SmartSites, one of the fastest growing digital marketing agencies in the U.S., is pleased to announce that it has landed a spot on the NJBIZ Top 250 Privately Held Companies 2020 List. 

SmartSites (https://www.smartsites.com), an online marketing company, achieves listing on the NJBIZ Top 250 Privately Held Companies 2020 List. The latest rankings are based on 2019 global revenue and SmartSites has moved up from #221 to #187 on the list. Other notable achievements in 2020 include being named to the annual Inc. 5000 List for the 4th consecutive year. The digital agency landed a spot on No. 2,855. Privately held companies in New Jersey serve as a major indicator of business growth in the Garden State. NJBIZ is a well-known business journal that evaluates privately-owned companies in New Jersey based on their employee count, annual growth, and revenue. With revenues of $4.91 million made in 2018, and $7.62 million made in 2019, SmartSites has landed a spot on the prestigious list with a sales growth of 55%.Today, SmartSites provides digital marketing solutions for a wide array of customers in industries, including small businesses, home services, medical and healthcare, legal services, automotive, Business to Business (B2B), retail, industrial and commercial, hospitality, and nonprofits. The online marketing company strives to be a contributor to the success of New Jersey’s economic stability and growth. SmartSites also aims to create more jobs for potential employees in New Jersey and the surrounding regions. With this achievement, SmartSites plans to continue its mission to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) compete with large brands online. Digital is the new normal and many brick-and-mortar stores will benefit from moving their businesses online. To view the complete list of NJBIZ Top 250 Privately Held Companies List honorees, check out The Aug. 24, 2020 Edition of NJBIZ.

About NJBIZ

Based in New Jersey, NJBIZ is the leading business journal that provides 24/7 business news coverage. It produces weekly digital editions and weekly print editions that have a circulation of over 15,000 copies. All of their content can be viewed through NJBIZ.com and multiple daily e-newsletters. Headquartered in the Somerset section of Franklin Township, NJBIZ has built a reputation of honoring New Jersey’s top business professionals since 1987. The publication is currently owned by BridgeTower Media which is the leading provider of business-to-business information, marketing, and research services across 20 local economies in the United States.

About SmartSites

SmartSites is recognized as a full-service digital marketing agency that is headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey. The company’s areas of expertise in online marketing include Web Design, E-Commerce Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), PPC Marketing, and more. SmartSites was founded in 2011 by Michael Melen (Co-CEO & COO) and Alex Melen (Co-Founder at SmartSites, award-winning entrepreneur, and keynote speaker). Today, the digital company manages over $50MM/year in advertising spend and employs 140 employees across six offices worldwide. SmartSites can be contacted via phone at 201-870-6000 or emailed at contact@smartsites.com.

Original source  https://prdistribution.com/news/smartsites-hits-187-on-njbiz-top-250-privately-held-companies-list.html.

SmartSites is pleased to announce that we are named one of America’s fastest-growing private companies on the annual 2020 Inc. 5000 list for the fourth consecutive year. 

Inc. Magazine has revealed that SmartSites (http://www.smartsites.com) ranked No. 2,171 on its 39th annual Inc. 5000 list this year. We are truly honored to achieve this prestigious recognition for the 4th consecutive year. Our rankings between 2017 and 2019 were:

• 38th annual Inc. 5000 list (2019): No. 2,855
• 37th annual Inc. 5000 list (2018): No. 3,450
• 36th annual Inc. 5000 list (2017): No. 3,860

