By Kevin Ruef, below, co-founder, 10-8 Systems Creating and marketing SaaS products and services can often be a challenging process. Considering how many individuals and businesses rely on SaaS solutions every day to help streamline their workflows or organize their day-to-day, there is also an endless list of competitors all vying for the attention of potential new customers. However, there are a variety of strategies that SaaS companies can use to help maximize their sales potential by attracting the right leads to their business and closing them effectively. Understand Your Ideal Customer P ..read more

By Tom Wilson, below, Head of Media,  Climb Online Marketers and businesses have more data at their fingertips than ever before. Nearly every marketing platform, plugin and tool offers unprecedented amounts of information and analytics – but not all data points are created equally. Getting the most out of your data means understanding the metrics that translate into real business and marketing goals, and the ones that simply look good on paper. We explore how to identify the metrics that are worth tracking, and some of the key data points you should consider across your organic, paid and ..read more

By Dr Rebecca Swift, below, Senior Vice President of Creative, iStock  In a rapidly evolving consumer landscape, it’s crucial for SMBs to stay ahead of the curve. Anticipation alone won’t cut it; a deep understanding of up-and-coming marketing trends is essential. Armed with actionable insights supported by iStock’s VisualGPS research, we will delve into four emerging trends to help refine your visual strategy, enabling seamless adaption to market changes and ensuring the sustained growth of your business both now and in the future. Want to build consumer trust? Be genuine Our research sh ..read more

By Jim Rudall, Head of EMEA at Intuit Mailchimp With the holiday shopping season behind us and the sales in full flow, retail marketers around the world are continuing to battle for consumer attention and engagement. In fact, research by Intuit Mailchimp shows that almost 26 billion emails were sent in November via its platform this year, with nearly seven billion alone being processed between the 23rd and 28th. In addition, two-thirds of marketers estimated that the holiday period drives 21-40% of their company’s annual revenue, and e-commerce platform Shopify saw similar results this year. G ..read more

Between the rise in interest rates, energy costs, and general cost of living, businesses are feeling the pinch. Poor morale, meanwhile, adds fuel to this fire. Businesses can’t just stop growing, but how can you keep your sales team motivated in such challenging conditions? Alexis Potter, below, MD at BauWatch UK, a site security firm that depends entirely on outside sales – which is not an easy feat in the current climate. Here, he guides SME readers through his essential advice for motivating sales teams in a tough economy. Successive interest rate rises over the last year have significantly ..read more

By Alan Ible, below, Managing Director, Digitel In today’s fast-paced and competitive landscape, it’s important for SMEs to have a strong online presence; one that also positions them towards the top of the page in search engine results. Creating reams and reams of content isn’t the answer anymore, neither is it just relying on Google Ad campaigns, or content optimised for keywords. It needs to be a combined focus. While it’s also essential to be measuring results and crunching the data to understand whether a digital campaign is working, and if it is worth continuing to invest in or not. Over ..read more

With continued economic uncertainty, you might find that your prospects are delaying on closing deals, or taking a much more cautious approach when it comes to investing in new products and services. In these circumstances, mastering the art of negotiation could make the difference between closing a deal and losing out to a more proactive competitor. In this article, Shaine Gravett, left, Head of Sales at Sopro, shares his tips on becoming a successful negotiator.  Define your approach Most sales and marketing professionals have their own negotiation style, but there are some common theme ..read more

By Rob Mead, Head of Strategic Marketing, Gnatta Boost team morale As positive as your team is on a typical working day, the pressures of peak season can cause morale to dip. While it’s expected for this to happen once or twice when things are extremely hectic, your team shouldn’t be experiencing longer periods of low morale. When your customer service team has collectively high morale, productivity will be at an all-time high. So to keep spirits up, retailers should establish meaningful rewards and incentives to let them know that their hard work is valued and appreciated. Vouchers, awards ..read more

By Alan Ible, below, Managing Director, Digitel SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is a hot topic right now. Head into any marketing meeting, networking group or business breakfast and more often than not you’ll see it on the agenda or overhear at least one person in the room talking about it. It may be today’s business buzz word but in actual fact SEO has been practised since the mid-nineties, a few years after the first website was launched. Nowadays the sector is estimated to be worth £60 billion a year, globally, and this is expected to rise even further to over £90 billion a year, over t ..read more

A quarter (28%) of small businesses in the UK are now generating more sales from social media than from any other channel, including e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar stores, according to research from BT. Yet, despite the widespread uptake of social media as a sales tool, one in five (21%) entrepreneurs are concerned that they lack the digital skills to help them get the best results for their business out of social platforms. In a bid to help the UK’s smallest enterprises better leverage the business benefits of social media, BT has teamed up with business influencer and YouTube star, Pa ..read more