How customers perceive you through your marketing

Posted on March 7, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

Here is a question for you…how often have you made an unfavourable prejudgement of a person, product or company on face value and then found out that you were wrong once you had a little more info.?

Yeah, me too, it happens all the time. But most of the time a negative prejudgement can be avoided if you convey the right message… quickly!

From the very instant a customer arrives on your site, picks up a piece of your promotional literature or gives you a call, they are gathering information about you and your business. You only have a very short period of time to capture your customers’ attention, approximately a few seconds to put it into figures, and it is how you use these few seconds that can often determine whether your customer will be a ‘sticker’ or a ‘flitter’.

Now it is unrealistic to tackle all your marketing activities at once, so if we break this topic down into the most common avenues used by your customers, it may be easier to assess which areas of your marketing you may need to look at.

Let’s start with the website. Almost 99% of companies have a website nowadays which tends to be their main source of information for customers and clients. Without getting into too much detail as SEO has been somewhat of a favourite topic for us Début girls lately, with the right search words and links etc. you should stand a good chance of ranking in a search engine’s results. So let’s say that the customer has found your site…what next?

  • Is it up to date hence showing you are on the ball or was it last ‘updated’ in 2010 by the addition of a then semi-relative piece of information which is now well past its sell by date therefore giving the impression you cannot be bothered?

  • Does it show you are professional, thorough and take pride in your business by having absolutely no spelling or grammatical errors?

  • Is all the information on your site current and correct, easy to find and in language a customer unfamiliar with your products or company will understand?

  • Is your design clean and uncluttered with an easily navigated layout?

  • Are you displaying accreditations, awards and certifications showing you are reputable and recognised?

  • Do you have testimonials or product reviews which customers can relate to and that will substantiate any claims you make? (Or are you all talk and no substance?)

These are all things that customers will notice and pick up on if something is awry. Being the most common port of call for companies it is absolutely vital that your website reflects your company’s business ethics. Often companies are too ‘close’ to their sites and therefore it is advisable to get an independent review.

So moving onto tangible marketing material, this generally comes in the form of brochures, letters and flyers but can also include business cards and corporate gifts. Remember, your customer is likely to keep these items close at hand and have them at their disposal to show any number of friends and family so they need to give the right impression…

  • Is your material flashy and expensive? A potential customer may see this as you being too expensive and upmarket for them.

  • Is your material cheap, unimaginative and run of the mill? Customers may see this as a reflection of the company, product or service.

  • Gimmicky…yes or no? Gimmicky good (and by this I mean clever) is O.K. as it is likely to become a talking point, Gimmicky bad, A.K.A. something that is utterly useless and unrelated to your company, runs the risk of annoying a customer and painting you as being a joker.

  • How much material do you put out? Too much marketing activity and you may appear desperate, not enough and you can be deemed as complacent, also a customer may think your spend could be used somewhere else…like customer discounts.

  • Is your marketing personal, or are you generalising and potentially alienating customers? Know your audience!

It is all very well having pretty pieces of paper but they need to be functional by encapsulating your message, product or service and ethics in one fell swoop. Tricky I know but entirely achievable with the right help.

Having covered the two most common ways businesses communicate with their customers and therefore the most important I will save the rest until next week (and because I don’t want to provide screeds of info crammed into one blog post)!

Remember, it is not difficult to get the right message across but sometimes outside help is required. Début Marketing has been offering reviews, recommendations and professional advice for many years now. And believe me, some of the things that go unnoticed on sites and in marketing material would shock you.

This is your business at the end of the day so it is worth getting it right.

I’ll see you same time next week for part deux.

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How does your customer service rate?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

When I think ‘Customer Services’ I am immediately consumed by horrible memories of queuing. Be it on the end of the phone with some one hit wonder playing on repeat in an attempt to soothe my mood, or whilst standing much to my feet’s detriment as they merely get to shuffle forward every five minutes, they tend to be experiences I would rather forget.

