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Marketing Eye Small Business Marketing Articles
Four minutes. That’s how long it took for the first Twitter advertiser to bid on “power outage” as a search term after the lights went out at the New Orleans Superdome.
It also didn’t take long for cookie giant Oreo to respond to the now-infamous #superbowlblackout, spawning more than 13,000 re-tweets and nearly 5000 favourites.
It also didn’t take long for cookie giant Oreo to respond to the now-infamous #superbowlblackout, spawning more than 13,000 re-tweets and nearly 5000 favourites.
Published in Small Business Marketing
When I started out in business, things were fairly simple. I had an old computer at home, a telephone, a cell phone, internet and a database of thousands of people I had met in business over the years. My enthusiasm was for the world to see and I couldn't take the smile off my face, even when I worked past midnight or woke up early in the morning to finalize a proposal.
Not once did I think I would fail. It wasn't possible. My needs were simple and I just needed to make enough money to cover my salary. My biggest expenditure was my new BMW and the endless coffees that I drank down at the local coffee shop.
Starting a company was an easy decision. I didn't want to travel to Brisbane from the Gold Coast each day anymore which was more than an hours driving each way and I was ready for something new.
Not once did I think I would fail. It wasn't possible. My needs were simple and I just needed to make enough money to cover my salary. My biggest expenditure was my new BMW and the endless coffees that I drank down at the local coffee shop.
Starting a company was an easy decision. I didn't want to travel to Brisbane from the Gold Coast each day anymore which was more than an hours driving each way and I was ready for something new.
Published in Small Business Marketing
Don't be fooled to think that in 2013 you have time to waste. Everyone is now faster, smarter, better - all with extraordinary tools at their disposal.
Embarking on global expansion has been the most fascinating experience and in particular, working in what is one of America's most untapped entrepreneurial hubs of Atlanta has not only been rewarding, but also very invigorating.
Atlanta isn't the sleepy town that some of the cities counterparts seem to think it is. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The city is full of promise, spirit and an attitude that is less ruthless than say New York, Chicago, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Behind the politeness and accomodating attitudes of Atlanta's business folk are smart, determined, ambitious and thoroughly capable people who drive small businesses in an endeavour to become big businesses.
Capitalizing on an ability to cap salaries and deliver products and services to a national and international audience with America's most proficient transport hub at its disposal, Atlanta entrepeneurs are dreaming big. You heard it right - they are dreaming big. Not too dissimilar to their New York small business friends who have inspired a national through a carefully executed tabloid and magazine advertising campaign that let's the world know that in New York "This is no place to dream small."
What strikes me about the people of Atlanta is their attitude to helping others and in turn, helping themselves. It seems that those who don't come from here, tend to be the one's to watch, whereas if you do business with a true Atlanta local, you are guaranteed that the good old fashion handshake on a deal is exactly that.
Today I had lunch with two talented mergers and acquisition partners at Deloitte. They both are very busy people but were kind enough to take time out of their day to have a chat about business, tax and the run of the land in setting up in Atlanta, buying a home and a motor vehicle.
Embarking on global expansion has been the most fascinating experience and in particular, working in what is one of America's most untapped entrepreneurial hubs of Atlanta has not only been rewarding, but also very invigorating.
Atlanta isn't the sleepy town that some of the cities counterparts seem to think it is. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The city is full of promise, spirit and an attitude that is less ruthless than say New York, Chicago, San Francisco or Los Angeles. Behind the politeness and accomodating attitudes of Atlanta's business folk are smart, determined, ambitious and thoroughly capable people who drive small businesses in an endeavour to become big businesses.
Capitalizing on an ability to cap salaries and deliver products and services to a national and international audience with America's most proficient transport hub at its disposal, Atlanta entrepeneurs are dreaming big. You heard it right - they are dreaming big. Not too dissimilar to their New York small business friends who have inspired a national through a carefully executed tabloid and magazine advertising campaign that let's the world know that in New York "This is no place to dream small."
What strikes me about the people of Atlanta is their attitude to helping others and in turn, helping themselves. It seems that those who don't come from here, tend to be the one's to watch, whereas if you do business with a true Atlanta local, you are guaranteed that the good old fashion handshake on a deal is exactly that.
Today I had lunch with two talented mergers and acquisition partners at Deloitte. They both are very busy people but were kind enough to take time out of their day to have a chat about business, tax and the run of the land in setting up in Atlanta, buying a home and a motor vehicle.
Published in Small Business Marketing
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…
Published in Small Business Marketing
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.
Published in Small Business Marketing
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?
Published in Small Business Marketing
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.
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.
Published in Small Business Marketing
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.
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.
Published in Small Business Marketing
I have to tell you... I really cannot get enough of this buzz that is going around this year. Everyone seems as excited as I am about life and business - that we all seem to be jumping up and down literally.
