For the past 4 days, I have been in rural North Queensland township of Charters Towers. The town has just over 6,000 people, but the catchment of its region extends to just over 12,000 and takes in neighbouring townships.

As a professional services firm, we started the business hustling. Going to network events, speaking at every opportunity, and using our connections to bootstrap the growth of the company. We even used PR, which put me out of my comfort zone big time.

The question is often asked of our people at Marketing Eye : "What do you do that other marketing firms don't?". And the answer is quite simple.

While other's are now using the term "outsourced marketing department", few have actually defined it quite like we have at Marketing Eye. After 24 years in the industry, I have learned a lot from both succeeding and failing. From these learnings, I have developed a series of systems, processes and ways in which to improve our capability of delivering world-leading marketing strategies to businesses seeking a high growth return.

The difference is from start to finish

Old school marketers are dead. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that.

I've never thought much about getting married... until I met the owner of Elite Pour La Vie in Atlanta. She shared her vision with me on why she was building Atlanta's most exclusive wedding and evening gown dress boutique. 

I didn't quite understand what could be so exciting about a wedding dress shop, other than the fact that she is a person with exquisite taste and style, who simply knows what is "in" and what is not. 

But now I do. She is bringing to a city of more than 6 million people, designers that brides-to-be and women wanting to make a statement or just look elegant at an black tie event or prom. 

It's what you don't have or perhaps have not yet experienced that makes you want to form a bond with a retail brand that is out of your core brand associations. Most consumers are now looking for something new. Something exciting. Something that takes them to a place that reminds them that they are who they want to be - in that moment.

But that's not new.

As a small business owner myself, I am always looking for ways to improve what we do. It's a constant struggle to not only be ahead of the times when it comes to professional services delivery, but also to pioneer the future.

Think differently. You read it everywhere and its become such a buzz word, many entrepreneurs are starting to think that it's not as powerful as it once was when we weren't using the word so liberally.

Written by Joyce Shin 

Top brands online have a number of things in common; they post regularly, they are on-brand and they sell the sizzle whether it's using women that are beautiful (and men for that matter), or using the best lighting for each and every product shot.

Anonymity online no matter how much you think that you have created an anonymous account, is no longer the case. With the changes in Australian law and the brilliance of a number of technology experts, finding the source of an anonymous comment on a website is now the norm.

Over a year back I received a call from a tech guy who was out to turn the tables on people who write slander on employers as anonymous people on influential websites. He not only told me what he could do, but actively showed me how you can find out who wrote what on various websites and then trace their whereabouts. It's quite fascinating really and something that at long last brings to the table something all future employers want to know.

If truth be told, there is no such thing as a 'best' blog or website, because it all depends on the visitor. If the website doesn't appeal to the person visiting the site, then it is useless.