What is Website Optimisation? and How Can It Help My Business?

You know there are still some people in business who think all they need to do is build a website and sit back and wait for hordes of visitors to appear – as if by magic.

If only it were that easy.

Building a website for your business is a sound investment. Yet if no-one knows you exist, it could be a huge waste of your time and money. No-one wants a ‘White Elephant’ website!

So what exactly is search engine optimisation? And how can it help you attract more customers or clients?

Quite simply, optimisation is a way of improving your website rankings organically. The other option is paid advertising – or Pay Per Click – for instance the Google AdWords programme.

When you enter your search term in the search engine you will get a split-screen of results. Listings found on the left-hand side of your screen are those that have achieved their ranking ‘organically’, while those on the right are paid for ads.

Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing will rank your website according to various criteria, including content and relevancy.

Not unsurprisingly, consumer surveys consistently show that more people trust those companies that rank highly in the organic listings, over those who rely on ‘sponsored’ results. Indeed, it is not unusual to find smaller companies ranking higher than their larger rivals for particular search terms. While there’s nothing wrong with using paid advertising to drive traffic to your website, ultimately better click through rates will be achieved through organic listings.

You will know from your own experience that if your website does not appear on the first few pages of a search listing, you will not be found. When you do searches yourself, how many pages do you view before you give up? All the ‘experts’ are on page one, aren’t they? Whether or not you believe that’s the case, this is how we tend to perceive things.

So how might your business’s website improve its current position?

Let’s start with keywords. Consider what keywords are relevant to your website and the products and services you offer and build or tweak your web pages accordingly, bearing in mind what each of the major search engines’ requirements are to obtain maximum visibility. Tune your pages to meet search engine requirements and watch your traffic and rankings grow.

Search Engine Optimisation is an increasingly competitive field, so it’s important to choose your keywords and key phrases well. And if your budget permits, ideally it’s advisable to use a combination of SEO and paid for advertising – that way you get the best of both worlds.

Optimisation is the key to effective online marketing – numerous studies consistently confirm that it’s the perfect vehicle for almost every type of business.

Why outsource your marketing?

To run a successful business in today’s increasingly technologically advanced and globalised marketplace it is essential to develop an effective marketing strategy. Recognising this, many companies are outsourcing their marketing to ensure this is carried out by professionals using the most efficient and up-to-date methods in a rapidly changing world.

But what does outsourced marketing involve? Basically, this is when you decide that the best way to present your company to the wider world and bring in new customers is to bring in a marketing expert for a certain period of time in order to define a strategy and set you off on the right path. So why is this a good option to take?

Less overheads: Outsourced marketing is particularly suited to small-to-medium sized businesses which may not as yet be able to afford a permanent marketing department. This way, you can get the best of both worlds by bringing in a highly experienced marketing expert to identify how you might best present your company to the world, whilst tightly budgeting for how much you are able to spend on this.

A new perspective: Sometimes an organisation’s employees can be so immersed in their own little niche and company culture that they forget to see the bigger picture. An independent marketing consultant can come in with a fresh outlook on how you can achieve your goals.

The latest know-how: When you are running a company there are so many things to consider and marketing is really just a part of this. It would, therefore, be almost impossible for you to keep up with all the latest trends as well as the newest software and the strategies your competitors are using. But with a marketing consultant, their entire job consists of staying abreast of these developments, so when you hire one in you will be benefitting from the very latest methodologies out there.

Defining objectives:  Particularly if your company is very young, you may be lacking clearly defined goals and objectives with which to develop your future direction. Many business owners opt for outsourced marketing for this reason alone, as one of the jobs of a good consultant is to help you work out what it is you want from your marketing strategy and how you will achieve this. They will also help you identify the needs of your customers, and once you have done this you are a long way towards working out what it is you need to do.

Time control: Lastly, if you have a dedicated in-house marketing department, some tasks can drag on and on as they are re-defined, honed or discussed. Meanwhile your competition is already out there winning customers. By outsourcing, you are bringing somebody in for a previously specified length of time who can act decisively and efficiently to bring your marketing efforts in line with the current market condition.

Want More Leads at No Cost Extra to You? Enter Google Places

It used to be that when we wanted to buy something from our friendly local shop owner or dealer we’d automatically reach for the Yellow Pages or Thomson Local.

Now we Google it!

In fact, a recent survey of business owners by print company Vistaprint, revealed that only 11% of respondents would consider future advertising with Yellow Pages. How times have changed. A decade ago local directories were the first port of call for call for ready-to-buy consumers, now they’ve practically dropped off the radar.
On the other hand, if you’re in business, why would you pay for a pricey directory ad, when you can advertise your business to your local community for FREE? Because that’s exactly what you get with Google Places.
But my business currently appears on page eight of Google. How can Google Places help me?

