Marketing Eye

Thursday, 31 May 2012 16:55

The travelling gypsy!

"If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad." Denis Waitley

It's been a big 2 weeks for me. I have travelled to Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York, Munich, throughout Italy, Monaco and St Tropez - all without drawing breathe!
Wednesday, 30 May 2012 08:21

What has Prince got that you haven't?

A post of Facebook by my best girlfriend of more than 20 years, about an upcoming Prince concert, had me tormented. Why? Because concerts for me are usually best heard on a DVD or somewhere I can have sound control. I sound like a 'Nanna' but load music usually gives me headaches and although I love music, I tend to love silence a little more.
Published in Marketing
Last week I was walking past this billboard in Munich and it really stood out. Mainly because of its size in the centre of town, but also because of its simplicity and edgy connectivity. What do you think of this Adidas Billboard?
Published in Marketing
Tuesday, 29 May 2012 19:51

Has Facebook Lost It's Cool?

There are 10 968 120 Facebook users in Australia accounting for 51.58% of the population - so why then, do I receive a call from Facebook to sell advertising from Malaysia.

Asha, the lovely girl that called, was very difficult to understand because of her accent. Not too dissimilar to the strong Australian accent being difficult to understand in other parts of the world, but nevertheless, almost impossible to clearly identify what Asha was trying to sell me. Eventually I worked it out, but the script she was using was so bad, that I am sure that the success rate of this campaign by Facebook will take a nose-dive, just like their share price.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012 02:46

Why GMAIL is not for business

As per usual, our website is flooding Marketing Eye with leads - so many in fact, that we are turning companies that are not a good fit away.

My last call, was very interesting. It was from an interstate online business looking to grow their business-to-business client base.

After chatting for 20 minutes, it became apparent that the business was not suited to Marketing Eye. They pushed to receive a proposal even though I had already told them that they were not suited to our format of working with clients, and then even after saying this, they proceeded to provide me with a gmail address.

Are you serious? Do you think in a business to business environment, that it would be appropriate to provide a prospect or anyone else for that matter with a gmail address? Do you really think they will take you seriously?
Tuesday, 29 May 2012 00:46

How to define your target audience

Driving down the streets of Munich, I looked ahead to see three vehicles in a row. It immediately had me thinking - what makes one car stand out from the rest when every car has a purpose?

Simple. The car that stands out is the one that is best suited to you as an individual. Not the person sitting beside you. But you.
Have you ever noticed that the most successful people don't talk about how good they are?

In business, I am constantly meeting people who tell me how great they are. Women that sprout, "I won this award and that" and men that tell you how much money they want you to think they make.
Monday, 21 May 2012 18:30

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT ATLANTA

To me, Atlanta is like one big country town. It has a wholesome feel about it, warm people, clean taxi's and an array of cool restaurants.

I have some great friends there who are talented, intelligent, fun, interesting and very likable.
Sunday, 20 May 2012 18:27

Websites that save lives

The thought of travel right now has a major downside. It usually starts - and ends for that matter with airlines and lost luggage. I cannot remember how many times in the past 5 years that my luggage has gone awol. At least every second international flight. Given that I fly only with Oneworld and Delta Airlines these days, that says something.
Published in Website Development
Sunday, 13 May 2012 20:45

What We Can Learn From Our Mothers

In Australia, it's Mother's Day today.

A day that we show appreciation for our Mother's and tell them how important they are to our lives.

My Mother is an interesting woman. She is highly religious, has an incredible sense of resilience and shows compassion to people around her like no-one I have never seen before.

As a child, I remember looking up to her. I loved that she wasn't showy like some other people's Mother's and that she always stood in the background, quiet, yet very supportive. She was the type of Mother that would bake a cake, pop into the school unannounced and give a slice to each of the kids in our class so that they could enjoy her delicious baking for morning tea. Knowing that I had a phobia of eating food out of a lunchbox, she also use to drive 10 kilometres to drop me off fresh lunch, or my favourite fish and chips, on days when the canteen didn't operate - so I would not starve.
Published in Mellissah Smith
Sunday, 13 May 2012 20:40

What TWEETS me off!

Twitter is awesome for business. Seriously awesome. Even this week, a new client signed with Marketing Eye on $24,000 for the year via following me on Twitter. I love it! A small investment in time for a great return. It helps promote the Marketing Eye brand globally, encourages people to go to our website, increases the number of people who read our marketing blogs and engages at a level that 10 years ago, we would not have been able to do.


But, there are a few things that annoy me about twitter.
Tuesday, 08 May 2012 07:43

21 Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

I woke up this morning at 3.30am and could not stop thinking. My brain was on overload. All I could think about was business.

Expanding a business internationally is not exactly the easiest task to undertake. It requires a lot more work than you think and some serious planning.

When a person has a big business goal, it can be all-consuming. It's a 24 hour, 7 day a week gig. And when you put that sort of effort into something, you are looking for one hell-of-a-return. I know I am!

Most entrepreneurs think about the end goal. What is it that they are trying to achieve. Then they work back from there. What steps need to be taken to achieve this goal.

To me, this is the norm, but what sets one successful person apart from the run-of-the-mill entrepreneur can often come down to a set of traits. So, what traits make a successful entrepreneur?

21 Traits of a Successful Entrepreneur

Learning to surf a wave is not the easiest task in the world to do. It requires a certain amount of skill, some balance and a whole lot of determination. And... it requires practice.

In the dotcom boom, everyone who was not inventing an online business, were buying up shares so that they felt part of it. The problem was, that by the time the publicity hits and consumers are encouraged to buy shares, the fat cats in corporate finance and early investors have already made their dough.
Monday, 07 May 2012 19:26

How Creative Do You Want To Be?

Thinking outside the square is getting harder and harder to do. Creatives are now more challenged than ever even though they have more platforms to be creative on.
Saturday, 05 May 2012 21:49

Are you sleepwalking your business away?

Theories by Freud and Carl Jung gained prominence and influence as much in history as they do today. While the relevance to their theories vary depending on who you talk to, there is one general consensus on 'unconscious state of being'.

The question I pose to you is 'Are you sleepwalking your business away?'

Let's not pretend we have never done this. That it is not you. Surely, if you have been in business for a long time, you can relate to this.

At some stage, all entrepreneurs fall into the trap of sleepwalking through life. It may be only for a week, a month or perhaps, a year. Where we wake up, shower, get dressed, travel to work, get a coffee, and start work. At whatever hour in the evening, we finish, we go home, we eat and we go to sleep - only to do it all over again the next day.

Freud had a theory, albeit, flawed, about people existing in an unconscious state of being. At one time or another, many entrepreneurs fall prey to this unconscious state of being, because work dictates life and we forget how to live.
I am on a very personal journey right now with my business. 8 years ago, I had a dream and after years of fine tuning the business, I am ready to make it come to life. To reach the next level.

What that means is continually putting myself out there, sharing my experiences and taking my business to a level that no-one else in the industry has been able to achieve to date.

Basically, my dream or more precisely, something that is on my bucket list, is to build a company valued at $100 million.
It's a wake up call on how one communicates with others that they come into contact with and what lasting impression that leaves.
Published in Marketing
Over the years, I have met many inspirational women who have had some impact on my life in one way or another.

When I was just 25 years old, the then Chairman of Citibank in Australia organised for me to meet Wendy McCarthy, who at that time was on numerous boards including John McGrath's, McGraths Real Estate board and acted as a mentor to senior managers in many of Australia's top companies.