Having just received information pertaining to a client of Marketing Eye’s that had a section on their website whereby visitors could lobby to have their local shop store a particular beer, I was surprised by the number of people who are loyal to a brand.
Expert Marketing Blog - Small Business Marketing - Page 22
Read more... →
What typifies a small business varies from country to country but there are almost 2 million in Australia if you incorporate sole operators and consultants in the mix – or at least so they tell me. How many times in business have you wished you never took on a new client? They were a bad fit, they weren’t on the same page, they didn’t have the same code of ethics or perhaps they had unrealistic expectations. Everyone at some stage has experienced a situation where a client or potential client is not a good fit for their organisation.
Who would have thought, that one social media medium would take precedent over another just because of usability, ease of functionality and a more aligned target audience joined by the fact that it is achieving better results for our clients.
Wow! When you get a bunch of marketers in a room – ideas fly.
Time for a new brand?Where should a business begin when thinking about re-branding?
There are rule of thumbs – but beware. Like most things in marketing, not everything is for everyone.
Believe it or not, brand makeovers are not simply a response to businesses in a downward spiral. Successful companies revamp their brands just as much as ones that have experienced a downturn in their fortunes.
Many businesses are turning back the clock and placing a greater emphasis on traditional word-of-mouth marketing and the latest social networks to grow their market share.
Having been in business for 10 years and totally absorbed by the businesses I already own and operate, I have had little time to think of anything else.
But like a well oiled chain, most of my businesses operate fairly efficiently and effectively without my daily input. These days I am more a problem solver than a day-to-day runner of the business.
Yesterday I was asked the question about what are the concerns of small to medium sized businesses when it comes to marketing right now.
The truth is only they know, however I have a good gauge having spoken with more than 100 small to medium sized businesses in the last month.
I have a good friend who always talks about ‘living the dream’. He arrives at a friends house, they go “what have you been up to?”, he replies “Living the dream”. Actually, you can pretty much ask him anything and the reply is always the same. Go figure.
Some trade shows really need to re-think their strategies. If other delegates walk out of tradeshows feeling the way I did today, then it’s not a great sign for the tradeshow.
I have tried everything. Changed screens on my computer, rummaged to the next page in newspapers and hummed la la la in my head when my staff mention it and to be honest, tried everything in the book to avoid hearing about it.
It’s tradeshow season! There are hundreds of tradeshows each month in Australia and overseas and companies more so than ever are investing heavily in marketing themselves in this way.
I have to declare, I am a wannabe surfer. I say wannabe because I don’t go out and give it a go nearly as much as I should for someone who really wants to be able to surf some big waves.
I am clearly the amateur that is thrilled every time I catch a wave and ride it. Actually, thrilled is an understatement. I am jumping out of my pants every single time I catch a wave and stay on the board longer than 3 seconds.
The reason I am so eager to surf is that when I go out and watch people surf, they don’t have a care in the world. All they think about is catching the next wave (and of course, making sure that there are no shark fins hanging around given the media over the last couple of months reporting so many shark attacks).
I want to be just like that.
With the Quicksilver Pro on at Rainbow Bay at the moment, I ventured down to join some friends to watch the pro’s in action.
I wasn’t disappointed. I saw Joel Parkinson put in a few great heats, even though he did not make the cut.
Then I saw the man everyone has been talking about. Yes, I have read gossip magazines that picture him with Cameron Diaz, Pam Anderson (what was he thinking?), Giselle to name a few. I have also watched him a couple of times on television and until recently thought was quite a hot looking man.
Well, nothing prepared me for seeing him live at the Quicksilver Pro. As he walked down the beach, about 500 people followed him just hoping for a glimpse. Kids raced into the water and tried to swim up to him and he politely acknowledged them with some high 5’s and words of wisdom.
He is the waters version of a rock star. The 5000 strong crowd could not get enough of him. They were mesmerised by the sporting great who has won 9 world titles, more so than any other person.
Why I am writing about Kelly Slater is simple. He is a human brand that has an insane following. Insane!
I have been to every major sporting event that has hit Australian shores and yet I have never seen such a dedicated group of followers for just one man.
Now, he is not only on a mission to win his 10th world title, but also to sell a few boards through brand Kelly Slater.
Riding a radically short five foot four inch board even though he is going for the big ASP World Tour 10th win is a marketers dream. I bet after the weekend there was a sell-out of radically short boards because let’s face it, every surfer wants to be just like Kelly Slater.
What a legend!
In my early to mid thirties, I lived on the Gold Coast and as I was in Marketing in the technology sector, became heavily involved. When I talk involved, I mean involved.
I ran the IT Awards, was the Secretariat for all IT Industry Associations Board that talked directly to government on industry based issues, spoke at universities and schools on careers in IT, and founded industry group e-Women and so on.