And it is with far too much regularity that I find my disgruntledness at the ineptness of said ‘Customer Services’ manifesting itself through a sigh big enough to evoke an earthquake…or at least loud enough to convey the message that I am not impressed!

So why is it that we only really remember the times when we have received bad customer service? Is it because bad customer service is dished out far more readily than good customer service? Or is it that we relay our horror stories to so many of our friends that they seem to stick in our memories with more resonance? Fear not there is hope, it’s the latter.

On average:

  • Dissatisfied customers tell 12 people how bad their experience was

as opposed to

  • Happy customers telling only 4 other people if their experience was good

When it comes to business and gaining a reputation, your customers are amongst the most critical and influential parties you would ever want to please. Much like a bad review from a revered critic can take down a restaurant in one fell swoop, unfavourable reviews, testimonials and word of mouth experiences from ‘Joe Public’ can have just as catastrophic an effect on your business.

  • A whopping 93% of customers indicated that quality customer service was vital to maintain their brand loyalty

whilst

  • 68% of customers would stop doing business with a company because of poor service

Just think of all the time you spend, not to mention the money, on customer acquisition, targeted offers and personalised mail. This is you building a relationship with your customers and showing them that, yes, they have made the right choice and, yes, you are the right company for them. It is therefore in your best interests to constantly give exceptional customer service, especially when you consider that;

  • It is 6-7 times more expensive to gain a new customer than it is to retain an existing one

Nowadays there is so much choice for the discerning customer and with most companies trying to outdo each other with welcome offers, new customer reductions and discounted start up packages, company loyalty is becoming a thing of the past. Especially in the current economic climate.

But being proactive with your customers still stands for an awful lot with a simple recognition if you have done something wrong coupled with an apology making all the difference in most cases as;

  • Nearly 95% of dissatisfied customers would continue to do business with a company if their problem was solved quickly and satisfactorily

But it is not solely for reputation or who has the largest customer database purposes that good customer service is advocated amongst businesses, it can make considerable financial sense too. Retaining customers as opposed to having to acquire new ones to account for those that have left can increase profits, with companies that make customer service a priority seeing greater return on investment.

I am not suggesting that you roll out the red carpet, perfect your curtseys or bows and greet every one of your customers with a polite handshake, I am simply reiterating the importance of good old fashioned manners and how it can take you a long way.

I bet the next time you go shopping now you will be keeping score of how good the customer service team are.

Anyway, that’s enough from me for one day, next week’s blog is going to be on perception. Or more specifically, how potential customers perceive you through your marketing.

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Getting the competitive business edge

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

How many of you have read George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984? Makes you think huh? Obviously its plot is quite extreme and seemingly far fetched but is there an element of truth behind ‘Big Brother’ and how people, including prospective clients, use modern platforms, namely the internet, to find out more about you and your business?

I don’t mean that customers and future employers are going all PI on our behinds and donning dodgy specs, nose and moustache combos to stealthily obtain the ‘low down’ on us but they are becoming more savvy with the way they weed out the competition and make informed decisions about where they are going to take their business or who they are going to hire.

Business is what makes the world go round, but relatively speaking business connections used to be limited by distance and face to face meetings. But lo and behold, the birth of LinkedIn in 2002 has taken what was once confined and determined by logistics firmly in hand by turning the business community into what is now a relatively small place.

LinkedIn is a free tool that that works very much like a virtual C.V., accessible to anyone who knows what they are looking for. It utilises an online ‘link up’ facility to allow members to gain credibility and boost their profile whilst making valuable connections that otherwise may never have seen the light of day. That is why it is so important to keep your profile current, up to date and relevant. It also has an endorsement option where you can vouch for the skills of individuals you have worked with and in turn they can do the same for you giving you an immediate and public reference.

But this isn’t the only way to find out what people are saying about you. That’s right, there are some clever companies out there now that specifically measure your ‘internet buzz’ . In other words, what people are saying about you on the internet – directly or indirectly. So whether you are mentioned in comparison to a competitor or just as a passing comment, they will know and therefore prove almost indispensable as a PR aide.

