Marketing
Keeping on top of the emerging trends surrounding your business is important. This information can assist you in revising your business and marketing plans, provide information of the activities of your competitors and help you identify new areas to grow. But with limited time and resources, how do you do it?
These days it is all about social media. And I am not just talking about Facebook and Twitter, I am talking YouTube, blogs, customer reviews, search engines; any tool that helps businesses engage with their customers. While many tout the power that social media has to grow a brand, it’s not something that is right for everyone.
There’s the old saying you should keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. And the same could be said for your business competitors.
We work so hard to get clients, yet often we forget how important it is to maintain a relationship with them once we have them onboard. It is essential to value your clients and make them feel special, it will make life easier for everyone involved – and they will love you for it.
For retailers, Christmas is the blockbuster sales event of the year. ‘Winning Christmas’ is vital as it generates such a large chunk of the year’s revenues. Smart businesses will put a lot of time and effort into preparing their store for Christmas, but the smart retailers are those that realise Christmas can be won and lost online.
Publicity is the art of getting journalists to write or talk about your products, services and company without paying them to do it. The best way to achieve that – as I outlined in Do-it-yourself PR – is to ask them. How you ask can be an art in itself. Here’s a crash course in dealing with the media.
From specific association networks to broad business groups, there are so many opportunities for business owners to network, but does networking actually work?
Want to know what your customers are searching for on Google? Understanding the way people use search engines can give you valuable insights into your customers and your market.
Some argue the GFC is yet to reach its full climax with the larger downturn set to arrive early next year. None of us know for sure if this will happen but we need to ensure we are prepared any situation. What can you do now to prepare yourself to be n the best possible position when the recession is over?
Social media is the magic marketing tool that every business needs, right? It can build your profile, expand your networks and make you irresistible to new customers. However, it also presents huge threats to businesses. So what can you do to prevent a social media disaster?
Australian Bureau of Statistics data estimated in 2001 there were over 1.2 million small businesses operating within the Australian private sector. That’s a lot of competition. So what can SMEs do to ensure they remain competitive within the marketplace? Benchmarking is a great way for SMEs to measure themselves against their competition in order to improver internal processes and ensure they stay one step ahead of the game.
There is a worry that keeps all business owners and leaders awake at night. Are my key customers happy and do they need more attention from me?
It was over a year ago that Wall Street’s fourth biggest investment bank Lehman Brothers was allowed to collapse. Share markets around the world plummeted on fears that a financial catastrophe would result in multiple bank failures and plunge us into a depression, or a recession.
Ever flicked through a magazine, spotted a competitor quoted in a feature and thought, “I should have been interviewed for that, our business has a far superior product/service”? If you feel like the best-kept secret in your industry, and want to get your message out, it’s time you started generating your own publicity.
Measuring the dollar value and effectiveness of marketing is something every business owner should be doing. There are six common marketing strategies that every board, chief executive and marketing manager needs to consider in order for their brand to succeed in today’s complex media and marketing environment.
With over three quarters of Australian online adults using now social technologies, it is clear that businesses have to shift the way they communicate their message to their audience.
In a reversal of the ‘trickle down’ effect, corporates are learning their search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) strategies from their small and medium sized business counterparts.
You only get one chance to make a first impression. If you’re a leader or an expert—whether you like it or not —you are captain of your personal brand.
Google AdWords is a hugely popular search marketing tool but how do you get your message across in 130 characters? Meet ‘creative maximisers’ Vic Ellis, Kate Conroy and Luisa Fearnside. They work with big businesses on their AdWords ads, but here they share their top tips with you.
The key to creating an intelligent online presence is to understand the basic functions of your website and work out how your customers interact with it. Unless you have a monopoly on whatever you sell or do, your website needs to work quickly, smoothly and with absolute clarity.
