Marketing Eye

Expert Marketing Blog - Small Business Marketing - Page 8

Are your competitors nipping at your tail?

There are thousands of marketing companies in America. They range from one-man bands, to small and mid tier agencies, right through to large multinationals.

For small businesses, it is very hard for many entrepreneurs or business managers to ascertain what is the best marketing solution for their business and what will help them get to the next level.

As a business owner and entrepreneur, it is paramount to understand our competitors and do the complete opposite to what they are doing.

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A thing or two we can learn from Bieber, Maguire and Di Caprio

It's no different to Justin Bieber, the Venture Capitalist, reportedly having earned $108 million over the past two years investing in tech startups like Spotify. Becoming complacent because you think you have made it or everything is going swimmingly well, could be your biggest downfall.
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The Sunday Marketer

The Sunday Marketer

If you are anything like me, Sunday morning, I always go down to my local cafe at 7am with my dog to buy a coffee and a fresh croissant. It gets rid of two things; my need for a coffee in the morning and my dog needing to 'do her business'.

Then, I come home, shower, and turn on my computer. Mainly I write, but at least for an hour or so, I work.

Unlike most people, I rarely go into my emails. That to me is a Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 job. Instead I look at the Marketing Eye website and think of ways to market our business.

I am THE SUNDAY MARKETER.

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Why do people visit your website?

Have you ever thought about what your website is really used for? Why people are visiting it in the hundreds, thousands, ten's of thousands?

One of my clients yesterday said to me that they Google searched an obscure term, and Marketing Eye came up. He was surprised, but I guess, not as surprised as I was.

A website, if it is search engine optimized, comes up on search engines. That is the purpose. Right? You invest all of this money, time and effort into ensuring that your website comes up trumps when prospects, clients and stakeholders are looking for your company or a company that provides your products or services.

But who else visits your website and why?
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What the Olympics is doing for brands

There were 9.66m tweet in the first day of the London 2012 Olympics, surpassing the Beijing 2008 Olympics total in just 24 hours.

In fairness, Twitter was just a startup then, so our timelines were not flooded as they are today and there was no colossal 340 million tweet per day. But this microblogging site is mammoth when it comes to bringing us the news faster and and more efficiently than any other medium in sound bites that most of us can understand. It also gives us choice as to whether we wish to read more or not.
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What do successful people have that you don't?

Ever wondered why people soak up every word that a truly successful person says? Or why, they seem to do less talking than the person engaging with them in conversation?

Successful people are unique. They don't need to buy a Ferrari (I am not a car enthusiast so not sure what car to put here)  to show that they have money, nor will they order the most expensive wine in a restaurant. They typically do not wear obvious designer briefs and they never tell you how good they are or what accomplishments they have made.

Instead, they listen attentively, ask questions and put the spotlight on others.
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Blogs that get you to buy

Blogs that get you to buy

Retailers that have not adopted a strategic social media strategy that has as much weighing in their marketing budget as their traditional media spend, are at risk of not only losing marketshare but also staying alive as a business.

Retailers were slower to discover the benefits of using bloggers and affiliate sites to reach their target audience, but those who have taken seriously the trend that has absorbed the world in the past five years of social media engagement are seeing a lower cost marketing platform that is complemented by a more loyal and trusted customer base.
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50 Shades of Marketing

I have a conspiracy theory relating to the latest blockbuster novel "50 Shades of Grey".

If you have spent any time at all reading any of the three novels in the series, you would realize that other than a basic storyline, it is all about porn. Albeit soft.

1.5 million people have already read this book. I have read it. My friends have read it. It is addictive and completely trashy, but let's face it - women love this type of stuff. Look at how successful Mills and Boons was and still is.

My theory though, having read two of the New York Times Bestseller Trilogy series, that the book was commissioned by a large chain or perhaps online sex store. Bare with me as I explain...
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A personal account of business expansion

It's been a windy road to get to where I am today. Sitting in front of my computer, going through literally hundreds of emails and sending off replies like I am in some kind of maniac rush.

Expansion isn't easy. Don't get me wrong - everyone has been supportive, but I have had to pull inner strength from places I never knew existed. You see, when you start a business at 25, there is no such thing as fear. You have nothing to lose. I had nothing to lose to be more precise. Blessed with a wonderful partner at home at the time, I was fully supported and encouraged to go out there and give it my best. And that I did.
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Caribou Coffee Shop in Atlanta Fosters New Business

Caribou Coffee Shop in Atlanta Fosters New Business

A moment to spare between meeetings and a laptop in hand, there is only one place to go.

Caribou Coffee Shop on Peachtree Street in Buckhead Atlanta.

As I ask for a coffee with skim milk, they ask my name. Not too dissimilar to a Starbucks Coffee shop but for some reason, I like the coffee more and I love that it is conveniently located near where I am staying.
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It's no secret, who is the best fashion retailer in Atlanta

It's no secret, who is the best fashion retailer in Atlanta

After a highly successful trip to AT & T for a new mobile phone, I ventured towards the car through the shopping mall Lennox in Buckhead Atlanta.

My eyes were captivated by the lights and colours that shine so brightly from Victoria Secret that my one year ban from going into the store, became a distant memory.
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Small business: Are all your ducks in a row?

The challenges of 2011/12 have been more worrying than ever before. There are some real reasons for this. Italy and Spain are in preparation ot sell debt amid concerns that Europe's fiscal crisis is infecting bigger economies, debt levels are more than 25% higher than the Great Depression and the US - well, we are all aware what is going on there.

For many small business owners, we are now down to the business end of the year. To make a dollar or for some, to survive another year.

While it has been tough and most small businesses can attest to this, those who are investing in their product and service offering, are fairing better than those who are saving every penny and hoping for a better day.

I am an optimist in every sense of the word. My glass is half full and there is a lot more left in the jug. But as I use positivity to spearhead my next steps, I am acutely aware that 'having all your ducks in a row' is paramount to not only surviving but growing your business and moving forward.

As a small business owner, there are many things to consider:

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How a cup of coffee could save your customer relationship

Today, I had a chat with a marketing guru from Atlanta and we discussed the value of going offline with your clients.

So many communications today is done by texting, facebooking, tweeting, emailing, video conferencing, skyping - you name it - we are doing it! All of our talking has gone online.
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What does colour have to do with it?

Have you ever been stopped at a traffic light and made a false start when it wasn’t your green light? Three colours control the daily commute of billions of people around the world, green means go, red means stop and yellow means slow down. To most people.

These colour associations are universal and worldwide. So if colours can tell us when to stop when to go, what else can it tell us to do? What is the colour of your brand telling customers to do?

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