Tag: Small Business Marketing - Page 3

It's a lesson that I learned far too late in the game, but nevertheless, I have learnt it and am reaping the rewards.

When clients are rolling in the door, most entrepreneurs are counting the dollars and working out ways in which to service them.

In the past, I have said 'yes' to far too many dodgy characters - people who I knew would never pay their bills, liars and people who just don't fit in with our brand and culture. Every single time, it ended in disaster.

X-FACTOR - DO YOU HAVE IT?

Have you ever walked into a room and everyone has turned to stare at you?

Have you ever started a speech and known that every single person in the audience is holding onto every last word you say?

Do your staff proudly tell the world that they work for your company?

Are you customers skiting over the fact that they use your company's services?

If you are Mel B, she proudly proclaims that she knew she had the X Factor when she first started with the Spice Girls. More modestly, Ronan Keating from the X Factor believes that you never really know but people may start asking for your autographs or listening to your songs. The X Factor show has been a phenomenal success showcasing the talents of people with talent. The winners have the 'X Factor' and often go on to be highly successful. Think Susan Boyle.

We are more than 2 weeks into the new financial year and already the business side of things is getting in the way of marketing the brand and driving sales. Is your business any different? Are you being overcome with day-to-day activities that are absorbing all your energy and time?

Marketing is one of those areas in the business that needs to be placed on the agenda. It has to be on the Minutes of Management Meeting's week after week. If not, it is far too often, placed to the way-side.

Having worked in the sustainability sector for the past 10 years, marketing businesses 'green' credentials and promoting a greener way of doing business, running your business and getting consumers to understand that making a small change in what you do can mean a big difference to the environment - it's no surprise that the new carbon tax is something that I am becoming increasingly familiar with.

Ok. You've got a good brand. Actually, you have an AWESOME brand. You are in love with it and it seems, so is everyone else.

You have a website. It wasn't exactly what you wanted, but it does a pretty good job. Doesn't drive leads how you thought it would, but as a brochure, it's not too bad and it has all the information your customers need.

You have some great ideas. Well, more than great - your ideas are not too far from some of the one's that Albert Einstein came up with, just no-one knows it yet. Or at least you like to think so.

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?

What pb Human Capital said about Marketing Eye's development of their company website:

"We first heard about Marketing Eye some years ago, and were consistently impressed by the quality of Mellissah's blogs, her marketing & design ideas and forever upbeat attitude. When we wanted a new and updated website, we made sure we spoke to her. To be honest though, we still did our due diligence and met with three firms before making our decision.

Mellissah is exactly the same in person as her social persona. She's great! She blew us away with her ideas for our website which fit neatly into our social networking strategy, our ideal brand image, and the look and feel of the company as we really are. When you couple that with the price (which was amazing, but not our only criterion), we simply had to use Marketing Eye.

The process was seamless, we had an incredibly fast turnaround, and the result was everything we'd hoped for. We're stunned. The website is excellent. It's exactly what we had conceptualised. I would absolutely recommend Marketing Eye to any business - small or large - that needed an expert look at their design and marketing strategy."

With only days until the end of the financial year, in most companies, there is a sense of need to get more sales in to improve the yearly results.

If you are struggling to find ways in which to bring in 'last minute' sales and want a refresh - try some of these helpful tips.

1. Ring your entire client base and see what other services you can give them in this financial year so that they can achieve their business objectives.

Let's get straight to the point. There are many challenges that small businesses face when it comes to marketing - and much of it is internal.

Small businesses:

1. Argue, challenge and brainstorm in June and December each year about what they are going to do for marketing in the year ahead. . . and end up doing nothing.

Whether you are a big business or a small business, "none of us is as smart as all of us" (ref: Kenneth Blanchard, The One Minute Manager).

Truth be known, I don't think I am very smart at all, but collectively with the talents of my team at Marketing Eye, we help small businesses grow and most of our work is pretty awesome (if you ask me!).

Not knowing if your marketing investment is working for you is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to building your business. Each year, millions of businesses put away funds for investment in marketing services. Many don't know whether their investment is working or not. Marketing Eye provides companies with a marketing manager who helps identify your target audience and develop campaigns to generate leads and create sales results.

30 DAY OFFER     Build it and they will come.       Marketing Eye builds websites that are on-brand, engaging, response driven, simple to navigate and that bring your brand to life in the minds of your customers. Created in a hassle-free environment, we drive our clients to better understand what makes their customers tick and importantly, buy. Not only are our websites award winning, they are only.       $3,990       Offer valid before June 30 2011.