Marketing Eye

Expert Marketing Blog - Page 72

The biggest business decision you will ever make

There are few decisions that sit on the top of the pile as most fall lamely into the category of part of life's journey running a business. 

But, thankfully, life really isn't that boring and there are more than enough decisions to keep you awake at night or in the office until the wee hours, going over reports and analysis trying in vein to make the right decision for your business.

All while of course, people are saying to you that you need work, life balance and those long hours in the office, isn't really what you should be doing.
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How to open your business in a new city

To say that I have had the amazing week ever is an understatement. I have met with the most giving, kind and thoughtful people this week by accident, coincidence or by sheer luck.

As most of you would be aware, Marketing Eye Atlanta is now full speed ahead. We are working with small businesses in Atlanta and surrounding cities in Georgia to help grow their businesses by providing an outsourced marketing department capable of identifying marketing needs in their businesses and leveraging our creativity and marketing talents to take them to new heights.

I have been dipping my toes personally in Atlanta for the past 12 months and late last year, started employing talented marketers to start building the business and identifying companies that would benefit from Marketing Eye's services.

Up until this week, I have been travelling backwards and forwards to Atlanta thanks to Qantas and the comforts they provide, and speaking with businesses in the area. Now, with my feet firmly on the ground, its time to really get this business in motion and start making inroads into becoming Atlanta's number one small business marketing firm.

Well, to say we are off to a good start is an understatement. 13 clients and/or very hot leads in 4 days isn't a bad outcome. I never dreamt that the uptake would be so good. But there has been a few things along the way that have helped us out.

They are:
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What makes a customer want to buy from you

First day back at work after the festive season and I decided to pop out to Lennox Square in Buckhead to buy a few emergency items. You know the ones that you just cannot possibly live without that sit in the cosmetics section of Macy's? 

As I approached the Chanel counter, I was greeted by familiar faces. I had met the staff there a few times before and they remembered me and my blog. After all, I read the blog out to the regional manager when I was last at the counter - a highlight of my year!
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It's time to grow up - literally

If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you have always got. Henry Ford

It's one of my favourite sayings and yet it is so true.

I was thinking about one of my friends the other day and they keep doing the same old things over and over again with the same result. He keeps thinking it is everyone else, yet the common denominator is him. So without standing up and taking responsibility for their actions and where they are in life, they will no doubt continue down the same path. It's sad but true and you always want the best for them, but you know that ultimately, perhaps they would be happier if they made a change. That's certainly what I keep telling my friend Andrew anyway.

In business, if you are not where you want to be, then take stock. Is it because you keep repeating the same mistakes? Are you not learning lessons from one failure after another? Can you dissect how your business has run over the past year and look at ways you can improve upon your businesses performance?
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New beginnings

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting. -Buddha

A new year, a new beginning. A chance to make wrong right and to deliver on your inner most ambitious, hopes and loves.

Each year, in January, like millions of others around the world, I make new years resolutions. They tend to be ones that are relatively achievable or that are aligned to my values and/or dreams. By writing them down and looking at them each day, it gives me a reminder of what my hopes were for the year ahead. 

As an entrepreneur and business person, there are many things that I would love to achieve; worldwide domination, more visitors to websites, greater client experiences, more sales, bigger profits, improved employee engagement and the list goes on and on. In short, like most entrepreneurs and business people, I want to be better at business and I want everyone around me to see my visions become realities.

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. -Alan Cohen
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Is "No Decision Your Main Competitor?"

Who out there is looking deeply into their sales performance over the past 12 months to help model a sales process for 2013?

As we look back at Salesforce records and reports and ascertain who made the decision to buy, postpone or sit on their hands, it's alarming how many people are doing the latter.

What happens in marketing and sales for that matter is that people don't make decisions. Many businesses are underperforming because they are unable to attach performance goals with real business needs. 
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How to make your employees feel special this festive season

Like many small business owners, I have been totally caught up in finalizing work for the year. For the first time ever, I have not bought a single gift. I am totally behind schedule.