Another good idea to gain a better insight into what you are doing right and how you can improve your business in order to climb the competitive ladder is to make a list of what you do and what your competitors do and how they compare. For example, do you offer free delivery? ‘Yeah, big deal’ I hear you say, ‘who doesn’t nowadays’ and you would be right, but do you offer next day delivery or a lesser service that may take four times as long? My point is, what are you doing that gives you the edge?

Who has copycat syndrome? Another indicator as to whether you are passing muster out there is if people are replicating what you do. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all and if you are trendsetting or pioneering in any way, others will want to follow.

Of course it’s not all spy work or, dare I say, espionage that will give you the competitive edge and drive others over it, sticking to good, ethical business practice speaks volumes and is almost as likely to gain you repeat or new custom through word of mouth as a flashy, expensive ad. But if no one knows about you how are you going to get off the starting block in order to show how valuable you are. This is where I hark back to good old SEO. Still a front runner in boosting your profile by where you rank, investing time in professionally done SEO offers massive benefits for companies both large and small.

It’s very much a ‘one shot’ culture out there, and with so many people doing something similar to you or on a larger scale, it is understandable to feel outdone. But my last piece of advice is perhaps the easiest to follow…use your biggest asset to your advantage and ask your customers for feedback. And remember, pride comes before a fall so always be humble enough to take criticism whether you agree with it or not, and learn from it. Remember, you are seen as a customer to someone!

Gosh, look at me getting all goody-two-shoes in my old age, next week I promise to not give a lecture but instead some fun and informative facts on customer service and how it can be your make or break. See you then.

Posted in business, search engine optimisation, social networking | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

How to work networking

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

Networking. What is it? Well, like I said last week it is perhaps the easiest form of advertising and promoting yourself and your business.

In laymans terms, it is a bunch of likeminded business folk getting together in a big room, usually with tea, coffee and biccies on tap, and talking about themselves and business opportunities. In business terms, it is the key to making connections, growing your business, reputation and creating widespread awareness of your abilities.

When I was invited to my first networking event I found that I regressed back to the thirteen year old that would freeze at the mere thought of speaking in front of classmates about a well rehearsed topic let alone speaking to complete strangers about what I do. Fearing public humiliation, I mentally prepared myself for a Spanish inquisition type affair…true, there are events that require you to answer rapidly fired questions, but there are many formats that constitute a good old network, and no matter which you attend you will find that there are more than a few people who can 100% empathise with first, second and even third time nerves.

Probably one of the most common types of networking is F2F, or Face to Face. Whether this phrase was coined by Aberdeen Business Community or not, it is certainly one that has stuck and become a staple businessperson’s acronym.

So what should you expect from your first networking event and following events? Well first of all, expect to be recognised as a new face and to have people come up to you and want to talk about what you do. This is great because ironically, the more you go, the more you seem likely to talk to people you know. Remember, networking is business and therefore a non-social social event… if that makes sense.

Expect to hand out and be given lots of business cards but don’t necessarily expect to leave with ten done deals, five prospective jobs and three follow up meetings…the first few times you go it is likely to be only the latter you will leave with. But this is fine, it is all part of the ‘advertising yourself’ journey and where you learn the fundamental steps, or dos and don’ts, of networking.

It seems only fair now that having started by painting a terrifying glossophobia-esque picture I give you some hints and tips to start you off on the right foot. Here are my top ten networking noteworthies and never dos.

  1. Don’t only talk to people you know or those you have done business with before

  2. Do take advantage of the introducers and meet at least one new person each time

  3. Don’t expect the other person to do all the talking

  4. Do have a general ‘spiel’ prepared

  5. Don’t think you will be businessperson of the year over night

  6. Do follow up on leads and even just meeting new people

  7. Don’t turn up unprepared

  8. Do bring business cards

  9. Don’t try and sell, sell, sell

  10. Do be genuine, honest and yourself

And finally one for good luck, Do wear comfy shoes. So go forth and have a good time, this is your informal chance to shout about what you can do and make some useful new friends, acquaintances, business partners and clients – see, what could be easier!