It’s a well known fact that when searching for a national or international service or product, 80 per cent of us rarely venture past page one of Google’s search listings. In which case, if you’re listed on page eight, all your competitors more highly ranked than you are liable to gobble the lion’s share of the business.

However, it’s an entirely different outlook when people are searching for a local business. These ‘hot prospects’ are likely to be a whole lot more specific about what they are looking for and where. Say for example you run an Italian deli in the centre of town. The sheer nature of your business: fresh, seasonal produce, means in all likelihood you’d prefer your customers to be local.

Google Places is where your local customer base will find you easily. And your Google Places listing will be so much more effective than any ‘dry ad,’ because you can upload graphics, photos, videos, even animations, to provide your potential customers with all the essential information they need to make an informed decision on whether to trade with you. You’ll be able to upload pictures of your products, details of price ranges, customer reviews and testimonials and so much more. You will be giving your visitors the experience of a virtual visit to your premises – or in the case of our deli – a flavour of your business if you like!

Just over 97 per cent of all people with Internet access regularly use search engines and Google is the most popular search engine by far. As well as uploading your promotional tools, Google Places encourages the use of keyword-friendly tags that drive more business to your website, thus increasing its ranking.  If you are unsure you can always ask the help of an internet marketing consultant.

The beauty of Google Places is that it’s for business customers only, therefore your business search listing doesn’t get tangled up with all the normal ‘junk’ delivered in standard search results.
Google Places is still relatively new, so why not jump aboard now and gain a competitive edge, before your local rivals find it for themselves!

Tips for Budding Marketing Consultants

If you want to be a marketing consultant, bear in mind that the competition for this kind of role is fierce. Marketing has always been a key part of any company’s business strategy, but this is even more the case today in a world where global communication is pretty well instant and we are constantly bombarded with advertising of every kind. To give yourself any chance of success, you should take certain steps from the very start of your career, whilst you are still training, to help differentiate you from the many others like you out there. 

For example:

Networking: Let’s face it, if you’re not the kind of person who is happy working a room full of people then marketing may not be the job for you. Marketing consultants have to be prepared to attend conferences, participate in web forums, go to industry-specific meet-ups and generally do everything they can to constantly renew their contacts and get their name out there. You’re aiming to become a go-to person for anybody in need of a marketing expert, so start making those important connections right away.

Specialise: If there is one sector in which you have particular interest or expertise, it may be a good idea to focus on winning clients there. Marketing consultants are far more effective if they have a deep knowledge of the kind of product or service they are helping to promote, and if you are more effective you will have satisfied clients who will be more likely to recommend you to others. Before you plunge in head-first, then, have a think about where you might like to specialise.

Personal SEO: Marketing consultants need to become adept at the various methods of using SEO to boost their clients’ website ranking, so why not start with your own name? This will hone your expertise in this area as well as getting your name out there as a consultant early on.

Get experience: Whilst some like to strike out on their own right away, most find it is better to begin their career by getting experience at a respected marketing firm. This way, if you do come to set up your own company you will already know which methods work and will be aware of the potential pitfalls to avoid. It will also give you the opportunity to gain valuable insight and industry advice from the managers or senior partners of the company.

Stay at the cutting edge: Technology and communication trends change so fast these days, so you should get into the habit early on of keeping informed of any new methodologies or tools. Ideally, you want to be in the know before your competitors, so read the trade press, subscribe to newsletters or read relevant blogs to keep you updated.

How To Make a Success Of a Small Business

Small businesses are in many ways more vulnerable to market fluctuations than the larger players. Sadly, it is the case today that less than 45 per cent of small businesses stay open after four years of operating, and with the current global financial situation these numbers are not likely to improve anytime soon.


Because of this, if you are thinking about establishing a small business yourself you really need to be aware of the best measures to take to give you a fighting chance. There is no reason why you can’t be one of the group who succeeds, but it takes organisation, a strong sense of the realities of the marketplace and a great deal of dedication. Here are some steps you can take to maximise your chances of staying afloat:

Don’t over-extend yourself: From the outset, many small business owners make the fundamental mistake of fondly imagining they can do everything themselves in order to cut their costs as much as possible. All I can say is: don’t! Nobody can be an expert in every area, and there are certain aspects of a business, such as sales or marketing, that need to be run by someone with experience if you are to have any chance in this competitive marketplace.

Get advice: If you really can’t afford to bring in many full-time staff to begin with, you might at least consider bringing in the temporary services of a small business consultant. It may seem like an unnecessary expense, but a consultant specialising in this area can be invaluable for setting new companies on the right path and advising on how to avoid those common early mistakes. They will also help you to set up a realistic and effective business plan – something without which no new company can function. Consider hiring a small business consultant as a necessary start-up cost, or a wise investment in your future.

Know your competition: Before you enter a certain market, take the time to thoroughly research your key competitors. Small, local businesses will often be up against a lot of similar companies in the area so you have to know what products and services they offer so you can find a way to differentiate yourself as a brand to give you the edge. Once you have identified your competition, keep a constant eye on them and be prepared to make changes and update according to the latest trends.

