It’s universally acknowledged that good service will get you places. Whether selling an unnecessarily big screen television to a family or ice to Inuits, good service makes sales.

This said, there are exceptions to every rule and every so often in this world of increasing competition, there are business managers with seemingly decreasing nouse.

It’s no longer just about your product or service – it’s all about the experience.

Marketing encompasses all senses – sight, taste, touch, smell and sound. Combined, these make the experience. The experience that people will walk away with; the experience that – good or bad – people will talk about.

As marketeers, we work tirelessly to communicate your message on each of these levels. We study, we research and we have experience to hone you the best experience for your offering. Not everyone understands the importance - or relevance even - of marketing however… and it shows…

Let’s start this blog with a simple exercise. Go to your Facebook page and look at the last 10 statuses you posted. What are they mostly about? You may want to think before posting if most of your statuses revolve around work complaints, drunken weekend antics or overstate political opinions.

A study by University of Scranton and UC San Diego researchers found that Facebook status updates stick in the minds of readers for longer than you think – one status alone is 1.5 times more memorable than sentences from books, and 2.5 times more memorable than faces of strangers, representing a remarkable difference in memory performance.

Insert question marks here…  Sometimes even the odd exclamation mark for frustration’s sake.

You spend all your time on your business, client relationships, communications.  You’re investing a lot in your marketing to spread awareness and build a reputation.  Where’s the conversion?  Where’s the new business?  Where’s the Twitter following?  Where are the likes on Facebook?

Know.  Like.  Trust.

No matter how big and experienced you may be, a lot of people don’t know about the X-Factor of communication - that recent Chanel ad featuring Brad Pitt is a great example (making it to the ‘Business Insider’s 10 Worst Ads of 2012’ list).  Before you sell anything, you need to get known, you need to be liked and you need to be trusted.

How?

However, the work you put into it is extremely beneficial when it comes to your company’s branding, giving the world an insight into what’s behind the scenes. On top of that, writing a blog can grow your business as you position your company as a thought leader in its industry.

After speaking with Marketing Eye's CEO for an hour and a half last night on the businesses direction and any challenges that the company may face now and in the future with its current growth path - a startling revolution occurred.

Our expansion plans and the hard work that has gone into making it happen is a GAME CHANGER.

Based on now real marketing other than a website, the forecast is that the business will double within 2 years and that's being conservative - because we actually think this will happen within a year to 18 months. 

The vast majority of business owners eat, breathe and sleep work.  You know your product.  You know your industry.  You have great relationships with your clients; even prospective business; BUT business isn’t as boom-boom-boom as it could be.   Insert question marks here…  Sometimes even the odd exclamation mark for frustration’s sake.

You spend all your time on your business, client relationships, communications.  You’re investing a lot in your marketing to spread awareness and build a reputation.  Where’s the conversion?  Where’s the new business?  Where’s the Twitter following?  Where are the likes on Facebook?

Know.  Like.  Trust.

No matter how big and experienced you may be, a lot of people don’t know about the X-Factor of communication - that recent Chanel ad featuring Brad Pitt is a great example (making it to the ‘Business Insider’s 10 Worst Ads of 2012’ list).  Before you sell anything, you need to get known, you need to be liked and you need to be trusted.

How?

Everything you do from design to search engine optimization and social media, online advertising and content marketing, effects your ability to increase your market share and drive sales online.

If you look at your website, it is the home base. The place where you want everyone to come "home to" and feel comfortable to let their hair down and take off their shoes. In fact, you don't even mind if they put their feet up on the coach - as long as they feel comfortable enough to want to come back time and time again.

To get your visitor to feel this way, you have to be hospitable. You need to make them "feel" at home and as if your place is theirs. They need to have all of their home comforts and you have to keep them entertained.

It was opportune that I met with Jennifer Guarton from Atlanta Business Chronicle last week because without her, I would not have been sitting at this morning's 2013 Eggs and Issues Breakfast.

My belief is that you cannot market to a market you don't understand. While marketers tend to understand the psychology of why people buy, they can often be caught out by glazing over the state of the economy and not understanding both Government influence and Economic  conditions in regions in which they market.

In today's New York Times, there is a full page advertisement that says:

THIS IS NO PLACE TO DREAM SMALL.

IN NEW YORK STATE, A BUSINESS CAN GROW
AS BIG AS ANYONE CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.

THIS IS A PLACE WITH A WHOLE
NEW APPROACH TO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
WITH THE FASTEST-GROWING TECH SECTOR IN THE U.S.,
ONE OF THE BEST EDUCATED WORKFORCES IN AMERICA,
AND OVER $1 BILLION IN INCENTIVES AND TAX BREAKS,
IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT OUR ECONOMY LAUNCHED OVER
50,000 NEW BUSINESSES LAST YEAR ALONE.

NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE,
OR WHAT YOU DREAM OF BECOMING,
REMEMBER THIS:
NO ONE EVER CAME HERE TO TAKE A BACK SEAT,
PLAY SECOND FIDDLE,
OR MAKE IT SMALL.

It's been an exhilirating week to say the least and my excitement levels are sky high.

The magnitude of market opportunity in Atlanta and the ability for a bespoke marketing services company like Marketing Eye to provide small businesses with a complete outsourced marketing department is incredible.

When you move to a new city, the first thing you do is connect or reconnect with people you know or have met before. It's a great opportunity to touch base and to engage with people, get updates on everyone's lives and start off where you left off.

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.

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:

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!

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?

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