Next week, to tie in with the networking theme, we shall look at where you rank amongst your competitors, who is watching you…this one is going to be full of useful tips to boost your profile so do join us same time, same place.

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Choose the right advertising for your business

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

Adverts. They are everywhere, and how often have you seen one that has left you less than inclined to rush out and buy what it was (trying) to promote. And have you ever noticed the types of adverts that are on during ‘men’s’ programmes and those that air during ones expressly made for women or children? And don’t get me started on the time of day, night, week and even year that these little snippets of subliminal selling have been carefully scheduled to show. That’s right, there is something savvy going on in the world of advertising, much of which should be applied to your own advertising strategy.

Perhaps it is safe to say that when it comes to business, the blanks in the well known crowd mantra that goes like this

“what do we want”…

“and when do we want it”….

will most likely be filled in by two simple, extremely familiar words, ‘Money’ and ‘Now’.

We know the first doesn’t grow on trees and that it seldom comes for free but is in fact a bi-product of countless hours of behind the scenes work. so when it comes to using it wisely with a view to increasing it, you must follow a structure.

And to break this down into manageable, blog friendly pointers; I have chosen the ‘gossip guru’s’ favourite saying as the basis for my tips, for absolutely no other reason than it is as thorough as thorough can be.

  • Who

  • Where

  • What

  • How

  • When

The ‘Who’ applies to your customer demographic. Are they the aforementioned men, women or children, or can a broader spectrum be applied to your target audience? Once you have established this you can move onto the next step, ‘Where’…

…Ask yourself this, where do my customers hang out (both virtually and in reality)? Do they have spare time on their hands to leisurely peruse the newspapers, magazines, local restaurants and hotels or are they beginning to set up camp in the office and think of their watch as more of a hindrance than a help.

What does this tell you? Are they the type of people who would be more likely to respond to an advert placed in a newspaper or do they shop with a purpose, mouse in hand, and know exactly where to look. Perhaps their work commitments require them to travel or perhaps their lifestyle allows them to travel.

How do you get their attention? This is where your imagination is your boundary, it is all very well attaching a banner to a bi-plane if your audience works outside during the day, but it is completely pointless if they are holed up indoors on the nightshift. The best and easiest way to answer this, and a tactic that has helped me in the past, is to visualise your customer and put yourself in their shoes. Do you now think, or can you make an informed decision as to whether they are more likely to respond to a specific form of advertising from the following?:

  • newspapers and magazines – how long do you schedule it for, how big is the ad and where should it be positioned

  • Television or radio – when do you air your ad and on what channel

  • Mobile advertising – where should you locate this so as many people see it as possible

  • Billboards – Where?

  • Direct contact – you will need a database for this

  • brochures or inserts – what are they likely to read and what is its reach and drop stats

  • Car park tickets – consider areas and regions

  • Sponsorship – make sure you sponsor something your demographic will be likely to appreciate

  • Busses and taxis – consider routes and where the people you want to see your ad will be going

And finally, when is the best time to strike? Is it weekends? Maybe night time so your offer is ready and waiting in their inbox at 9am? Perhaps it should arrive with the postman or maybe it will get a better response if it is waiting for them when they get home and are in the mood to relax. All these are important questions that need to be considered.

The list of contributing factors goes on and on but by following this simple structure you will be able to pick the right type or combination of different types of advertising to reach as many customers as possible.

Next week we will look at perhaps the easiest way of advertising your business; networking. Come armed with business cards and a cheery disposition, you can leave the carpet bag at home!

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How to start promoting your business or product

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

Now, I can tell you straight away, before you even get comfortable with a cuppa and settle for the long haul, that this topic will require at least two blog installments. So now my next step is to tell you what to expect from this week and next…

This week I will focus on the right kind of advertising and promotion for your business and I will follow this up next week by talking a bit about cost effective advertising that’s right for you and your business.