With all of this positive talk - anything can happen!
They say using positive affirmations to manifest change in your life works. Well, gosh I hope so!
It's Saturday and I am stuck in a hotel room in Atlanta working away on my computer. It's quite nice outside and certainly not what you would expect from Atlanta this time of year. It's warm, kind of TShirt type of day and the sun is trying really hard to stay out.
Getting through my first four days in Atlanta has been a breeze from a professional point of view. Yesterday I wrote on Marketing Eye's Atlanta blog how I had 13 strong leads by midday on Friday having only started on Tuesday. There has been no marketing, but we do have a decent website that delivers us with leads day-in day-out.
By the end of Friday, we had contracts signed and 14 strong leads. People are really ready to get started this year and make a difference to their business outcomes. With marketing changing so dramatically over the past few years, it is more prevelant than ever that small businesses need to outsource their marketing rather than try to do it all themselves. The skills required to be a modern marketing manager is now so diverse that you would need to be bordering on genius to be able to do everything - and as we know, marketers are not known for being rocket scientists.
Key to success this year is relationship management and connecting content with customers on multiple levels. Creativity is also key and if all of your competitors are walking one way, make sure you walk in the opposite direction.
For businesses focused on B2B marketing, don't be fooled that sales automation is just another buzz word. It's the smartest solution ever invented in sales and businesses that blink and miss it, will no doubt be on the bottom of the heap when it comes to competing against smarter more aware competitors.
Mobile is another area that businesses need to step up with and if you cannot read your website on a mobile phone, then you had better fix it immediately. As fast as they click on, they click off.
It's Saturday and time to sign out - but hope we have given you some things to consider.
With all of this positive talk - anything can happen!
They say using positive affirmations to manifest change in your life works. Well, gosh I hope so!
It's Saturday and I am stuck in a hotel room in Atlanta working away on my computer. It's quite nice outside and certainly not what you would expect from Atlanta this time of year. It's warm, kind of TShirt type of day and the sun is trying really hard to stay out.
Getting through my first four days in Atlanta has been a breeze from a professional point of view. Yesterday I wrote on Marketing Eye's Atlanta blog how I had 13 strong leads by midday on Friday having only started on Tuesday. There has been no marketing, but we do have a decent website that delivers us with leads day-in day-out.
By the end of Friday, we had contracts signed and 14 strong leads. People are really ready to get started this year and make a difference to their business outcomes. With marketing changing so dramatically over the past few years, it is more prevelant than ever that small businesses need to outsource their marketing rather than try to do it all themselves. The skills required to be a modern marketing manager is now so diverse that you would need to be bordering on genius to be able to do everything - and as we know, marketers are not known for being rocket scientists.
Key to success this year is relationship management and connecting content with customers on multiple levels. Creativity is also key and if all of your competitors are walking one way, make sure you walk in the opposite direction.
For businesses focused on B2B marketing, don't be fooled that sales automation is just another buzz word. It's the smartest solution ever invented in sales and businesses that blink and miss it, will no doubt be on the bottom of the heap when it comes to competing against smarter more aware competitors.
Mobile is another area that businesses need to step up with and if you cannot read your website on a mobile phone, then you had better fix it immediately. As fast as they click on, they click off.
It's Saturday and time to sign out - but hope we have given you some things to consider.
Published in Small Business Marketing
"If the pilot of the plane runs down the aisle holding a parachute - what do you do? You panic. If the leadership falls apart, what does everyone else in the organization do? They panic." Charlie from Florida.
In a business, when the entrepreneur captaining the ship panics, it causes everyone in the entire organization to do exactly the same. How often as an entrepreneur have you panicked or become stressed out, only to find your entire organization crumble, mistakes being made and people living in fear for their job or ability to fulfil your requirements? Unless subordinates have complete trust in leadership, it is impossible for a leader to be truly effective.
This is a common problem, particularly given the abundance of Type A personalities at the helm of businesses and in leadership in organizations of all sizes.
A good leader possesses a number of key features like a positive attitude, determination, honesty, integrity, fairness, humility, courage, creativity, discipline, vision and emotional intelligence to name a few. Combined, these features underpin a good leader - yet the after-effects of an anxious leader, or one suffering from stress, can undermined all the hard work that any leader may have put in to their business.
One of the key issues pertaining to leadership is their ability to effectively manage this anxiety at all levels not just from a entrepreneur but also manage how all managerial react to stressful situations. Being able to emerge from a situation of crisis or challenge, with a clear and concise communications strategy that is executed in a calm manner.