Offers and promotions: Small companies need to keep customers interested with promotions or special offers. You probably won’t have a large advertising budget to begin with so doing this is one way of ensuring your company name is out there. Email marketing, for example, is an effective way of getting special offers out there, or if you are a very small local business it can be something as simple as having an eye-catching billboard outside your shop.

Make online marketing work for you

With the rise and rise of the Internet, many traditional forms of business marketing and advertising are falling by the wayside as companies are opening up their eyes to the opportunities available to them from email and online marketing. 

By using the Internet to advertise your products you are able to tap into a potentially global market faster than we ever would have thought possible just a few years ago.

However, whilst this is undoubtedly a very effective form of marketing, you have to be aware of the pitfalls in order to get the best possible results from your hard work. Here are just a few things to bear in mind:

• Targeted email marketing: It is a good idea to send out carefully crafted emails with information on your latest products or special offers. However, before you do this you really need to have taken the time to build up a detailed database of clients, cross-referenced according to their specific priorities. This way you will only send out relevant emails and won’t risk putting people off. For example, there is not point sending out emails about female beauty products to men.
• Send newsletters:  Rather than bombarding all the people on your mailing list with junk mail every time you have any news, save it for a regular newsletter. This way all the important information is encapsulated in one single message and you won’t annoy your clients. At the same time, you will be issuing them with a regular reminder that you are out there and continuing to work to keep up with their needs.
• E-commerce: Make sure your website is optimised for mobile devices. The use of Smartphones is increasing fast, and indeed it is highly likely that the future of business marketing may lie to a large extent in handheld devices. With more and more people downloading information to their phones, make sure you are tapping into this lucrative market.
• Invest in SEO: Many businesses are still not recognising the importance of search engine optimisation (SEO) in order to keep their website at the top of search engine results. It is all very well having a striking and professional website, but if you have not maximised your online presence by using the relevant keywords or using social media then this will count for nothing. Doing this properly is necessary but can be time consuming, so it is worth hiring in a specialist to do the job for you.

Shouldn’t You Be Using Google+ Hangouts to Connect With More Customers?

What do the Black Eyed Peas, The Muppets and the technology giant Dell have in common?


They are all using Google+ Hangouts to connect with their fan bases.

Before you protest, not another social media site! I’m currently on Facebook and Twitter and they take up too much of my time already, let me explain . . .

At the moment, Google+ has an estimated 40 million users compared with Facebook’s 800 million. But please don’t think of it as “a smaller Facebook,” because it isn’t.

First of all, Google+ Business Pages are easy to create and edit – easier than Facebook in fact. Google+ allows you to interact with your fan base through a mixture of comments, tags, sharing and the soon-to-be legendary, Hangouts.

So what is a “Hangout”?

A Hangout is a video connection between your business and your customers and followers. You can host your own networking sessions, showcase your latest products and services, organize a focus group or a Q&A session – the possibilities are endless.

Many business owners use Hangouts as video conferencing tools, scheduling meetings with suppliers, partners, affiliates or resellers. You can use the Hangout facility to interact with a maximum of 9 other people at any one sitting (10 including yourself). Each Hangout you host will have a specific URL you can use to invite Google+ users to your video session.

Before you host your first official Hangout, I would suggest organizing a ‘dry run’, to ensure you are well prepared and that the sound quality is fully optimized. You might also want to start with fewer people until you get some experience of the facility, as 10 people sharing a conversation is likely to become somewhat chaotic!

I mentioned Dell in the opening of this piece. Dell is the latest big company to announce it plans to use Google+ in its customer service division. It’s quite surprising that many of the larger concerns haven’t yet picked up on the business potential of Hangouts. To be able to connect with your customers face-to-face is a fantastic innovation. Even better – you can then upload videos of those interactions to YouTube. There are huge possibilities for viral marketing here . . .

If you want to ‘hang out’ with more fans of your brand, Google+ Hangouts is well worth a look. You’ll be able to create and share content-rich video productions that spark exciting conversations. Getting more people talking about your brand is what it’s all about. Plus you’ll be in great company.

More people are catching on to the benefits of using Google+ for business. It’s worth signing up to Google+ for the potential of its Hangouts facility alone.

The unwavering popularity of YouTube is testament to the fact that people find the medium of video as a ‘create and share’ tool irresistible. Household names like the Black Eyed Peas, The Muppets and Dell have already come alive to the potential of Google+ as a means of gaining greater visibility and expanding their fan base. Just think what it could do for your brand. If you aren't sure on how this could work for you ask a marketing consultant to give you some ideas.

Use Social Media to Make an ‘Emotional Connection’ that Increases Brand Loyalty

Take a peek in your wallet. How many brand loyalty cards are you currently carrying?