In addition to our improved rankings, SmartSites also secured the spot with an impressive three-year revenue growth of 194.5%. The 39th annual Inc. 5000 list showcases some of the most successful, privately held companies across the nation that have driven exceptional growth through positive customer results, deep employee engagement, and a robust company culture. This year’s Inc. 5000 list was particularly competitive and revealed incredible growth compared with prior lists. Companies that made the list achieved a staggering three-year average growth of over 500 percent. In addition, the aggregate revenue was approximately $209 billion in 2019, which accounts for more than a million jobs over the past three years.“Growing a small or medium-sized business is challenging and requires a significant amount of focus, perseverance, faith, and a little luck. That is why SmartSites is extremely honored to be part of the economic growth of the New Jersey area,” said co-founders, Alex Melen and Michael Melen. “Attracting, training, and retaining quality talents who share a common vision ensure our ability to provide outstanding online marketing solutions for our clients and are essential for our continued growth and long-term success. At SmartSites, we are excited about the upcoming years’ opportunities to better serve our customers and employees, both now and in the future.”Although an in-person Inc. 5000 Conference & Gala is not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization will be hosting a special week-long streaming event called the Inc. 5000 Vision Conference. The online event will include special recognition ceremonies, seminars with the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, education sessions, and entertainment. 

About SmartSites

Headquartered in Paramus, New Jersey, SmartSites was established in 2011 and is presently led by Alex Melen and Michael Melen. The company’s areas of expertise in digital marketing include Web Design and Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), PPC Marketing (pay-per-click), and much more. Since its inception, SmartSites has been developing online marketing solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of the legal, medical/healthcare, automotive, B2B, retail, industrial/commercial, hospitality, and nonprofit industries. SmartSites can be contacted via phone call at 201-870-6000 and email at contact@smartsites.com.

About Inc. Media and Inc. 5000

The Inc. 5000 list was the brainchild of Inc. Media, which was founded in 1979 and acquired by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. in 2005. Today, it is the hallmark of entrepreneurial success and recognizes the efforts and achievements of the country’s top innovative company builders. Started in 1982, the prestigious Inc. 5000 has a total monthly audience reach of 20,000,000. The Inc. 5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony is an annual event that celebrates the achievements of the nation’s fastest-growing businesses, hosts evening functions, and offers informative workshops. For more information about Inc. 5000, feel free to visit https://www.inc.com/inc5000.

Original source https://prdistribution.com/news/smartsites-makes-inc-5000-list-for-the-4th-consecutive-year.html.

A Google program announced with big fanfare three months ago to help businesses survive the coronavirus pandemic is being criticized for the inconsistent amounts of aid it has provided to recipients and its limited financial impact.

The tech giant’s plan, pitched as a way to support struggling ad customers, was to give $340 million in ad credits to small and medium-sized businesses. The company said it wanted to “alleviate some of the cost” of advertising during the pandemic, to help businesses survive the downturn.

But ad agencies that mange the ad budgets for other businesses say that Google’s program, while welcome, hasn’t made much of a difference. The maximum credit that Google is giving advertisers—$1,000—is insignificant when considering that many of them spend hundreds of thousands of dollars with Google annually.

“There was a lot of excitement about it,” Alex Melen, co-CEO and CFO of digital ad agency SmartSites, said about Google’s initial announcement of the program, and before it disclosed the $1,000 maximum award. “And then it was like don’t get too excited. I don’t think $1,000 is going to save anyone.” 

For example, Pauline Jakober, CEO of digital ad agency Group Twenty Seven, said one of her clients, a law firm, spent $310,000 last year on Google ads. The law firm ended up receiving a credit of $750, or only about 25% of what it spends on Google ads daily. “The thought was nice, but the execution and what people are getting is interesting,” Jakober said. “That’s a lot of money they’ve given Google in one year, so we were a little shocked.”

Google declined to make Philip Schindler, who oversees Google’s ad business, available for an interview. In a statement, Mary Ellen Coe, who oversees Google’s global ads business for small and medium-sized companies, said: “The COVID-19 crisis has deeply impacted small businesses globally and we designed our [small and medium business] ad credit to reach our small business customers broadly with a gesture of support. We hope this will help to defray some of the cost of re-engaging with their customers at a time that is right for them.”

Google declined to disclose details about how allocates the credits other than they will all be handed out by early July. But five ad agencies that work with Google provided Fortune with glimpse into how the program has been managed.

Those agencies said that the program, announced March 27, got off to a slow start, with only a few of their clients receiving any credits by early June. But starting on June 18, credits for thousands of advertisers started appearing in their online ad accounts.

