I see many promotions & selling videos shouting about ‘Have you got a funnel?’ ‘Is your funnel working for you?’ ‘How to max your funnel…’ It goes on. Don’t be blinded by the jargon & scarcity approach (a sales tactic that’s been around pretty much since economics was invested!) that these propositions use. Just remember a funnel is only a process; an important one that determines how people buy from you, how you lead them to your point of sale, filling them with education & reasons why you are their choice, and visually demonstrates the process flow, but a process nonetheless ..read more

I was in my local supermarket the other day using the self-service till (a piece of process automation which I love, by the way, when I only have a few bits!) and someone close to me was complaining about “how many self-service tills there were ‘these days’ and yet food prices were more expensive. We don’t get the personal service any more like we did with proper tills. And what were the people who used to be on the tills doing now anyway? Off in the back having a cuppa all day?” Clearly, I’m not in the know to say what the staff at that site are doing all day, however I can bet your bottom do ..read more

So why would you start your digital marketing activity without all the content that you need? One of the biggest challenges business owners and marketers have, and that constantly delivers doom & despondency around digital marketing, is a lack of content. “We don’t know what to say, nothing really happens here. Let’s just stick something on there and see what happens…”. And so something ‘seat of the pants’-style gets put out only to deliver disappointing and disillusioned results, with the inevitable conclusion of ‘marketing just doesn’t work’. I mean, I’m not saying that you need to have ..read more

I was away on holiday for a week recently busy sightseeing but still managed to squeeze in some reading, so I thought I’d give you a quick overview of one of the books I read, ‘Purple Cow’ by Seth Godin. It’s quite an old book, initially printed in 2002, however, the principles and advice in the book still stand firm today, which is why it resonated with me. The book talks about how to market your business and transform it by being remarkable; in short, identifying those ‘Purple Cows’ you can capitalise on to make your mark in the market, create a customer base and ultimately drive sales and p ..read more

I followed this car the other day and noticed the ‘added extra’ to the back of the car. It made me laugh, but also really resonated with me as let’s face it, it’s hardly a plush 4×4, a Lambo or Porsche, but you know it’s working hard, ‘haulin’ ass’, and getting the job done. You don’t have to be some perceived big brand, organisation or have a considerable budget to spend on marketing, employees, or branding. If your organisation is doing its job well, providing excellent customer service, and communicating an authentic and valuable brand presence, then there are many advantages to being a sma ..read more

I was talking to a business owner last week with regard to how they marketed their business. I asked them who their target customer was. “Everyone” they replied. “Ok, yes”, I said, “but who do you get most business from? Is it those people who you target your marketing with?” There was a bit of a silence… I agree that in many businesses anyone & everyone COULD be a customer, but by spending your marketing resources on marketing to EVERYONE (who have very different pain points, requirements, platform presence, and are at very different stages in the ‘sales funnel’) your marketing will be di ..read more

The word ‘Marketing’ covers such a wide range of activities that it’s hard, sometimes, to know what to do first, for the best, or at all! (hello marketing paralysis!) It doesn’t help that lots of new, shiny marketing propositions pop into our emails, onto our social feeds, and are referred to us by others pretty much every day, compounded by reports that this new ‘thing’ will make your content ‘go viral’, attract hundreds of new customers an hour, or give you that point of difference against your competitors. I know, I’m being a little bit facetious here, clearly, but in all honesty, so many o ..read more

I’ve had the discussion around business’ dependence on digital marketing quite a lot over the past few months with clients, networking colleagues and at a workshop I delivered yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, there is clearly a place for digital marketing whether that be social media, email marketing, website etc. However, especially with social media platforms, we, as business owners, marketing managers, and content creators, unfortunately have to play two games… …that of attracting our target audience (clearly the most important) AND having to play the algorithm game. And I say a game because ..read more

It’s a massive hot potato right now, as is greenwashing/bluewashing etc. But are we telling our customers about the sustainability or ESG (Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance) that we’re active in as an organisation, which can be the distinction between us and our competitors, add value to our offering and allow our perfect customers to see who we really are? Sustainability & ESG should be part of your organisation’s brand values and brand statement, and offer an insight into the culture and personality behind the brand. A recent article in edie.net highlighted a survey of mar ..read more

A big statement I know; let me explain why… Ultimately an organisation’s brand is a reflection of how they present, interact & communicate with the world. Your brand, irrelevant of whether you have been established for a number of years, a short while or are a new start-up, carries equity & weight to your organisation which can equate to financial benefit. It is the social value of your organisation, that generates sales, builds market presence and drives customer loyalty, determined purely through recognition and prospect/customer perception of the quality, desirability or need of tha ..read more