Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Strategy Blog - Small Business Marketing - Page 10

Small business: Are all your ducks in a row?

Small business: Are all your ducks in a row?

The challenges of 2011/12 have been more worrying than ever before. There are some real reasons for this. Italy and Spain are in preparation to sell debt amid concerns that Europe's fiscal crisis is infecting bigger economies, debt levels are more than 25% higher than the Great Depression and the US - well, we are all aware what is going on there.

For many small business owners, we are now down to the business end of the year. To make a dollar or for some, to survive another year.

While it has been tough and most small businesses can attest to this, those who are investing in their product and service offering, are fairing better than those who are saving every penny and hoping for a better day.

I am an optimist in every sense of the word. My glass is half full and there is a lot more left in the jug. But as I use positivity to spearhead my next steps, I am acutely aware that 'having all your ducks in a row' is paramount to not only surviving but growing your business and moving forward.

As a small business owner, there are many things to consider:
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Does colour have anything to do with it?

Does colour have anything to do with it?

Have you ever been stopped at a traffic light and made a false start when it wasn’t your green light? Three colours control the daily commute of billions of people around the world, green means go, red means stop and yellow means slow down. To most people.

These colour associations are universal and worldwide. So if colours can tell us when to stop when to go, what else can it tell us to do? What is the colour of your brand telling customers to do?

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Did the earth move on your marketing strategy?

Did the earth move on your marketing strategy?

It may have only been recorded as a 5.3 magnitude tremor that rocked Melbourne last night, but the subsequent media exposure was phenomenal.

I was sitting outdoors at a Japanese restaurant when it happened and at first I thought my friend was moving the table with his legs. When it was clearly not him, we both looked on in amazement.

Then, a Japanese chef came racing out and asked us if we felt the earthquake. We both said yes, and I told her that I thought it was exciting, "My first earthquake".

That went down like a lead balloon. Of course, in Japan, earthquakes are very dangerous and has killed thousands of people - so in rememberence of that, being excited by it, may not be in seen in the best light. I remember when this happened in Japan. It was incredibly sad.

Moving on from that, the earthquake certainly was "trending" on all social media and within minutes there was a picture up on facebook with a table and four chairs. One had fallen over. I then saw that same image posted on at least 100 facebook accounts. The world of viral marketing.

Which leads us back to marketing.

Here are 5 tips on what small businesses can do to improve their marketing efforts in the next 12 months are:
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Small Business: Are you chasing your tail?

Small Business: Are you chasing your tail?

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.
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Atlanta, here I come!

Atlanta, here I come!

It's time. We are ready. The curtains have been drawn. In 3 weeks, I will be living in America to follow my dream of building a global small business marketing firm.

It's summer over there and winter here in Australia, so the weather is definately a big plus. Cost of living is significantly less which means I can buy more shoes. There is a god after all ;-)

And... the business is ready. Most importantly, we have dotted all of our 'i's' and crossed all of our 't's'.

So, what's next?
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Can you handle failure?

Can you handle failure?

Many entrepreneurs believe that if you embrace failure on your path to success, you will succeed. In fact, most successful entrepreneurs have failed many times, but the difference between them and the rest of the world is that they don't internalize failure - instead they embrace it.

Failure sometimes helps us better understand what we are trying to do and how we should go about it. It sets a clearer picture for the direction that we should head.

"I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love, than to be a success at something you hate." George Burns.

Is failure just part of the parcel? Do we need to fail in order to succeed? Bill Gates did. Michael Jordan did too.
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Divorce - it's never easy

Divorce - it's never easy

If you are tweeter, and you follow Marketing Eye or Amanda Rose for that matter, you may have seen some dialogue about us joining force to write a blog about divorce.

Rather than put our stories together all at once, we have decided to put together a blog that will change over the next few hours. I will share my wisdom (or lack of) with you and Amanda, a well-known radio host, article writer, commentator and brand marketing consultant, will add her thoughts. BTW. Amanda and I have never met or worked together, other than communicating through a shared passion for social media.

Let's see how this experiment works!

DIVORCE - it's never easy.
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Is your spirit being squashed?

Is your spirit being squashed?

If you feel that your spirit is being squashed down, then push as hard as you can and stand up for what you believe in.

