As we slowly exit lockdown and life returns to some type of normality, are you revising or making new plans for your marketing and sales strategy for the rest of the year?

   Will it be the same as previous?

   Focusing on the same customers and target consumers?

   Using the same marketing tools and channels?

   Spending the same budget?

   Hoping (and praying) for the same results as this time last year?

If so - STOP!

Before you spend a penny more on your marketing, conduct an audit.

Far too many businesses make the mistake of throwing money at the same marketing and sales activities, not really sure what they will achieve - hoping it will go back to the 'good ole' days'!

Business has changed.

Consumers have changed. 

Marketing has changed!

Marketing can be an expensive activity for your business, so it's good to know what's working and what isn't - long before you invest your...

Email marketing can be a potent tool for marketing your products or services to people and can help to generate new interest in your campaign.

The right tools and a strategic approach often lead to increased engagement and a higher conversion rate. 

Here's my 5 tips for developing your email marketing campaigns:

1.  Build your list

Email marketing has the ability to generate high quality leads, but only if the right people sign up to your list. List building is one of the most important stages in the process. 

You need to obtain quality prospects, otherwise the information that you send out is not going to have the desired effect. 

Building a high quality list though takes time, patience and determination.

Ideas to build your list:

• Email subscribe pop-up on your website – free tools such as Hellobar.com (below) are really effective for capturing visitors email addresses.
• Similarly, create a dedicated landing (or squeeze) page to capture email addresses...

Ahhh!! Competitors!!!

They’re everywhere – doing their thing...

Marketing and selling their products and services in front of your target audience – yes, OUR target audience!!

It’s so frustrating – right?

Well, actually... competitors can also be good for OUR business...

They can be an invaluable source of information and inspiration – and ultimately help us plan our marketing and sales strategies!

How?

To begin, we need to consider who exactly we're competing with...

Initially it may seem obvious who your competitors are. But it’s not always straightforward as so many factors affect customers’ purchase decisions.

For example... thinking like one of your customers, what are their options? Say they work long hours, yes they could purchase from you – but who else offers the same solution? Who offers more? Your competitors may not be the same as you first thought.

If we then take a closer, more in-depth look at which...

If you’re not using video yet as part of your online marketing strategy, you’re in trouble.

Video is the most popular and effective technique your message across to your audience. Failing to use it is a missed opportunity of the highest order.

The good news is that implementing video marketing is easier than ever before. Platforms like Facebook and YouTube actively encourage it. Marketers have never had so much support.

Knowing where to start, however, can be a challenge. In this guide, we’re going to take an in-depth look at the tips, resources and strategies you should use when embarking on any campaign.

Want to learn more? Read on!

The Importance Of Video Marketing

In case it wasn’t clear from the introduction, video marketing is important. It’s so important, in fact, that Facebook’s EMEA vice president Nicola Mendelsohn has come out and said that he expects video to be the ONLY way that marketers will advertise on the platform by 2021.

Just...

The prospect of marketing your business can be overwhelming, especially when your budget is tight.

But don’t despair! Often the most simple and cost-effective ideas can produce the best results.

Here are my 10 quick and easy tips to spend less and market more!

1. Blog – Still one of the most effective ways to share your knowledge and expertise as well as position your brand and extend your reach. Engage with your desired audience in a more informal way - search engines love them too!
   
   
2. Network (Offline) - People buy from people! It’s a two-way process - making connections and building mutually beneficial relationships.
   
   There are plenty of local and regional networking events from BNI to Network B2B, Chamber of Commerce to FSB. If you can’t find a suitable networking event – why not set up your own?
   
   
3. Network (Online) - Currently over 250,000+ social media groups - region, sector and...

STOP!

Before you spend a penny on your marketing...

How about doing a quick marketing audit?

Marketing can be an expensive activity for your business, so it's good to know what's working and what isn't long before you invest your hard earned cash.

For a small business, a marketing audit doesn't need to be too in depth, just concentrate on the important factors which have a big impact on your business operations, resources and spend. Such as:

Your target audience

Your proposition

Your marketing channels and tools

Your measurement and control

Do you want to get more engagement and business leads on social media?

Yes - of course you do!

But it's surprising how many people get it SO wrong when posting... 

So, instead of the usual 'Tips to get more engagement on social media ' post... here's three things you SHOULDN'T be doing.

Enjoy!

Hands up – who loves SPAM?
(and I don’t mean the canned cooked pork stuff you used to get at school)

The plethora of unsolicited emails and calls that we still get bombarded with on a daily basis.

Let’s face it, nobody does and yet it’s still cluttering our inboxes – unwanted offers and promotions – quite aggressive sometimes – for products and services that would never appeal to us.

As the quote says, spam exists because of bad targeting...

• not understanding or appreciating our target audience
• their personalities and characteristics,
• their roles and responsibilities and more importantly,
• their ‘pain points’ and how we can provide a solution for them.

It’s surprising how many businesses think they know their customers and yet, there’s very often a gap between the basics they already know and, the behaviours and preferences that are key to reaching their target market and selling to them.

Defining who your potential...

It's surprising how many businesses still use lots of different marketing tools, not knowing whether they're getting ROI or just wasting time and money.

We all desire the 'personal touch' and thanks to new technologies, marketing has become much more personal.

And, choosing the ‘right’ tools and channels will enhance communication and engagement.

Here are my 6 tips to consider when planning your marketing strategy:

1. What value does your product / service offer your customer? What type of content will help you educate this in your marketing?

2. What types of media does your target audience consume – videos, blogs, eBooks - the list could be endless so prioritise!

3. Do you have a specific budget – always best to agree this first before purchasing so you don't overspend.

4. Do you have a specific timescales in mind – some tools and channels can take longer to gather momentum and provide results.

5. Which channels are your competitors using - what type...

Managing social media… So, you’ve got your Facebook page and you’re desperately trying to be ‘Liked’. You’re tweeting for England while you’re LinkedIn profile is receiving invitations from people you’ve never met. But not to worry because you’ve got some great office ‘selfies’ in your Instagram account, not to mention your Google+ page and YouTube channel.

Sound familiar? Then you’re not alone.

I recently visited a new client to talk about managing social media marketing requirements. Within ten minutes of our introduction, they informed me that social media wasn’t for them. It didn’t ‘work’ and therefore there was no need pursuing that avenue any further. When I asked why, they proceeded to tell me about the numerous social networks they had subscribed to in order to ‘stay ahead of the game’ and the types of ‘content’ they had inflicted on their...