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Marketing Eye Blog Articles
Sure, this is not a top-tier newspaper gig or a glamorous television job, but we do have Timtams and laugh alot. Our deadlines are not as dramatic, but we do have a magazine to get out. You will meet lots of interesting people from all walks of life, namely entrepreneurs that may one day be 'the next big thing' and some big businesses that choose us as their marketing arm.
It's true, we are looking for a journalist, because we like journalists. They seem to be smarter, more diverse and faster than having a PR chick (or bloke) in-house, and let's face it, communications people suck at writing real stories for quality magazines - but you seem to have that one sorted.
And... we aren't a bad place to work. Our people are nice, all with interesting and diverse backgrounds. We work hard and as much as I would like to say that we play hard, its possibly not the case other than for a few Gen-y'ers that work for the company.
We have a dog, but she is stuck in the US at the moment. Hopefully one day she will join us back on these sunny shores.
When writing my business plan 9 years ago, I took many things into account like how the business would look in 10 years time, who we would employ, what services we would provide, and how we would expand into new markets.
But what I didn't take into account is how I would actually make it happen. You see, like many entrepreneurs, I have struggled with working in the business and trying to at the same time work "on" the business - never quite getting the mix right.
At long last, since I made some smart strategic business moves last year, including changing management, I have become the entrepreneur I always wanted to be. I am implementing our business plan that was written so long ago, and it feels really good. There is a sense of satisfaction that is growing deep inside me and I believe in every single thing that we are doing.
Chase Performance has created successful business solutions through an award-winning combination of consulting and services. They work across a wide range of industries, developing the expertise required to deliver the most premium consulting services available.
When I started Marketing Eye more than 9 years ago, I had a vision to be the world's best small business marketing firm. I dreamt that I would open offices all over the world that would sell marketing services backed by sophisticated technology platforms, media and education, to businesses that had revenues of $1 million to $200 million.
Primarily, the companies that would be ideal clients were one's that were entrepreneur-led, like me, and who had a dream to significantly grow their businesses and mostly be industry game-changers - although the latter wasn't exactly necessary.
In the early days, we had hurdles. The first was our own mind-set of being use to working with funded startups or medium to large corporations and shifting the way we interacted, engaged and nurtured our clients to success to cater for burgeoning SMB market.
It took time. More time than I ever imagined.
"Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations." —Peter Drucker
If you look at Steve Jobs and his role as a leader and marketer at Apple Inc., it's easy to see how the two roles work closely together. Without marketing, no-one would be any the wiser about Steve Jobs role at Apple Inc nor would we have had the opportunity to be captivated by his performances each time he launched a new product. Instead, we would simply wait for a product to be on the shelves and without all the "sizzle" we probably would never have been as enticed to stand in line and buy each product the minute it was launched.
Some leaders fail to see the value in marketing, and although they may have a role in the organisation that is responsible for certain outcomes, they may see it more as a sales related function which is why it often falls under this umbrella.
Smart, insightful, charismatic, thought leaders understand the value of marketing. They use it and often abuse it to become leaders that everyone follows. Rather than focus solely on a product or service marketing campaign, they use it to elevate their position in the market with a double edge sword, by at the same time ensuring that the company brand and positioning benefits from association.
3 Ways Leaders Use Marketing
Why patience is a virtue - how to implement more patience in life
Apr 04, 2014 Written by Mellissah Smith
Something was brought to my attention yesterday by two people; I am not patient. I want everything there and then, and in that lies what is possibly one of my biggest failures.
I admire people who 'wait it out' and watch, carefully understanding a situation in its entirety before making a decision. Having patience often means that you have the choice of a small reward in the short-term, or a more valuable reward in the long-term, with human nature being that most of us prefer a short-term reward over a long-term reward, despite the latter reaping greater benefits.
I am continually amazed by the number of professional services, technology, manufacturing and logistics companies that fail to see the value in communicating via social media.
The question I pose to you is "how did you find this blog?" and "how do you now know the Marketing Eye brand?"
I know the answer - do you?
It's a Saturday and I am sitting in my friends living room talking business while at the same time reading emails and catching up on the latest in business news.
As we talk I realize that entrepreneurs are no different from celebrities, movie stars, singers, musicians or any other career that is centre stage.
The reality is we all have a bit of neurotic behaviour in us - whether we like it or not. Some entrepreneurs are more neurotic than others - micro-managing, controlling, double A-Type personalities that find it hard to accept another person's way of doing things, and then others just tip the iceberg.
