Frequently Asked Questions

There are many companies out there who will gladly put up a website for you. There are many others who will assist you in implementing a marketing strategy. Some of those companies are even pretty good. What we do, though, is integrate all the public facing aspects of your company. It is extremely important to your brand's identity to be consistent in all customer interactions. It's not just a matter of using the same logo or slogan. Your entire messaging needs to be in tune. Just as in a vehicle, there are many different setups that can be used. One setup isn't necessarily "right" or "wrong". It's all about getting the proper parts and tuning for your particular applications.

We are automotive enthusiasts just like you. We work with many different niches in our industry and we understand the nuances of your particular company. That lets us employ a knowledge-based system for your marketing and brand identity across all forms of media. That is why companies partner with us. You can partner with us too by simply requesting a call from one of our representatives today.

A business is not a static entity. At some point, you had just opened. At another, you'll have been open for years. Sometimes you are drowning in work and sometimes you are just scraping by. Because of these fluid dynamics, it's important to partner with someone who is able to guide you in the right direction. That's what we are here for. You should come to us with a goal or two (and maybe some idea of how you want to get there) and we will provide you with options to achieve those goals. We are interested in listening to your ideas as much as sharing ours. That process is what will put you on the path forward.

        Since you run your company every day, you are intimately aware of the nuances and changes that are happening. Look through our product offerings and see what sticks out to you. Make some selections to get more information based on your gut feelings and then request a call from one of our customer service representatives. They will help determine if your ideas will propel you in the right direction and may even suggest things that hadn't occurred to you. This isn't a situation where you pick one thing and stick with it forever. Your marketing plan will grow and evolve. Some avenues that work great in one community may not be a hit in other areas of the country. It's our job to guide you through the planning and implementation process to make sure you are on a path to success. That process starts with you and we look forward to hearing from you.

That's great! We love working with clients who think outside the box. Your success is our success and so we encourage you to let us know your idea. There are infinite ways to interact with your customers and we can't list them all on our site. Nonetheless, whether you need a physical sign, some kind of special promotional item, or even custom programming, we can help make your idea a reality.

In general, the client sets the project’s pace. The amount of input provided and your availability for feedback will greatly impact how long it takes our web team to progress from the initial stages to completion. The complexity of the site factors in as well, with sites that require higher levels of functionality taking longer to develop.

This is an interesting question if it's not something that you find self-evident. For most businesses, it's important to have an online presence because that is where people are going to look for you. As a for-profit business, it is recommended that you meet your customers where they are, which is mostly online. A website not only provides a way for new customers to find you, it also tells them about what products and services you offer. Depending on how you want your site put together, it can even be a way to communicate and interact with clients without having to stop what you're doing every time the phone rings. Finally, it makes your business look and feel professional to your clients. If you have questions about your specific situation, request a call from us and we'll be able to respond to your specific concerns.

A website that’s difficult to use or poorly designed is a major turnoff to users. Keep in mind that your website may be a potential customer’s first introduction to your brand. It’s undeniable that first impressions count, and Acceleration Kings can help make sure that yours is a good one!

Most people associate the idea of cloud services with large corporations spread out over a large area because that's what they see in the news. The reality is quite different. The benefits of cloud computing come from its decentralized nature, not yours. Thus, any business can take advantage of cloud services. One example that we use a lot is the local automotive repair shop that centralizes all the data needed by insurance adjusters. Rather than having to put all that information together multiple times and still potentially have to redo parts of it, you could put it all in the cloud and the adjuster can then access it at their convenience and as many times as they need to. This saves you huge amounts of time because you are no longer jumping through hoops to satisfy an insurance company that couldn't care less about what else you have going on. They just HAVE to have that one obscure document to complete their file. This is just one example, but it clarifies a broader idea: don't spend your time satisfying other businesses, focus on yours.

        Cloud computing is a tool like any other and it can be used for a wide range of jobs. A major reason we believe that every business should use the cloud is to ensure business continuity and the ability to recover from disasters. These types of services allow you to address situations that are outside of your control such as malicious hacking or acts of God. No matter what happens, we can design a cloud solution that backs up crucial data and allows you to regain access to your business records regardless of the situation "on the ground" at your physical location.

        Another commonly used aspect of the cloud is providing web and email security. You don't need to invest in massive amounts of network hardware at your place of business to secure your web traffic. By running things through the cloud, you take advantage of the sophisticated and up-to-date hardware in a data center somewhere that is managed by someone else. A large benefit of this is protecting your business from the actions of employees in using their email and surfing the web. You can read more about this in our answer to questions about security and hacking.

        These are just security benefits. Cloud computing also offers you a wide range of opportunities beyond security and safety. Anything that can benefit from centralization, anything that is collaborative in nature, or anything that you want people to utilize in an asynchronous manner is a good fit for cloud computing. An example of asynchronous access is the insurance adjuster. You upload the documents when it fits your schedule and they access them without interrupting your day. Additionally, collaborative projects happen all the time in auto shops. The person doing engine mods is not always the same as the person who will do the custom paint job. Yet they need to coordinate their efforts. They can do so "in the cloud" much more efficiently than stopping to run back and forth between each other's work area and disrupting the other's flow. Even more beneficial is when a customer calls to request an update on a project. The person answering the phone can check the status right then on the network without breaking someone else's workflow and simultaneously providing much better customer service to the caller. This is the benefit of centralizing that information. There are many other uses for the cloud and the ultimate benefit of many of them is to provide you with more control over your time.