As there is no better place to start than at the beginning (thank you Julie Andrews for making this point known to all pre 1990’s kids); how would you get your name out there if you were just starting up? Marketing activity, promotion and advertising of large companies may seem extremely daunting, and trying to keep up with let alone compete with the big hitters can seem like a hopeless task. But if you take it step by step you’ll find it’s not that difficult to get results, in fact it’s really easy.

1. Start simply and build up your presence. The best form of advertising and promotion is word of mouth and endorsement. Ask customers if they would give you a testimonial and then shout it from the rooftops…if the rooftop is a social media platform or your website that is.

2. Be active in the online community. Everyone’s mum’s mums seem to be on Facebook, Twitter and Google + these days and this sociable way of communicating is a quick and easy way to drum up interest as you are pretty much unlimited as to what you talk about.

3. Network, mingle, chat and all that jazz. People buy from people, this very profound statement has become the strapline of business people across the land and quite simply because it is true. You should take every networking opportunity to meet as many people as possible because, much like points mean prizes, connections mean credibility.

4. Credibility gained now expand it. Hmmm, so you’re now a networking pro, a social media whiz and have a black book as thick as War and Peace…what next? Form partnerships with businesses that can benefit yours and that add to your company’s skill set and then they can recommend you to their customers and vice versa. Two heads are better than one after all, or you can get involved with a community or charity project…

5. By doing the latter you will not only be helping others, giving something back and boosting your reputation but it may land you some press coverage, the holy grail of promotion because of its sheer reach, credibility and independence.

When done often and well, these steps are just the beginning to becoming every bit as successful as the aforementioned big hitters. Watch this space for next week’s tips on how to get what you want and where you want through the right advertising.

Posted in business, marketing, networking, social networking | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Build a database, build a future

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

Before I get stuck into this week’s topic, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan Harrison of Infaweb for his offering last week. SEO certainly is a topic that perplexes more than a few and Jonathan’s blog answered a lot of common questions, so thank you again.

So, tying this blog into first of the new year, pretty much any new objective you set is going to involve the customer somewhere along the way. And in order to maximise your reach and therefore the success of your objective, you are going to need a database to target.

By a database I mean a list of customers, both existing and potential, that you have acquired over time and through different marketing activities.

Alas time is something I cannot give you, but marketing activities to make the most of your time and gain you customers is thankfully something I do know a bit about.

One of the most important things to remember when gaining customers is your credibility. Too many requests to sign up to this, that and the other may make you look desperate plus customers simply will not sign up for and to anything and everything. It needs to be worth their while.

Test forms of acquisition. It is a fact of life that the first time we do something it may go well but with practice and in time, we can make it go perfectly. Some really common forms of acquisition used by companies both large and small include the following:

Recommendation schemes - these are particularly effective as your existing customers are doing your marketing for you. It has been said that word of mouth is the best form of marketing and after all, a friend is likely to tell you the truth therefore unlikely to recommend something they don’t believe in. Also, by rewarding the customer that recommends your business you are strengthening your relationship with them whilst encouraging them to continue advocating your service.

Sign up for information/special offers - this is also a popular way to gain potential customers as all you are asking for are their details whilst the potential of what they could receive is much higher, especially if you run a free entry competition. The one thing to watch out for with this route is that you make it an appealing request without promising things you can’t deliver.

Site registration - if you are offering visitors to your site specific information, say in downloadable pdf format for example, then you may want to consider asking them to register on your site and therefore give you their details so you can send them more information in the future.

N.B. It is worth noting that a ‘skip/fill out later’ option should be considered.

Data capture cards and business card bowls - these are most commonly seen at events as they encourage interaction. This is probably the simplest and most effective way to gain details quickly but be aware that you then have to log all the details which can be time consuming.

Social media databases – FB/Twitter/LinkedIn/Google+ etc. Five words; quick, easy, reliable and sociable! No brainers really. The beauty of this type of acquisition is that through regular communication and interaction you immediately get the opportunity to show the ‘customer’ the real you without them having to do anything.

