Marketing Eye

Expert Marketing Blog - Page 66

It's that time of year again and as we all wind down for the festive season, it's time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the year ahead.

Most marketing strategies will be firmly in place for next year, but for those who have left it too late, there are a few things that you need to consider.
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One of my close girlfriends rung me today. She hasn't been out on a date in 5 years because she was married and now newly single, was about to embark on her first dating experience.

She asked,"I am new to this stuff, but I am going on a date tonight to a dinner and a movie and I am not sure what the protocol is with paying."

I asked, "do you like him?" 

She said, "yes, he is a really great guy and I really like him".
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Marketing Eye is expanding and evolving… and you could be a part of our global growth.

We’re on the hunt for an experienced marketing communications manager to head a team in Melbourne.Because our work is so varied and diverse, we’re taking our time to pick the right person with the right mix of experience across a broad range of marketing skill sets. Our salary packaging is commensurate with experience and passion for marketing, and great performance will be rewarded with bonuses and perks. 
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About 18 month's ago, I realized that I had a few unfulfilled dreams. A milestone in age was coming up, albeit a few years away, and all of a sudden I couldn't think of anything other than what I had achieved and what I wanted to achieve, which were becoming two very different things.

What I had achieved was for all to see. I was comfortable with my place in the world. In many people's terms, I had achieved a lot and for me, I didn't really have any major aspirations to achieve more than what I had. Well, at least that was what I kept telling myself. 

Then I received an email. It was from a friend in Dubai and they were touching base with me after a few years of no communication. We hadn't talked for no other reason other than the tyranny of distance and the lack of urgency in making contact. He asked "have you done all the things we had talked about that time we sat up until 3am in the morning, talking about our dreams". I thought back. It dawned on me that I had not. Sure it was 3am in the morning and I may have had one or two glasses of red too much, so my "dreams" were probably more outlandish than what I really wanted to do in life, but the answer still was the same. No I hadn't. And there was a few things that I said that night that I wouldn't mind crossing off my checklist.

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Daily I receive updates on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin from people that have received publicity whether it is through an online blog or in the media sprouting how successful they are. The first couple of "pushes" of publicity, I applaud and genuinely think "good on that person". Then when it keeps coming in what can sometimes be "D-grade" versions of media that perhaps only a few people ever get to read, I start to think "oh, this person is looking for attention or needs people to think they are successful".

Which, might I add, may not be the case at all, but it is just my immediate perception if I don't know any better about the person.
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For years, I have been fascinated by design in every possible form; shape, configuration, pattern, ornamentation and visual appearance. Of particular interest is architectural design.

Last week, I was fortunate enough to walk the streets of Amsterdam with one of the Netherlands most famed interior architects, Flip Verbeek. He use to be co-owner of a company called Flow that has designed some of the most amazing interiors in buildings throughout the Netherlands. As we walked the streets, looking at building after building that had been designed by Flow and the talented architects in the team, I was inspired. The passion that this man has for design and visuals that are sustainable and complement the environment in which it inhabits, is contagioius.

So contagious in fact, that on my flight home from Amsterdam, I looked up www.realestate.com.au, found a property and days later, bought it.

The property will be the new home for Marketing Eye in Melbourne. It is located in my favourite street in the city, Greville Street and fits inside my inner-city bubble that I love to live in. While I won't be here so much to enjoy it, it gives me great pride to be able to find a building with the character and potential that the one I have just bought has.
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This blog has been spurred by the many challenges in growing an international business leveraging  economies of scale and opportunities that are simply too good to pass by.

In the past week, I have been thinking alot about Linkedin. It has been the topic of many conversations and all for the right reasons. Daily I am asked about what social media mediums are best for b2b organizations and of course, there is no one answer because it depends entirely on a companies specific demographic, time constraints, strategy and of course, budget.

