10 Big Marketing Predictions For 2010

If you read one article on where marketing is heading in 2010, then this is it. It’s already been tweeted 627 times as I write this into! It’s written by David Garland of Rise To The Top and I think he’s nailed it – from claiming the 30 second is FINALLY dead, to big brands [...]

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5 Reasons To Invest In Marketing

There are many reasons…here’s 5 to kick things off:

Marketing is the quickest way to a sale. Great marketing identifies a problem your customer or prospect is experiencing and then provides them with a solution that gives them every reason to buy from you (and not your competition). Think of it like this…the marketer of a [...]

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What Message Does Your Office Send To Clients?

I visited an office yesterday that blew me away.
It wasn’t the most comfortable office…nor the most stylish….clean or functional.
What I loved about it was what it said about the businesses that were in it. It made a statement about their brand that no amount of advertising or PD could do.
These design, layout, materials and location [...]

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Mixing Things Up To Benefit Our Customers

Whether or not this shoe (Tweeker!) is real or not doesn’t matter, what I love about it is the tailored offering. It mixes two themes up and creates something special.
Tailored offerings keep things interesting for the business owner and shows your customers and prospects that you’re always on your toes.
I think we sometimes forget that [...]

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What’s the cost of a smile?

I like shopping at warehouse type stores.
Chemist Warehouse. JB Hi-Fi. Bunnings.
You know, the stack ‘em high, sell ‘em low set-ups?
In doing so I actually feel as though I save quite a lot of money.
Unfortunately though, as a general rule, the customer service stinks. Does it really cost more to smile? To look someone in the [...]

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What Are You Known For?

Twitter’s unexpected downtime today gave me some much needed time to reflect.
It made me think that hey, what if it never comes back up again? How will I reconnect with that wonderful tribe of followers I’ve established over the last 8-months. I’ve established some seriously valuable relationships with folk I’ve never met, and have no [...]

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How To Rewrite Your Website Copy So That It Sings

Task 1 for this coming week is to rewrite my website. Yep…my entire website.
A big task in my mind…I’ve been mulling over it for weeks.
The thought of updating who I am, what I do, how I do it, why people should use my services…and making it all unbelievably interesting has been doing my head in. [...]

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Do Prospects Know How To Use You?

It often occurs to me that customers and prospects only know a little of what I offer.
Does this mean my offer is too broad? Or is it that I don’t make clear what it is I do?
I suspect it’s both…which is kind of ironic given I specialise in marketing communications of which Lesson 1, Term [...]

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10 Things You Need To Do To Build A Healthy Brand

I speak to Clients and groups of business owners weekly about what it takes to build a strong brand.
The first thing I respond with is that BRANDS ARE EARNT…not bought. You buy a business name…you create a brand.
The second point is that it’s important to agree on a simple definition of a brand. [...]

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Is This The #1 Business Mistake To Avoid?

This is a story about a small business getting it terribly wrong…and how you can avoid the same mistake.
My local Chamber Of Commerce recently distributed a brochure on behalf of one of it’s members. The brochure asked…“Does Google ignore you?” It then went on for 6 pages explaining how they could ensure this didn’t [...]

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