Clients received credits of $100, $300, $750, or $1,000. Google said the amount would be based on how much the advertisers spent on ads in 2019 and the country in which they were located, but what they received didn’t seem to square with that policy.

Clients with Group Twenty Seven that had spent $100,000 to $586,000 with Google, received $750 in ad credits each. At digital marketing firm Scorpion, however, some clients that only spent $150,000 received more—$1,000.

At JEMSU, another marketing agency, a client that had spent nearly $456,000 on Google ads in 2019 and another that spent $43,000 both received a $750 credit. Meanwhile, clients of SmartSites that spent $10,000 to $100,000 on Google ads last year received the same amount.

“It’s a mystery,” Group Twenty Seven’s Jakober said. “I don’t know what kind of algorithm they’re giving different people to siphon off the money.”

Asked about the inconsistencies, Google said that they’re rare and likely caused by foreign exchange rates. However, most clients working with the five agencies that spoke to Fortune are based in the U.S..

While the ad agencies doubted the ad credits would do much to help recipients avoid financial duress, some clients will likely benefit more than others, they said. For example, one of Scorpion’s clients, which only spends around $400 monthly on Google ads, received a $100 credit. That translates into about 25% of an entire month’s spending on ads.

“It’s not a significant value in the grand scheme of things,” said Daylen Farkas, a vice president at Scorpion, “but I think every bit counts nowadays.”

Google’s ad credit program was part of its larger $800 million coronavirus relief package that, in addition to advertisers, is meant to help a broad swath of recipients. The company said it has allotted $250 million in ad grants to more than 100 government agencies and health groups so they can provide people with information about the pandemic. More than 785 million people have seen those ads, Google said. 

Among the recipients was the World Health Organization, which received $30 million in ad grants. So far, the organization has used $13 million of that amount.

Additionally, Google allotted another $200 million to help provide small business loans. So far, the company said it has arranged for $125 million in loans, plus another $45 million announced later, to be distributed by the Opportunity Finance Network, a network of private financial institutions that lend to disadvantaged businesses.

Five financial institutions have already received $15.5 million in loans. More are expected to be announced every month over the next year. A similar $75 million loan program is planned for overseas, using a different partner.

Meanwhile, Google is giving $20 million in credits to researchers and academic institutions to cover the cost of using Google’s cloud data centers. Harvard Global Health Institute, Google’s partner for handing out some of the credits, said it has doled out nearly $7 million so far.

And finally, Google, in partnership with the CDC Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and safety equipment supplier Magid Glove, shipped more than 3 million masks to 25 health organizations in 14 states and territories.

Original source: https://fortune.com/2020/06/28/google-ad-credits-coronavirus-relief-update-covid-19/

In the world of Silicon Valley giants, there’s hardly anyone as vocal in his support of Bitcoin as Twitter’s boss Jack Dorsey. He has never shied away from his love for Bitcoin and the benefits that the top cryptocurrency brings, even going as far as making Bitcoin support the focal point of Square’s Cash App. 

New Twitter Emoji for Bitcoin as Advocates Push for Unicode Integration

However, his latest contribution to the drive for Bitcoin adoption is on the platform that drove him to worldwide fame. Yesterday, Twitter debuted the Bitcoin emoji, to the delight of thousands of pro-Bitcoin Twitter users. In the early hours of the day, Dorsey tweeted the new Bitcoin emoji to the world, tagging Unicode- the worldwide consortium that manages the character standard- to adopt the emoji and make it official.

The addition of the emoji is an extraordinary show of support for the asset. The Bitcoin emoji rocketed to the top of worldwide trending charts on Twitter yesterday, with every pro-Bitcoin Twitter user jumping at the chance to use it in a tweet and get the word to spread. Of course, the popularity of the emoji was eventually eroded, as the day gave way to Super Bowl LIV- another landmark event that also got its personalized emoji.