        Can you benefit from cloud solutions? Absolutely. Whether you want standard services or a custom setup, we can do it. Request a call from one of our customer service representatives today and they will go over some options and ideas with you. You can also see what other businesses are doing on the cloud computing topic of our message boards.

Tracking the effectiveness of marketing avenues and campaigns can be a difficult process and, with some forms of advertising, it can be nearly impossible. Nevertheless, it would be a bad idea to just throw money out there and hope you get a return.

        A simple but effective way to find out what's working is to teach your employees to ask new customers how they heard about you. When they are setting up that customer's account, they record how the customer came to your company, and this gives you a large amount of feedback on what advertisements are getting noticed. This is another example of the benefits of a CRM suite of tools. Don't forget, though, their answers won't necessarily reflect all of your ads that they've seen. It usually takes multiple contacts before you will stick in someone's mind. Still, this is a highly recommended way to keep track of how you are gaining clients.

        There are other tools that are used for automatic tracking online. When you purchase a website from us, one of the things we do is set up Google Analytics for you. This highly versatile tool will give you all kinds of information such as how people arrived at your site, what pages they visited, and how long they stayed. There are a wide range of tools that we'll help you use to benefit your business. Request a call from one of our customer service representatives to get started. You can also see other ideas or contribute your own on the “Getting the most from your marketing” topic on our message boards.

Putting a simple website on the internet is very important for the visibility of your company. However, if that's all you do, you are missing out on some huge benefits and capabilities that your business should be taking advantage of. This is no longer the basic World Wide Web of the 1990's. Today's internet provides myriad ways for your business to attract and retain customers along with tools to make your business more automatic which saves you time and money.

        At its most simple level, your website should provide information about what you offer in the way of products or services and the benefits that come from them. If you don't sell anything, then you should explain what you do and how people can support you. Visitors also need a way to contact you so that they can request more information and so that you can deepen your business relationship with them.

        But there is so much more. Integrating cloud products, you can expand the opportunities available for interaction. These interactions include those between you and your customers, but also those between employees. You can allow customers to schedule appointments right on your website. You can manage projects right from home without going into the office. Your employees can have a centralized, easy to use interface where they work together, collaborate, and accomplish more each day.

        Some of your vendors likely have the capability to streamline ordering through the internet and you can tie into that through the cloud. You can implement network security measures and monitor physical security with web-enabled cameras. You can also provide special offers and coupons to your customers increasing your revenue through your online presence.

        Social media is available as a potentially valuable avenue to create brand loyalty. Share tips and tutorials for people. Create memorable videos and memes for your customers to enjoy and share with their friends.

        It would be impossible to try and list every single possible use for a web presence and these are just some of the most popular. If any of them sound interesting to you or if you have other ideas, talk to a customer service representative who can help you implement any or all of these ideas. Don't forget to check out the benefits topic on our message boards where you can read what other businesses are doing and share your own methods.

The interface that we provide for you to make changes on your site is very intuitive and we will train you on how to use it as well. The vast majority of the setup and maintenance, however, will be handled by us. Our purpose in partnering with you is to take some of the burden off your shoulders. Besides providing a little training, we are always available to you for any questions. When you email us, we do our best to respond within 24 hours and there won't typically be any emergencies because we guarantee 99% uptime for your website and cloud hosting. If you can't access the internet in general, you may have a problem with your internet service provider, but you can rest assured that your website is still live on the internet and available for any potential customers to find you.

Hacking is becoming a more common problem for many different industries. Frequently, hackers attempt to find victims in a scattershot approach that makes no distinction between businesses. They are sending out phishing emails or putting malware up hoping for stray clicks on their website. We do provide solutions to help mitigate potential infiltration from these attack vectors. If someone is specifically targeting your business though, it's a whole different ball game. Fortunately, that is unlikely for the majority of companies.

        An easy way for you to protect your business in general is to use the cloud to gain access to the expensive, high-end network equipment used in data centers. While Acceleration Kings is not a specialized security company, we regularly set up services that will help perform that function. We can also refer you to a dedicated security firm if you feel you need that level of protection and want to invest in more protection.

        Cloud computing is a relatively cheap and easy to implement solution to protect yourself. There are consistently stories in the media about an employee downloading a bad email attachment or clicking a dangerous link. By using the cloud for web and email security, the potential for your employees to inadvertently harm the business is greatly reduced.

        In the event that something does happen, cloud solutions can allow you to recover quickly. Setting up new equipment, restoring your data from backups, and continuing to provide your service is one of the great benefits of basing part of your business in the cloud. In that way, we help protect you from hackers by setting you up with cloud services that mitigate many potential problems.