It’s reckoned that the average UK household is signed up to 12 store/ retail loyalty schemes – everything from collecting points to save money on your supermarket shopping and cash-back on credit card spends, to getting a free cappuccino for every 10 purchases made at your favourite high street coffee shop.
It seems all our favourite brands are leveraging the power of brand loyalty – encouraging customers to shop with them more often.

Many of the top brands like Starbucks and Coca-Cola have long recognized the increasingly important part that social media plays in their customers’ lives and are using it to their competitive advantage.

Using established interactive social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to bring together fans of your brand makes perfect sense, because you will be harnessing the ‘share’ potential of the Internet.

But how do we define brand loyalty? And is it necessary to make the distinction between someone who will buy that 10th coffee from you just to get the freebie, and those who love your Java recipe so much, as well as the ambiance of your café bar, they’d never go anywhere else regardless?

If you belong to a Frequent Flier Programme, ask yourself whether you would still fly with that same airline if a competitor launched a significantly cheaper, but similar service in terms of standard and quality. And if you’re someone who checks price comparison sites regularly, as an increasing number of us do these days, then brand loyalty may not be something you’re driven by, as much as value for money.

As creatures of habit, many of us shop at the same places, at pretty much the same times, week on week, whether the retailers concerned have a loyalty scheme in place or not. These shopping ‘repurchases’ are justified through considerations such as convenience, price, service, or quality. You see, ‘repurchasing’ is not the same as loyalty.

True brand loyalty is achieved when our brand makes an emotional connection with its audience: We love it that Innocent smoothies are 100 per cent fresh fruit and no junk; that Apple computers are cool; that Lego has built a great online community we can be a part of; that Harley-Davidson represents the “adventure of a lifetime.”

And, as fans of brands, we love connecting with those brands via social media, because they reward us with something extra for our loyalty. There’s newsletters, competitions, giveaways, online interaction with fellow enthusiasts – all the extra stuff we get for free, just for signing up to their sites. And here’s the thing, we’re getting an exclusive deal other people are missing out on because they choose not to be a part of that community.

These socially-connected brands have established an emotional rapport with their followers that that goes way beyond ‘repurchasing’ and creates ‘fans for life’.

By using social media to engage and communicate with your target audience – and by offering exclusive deals to those who follow you – your brand could do the same. A recent study found that 37 per cent of Facebook users who have ‘friended’ a brand, cited ‘product discounts and special promotions’ as their main reason for doing so.

Consider how your brand might use Facebook Pages and other forms of social media to connect with more like-minded people who could become valued customers. What emotional message might your brand build its fan base around? And how will you reward your followers for their loyalty and thus create fans for life?

Creating exclusive offers for your online community is a proven way to establish a fan base and encourage more sign-ups. As well as making more sales, you will have a ready-made focus group that will help you with research into your current business, as well as ideas for developing and marketing new products and services.

What does a marketing consultant do? And why would I need one?

In broad terms, a marketing consultant will analyse the market potential for what your business does and help you develop products and services that satisfy the needs of the end consumer.


They will also work alongside other members of your team within the various departments: sales, operations, marketing, finance, and so on, to determine sales strategies, communications and promotions that will complement the business.

To do this effectively, your marketing consultant will need to fully understand the way your business works and also the buying behaviours of your target customer.

They can also help you launch new products and services and help organize marketing promotions. As well as delivering these ‘hands on’ services, a marketing consultant will track, report on, and review your marketing events and advertising initiatives.

Your marketing expert can also create and deliver professional marketing presentations on behalf of your business, specifically tailored to your target audience. This can be a huge asset to your business, as gaining a reputation for great presentations can do wonders for your image.

Did you also realize that hiring a marketing professional to train your staff can be a really effective way to fire up your employees’ motivation levels and boost productivity. Even if you know a bit about marketing yourself, the consultant will bring a wealth of fresh ideas to the party and ensure that your team is performing as well as it possibly can.

If you’ve ever been on one of those team building weekends (usually somewhere wet, windy and remote, I might add!) you’ll remember that even the most reserved or reluctant participant usually returned with a newly-found sense of enthusiasm and purpose. That’s generally how it works anyhow . . .

A marketing consultant will have exactly the same effect on your team – without the dodgy weather conditions. He or she will instil self-belief into your marketing team and help them perform to the optimum level – both as individuals – and as a unit.

One of the most important attributes of the personnel of a sales and marketing team must surely be passion. It’s easy to become stale when you’re using the same old scripts to sell products in the same old way . . . with the same predictable results. The only way to change that is to inject some new life into your methods and procedures.

If you’ve never considered the benefits of outsourcing your marketing activities to a dedicated professional, now might be a good time to find out how having a consultant on board, could boost your business in so many ways.
A marketing consultant can add real value to your business on a day to day basis. They can work alongside you seamlessly, in conjunction with your team or departments for optimum results. If your marketing efforts aren’t reaping the rewards you’d like, perhaps it’s time to take a look at how the services of a marketing consultant can really help your business take off.