See, it really is easy when you know how…or are told how. My last tip and parting word of wisdom to you is that you must pay attention to customer acquisition spend. It is simply not going to be feasible for some businesses to spend a lot or even anything on gaining new customers whereas others will have a seemingly endless pot of dough. Make sure that the return on your investment is worth it.

Next week I will be talking about how to choose the right advertising for your business and the most cost effective ways of promotion. Until then, happy customer acquiring!

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What’s this SEO All About?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Julie Mitchell-Mehta

Guest Post by Jonathan Harrison, Infaweb.

Time after time I hear people say they need it, I hear people say they are doing it and I hear people saying “How Much?” But the SEO educated people say bring it on…

First things first. “SEO” is Search Engine Optimisation, mainly focused on Google these days due to its dominance. It’s a shame I know but Bing and Yahoo still have a way to go to catch up.

Secondly “Search Engine Optimisation” is all about improving the number of visitors you get from the search engines to your website. This is done in the organic section of the search engine not the paid section (the paid section of the search results has “Ads” at the tops of them in Google, generally a couple at the top of the page and some down the right hand side of the page).

organic search engine

 

So you can see from the start it’s not as simple as it first seems. The page is split into segments and each one needs a separate process to get listed and the listings work on different rules. For this post I am just going to talk about the Organic section. On the image above it shows Organic listings and then Google places. I have tried to give you a shot with everything possible in, most search results have much more in the way of organic listings in that size snapshot.

Once the places listings finish, slightly further down the page the organic section continues. It’s worth noting that every search result brings up different quantities and sections on the page. Some results have no Google places others have several, for example.

How to get listed in the Organic results

There are many rules that the search engines follow to decide who to rank number one and who to rank number one hundred; that said there are some key elements that you can follow.

Key elements to SEO;

  1. Content
  2. Inbound links
  3. Social media interaction
  4. Technology

To explain this more I have broken it down further as follows.

  1. Content

This is the whole point of it all as it’s what the search engine was built for. Its core function is to take a search term and to return pages of content relevant to it and an order based on the most relevant to the user. So without content you don’t have anything. Some key things about content; say no to duplication, always strive for perfect grammar and spelling, ensure it’s useful to the end user and make sure it’s broken down in a way that makes it easy to read.

2. Inbound Links

“What are those?” I hear you scream! It’s always easier with a picture;

inbound links for SEOAn inbound link basically acts as accreditation. It’s one website saying this website is good and giving it a reference (a link). The more you have the more chance you have of getting good traffic from the search engines.

Due to lots of abuse from people trying to trick the search engines over the years there are lots of rules about links. Some are more harmful than good so you have to know what rules to follow if you are going to go and start building links yourself.

3. Social Media Interaction

This works a little bit like links, having mentions of your website and pages on it in the social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter shows the search engine that other people are talking about your website. All good stuff!

4. Technology

I don’t just mean using the best or most up to date, what I mean is making sure it’s working as it should. This includes;

  • Clean website code
  • Making sure your website can be viewed on different browsers (internet explorer, Firefox, Chrome etc)
  • Making use of mobile platforms where needed
  • Making sure your website is accessible to all (using alt tags so people who are unable to use images can read/listen to the alt text

Pitfalls

There are lots of scam artists out there and people that promise the world and cannot deliver. So to avoid upset follow these golden rules;

  • Do not go with guaranteed results
    • They do not exist as no SEO professional that will offer you services works for Google
    • Be very careful with pay on results SEO as they normally get you into a contract where you end up paying far to much for the service. That said there are some good companies offering nice packages in this area
    • Any SEO package less than a couple of hundred pounds per month is not worth having, and that’s for non competitive keywords. Think about it – you are paying for people’s time and to do this job properly you need to spend time doing it. If you are only spending £35 per month that’s about an hour’s work (depending on which company you go with.) That will not get you a return on your investment as it takes that long to do a decent monthly status report.
    • Check some of the service provider’s existing clients and ask for their main keywords. Then type into Google “Keyword Tool”. Click the first link, log in, put the keywords into the box, click “exact match” down the right hand side and then click submit. See how much traffic the keywords get monthly, if its 0 or anything close to it then find another company. There is no point a company getting you in the search engines for keywords that have no traffic.
    • Try to calculate your return on investment. How much traffic are you likely to get for the money you put it? As long as you are going to a company that is ethical they will have this covered but just be mindful. There is no point spending £500 + per month and only seeing 10 visitors and 1 sale, if that sales only brings in £20 of profit.
    • This type of project takes time; depending on the competition it could take 3-18 months to achieve goals. But once you are there and seeing the extra sales it’s well worth the investment. Don’t let a company tell you they can achieve your goals in a week, 99.9% of the time they cannot.