Twitter has been doing a lot of emoji rollout recently. Several events (Super Bowl, Grammys, Oscars Golden Globes, and others.) and people (Shakira, Lionel Messi, and Mohammed Salah.) have gotten custom-made emojis made by the social media platform, thus driving conversion and allowing their fans to speak about them more. Bitcoin is just the latest in the increasing line of things and people to have their personalized emojis.

Dorsey’s calls for the Bitcoin emoji to be included in the Unicode text encoding standard have also picked up some steam, with several members of the crypto community lending their voices to make it happen. Elizabeth Stark, a co-founder at Lightning Labs, called for more people to submit proposals to Unicode, while TRON Foundation chief executive Justin Sun posted the Bitcoin hashtag as well. 

Dorsey’s Continued Quest for Bitcoin Adoption 

The Twitter chief executive is doing much more to help spread the word about crypto and blockchain, however. Square- the payment processor that Dorsey also founded- has made significant progress in driving crypto adoption. Earlier this month, the firm was granted a patent for a technology which it believes will help real-time crypto-to-fiat swaps.

In its patent application, the Square team noted several drawbacks to current crypto spending. As they pointed out, transactions still take a while to get processed, making some transactions difficult to make with Bitcoin. For now, it’s not realistic to pay for a coffee and wait 30 minutes for confirmation on the blockchain. There’s also the fact that fluctuating exchange rates could pose a risk to business owners. 

However, the technology proposed by the company would utilize a simple process. It would initiate a payment request in the consumer’s crypto of choice. Once approved, the merchant gets the value in their currency of choice. All of this will purportedly be done in real-time, and with a focus on privacy.

By Alex Melen, Co-Founder, SmartSites 

Running a well-oiled servicing operation can be challenging, and every minute wasted by inefficient systems is a potential dollar lost. In 2020, an age defined by breakneck speed and instant gratification, the most successful dealerships are the ones leveraging messaging and automation to deliver faster and higher quality experiences. This has led to an increase in repair order volume, process efficiency, and ultimately customer loyalty.

Here’s how they’re doing it:

1. Sending photos and videos for faster work approvals.

Texting photos and videos to customers helps you to articulate specific issues and provide a visual of the items requiring repair or replacement. This improves transparency as well as the customer’s willingness to approve work. These approvals can get sanctioned in real-time directly within the conversation. Instead of telling customers they’re leaking oil or their tires are bald, dealerships are now showing them.

2. Automating reminders for customers can help you increase show rates and more.

With automated messaging reminders, dealerships maximize the number of confirmed service appointments and revenue, while decreasing phone call volume.

The average dealership processes about 9,000 repair orders a year. In a recent case study by LivePerson Automotive, the Angela Krause Family Ford dealership tripled their repair order volume after adopting the use of a messaging platform to automate appointment reminders. They saw immediate value in their technology investment as customers were much more responsive via SMS about whether or not they could keep an appointment. And for those who canceled, the dealership was able to rebook those time slots.

You can also use automation to send vehicle pick-up notifications to proactively let customers know when their vehicles are ready, as well as for follow-up messages in the months after their last service visit.

3. Making paying quick and easy with on-the-go mobile payments.

Real-time mobile payments create a faster and more convenient experience for customers. Service advisors can create invoices and request payments via messaging and then send a payment request link to the customer via SMS.

4. Creating personalized experiences at scale.

Messaging and automation platforms can generate personalized landing pages for every customer. These personalized web pages are delivered via an SMS and display repair order details, tailored ads highlighting offers, and reminders for scheduled maintenance appointments and free trade-in appraisal. Continuously engaging customers with compelling content and information builds deeper relationships while creating opportunities to upsell.

Speed up your service lane with messaging and automation while saving time and making more money.

About the Author 

Alex Melen is an award-winning entrepreneur and keynote speaker. Alex is co-founder of SmartSites, rated one of the fastest-growing digital agencies by INC5000; managing over $50MM/year in advertising spend with over 100 employees spanning six offices. 

Original Source:

https://www.digitaldealer.com/latest-news/redefining-the-speed-of-your-service-lane-with-messaging-and-automation/