I wrote a blog on the value of Linkedin for small businesses and have spent quite a bit of time on this social media platform over past couple of days. It's interesting to see how people interact and reach out to each other. It is equally fascinating to see some people's comments that are purely self-serving or a bit over the top negative for no apparent reason.
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Professional services firms are known as the "safest" b2b marketers, only second behind that of the medical industry.

Still stuck in the dark ages, many professional services firms still believe that 'good work speaks for itself' and "you need to find the clients pain" ensuring that they keep it "safe" when embarking on marketing of any kind, rather than looking deep into customer insights to drive leads and create more sustainable client relationships.

What professional services firms are forgetting is that while they may still be on track to achieving their sales goals, being complacent and not moving with the times, will make it almost impossible to stay competitve.
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Finding time to spend on social media networks is getting more difficult. There are so many to choose from, that at times, small businesses don't know where to start.

From time to time, re-evaluating which social media networks work best for your company and re-defining your strategy according to changes in features and functionality, can either leverage your business to new heights or create havoc with your sales cycle.

As a firm believer that "you cannot be everything to everyone", it makes perfect sense to spend time looking at the various analytics relating to social media, the demographics of each platform and how it applies to your target audience, brand authenticity and collaborations with clients and partners.

When it comes to b2b marketing, the decision on what social media networks to use and invest in becomes significantly easier.
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A marketing consultant is not necessarily a marketing consultant.

From one to another, they are completely different. Some have great skills in strategy, others in tactical development and execution of marketing plans. Some are great at communicating but not fully across social media or what role advertising plays in the digital age.

In the past year, I have travelled the world talking to marketers and each one has something different to offer. They all have honed their skills in one area or another.

I first started my involvement in the marketing industry 21 years ago at an advertising agency that was quite small. I remember watching the owner of the business operate and being completely fascinated by his skills and creativity. He had started his career as a window dresser for a big retailer and way back in the early nineties was making more than a million dollars profit out of 5-man agency. Incredible.
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After flying in from Atlanta, I was walking along the canals in Amsterdam enjoying the chilly breeze and freshness in the air when  I came across this piece of art. A park bench made out of old books.

It is a piece of art and each book has a story that it wishes to tell. Each book was put together by people who loved what is inside and wanted to share it with others. Each page is full of dialogue from authors all over the world, wanting to explore their inner most thoughts, passion, and view on something that they believe is meant not just for themselves but for others around them.

We each have a story to be told - don't we? As I sat in a coffee shop with my friend Huib today, we discussed some interesting life stories that people have shared with us in public forums. What we believed was a good story and some that we thought could be told in a different way, or perhaps should not be told at all.
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If you are being ambushed by someone you have just met, and it has you thinking twice about doing business with them, then you are not alone.

It's like relationships in life. My friend was sharing a story today on how she met this guy for 10 minutes at a business function and within minutes he has invited to stay at his home at the snow and then followed up with text messages - none of which have been replied to. Really? Do people really think that someone would go and stay at their place with them after 10 minutes? My friend and I laughed and we immediately related it back to business.
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We have all stumbled upon a myriad of marketing and social media latest phases and without hesitation either jumped in and had a go, or stood back and watched what our competitors have achieved before investing valuable cash and resources to the latest, hottest marketing platform.

In Atlanta, particularly, there is so much to consider when it comes to marketing but the reality is simple: content marketing driving sales through a better understanding of clients and prospects. I say, in Atlanta because every region is different and the demographics from one city in America to another is inherently different. Marketers that take the same course of action that they would in NY, LA or Chicago will find that their content marketing strategy is not effective and will not draw the results that your management team is looking for.

There has been one consistent marketing platform that has been more central to a marketing strategy in the past couple of years, than any other marketing activity bar social media.

Content Marketing

If you have been hearing this buzz word for some time, and haven't done anything about it, then you are in a minority. Unlike the phases of social media platforms and apps popping up into our strategies then quickly falling to the way-side, content marketing underpins all online marketing strategies, whether we like it or not.
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