Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Strategy Blog - Page 76

Investing in a tradeshow

yusenSome people are just great blokes! Marketing Eye works extensively in the logistics, supply chain and transport sectors, providing an outsourced marketing department to many of Australia's most successful companies in this space.

In my experience, I have not yet worked with a company in this sector that doesn't have great people representing their brands. What is unique is that many of these companies, no matter how competitive it is, work with other companies in the same area to fulfil the needs of their clients.
Read more... →
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:
Read more... →
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?

Read more... →
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:
Read more... →
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.
Read more... →

Nightmares: what do they mean?

Last night, I had the most awful dream, that a friend who has been unwell, was pushing himself to the limit and not letting himself get better, had a car crash. It felt so real. In the dream, I found him all mangled, and lifeless. After months in hospital, it was time for him to get out, but there was no-one to look after him, as he had literally no-one in his life. No-one knew what to do, and no-one felt it was their responsibility. I started to cry in my dream because I felt for him. Then, the tears streaming down my face woke me up. I was completely shakened. It felt so real. The pictures in my dream were so real. It took moments before I realised that it was just a bad dream.
Read more... →
Is your website turning clients off?

Is your website turning clients off?

It is that time of year again, whether you like it or not, that small business owners need to review how their business is going.

Is your business ontrack to achieving the goals that you set out for your business to achieve in 2012? Is your brand where it should be? Are your leads inbound or outbound? Is your sales team performing?

If the answer is "no" to any of these questions, then it's time to start figuring out what you can change today to alter your outcomes of tomorrow.
Read more... →
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?
Read more... →
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.
Read more... →
Is Your Engine Well-oiled?

Is Your Engine Well-oiled?

Without health, you have nothing.

No matter how much money you make, it cannot save you if you have a terminal illness.

Some months ago, Iris Medical came to us and asked Marketing Eye if we could help educate the market on the importance of preventative health measures. So often business men and women get caught up in every day life and they neglect their health. They may go to the gym a couple of times a week and eat healthily but as we all know, even with these measures, the stress of working and life can add to increasing our chances of illness.

Iris Medical is unique in that it provides men and women with a complete health test. It is advisable to do these tests every single year, to stay on top of your health. By doing them, women may experience early detection of breast cancer for instance and men may find out whether or not they may have a heart attack in the near future or perhaps prostate cancer.

With Kerrianne Kennerly, the latest high profile person to get breast cancer, it's once again very topical.

So, is your engine well-oiled?
Read more... →
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.
Read more... →
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!!!!



Read more... →
It’s just like JFK said - Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other

It’s just like JFK said - Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other

Magma Capital Advisory came to Marketing Eye without a marketing bone in their body – literally, with nothing more than a logo in a world of endless marketing possibilities - and a two week deadline for a ‘brand spanking’ website (so to speak).  

We’d scored ourselves a client specialising in debt capital and risk management solutions and a two week deadline.  
Read more... →