In a business, when the entrepreneur captaining the ship panics, it causes everyone in the entire organization to do exactly the same. How often as an entrepreneur have you panicked or become stressed out, only to find your entire organization crumble, mistakes being made and people living in fear for their job or ability to fulfil your requirements? Unless subordinates have complete trust in leadership, it is impossible for a leader to be truly effective.
This is a common problem, particularly given the abundance of Type A personalities at the helm of businesses and in leadership in organizations of all sizes.
A good leader possesses a number of key features like a positive attitude, determination, honesty, integrity, fairness, humility, courage, creativity, discipline, vision and emotional intelligence to name a few. Combined, these features underpin a good leader - yet the after-effects of an anxious leader, or one suffering from stress, can undermined all the hard work that any leader may have put in to their business.
One of the key issues pertaining to leadership is their ability to effectively manage this anxiety at all levels not just from a entrepreneur but also manage how all managerial react to stressful situations. Being able to emerge from a situation of crisis or challenge, with a clear and concise communications strategy that is executed in a calm manner.
Published in Small Business Marketing
While content management is 'all the rage' right now, smart marketers are not forgetting that while content may drive sales, visitors to your website or generate leads - it's sales process automation that keeps the sales pipeline full to the brim.
All small business owners are thinking about how they can attract more sales in the most cost-effective way possible without sacrificing the integrity of their brand.
All small business owners are thinking about how they can attract more sales in the most cost-effective way possible without sacrificing the integrity of their brand.
Published in Small Business Marketing
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.
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.
Here are the three things that SME's should consider for 2013:
Published in Small Business Marketing
Selecting the correct Christmas gift for clients can often be fraught with danger - while a thoughtful, heartfelt gift can strenghten and enhance your professional relationships, a poorly-executed and inappropriate present will have the opposite effect.
These days, selecting corporate gifts can often feel like a competition, with companies attempting to outdo each other in a extravagant battle of the budgets. That said, money can't buy class or creativity, so make sure you give from the heart and tailor each gift to your clients' interests. It is the thought that counts, after all.
These days, selecting corporate gifts can often feel like a competition, with companies attempting to outdo each other in a extravagant battle of the budgets. That said, money can't buy class or creativity, so make sure you give from the heart and tailor each gift to your clients' interests. It is the thought that counts, after all.
Published in Small Business Marketing
Many small business owners are reluctant to invest too much time and money into their websites. They simply don't see the value in it - that is of course, once you've passed the fact that they need to have one.
They invest in having a web development company develop a website and populate it with content and pictures, but many still don't ensure that they have search engine optimized their website on a regular basis or that they are updating content regularly that is relevant to their target audience.
It's easy to have a website - but not so easy to keep it up-to-date and relevant.
They invest in having a web development company develop a website and populate it with content and pictures, but many still don't ensure that they have search engine optimized their website on a regular basis or that they are updating content regularly that is relevant to their target audience.
It's easy to have a website - but not so easy to keep it up-to-date and relevant.
Published in Small Business Marketing
While it's no Huffington Post, there is more than 50 stories that are now live on www.marketingeye.org - Marketing Eye's online magazine.
Entrepreneurial stories on people like former Geelong footballer Michael Mansfield, Comcity's Jason Reading, Chris Reynolds from Champion Systems, Ryan O'Hare from Eutility and more.
Thought leaders on leadership, psychology, marketing and social media share their views and experiences. A really great story is on business turnaround specialist Daryl Wright from Bond Street 180 and you will also find a story on famous entrepreneur turn photographer, Tommy Mendes.
In all, its a good read and the best stories are on the entrepreneurs behind the brands.
I was surprised as I tweeted the website only a couple of times yesterday and we haven't really promoted it while we tweak a few things, and more than 1000 people where on the site last night at 11pm and it was going up at a rapid pace. For a moment, it made me nervous! Creating your own media can bring greater loyalty to your brand, only if it is done right and you have thought through what your audience wants to read about.
If you have a story that you would like to share, please contact us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Entrepreneurial stories on people like former Geelong footballer Michael Mansfield, Comcity's Jason Reading, Chris Reynolds from Champion Systems, Ryan O'Hare from Eutility and more.
Thought leaders on leadership, psychology, marketing and social media share their views and experiences. A really great story is on business turnaround specialist Daryl Wright from Bond Street 180 and you will also find a story on famous entrepreneur turn photographer, Tommy Mendes.
In all, its a good read and the best stories are on the entrepreneurs behind the brands.
I was surprised as I tweeted the website only a couple of times yesterday and we haven't really promoted it while we tweak a few things, and more than 1000 people where on the site last night at 11pm and it was going up at a rapid pace. For a moment, it made me nervous! Creating your own media can bring greater loyalty to your brand, only if it is done right and you have thought through what your audience wants to read about.
If you have a story that you would like to share, please contact us on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Published in Small Business Marketing