Big Ideas for Small Business Marketing

In the EU, a small business is generally defined as one having fewer than 50 employees. Small businesses offer so much potential for offering a truly personal service to your customers, often at very little extra cost.

Here are some simple ways to improve your small business marketing:

Make Your Customers Feel Special

Good customer service is essential in these ultra-competitive times. Even something as simple as a hand-written ‘thank you’ note tells your customers you appreciate them. Added extras need cost no more than a few pence extra on top of your service costs, but they can add goodwill to the transaction resulting in repeat business and recommendations.

What Does Your Business Card Say About You?

Does it have a high-remembrance ‘must-keep’ factor? Most business cards are tossed away within a day or so of collecting them. What can you do to make yours stand out? What about a business card with a notepad attached? Or a card with a money-off coupon, or a discount off the next order?

Review Your Core Customer Base

It’s almost certainly a fact that 80 per cent of your business will come from 20 per cent of your customer base. But can you weed out those customers who are not making you money? Do you know what your break-even point is? Continuing to service customers who are unprofitable to your business prevents you utilizing your efforts on finding customers who are and will continue to be in the future.

You Do Have A Mailing List Don’t You?

If you have a web presence you should consider producing a newsletter and encourage your customers to sign up. Don’t think you have to produce an eight-page booklet every two weeks – when more than likely, a one or two-page document will suffice. The key is to start small. The most important thing is that you create your newsletter at regular intervals and tell your prospects when they can expect to hear from you.

Position Yourself As An Expert

The Internet provides a wealth of opportunities for business owners to connect with prospects and like-minded people through online forums and groups. For example LinkedIn currently allows you to sign up to a maximum of 50 groups. It’s not unheard of for business consultants to use these introductions for their prime source of income. Think of ways you might be able to assist others without focusing on the payback and you could be pleasantly surprised at where it leads you.

Befriend Local Media

Editorial coverage in your local newspaper or a trade publication is perceived as more credible than paid for advertising or advertorial features. It is said that the best press releases need to be ‘new-sy’ or ‘now-sy’, so if you have a fresh, interesting story to pitch to the media, either compile a press release yourself, or employ a PR expert to do it for you. If you decide to do it yourself, then split your content into paragraphs for readability and make sure your press release is no longer than one side of A4 paper (double-spaced). And make sure you include your contact details so the journalist can follow up.


There are many simple ideas you can utilize to encourage new and repeat business. Small business marketing can be both creative and cost effective and often you can bring an element of truly personal service to your communications and transactions that the ‘big boys’ struggle to do well.

Marketing Companies – Not All Are Created Equal

Googling “marketing companies” will yield you 8,910,000 results (as at the time of writing this piece). These range from the one-man or one-woman bands, to those with a dozen or more staff. Some of these companies will have been around for a decade or more, while others will have been operating five minutes.


So how do you know you’re hiring the right people to market your business effectively?

What do you look for in a competent marketing outfit?

You might decide you prefer to deal with a local marketing agency for the added convenience of having them on your doorstep. However in practice, you can rarely nip in and check up on their progress without making an appointment. Plus technological advances such as Skype means you can still conduct meetings whenever and wherever suits.

Initially, it’s a good idea to spend a couple of hours or so researching on the Internet. Most marketing companies’ websites will include case studies of the companies they have worked with and will frequently include testimonials.

From your research, draw up a shortlist of 3-5 agencies to meet with. If you’re requesting that they pitch their services to you, bear in mind some agencies will charge a fee for this. Also establish whether the team pitching will be the same people working on your account should you appoint them. Rapport is all important and you don’t want to appoint an agency only to find someone you haven’t been introduced to is in charge of your account.

When inviting agencies to pitch, it is helpful to give them some background to your business, the key objectives you want to achieve and an idea of your budget. You should also provide them with an outline of the sort of contractual agreement you are seeking.

During the meeting/ pitch you will need to consider:

• Is the agency right for you in terms of size? Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.

• Which fields are they expert in? Is this compatible with your needs?

• How do they charge? By the hour? Based on results? Are their fees negotiable?

• With regard to fees, how do they measure effectiveness?

• Are they a full-service agency? Or are they limited to traditional advertising elements?

• First impressions (most important) . . . do you like them?

At the end of the pitches, it may become quite apparent who the most suitable marketing company is for you. Either one agency will be obviously better in terms of ‘fit’, or you will have to choose solely on grounds of the likeability factor.

Appointing the right marketing company for your business can be a daunting task. By following the above process you should have a good indication of the agency that would be a good partner for you. Don’t underestimate the power of gut reaction – it has frequently been proven a reliable indicator when determining winning partnerships.

