Tag: Small Business - Page 5

When in doubt, ask an expert.

Yesterday, I put in a phone call to Bond Street 180 business turnaround guru Daryl Wright and asked what he considered to be the most important things for small business owners to consider ahead of 2013. Here is what he had to say.

It's that time of year again and as we all wind down for the festive season, it's time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the year ahead.

Most marketing strategies will be firmly in place for next year, but for those who have left it too late, there are a few things that you need to consider.

• If you look back at 2012, you will realise how much things have changed. 
• Facebook listed and fell flat on its face, but woke up with more than 1 billion registered users.
• Pinterest came to the forefront and became the fastest growing social media platform on the planet.
• Instagram bagged a billion bucks with only enough employees to count on your two hands.
• People like www.jeffbullas.com out of downtown Sydney became a global social media phenomenum just by writing blogs that are interesting and knowing the rules of engagement for content creation and exploitation.
• No-one in the world sees their website as a brochure anymore (although many still haven't done anything about it)
• Google is going from strength to strength
• Linkedin company pages are essential to any companies "winning" strategy
• Old-fashion marketing is having a revival of sorts with DM pieces still having impact ONLY when they are super duper creative
• The US is still feeling the pinch and Australia is seen as a sound performer with a strong Aussie dollar and an economy that hasn't yet fallen flat on its face
• A woman is the richest woman in Australia - thanks Gina Rinehardt for flying the flag
• Obama won a second term as President of the United States of America
• 12 months since Steve Jobs passed away and Apple is going remarkably strong with the launch of a new ipad mini
• Microsoft launches Windows 8 
• The prophecy of a major disaster with 'the end of the world'  is still growing in momentum

In light of the above, where from here?

Marketing Strategies need to be aligned to a company's overall business plan. It underpins the overall sales plan and creates the forum for which sales can occur. 

Businesses that have put on the hand brake because the year has been turbulent from an economic perspective, are being surpassed by their less successful competitors who have invested heavily in marketing and reaping the rewards of a strategic approach to doing the opposite of everyone else.

A clever marketing strategy in 2013 is being revised right now. The reason is simple - so many things have changed and to truly have a marketing plan that is effective, there may need to be some tweaks. Don't be afraid to do this, as one of the big benefits of being a small business is that you have the ability and scope to be flexible.

Take into account;

• Changes in search engine optimisation algorithms
• Pinterest and what role this social media platform plays in your overall marketing strategy
• The rise of Instagram 
• Online influencers and how your business is reaching and engaging with them
• Traditional media versus new media
• e-Marketing and its role in driving leads
• Branding and positioning in a new world
• Collaboration with key partners and alliances
• Global expansion in light of economic uncertainty
• Fast growing markets with scalability like China, Turkey and India
• Outsourcing of key roles in marketing, finance, human resources etc
• People in your organisation and what role they play in building your business
• Investment in online marketing
• Your website - if it is dead, bury it. Build a new one that is "today" and not "yesterday.

What will you change in 2013?

Do you find yourself chasing your tail when it comes to marketing your business?

Businesses that do not engage in a strategic marketing plan, often find that they are chasing their tail. They fly by the seat of their pants and have no real sales and marketing strategy in place. Instead of being proactive, and placing key performance indicators behind each and every marketing investment, they generally go with 'gut instinct' or what is available at any given time.

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?

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.

Do you have someone or something that is a benchmark to you?

I have a couple; personal and professional.

They say that it is lonely at the top, and although I am definately not at the top, I can definately relate to this feeling.

Having run a small business myself for 13 years, I can identify that at the end of the day, unless you have a business partner, it can be quite lonely.

Yesterday, was particularly stressful.

The business is going so well, and clients are literally running through our doors. Although we have mechanism in place for growth, there are always things to do, that when you add it to your own daily jobs, becomes overwhelming - if you let it.

On top of running a business, we have an issue with a client who is happy with the service, but owes us $80,000. And this is just for invoices raised in the month of February. After, continually asking about when the invoices will be paid as we have a strict 7 day policy, they keep replying that it is coming in the next few days. That started 6 weeks ago. I am sure they will pay, but the situation is stressful nevertheless because after years of dealing with business owners who spin stories, the trust factor on such things has somewhat diminished.

Your brand is alive in places you never knew existed.

With the introduction of the Internet and in particular social media, your brand is coming up in places that sometimes you would prefer for it not to be.

That is the nature of today's marketing environment.

If I was to pick 3 things that you need to do as a small business to market your business today, I would say;

1.  Make sure you have your best foot forward online: That means that at every touch point from the time someone opens the screen onto your website through to every single click through - that the same consistent experience with your brand occurs. If they click through to your twitter account, they STILL know it is your brand from the language you use to the visual aspects of your Twitter account. If you write a blog, showcase your brands personality in your writing and with pictures. Make sure that wherever your brand is online, that you are proud of how it is represented.

2. Don't discount the power of PR: Too many companies think they are too small to get a story in the newspaper or sometimes big companies just leave it off their marketing strategy. The power of a good story may mean that your company is elevated above your competitors, positioned as an industry leader and you as a commentator who knows their stuff. PR is not hard to do - all you have to do is read blogs like Marketing Eye's and the thousands of others that give instructions on just how to do it. Or alternatively, hire a PR consultant.

3.  Put customers and service first: Today I said no to working with a company that was ready to engage Marketing Eye. They seemed like a great bunch of guys, but for some reason they had a terrible telephone system (they need to speak to someone like Next Telecom to fix it); the phone rings out, hangs up when it shouldn't and constantly hits voice mail. If we were not putting customers first, we would take their money.  But no matter how much marketing we do for them, we cannot help them without them realising that it is a problem if you don't pick up the telephone or if you ring 3 times and the systems automatically hangs up on you. You have to answer the telephone.

Service needs to be first too. That means being responsive to clients' needs, giving them over and above what they expect and genuinely realising that without them, you don't have a business. If, heaven forbid, your service falls down on any given day, then you need to realise it, take responsibility and do whatever it takes to make it up to your clients. They deserve nothing but your best.

In every businesses life, there comes a time when you decide whether the business has 'legs' to grow further.

Marketing Eye has hit this point many times and each time we have done a situation analysis and made business decisions on where to go. Right now, we are in expansion mode with the US market firmly in our sights.

If you are in this position, think about what your Big Hairy Audacious Goal is and work out how realistic it is given your current resources and capabilities. Things to consider include;

Expand into new markets

I can't sleep. Too much is going through my mind. I toss and turn all night long and wake up in the wee hours desperate to fall back asleep again, but not able to because I am thinking too much.

It's a problem that many small business owners face time and time again. I am no different.