Key to success is being able to withstand the negativity that may cross your path, and rise to any occasion with the same enthusiasm and depth that you had the first day you came up with your new business idea.

At times, being an entrepreneur can be daunting. There are so many things to consider. Great entrepreneurs, you will find, listen to what people have to say and then make decisions based on a combination of their gut instinct, the advice given and their own knowledge and expertise.

This week, I have had to re-think what I am doing and what a great exercise that has been!

Seriously, I have learnt more this week, than I have in the entire year. I have listened to a number of key influencers in my life and taken onboard their advice and mentoring, while still staying true to myself and my own dreams.

If you spend some time to consider your options, often you will find that the solution falls on your lap - just like it has with me today.

Running a successful business is exciting and in the true spirit of being an entrepreneur, I am fulfilling my dreams every single day.

When things don't go to plan, I always remember:

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and his first company failed, yet he still built a global empire and was for a long time the richest man in the world due to Microsoft.

Stephen King, one of the world's best selling authors, received 30 knock-backs for his iconic thriller Carrie and ended up throwing it in the trash. Luckily for him, his wife fished it out and it went on to being one of the best novels of all time.

Michael Jordan tells a story of how he failed over and over again in his life, and that is the reason he has succeeded.

So, by not being afraid to take risks, to put yourself on the line, to accept rejection and to compromise only when it is right to do so, you will succeed.

"Onwards and upwards" is definately a direction I am taking. After further consultation with my mentor, I realised that some of things they pointed out were very correct and the Australian market is one that should not be ignored. However, if you have a dream, and you truly believe in it, you should follow it. So I am doing both! I have listened and taken on board great direction and I am going with my gut instinct and research and developing a business that will one day be global. You wait and see!!!!



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Positivity : How onwards and upwards is the only way

Positivity : How onwards and upwards is the only way

I'm a fairly positive person. I like to look on the bright side of things and rarely fall prey to thinking that something cannot be done. I see hurtles as being part of the big adventure and I never shy away from taking on a road block and working around it to achieve what I set out to achieve.

On Monday, I had a set-back. One could expect that from time to time this happens but this one was more personal.
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Secrets that most sales managers will never know!

Secrets that most sales managers will never know!

Gosh, if only I knew the secrets, my business would be double the size!

I received this direct mail piece in the post today (this is only a cropped version of the DM piece) and it really ignited something in me. We don't invest enough in sales training for consultants that are client facing and responsible for client acquisition.

Sales Coach Academy help businesses reinvent their sales team with a management workshop - perfect for your next sales meeting.

You and your team will learn:

- Why 49% of sales people never hit budget... and exactly what they can do about it
- the number 1 strategy of the world's best sales managers
- the simple formula that every sales manager must know to increase revenue raising efforts
- The proven and most dependable way of getting your sales team focused and closing more sales, quicker and consistently
- How to find an additional 5 hours a week to work pro-actively 'on the business'

If you scan the QR Code, you will receive a FREE preview to the program.

This has definately got my attention.

What courses and training do you put your sales team through? Please share

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Why you are not married... yet

Why you are not married... yet

There is so much being written about why people and in particular women, are not married.

For us singles out there, while we may be the ones who buy the books, read the articles, watch the movies and absorb anything that will give us answers to why we haven't gone down a traditional route - I am sure I can speak for most of us who draw in a deep sigh everytime we see a headline that remotely resembles where we are in life.
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Comparing two businesses and can't choose?

Comparing two businesses and can't choose?

Every Saturday and Sunday morning, I take my dog for an early morning stroll around Faulkner Park in Melbourne.

Each weekend, I am faced with the same dilemma - where do I buy my coffee and croissant from? There are three cafe's nearby; Cafe Vue, Fleur Depot de Pain at the Blackman and one other on Commercial Road. I never remember the name of the one on Commercial Road, but I do frequent it quite a lot.
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Do you see what I see?

Do you see what I see?

A young lady who is starting as a graphic design intern at Marketing Eye was showcasing her portfolio on Friday to me and this stuck out. What do you think?

The graphic designer is Rin Phakkhieo and I am sure you will be seeing alot from her in the future. She is quite talented and looks at everything in a different way - which is great when you are looking for a creative.
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