How Marketing Companies Can Boost Your Web Presence

Marketing companies that specialize in building and maintaining first class websites can be brilliant news for your business. Having a great website that is easy to navigate – and easy on the eye – is an absolute must for every organization or business. Any business without a web presence will not be taken seriously and will probably be viewed with suspicion.

A really effective website can bring so many positives to your business. Having a website that works for you can improve your reputation by telling more people what you do and how well you do it.

Here’s how you can help your chosen website designer create the perfect business website for you:

1. Using your business goals, clearly define what results you want your new website to deliver.

2. Identify which audiences your website will cater for (customers, prospects, researchers, investors) and define what needs and expectations each type of visitor will have when they come to your site.

3. Make sure your website is built from your customers’ point of view. Too much of the ‘what we do’ approach can be a turn off.

4. Flash introductions may have a reputation for being cool, but the majority of your customers hate them (sorry.) I read recently that the second most clicked on words on the Web are ‘Skip Intro.’

5. The same goes for music or audio introductions. Some people will be at work when they land on your site and could be embarrassed by a sudden blast of Katy Perry, or whatever you have as your musical welcome.

6. Include prices where you can. People are automatically wary of sites which don’t include prices. They might be led to think you’re too expensive for them and try one of your competitors instead. If you can’t provide exact prices, aimed at least to offer a ballpark figure.

7. Avoid pop-up windows. Does anyone like them?

8. Make your website easy to navigate and include a call to action on every page. Make sure your website copy is easy to read. Use bite-sized chunks of text or short sentences.

9. Review the success of your website at regular intervals. At worst the content should be revised monthly, at best, daily. Providing fresh, engaging content at regular intervals will keep your visitors coming back for more of the same.

10. Advertise your website (and email address) on all your marketing and promotional materials. Also use it on all online and offline communications such as direct mail, ecommerce and news releases. Now you’ve got a great website, be sure to spread the word!

A successful website requires time and commitment. It’s not enough simply to build a website and leave it to its only devices. It’s like planting a tree and expecting that tree to grow and bear fruit without having any care and attention lavished on it.


So once you have your great website up and running, don’t forget to plan your content, plan your marketing and watch your business grow and ‘bear fruit’.

The Essentials Of A Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is usually part of your overall business plan, though it can be produced as a stand-alone document.

Effective marketing is crucial to the success of every business venture. Your marketing plan is the road map you will follow to achieve your goals. It lists your objectives and the actions you will take to achieve them.

Your marketing plan should not be a ‘static’ document – rather one you refer to and review on a regular basis.

In order for your marketing plan to be workable, it’s vital that everyone on your team knows what is required of them and when.

You should:

1. Set realistic, clear and measurable targets.

2. Set deadlines for achieving each target.

3. Determine a budget for each marketing activity.

4. Decide who in your team is responsible for each activity.

5. Brief your team/ colleagues on the details of your plan.

6. Set reporting guidelines, so that each member of your team can provide feedback at regular intervals.

It is generally helpful to include a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis in your marketing plan. Most likely you will already have completed one for your business plan, in which case you won’t need to start from scratch. A simple review/ update will normally suffice. A PEST analysis is also helpful for identifying and acting on opportunities and threats within your industry. PEST stands for:

Political and legal changes such as new regulations.

Economic factors such as interest rates, exchange rates and consumer confidence.

Social factors such as changing attitudes and lifestyles, and the ageing population.

Technological factors such as new materials and growing use of the internet.

Every marketing plan begins with an Executive Summary – an overview of the plan – though in practice it’s better to write this last to ensure you don’t leave anything vital out.

Your Business Strategy is also a vital part of your plan. It outlines:

Your Mission Statement.

What your business does/ is about.

Key business objectives.

Strategy for achieving objectives (overview).


Use the SMART acronym for each of your key business objectives and you won’t go far wrong:

Specific: We need to attract 10 new clients this quarter.

Measurable: How will you know when you have achieved your objective?

Achievable: Do you have the right resources in place to reasonably enable you to attain the objective? This usually comes down to people and money.

Realistic: Having a target which is considered unreasonable will only demotivate you and your staff. Great targets will stretch you and your resources and serve as a means of motivation.

Time-constrained: There must be a deadline for achieving each objective and this should be clearly stated in your plan.

Every Business is Potentially a Magnificent Rose Waiting to Bloom

It’s pretty easy to forget that even the largest companies and organisations operating around the world today, started life as tiny enterprises, the result of the enthusiasm and dedication of a few. At the time they would have had little if any inclination of what the future held.


Take the famous Golden Arches of multinational fast food chain McDonald’s, for instance. The company was founded in 1955 when local entrepreneur Ray Kroc purchased the rights to a small hamburger chain. Nearly 60 years on and spurred on in no small part by the clever concept of franchising, McDonald’s now boasts 33,000 restaurants worldwide and a global staff compliment of an incredible 1.7 million. It is estimated that these numbers help McDonald’s serve some 64 million people every day.