        Utilizing the cloud for many aspects of your business provides collective benefits as well. The "cloud" is really just servers in a data center somewhere. These data centers provide services to many customers and necessarily use hardware security devices such as firewalls. You end up getting the benefit of that hardware without having to spend thousands of dollars out of pocket for just one or two pieces of equipment.

        These are some of the security solutions we provide for you even though we aren't a dedicated information security company. If you have specific reasons for heightened concerns, mention them to our customer service representative during your consultation. Additionally, protecting yourself from malicious intrusions is an arms race where methods on both sides are constantly evolving. Participate in our message board topic on protecting your business from hackers and you can share solutions with other businesses making everyone better off.

Determining a target market traditionally begins with a process of market segmentation in which you categorize the entire market into geographic and demographic groups. Then, you can determine which groups (or "segments") are ones who would potentially become your customers, which ones you want to advertise to, and which ones are worth spending money on to try and attract.

        This process can quickly become overwhelming and in some businesses, you can reach a point of diminishing returns fairly quickly. For a lot of small to midsize businesses, owners may find that they have the ability to identify their customers through experience. Over the years, you might intuitively come to know that most of your customers come from the local Hmong community, or that most are between 50 and 60 years old. Your impression of your customer base is a good place to start, but by only focusing on what you have, you may be missing out on entire groups that you could attract with the right marketing. As with any starting point though, you can design your advertising and even specific marketing campaigns to those groups as desired and they would be considered your "target market."

        Ultimately, our company recommends a balanced strategy. Any approach can become counterproductive at some point. Sometimes our perceptions don't match the facts and this is a good example of the benefits of [link to CRM information] customer relationship management suites. Continuing the above example, you might think that most of your customers are between 50 and 60 years old and adding performance enhancements to their engines. But your CRM software might tell you that most of them are between 18 and 25 purchasing aftermarket rims and tires. This would alert you to a segment of your clients that you could benefit from by creating a focused marketing campaign.

        In short, there are multiple ways to determine who your target market is or should be. Observations are fine, but you should definitely consider software solutions that will give you detailed data that you can use. See other ideas or contribute your own on our message board topic about target markets.

We can absolutely help with that. Most of our clients are existing businesses and already have that setup. However, new businesses and ones who are exploring a complete rebranding need an experienced guide to take them through the process. You can take advantage of our professional designers to provide you with high-end services on everything from a fresh logo to a new slogan. Then, you can use those to create a clear brand identity throughout your marketing. You can ask us to contact you here and we'll go over the process with you.

Your advertising budget will naturally ebb and flow throughout the life of your company. When you are first starting out, you are going to spend a lot to get your name out there and build a customer base. During more normal times, you want to stay in your customer's minds, but you don't have to spend as much. If you have a public relations problem or a special event, then you will need to step it up again. Thus, the amount you direct towards advertising and marketing will vary as the situation necessitates. It is important to monitor what you are doing currently and what you have done in the past to ensure that you are making the most of your advertising attempts. We recommend that you use software tools specifically addressing these cycles. [link to request info]You can talk to one of our customer service representatives who can help you learn more about them.

        Outside of software solutions, a simple ratio to keep track of how well your marketing is working is called the "customer acquisition cost." You can calculate it regularly in order to watch it over time. All it requires is taking the total amount that you spent on sales and marketing for the period of time you are calculating and dividing that by the number of new customers who came in during that same period. Although this doesn't tell you how much each individual client cost, it will give you a good correlation that will help you make spending decisions.

        Our message boards are another resource that you can use to see what other businesses are doing and spending.

This question has multiple answers because of the different types of products and services we offer. As far as physical documents are concerned, we give you what's called a "proof" to review before we run the actual printing. This is your opportunity to make sure everything is in order before we produce the final product. Once the final product is created, the sale is considered final because we cannot resell products designed for you to someone else (nor would you want us to).

        Likewise, for the digital products that we create, we put in the work upfront to get the best results for you. That work is specific to your business so we don't do returns per se. What we do offer though is no contracts. We strive to earn your business each and every time we interact with you. For example, let's say you have a website created by us and we are hosting it for you. If something happens and you close your doors, we can shut it down with no penalties and no further obligation.

        There are an immense number of situations that may arise to cause you to rethink your marketing strategies and we are here for you. To make sure you are going in the right direction, speak to a customer service representative. They will be able to evaluate your current situation and any new goals you have to guide you in the best course of action. If you are pivoting specialties, you should also check out our message board topic on executing a business pivot. It will let you see what other business owners have done in similar situations.

SEO marketing falls under the digital marketing umbrella. It is the method that businesses use to boost visibility and website traffic in an organic way.

Social media marketing utilizes social platforms to put your brand in the spotlight, helping you connect with your audience where they are: online. Social media campaigns can achieve a number of goals, like boosted web traffic and increased revenue. Expertly executed campaigns can also build brand recognition.

Paid traffic marketing involves paying for traffic to a website through channels such as search engines, social media, and email. The goal of this form of digital marketing is to increase brand awareness, generate leads, and drive sales.

Pay-per-click (PPC) is an online advertising model in which advertisers pay for each click on their ad. PPC ads are typically displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) or websites and can be targeted to specific audiences. When a user clicks on a PPC ad, the advertiser pays for that click.