Many entrepreneurs have a goal, or an idea of where they want to be. They are achievement orientated and often lack discipline, needing to hire the latter in to complement their existing skill base.
The lessons we can learn from Italian Vogue Editor Franca Sozzani
Mar 27, 2014 Written by Mellissah Smith
The room suddenly became silent.
Everyone unconsciously took one step back as if to clear the way.
She had arrived.
I am a stickler for good manners. Growing up in the country, you won't find too many men or women that don't have good basic manners.
Men open the door for women, walk on the outside when walking a woman down the street, sit down at the table and eat only when the host and every other person has been seated, and mostly, without a pocket full of cash, they are the first to invite someone over for dinner or to try their fresh tomatoes that they planted early on in the season. It's these good country manners and hospitality that reminds us that it isn't too hard to be kind and display good manners.
There really is a lot to be learnt from country folk.
Firstly, I woke up after having a decent nights sleep - something that has eluded me for the past week. Then, as I drove to work, I stopped off to grab a coffee and croissant from my favourite cafe on Commercial Road in Melbourne. I dropped my car off at the office, and as I rushed outside the building to grab a taxi, I literally stopped in my tracks. There was so much traffic - bumper to bumper, and I had to be at the Lawyers office in 30 minutes. I panicked.
It wasn't a great start to the day.
When I look out at some of my friends, no matter how successful they are, they still have things in their lives that they want to improve or put more effort into. Relationships usually being the staple amongst those who realize that no amount of business success will ever supercede what you can achieve personally.
I have had an amazing month in so many ways and personally, I have grown more than I could ever imagine.
I won't deny that I want it all, but I have become more realistic in realizing that that is not possible. You can't have it all - at the same time. It's impossible and those who say that you can, are either living a short-lived fantasy or are hiding what is really going on behind closed doors.
Business has always been a challenge for me. I am not a natural people person and stress overtakes me more times than I care to admit. I worry about and analyze things that don't deserve the effort that I put into it.
I procrastinate, often leave great ideas unfulfilled and sometimes need to have a better poker face.
It was 8pm at night and as we boarded the plane at La Guardia Airport in New York, Maikayla (#24yrold), our 24 year old President of US Operations, started a conversation about the things we are not doing as a business to get clients.
Marketing Eye has gone from startup to multi-million dollar company in over a year of operations. The company provides SMB's with an ability to have a qualified outsourced marketing department for an investment that any business that has opened their doors can afford.
The goal post has changed from the original business plan of 1,000 clients over 5 years. Our sales targets have been moved by 2 years and now the entire team is in a spin working out how they will achieve this goal in 3 years.
It's an ambitious task, but one that is doable and if something is too easy, then it won't be as rewarding. Stretching ourselves and pushing limits, dreaming big and opening doors, is something that will keep everyone in the game.
Maikayla's thoughts:
Midwest Medical Enterprises Brings New Branded Medical Device To Market
Mar 11, 2014 Written by Mellissah Smith
A few years ago, I began traveling internationally once a month. While the jet lag had me struggling to keep awake in meetings, it was only secondary to my concern of swollen ankles which eventually extended right up my leg. It would take days to go down and I started experiencing pain that wouldn't go away.
I had a problem.
Another weekend has just passed, and we went over the same old topic that keeps popping up; what do we want out of life and why do we do the things we do.
We read theories about entrepreneurs and what makes them tick; money, competition and passion. It's like a broken record that keeps on repeating itself. I for one wish that someone would come out with something a little different. Some piece of inspiration that is going to make me stop in my tracks and go "yeah!".
I am not an over-the-top passionate person - or at least that is my self-reflection. While I get up early each morning and race to the office, with a coffee and croissant from my local cafe on the way, its more a sign of routine than anything more "entrepreneurial". Meld that in with organized and fluent chaos, and big ideas followed by what seems like an endless stream of tactical plans - then you have me in one.
What I do have though is dreams - lots of them! In every aspect of life, I dream and its these dreams that push me to keep going day after day. But that still isn't getting to the route of things and the more I realize it - the more I see things from a different perspective.
The first point being that no two entrepreneurs are the same. We are all dealing with our own set of influencers and motivators that make us who we are. Just like no two people are the same and let's face it; what makes us different makes us beautiful.