Alternatively pop me an email , my name is Jonathan Harrison and I am the writer of this article and SEO consultant at http://www.infaweb.com/. I am open to any questions about boosting your search engine efforts – ask in the comments or send me an email.

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New Year, New Objectives

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

In timely fashion, I would like to wish all our readers a happy and prosperous new year. Many of you will have made resolutions pertaining to your personal life and some of you will have broken them already. That is OK. The key to succeeding is setting realistic goals and not trying to take on or change too many things at once…plus, God loves a trier!

Now seeing as we made it safely into 2013 and the world neither came crashing down nor did it explode into a gazillion tiny particles obliterating everything mankind has achieved (I always thought that should be a recognised quantity), it seems like the perfect time to take stock of where we are and how we are going to move forward.

In business, just as in life, this can come in many forms. Say you plan to go on a diet, in business terms this can be translated as the desire to reduce wastage or overstock. Or perhaps you plan to save for something, to a business this would be increasing profit or sales.

So let’s take a look at some of the common ‘new year, new company’ resolutions that are easily achievable with the right structure, plan and know how.

  • Improve sales

  • Acquire more customers

  • Turn first time customers into returning customers

  • Create awareness of your business and therefore more interest

  • Reduce turnaround time…

…I could go on but your resolutions are your own goals and will only be limited by your drive and determination.

So once you have decided on a resolution that will benefit you and your business you need to consider how you are going to achieve it. Say your goal is to make more money, and let’s face it, this one is going to be high up on the priority list; it is all too tempting to cut corners in order to get a faster result. E.G. Initially; cutting pack sizes, buying cheaper stock and selling it at the same price or for slightly more may help you achieve the bullet points above, but in the long run you are ultimately compromising value for money and quality and therefore your reputation. You need to get savvy and use the everyday tools that are available to you to reach your desired audience and outcome and beyond.

Let me ask you this, how many hours a day do you spend at your computer for both work and leisure? That many, huh? I bet you didn’t realise that. Now, think of how even just a couple of these hours could be turned into increased business productivity and therefore sales…

Social media is a great way to not only promote your business but also to interact with people,therefore creating awareness. Plus, social media follows the unwritten etiquette of ‘it’s nice to be nice’ and ‘one good turn deserves another’ so chances are that if you ‘like’ or ‘share’ something, someone will do the same for you. But the internet and computers give us much more than just a path to another form of communication, they can tell us pretty much anything we need to know in order to establish our current positioning therefore giving us insight into routes of progression.

Analysis of response rates, website visits, customer demographics, current trends and topics of interest and generally the day to day news are your tools and, when used in conjunction with a well thought out and manageable strategy, are all you need to succeed.

Like my Grandma used to say, “look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”, and like the Debut girls say “look after the plan and the rest will fall into place” and, of course, we are here every step of the way and always happy to offer a helping hand to put you on the right path to a happy and prosperous new year.

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It’s all in a year’s work…

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Caroline Fraser-Wilson

Well, this is it, the last ever blog of 2012. What a memorable year it has been, for some of the right reasons and for some of the wrong reasons and of course, there are always going to be those embarrassing reasons. So rather than let them rear their scarlet coloured ugly heads at will, we are going to ‘woman up’ and tell all. We’re not (too) ashamed to have been honorary members of the dunce club once or twice this year and are delighted (?) to share our misfortunes with you. If for no other reason than to spread a little festive cheer!

