Archive for July, 2010

Is your cup half full or half empty?

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

I was networking this morning bright and breezy at 7.30am which I do regularly and talking to someone about how people are in business at the moment. There definitely seems to be two camps, either the positive ones, those that are determined to get on with it, no matter what is thrown at them, and those that are quite down about the economic situation, about how tough it is out there and how it’s not going to get much better soon.

I’ve always been one of those annoying positive ones but yes there is no doubt it is tough out there and I think it’s tougher for some industries that others. The general feeling is that we are all working twice as hard just to achieve the same results as last year, if we are lucky. But we are all fed up of doom and gloom, we had it in the press well before we were experiencing it, so I say, let’s make sure our cups are always half full, always look for opportunies in every situation good or bad and we will come out of this recession much stronger businesses!

Top Tips for retaining your customers

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Many businesses neglect their regula customer base in a recession and focus on winning new business. There’s a rule of thumb that 80% of work comes from just 20% of your customers so it is vital to take great care of that 20% to ensure they keep coming back. So what should you be doing?

- provide your customers with quality service and products
- show your appreciation by offering rewards for referrals or multiple orders
- go that extra mile every time
- offer your ideas and advice when you think it might be helpful
- ask for testimonials and share them with your customers
- above all keep in touch, by phone, email, mail, twitter, facebook, whatever your customers use!

Read more here> http://www.firstimpression.co.uk/resources/top-tips-for-retaining%20your-customers.php

Why use a copywriter?

Friday, July 9th, 2010

There is a dilemma, particularly in the small business sector. Why should you pay for a copywriter when I can write myself and who knows my business better than me? But there are a number of problems writing your own copy:

  • You’re too close to it. It’s difficult to see the wood from the trees!
  • You tend to think of what you are looking to sell rather than what your customer wants to buy so you never reach them.
  • You are passionate, there’s no doubt about that. But that means you get excited talking about what your products and services do rather than how they can benefit your customers.
  • You will probably try and make it over complicated, even trying to impress, whereas simple is far better.
  • It can often take you a very long time to do it. Have you ever taken on the job of writing content for your own website and then months later the web company are chasing you…ring any bells?

Far better to get a professional copywriter in at the start. They will write punchy, to the point copy that will get your message across. And it doesn’t have to cost alot of money. Just think of the money you could be losing with your own copy… www.copy-writer.co.uk

Get SMART with your marketing

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

You may have heard of SMART objectives (specific; measurable; achievable; reastic; time bound) well we also need to be SMART about our marketing objectives:

Strategic – plan your marketing activities rather than being reactive. Where are you today and where do you want to be and then plan how you are going to get there. At the same time you need to be flexible and open to opportunities.

Marketing – if you see marketing as a cost then you will be considering reducing that cost during this downturn. If you are smart and see marketing as an investment you will be maintaining your spend if not increasing it to take advantage of opportunities that do arise when the marketplace is changing.

Analyse – find out what works for your business and allocate your budget accordingly. Make your marketing budget work harder.

Research – find out what your customers want. Purchasing habits have changed, their environments have changed, have your products and services changed to meet their needs?

Target – target your most profitable customers. Don’t waste your marketing time and budget with customers who are not interested.

Be SMART – use carefully targeted campaigns with an easy to understand proposition that your customers value and a clear call to action.

Find out more at www.firstimpression.co.uk

Invest to achieve reward

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

The recession rumbles on. For many small companies it’s tough out there and everyone is doing their best to reduce costs to maintain profits. Some companies are cutting their marketing spend without realising they could be cutting their business lifeline! Be careful what you do…

In 2008, research from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Marketing Strategies) proved that, to come out of a recession on top a business should maintain its marketing spend. Those who continued to invest in marketing during a recession achieved significantly higher returns as the economy recovered, gaining an additional 1.3% of market share.

We all need to think about marketing in a different way. Is it a cost or is it an investment in your business? Is it an expense or an asset? Is it a tax or an opportunity? Is it an investment or a risk? We shouldn’t be cutting our marketing spend but thinking about how we spend it, spending it more wisely, being smarter, more targeted!