But like millions of others, there are many options: shopping online, late night shopping or battling through the crowds in the lead-up to Christmas.
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How to 'Pick Up Your Game': Marketing

Yesterday, I picked up my game. No longer walking around with the weight of the world on my shoulders, I changed the outcomes of the week, the month and possibly my life - all in a day.

Simply by getting eight hours sleep (a blessing!), having a dynamic new recruit from Atlanta in the Melbourne office, seeing the team excited about life and their work and watching everyone and everything grow in so many ways - I had an a-ha moment (think Oprah).

It was almost like an outer-body experience. Here I was, looking from the outside in and all I saw was highly motivated, excited people that were all ready to tackle the world head-on and believed so strongly in what they were doing and how they were doing it - that they sent some type of magical energy to every person they came into contact with - including me!
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How building a new brand can revitalise your business

Successfully revitalising a brand is every marketer’s dream but is no easy task, requiring persistence and hard work. Changing customer perceptions and providing clarity of the brand’s values is difficult, especially when it comes to transforming the target public’s entrenched mindset.

Marketing Eye wanted to change the way consumers perceived American Property Partners (APP). Was the APP brand clearly projecting the message it wanted to put forward to the general public? It is essential for portfolio managers to present themselves as reliable. After all, customers must trust them with their investments.
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Welcoming Lisa Homa

Welcoming Lisa Homa

Atlanta entrepreneurs stand to gain additional insights on business growth and small business marketing through Marketing Eye’s new recruit, Lisa Homa.

The experienced marketing consultant has joined the Atlanta team, bringing to the role extensive knowledge in the advertising, finance, IT, human resources and research industries.

She previously held roles at global advertising giant Clemenger Group and also gained international exposure through her previous corporate and boutique work in Australia and the UK.

As Marketing Eye’s dynamic consultant, Lisa will work with small business owners and entrepreneurs to help Atlanta’s small- and medium-sized businesses boost their success and experience exponential growth.
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Is your sales process automated?

While content management is 'all the rage' right now, smart marketers are not forgetting that while content may drive sales, visitors to your website or generate leads - it's sales process automation that keeps the sales pipeline full to the brim.

All small business owners are thinking about how they can attract more sales in the most cost-effective way possible without sacrificing the integrity of their brand.
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Things that every small business owner should think about

When in doubt, ask an expert.

Yesterday, I put in a phone call to Bond Street 180 business turnaround guru Daryl Wright and asked what he considered to be the most important things for small business owners to consider ahead of 2013. Here is what he had to say.

Here are the three things I think SME's should consider for 2013:
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How to get the best start to 2013

“If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.” Jack Dixon.

I woke up this morning feeling a little bit down.

The year has gone so fast – yet, I feel as though I have done so little. I have been chasing my tail trying to accomplish so much – yet, my ‘to do list’ seems to be getting longer and longer. There is so much more to be achieved, but with only 27 days left to the year, it looks as though I have literally run out of time.

Apparently, I am not alone.

Small business owners the world over struggle to fit everything in to their daily schedule – with this time of year marking a time where the scoreboard comes out and crosses begin to appear, with thick red markers firmly reminding entrepreneurs that they have not done enough hard work or scored the goals they needed to win the game.

But do entrepreneurs ever really ‘win’ the game? If you are anything like me, you keep changing the goal posts and every time you get close, you shift the posts just that little bit further. 

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How to pick the right corporate Christmas gift

Selecting the correct Christmas gift for clients can often be fraught with danger - while a thoughtful, heartfelt gift can strenghten and enhance your professional relationships, a poorly-executed and inappropriate present will have the opposite effect.

These days, selecting corporate gifts can often feel like a competition, with companies attempting to outdo each other in a extravagant battle of the budgets. That said, money can't buy class or creativity, so make sure you give from the heart and tailor each gift to your clients' interests. It is the thought that counts, after all.

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Why your website is dying

Why your website is dying

Many small business owners are reluctant to invest too much time and money into their websites. They simply don't see the value in it - that is of course, once you've passed the fact that they need to have one.

They invest in having a web development company develop a website and populate it with content and pictures, but many still don't ensure that they have search engine optimized their website on a regular basis or that they are updating content regularly that is relevant to their target audience.

It's easy to have a website - but not so easy to keep it up-to-date and relevant.

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