Then there’s computer software and hardware company Microsoft. Paul Allen and Bill Gates officially founded Microsoft in 1975, in the intervening years the firm has grown into one of the pre-eminent lights in IT, becoming a global monster worth some $224 billion (£144 billion). Now, Microsoft’s popular operating system, windows, boasts around 88 per cent of the market place and Bill Gates is one of the richest men on the planet. Mightily impressive stuff indeed.

Now, we’re not saying that working a certain way is a guaranteed route to success for a small company to reach Microsoft-style heights but, it’s worth remembering the humble beginnings of even the biggest names and what patience and hard work can potentially achieve.

Solid, small business marketing, backed-up with comprehensive market research of competitors and consumers, which in turn leads to a clear strategy, really is priceless.

It’s definitely a good idea to personally enquire face-to-face or over the phone, or search online, for an agency you feel not only offers the best service for the best price, but one that you can work with as well. The perfect vision for your company will be implemented before you know it.

Kick Start Your Business With a Comprehensive Marketing Strategy

A business should always keep a close eye on the very industry it is part of. Becoming complacent or distracted can be commercial suicide.


Take the British motorcycle industry for example. It was considered a world leader during the early decades of the 20th century, with research and development spurred on by the demands of two world wars, producing ever-more powerful and convenient bikes. Indeed, records show that 1959 was a record year for bike sales and exports. Yet it was not long after this that the dismissive nature towards the global competition blinded the British motorcycle industry from the change in attitude and trends.

The early ‘60s saw the dominance of names such as Triumph, BSA and Norton at first threatened and then ultimately smashed, by foreign competitors, particularly by the emerging Japanese manufactures. Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha rode into town with their efficient, cost-effective designs and cheaper retail prices. They were soon doing British-style bikes far better than the British themselves.

British rivals, who were now steadfastly stuck in the past with their thinking, where blown away as the pristine, electric-start Japanese bikes rode off the production line, boasting impeccable reliability, ground-breaking electrics and came pre-fitted with indicator lights as standard. The British had failed to see the changing market and, although they tried to play catch-up, it was way too late.

It’s a stark reminder of what can happen to a business if it doesn’t keep it’s a ear to the ground and continually listen to what its customers want, as well as what its competitors are doing within the marketplace.

To give your company a head start, sound, professional business marketing will allow your company the opportunity to be fully-equipped to fight competitively against your rivals as well as attracting those customers that you are really after.

Get Social-able With Your Online Marketing

So after all the hype, the concept of ‘web 2.0’ and the promise of a more ‘social’ focus on the internet now has its feet firmly under the table. Social media, driven by the relentless expansion of heavyweights Facebook and Twitter has exploded.

So much so, they, along with platforms such as Youtube, Wikkipedia, Flickr and many others can become the foundational basis of a company’s online drive. It’s no longer just about a good service and functioning website. As a firm, the world expects you to interact with them and, perish the thought, even be interesting.

Just look at the some of the statistics of the growth of social media over the past 4 years. It makes quite astonishing reading.

Facebook for instance, plodded along for a year or so before in early 2007 the uptake of new users positively burst into life turning it into a global phenomenon. Nowadays the social networking giant boasts some 750 million (as of July 2011) active users worldwide. Of which, an impressive percentage log-on to get their fix at least once a day.

While Twitter, can boast nearly 100 million tweets per day from its dedicated bank of registered users of some 180 million. Now they’re impressive numbers, and self evidence why social media, and Twitter in particular are invaluable ways to interact with your market/audience and release company information, such as new products, promotions or services.

The next 12 months show every sign of being even bigger in terms of growth. Facebook has recently rolled out the latest iteration of its layout and news feed, while the industry gets excited about the imminent arrival of ‘facebook timeline’ (a direct response to Google’s fledgling Google+ social network service) which promises an all-new way to showcase your personality in cyber space.

One thing’s for sure, your company needs to be part of this revolution. If you don’t have the marketing set-up to develop a sufficient online model in-house, then a search marketing consultant is what you will need to take full advantage. Before you know it, your business will have the Facebookers and Twitterati that matter unable to stop trending about your company.

Lights, Camera, Action...How Movies Are the Perfect Inspiration for Business Success

For a good example of how the constituent parts of a marketing campaign come together to support the greater good of a much larger entity, you need look no further than that of the movie industry.

The script and story of the movie can be compared to that of a company’s initial ethos, charter and objective, while a film’s teaser trailers, billboard posters and website are similar to those first tentative steps when a company is promoting itself properly for the first time.

A movie, just like a company, is geared towards making as much money as possible and that means exploiting every last revenue stream to its limit – whether it’s box office, merchandising or external funding. That means that films, costing in-excess of 100s of millions of pounds are backed by the studios who have produced them, with equally ambitious promotions, campaigns and events.

That’s the way you have to look at your business.

