trend, generative engine optimization (GEO), leverages AI to analyze what people want to read and deliver more relevant content to those people.  Traditional SEO techniques account for user intent, but they rely more heavily on keyword placement and backlinks to rank content for search engine result pages. Now, GEO optimizes content for AI-driven sea ..read more

AI and machine learning tools are the Swiss Army knives of the New Tech Renaissance—and forward-thinking people in every industry are figuring out new ways to use these tools daily. We’re right there with them! Using AI in digital marketing has helped our team save time and reduce stress while serving our clients better—while staying true to the quality of work that SmartBug is known for.  But just as with any powerful tool, the way you use AI can have significant consequences. Missteps can lead to data breaches, job displacement, biased decision-making, and more. Because safety, creativi ..read more