This first one can be attributed to increasing giddiness from festive surroundings and is all the doing of Mrs Julie Mitchell-Mehta…

Ice Escapades

“We all know that all work and no play makes for diminished productivity, so badly in need of some ‘R&R’ I decided to take a trip up the Lecht. A couple of hours whizzing down slopes, taking in the scenery was just what the doctor had ordered. But as I gathered my skis and cold weather apparel I just couldn’t quite shake the little niggling feeling of guilt I had as deep down I knew I really should be working. ‘It’s only a few hours’ I thought to myself, ‘I know, I’ll schedule some tweets and it will appear as if I am in my office slaving away’. Pleased with my solution and rapidly decreasing guilt I did just that and off I went to the snowy capped mountains. Now, as you now know I was playing and not working but as far as everyone else was concerned I was working and not playing… and everything was going swimmingly until I absentmindedly decided to tweet a picture of my gorgeous surroundings. In a split second, my cover up, fun and facade came to an abrupt end. Curse you modern technology for making sharing pictures via social media so easy and non retractable!”

 A lesson learnt I think, but don’t worry, my smugness is short lived as this next horror story is mine…

 Pick a seat, any seat

 Actually, as this one didn’t happen to me when I was a Debut girl I don’t think it counts and we should move on to the next one. No? Ok, if you’re sitting comfortably I shall begin…

 In a previous job, one of my roles was to train staff on new products. This usually took place during our weekly staff meeting when I had the limelight all to myself for approximately ten minutes and I commanded all eyes on me! After a particularly light hearted, fun and educational session on the difference between sirloin and ribeye, I was ready to reassume my seated position on the outer parameter of the circle. So finishing on questions I gathered my props and took a step back to where I had risen from my standard issue, four wheeled office chair. Note the manufacturer’s choice of casters in this instance as it plays a vital part in what happened next. As I stepped back to place posterior on perch I kicked the chair leg which obligingly rolled back leaving me to park on the floor! Needless to say this was highly amusing to everyone else rivalled only by the colour of my face which would have put Rudolph out of business!

 Badge of dishonour

 I think we should continue taking turn about which means this next one is the faux pas of Julie…

 “I’m pretty sure we’re all familiar with networking and its most basic format, you don a name badge then spend the evening walking around looking at peoples’ chests before making eye contact and introducing yourself. Right? Well this story begins just like that only I was now the proud owner of a coveted magnetic ABN badge and was dying to put it on and have it stay on all night unlike the stickers which have a penchant for hair or getting curly edges which usually render me a Ju or lie. So with respectable looking top firmly sandwiched between magnetic badge I was off and soon found someone I wanted to meet. Confident as ever I walked over only to be met by a perplexed looking man scanning my torso. Much to my shock the front and back of my badge had parted ways leaving the name part three steps behind me and the backing as rather unsightly protrusion coming out of my stomach. Now this is where the stickers come into their own as they can easily be replaced, it is not so easy to rummage down the front of one’s blouse in public!!”

 And last but not least, this is a particularly ironic one considering our areas of expertise and the topic in question and also one which I must take full responsibility for…

 Two heads are better than one…two eyes are better than none!

 When tweeting, as you only have space for 140 characters, it is common to abbreviate or even colloquialise some words. It is not acceptable however (as sadly it is quite common) to mis-spell words or be grammatically incorrect. We are only human after all but checking your tweet, email, blog, text etc. etc. before you hit send can save unnecessary embarrassment especially when you are in communications and killing two birds with one stone by tweeting about a blog. Much like I learned when I absentmindedly made the unforgivable their, there, they’re mistake.

 And the topic of the tweet/blog..? Proofreading. I’ll say it for you, epic fail!

 So there you have it, both Julie and myself now feel a lot better and just hope we have not been too late in redeeming ourselves before Santa visits in 5 sleeps time. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and thank you for loyally reading every week.

See you in 2013.

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