Marketing companies will give you the necessary resources and expertise so that your ‘brand’ is as strong as it can be in the online stratosphere and really break those box office records, creating a blockbuster of a company.

A good online communications company will be able to put together a marketing strategy tailored specifically for the needs of your business. They’ll research obvious and not so obvious competitors and support you in gaining an edge over them.

Online is key. But it’s not just about having a great-looking and easy to use website. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and dedicated company ‘channels’ on Youtube are the building blocks of communicating to your business to business customers, consumers and staff. A web marketing agency will have the skills to enable your company to fully embrace this.

For an ideal fit when it comes to your company’s online marketing, have a look online for that Oscar-winning combination.

A Bespoke Marketing Drive Can Lead Your Company to the Top of the League

1992 saw the much-vaunted debut of the Premier League, trumpeted as the new age of English football. It heralded a drastic change for the national game as money flooded into the sport altering it indelibly. With clubs spurred on by the television deals and the desire to attract a worldwide audience, they become more than a football club, they were now companies – global brands competing for market share.

As the seasons progressed, football clubs expanded their communications departments or hired expertise in the form of a third-party marketing consultant to handle a variety of avenues. Activities such as a redesign – or an ‘evolving’ as it was referred to – of the club crest to a subtly different, minimal, more marketable design, spear-headed this shift in momentum.

While at the same time, marketing was working its magic in generally harnessing the money-making potential of a football club taking advantage of the potential.

Looking for opportunities and consolidating your business is very much like a football team. From small businesses with a handful of staff, to multinational firms, a focused, and intelligent marketing drive will reap so many benefits and keep you in the hunt for glory.

For instance, hiring a specialised marketing firm to provide you with the ideal PR and communications weapons will make a huge impact if it’s done correctly, keeping you ahead of the game.

Putting together an intuitive and informative website, to advertise your skills is a sure-fire way to develop a following – as is gaining a foothold within the rankings of search engines such as Google. You can ensure you’re spreading the word online further still, by using social networking, blogging, link building and targeted, email marketing, showcasing the very services and products you provide. Highlight to people why you are the best at what you do.

A quick search online will show you exactly what’s out there to help your company really find its voice so it can go on to score some career-changing goals in the process.

A Business Consultant Can Help Your Firm Reach For The Stars

American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.”

Of course, it’s open to interpretation, but what we’d like to think he was talking about is that if you keep an open mind and have belief in yourself, there are always opportunities to be a success and reach your goals – no matter the challenge.

And, when you think about it – that sums up perfectly the ideal mantra business mantra, whether it is an upcoming family-run operation, or a long established multinational.

To give your business a fighting chance to meet its goals then hiring a business consultant is an excellent method to get everything from marketing and corporate branding, overall strategy and recruitment within your company working in harmony.

A good consultancy understands that every business, small, medium or large, is different, and because of that, often need a specific set of requirements. Taking the time to understand your business and analyse the industry in which you sit, there is one sole aim – to increase your profits.

Everything from internal structure, staff and customer communication, the product or service and marketing activities are all looked at. If something isn’t working and improvements are required – the logistical and cost implication of such improvements are examined before being put to your company for approval.

In terms of having access to a business consultancy or not, it can be the difference between having a clear goal and pathway to continued growth or just treading water and not really making the kind of impact you want in your field.

Online, there are a raft of companies out there that can help. With the right sort of advice, support and consultation your business will soon be operating in a way that Ralph Waldo Emerson would appreciate –like poetry in motion.

Size Matters When it Comes to Getting Your Marketing Right

Right now it might feel as though it’s all doom and gloom, what with the current state of the UK and worldwide economy, not to mention austerity measures biting hard into the public sector. But, it might be surprising to learn that many small to medium-sized businesses are thriving even in these difficult times.

Indeed, recent figures suggest that the number of businesses filing insolvency in the UK have fallen by 10 per cent overall from the same period last year. In fact, regions such as Yorkshire have shown a 14 per cent drop.

This goes to prove that no matter how difficult things get generating income and persuading punters to part with their cash, there are rewards for firms that are willing to put in the hard work and strive towards a clear, common goal. After all, it’s much easier to build from solid foundations.

Of course, this demonstrates perfectly the importance of smallbusiness marketing, the need of ramping up interest in your service and products and thus making sure your intended customer base knows exactly who you are and what you do.

A small business may have a smaller budget than larger companies but it is all relative and, if things are done the right way, the various marketing disciplines can create a pretty formidable weapon in growing your business.

There’s above the line and below the line marketing and advertising, encompassing all the fundamentals from promotional spots in local newspapers and magazines, to holding exhibitions and other public events, as well as mail shots and canvassing.

Add that to a diverse and focused online commitment and you have a business marketing strategy that can really make a difference. An external business marketing agency will aide your company’s development, pursuing in-depth market research and analysis, creating the ideal marketing solution.