Apparently, the older we get, the less likely we are to make new year’s resolutions. Perhaps it’s because the longer we live, the more we understand how those vague resolutions to lose weight or stop smoking are doomed to fail! But what about making New Year business resolutions?
From a business point of view, making resolutions can be a much more positive experience, giving us an immediate sense of focus as we head into dreary January.
To help get you started, here are six of my favourite new year business resolutions that should help get your mo-jo working in January.
Oh, and by the way, I’ve tested them all myself in the years gone by, and I’m happy to say I’ve kept each one!
1. REALLY Get to Know Your Customer
Relax. I’m not advising you to follow customers home, or stalk them online.
Just take a few moments to think about your ideal customer – in detail.
Where are they likely to live? How old are they? What kind of work do they do? Have they got a family, or a favourite pet?
Understanding who your ideal customer is will help you find the best ways to approach them, so you don’t end up wasting time and that hard-earned marketing budget on content that doesn’t work.
2. Be Where Your Customers Are!
Here’s another question: what social media platforms do your ideal customers use?
For example, there’s no point in you composing snappy tweets, taking umpteen selfies for Insta and creating chatty Facebook posts about your business, if the people most likely to buy from you are on LinkedIn!
Do your research, but don’t forget to check your analytics, too. You’ll need to keep monitoring your social media activity, to make sure it’s reaching the right people at the right time.
3. Help Customers Get to Know You
Being consistent goes a long way to building lasting trust and rapport.
So, make sure all your content speaks with the same voice, in a style and tone your business naturally uses. Your profile pictures also need to be easily recognisable across all platforms.
4. Don’t Rely on Happy Accidents!
Fate is a wonderful ingredient in a romantic film. But if we want the best chance of success in real life, we have to plan.
That means knowing what you want to achieve, then setting goals that allow you to work purposefully towards it.
(If you’re thinking, “why should I plan anything, when 2020 was so unpredictable?” having goals in place means you can simply adjust them to reach your target, rather than going into ‘headless chicken’ mode!)
5. Create Reusable Content
My marketing motto of, “write it once, use it many times” has to go down as one of the biggest time-savers in business!
Examples include re-posting seasonal content, or chopping an old blog post up into bite-sized posts and content for ‘Lives’.
You could also turn your videos into podcasts, or a Facebook post into an engaging infographic (for this, you might find wonder-sites like Canva helpful!)
6. Measure Everything!
As the famous quote goes, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
Measuring the results of your marketing will help you avoid the common business trap of creating content you enjoy, rather than content that attracts and engages customers.
Instead of posting into the dark, regularly checking your website stats and social media analytics will help you focus on what works, so you can ditch what doesn’t.
Meanwhile, if you need some help taking your brilliant ideas from passion to profit, why not book a complimentary, half-hour Breakthrough Session, and get 2021 off to a purposeful start?
Help improve your response time and customer relations
Nu Image
Certain means of contact such as telephone calls and emails aren’t always the most reliable. For instance, emails have limited access, requiring Wi-Fi or an internet connection. What’s more, businesses may be too busy or unable to answer a phone call. This can often represent a missed opportunity if the customer forgets to ring back or leave a voicemail. Admittedly, texting would cover a few of these implications as it can be sent whenever and sits in the receiver’s phone until they look at it. However, texting isn’t deemed professional in the working world and this is where Google My Business’ new messaging feature could step in…
What is the new Google My Business messaging feature?
In the words of the search engine giant themselves: “Google My Business messaging allows customers viewing your listing to message you directly. Respond to questions, share information, and quickly connect, for free.”
What industries would this feature work best for?
This feature will work best for small businesses who interact personally with their customers and clients. This includes businesses such as hairdressers, taxi services, and car garages.
Typically, businesses such as these will benefit most as they’re able to answer customer queries relating to the business and find out more detailed information about what the customer needs. Instant contact also means their less wasted time that comes hand in hand with the delayed back and forth of email and missed phone calls.
On top of this, small businesses target clientele in their local area for the most part and will have the scope to answer questions from customers who live or are visiting the area. National companies may not have the knowledge of everyone’s local area to answer their questions accurately, so this could well present a golden opportunity for smaller businesses.
What is required to do this?
With this being a Google product, for the time being it’s only available to Android users. If you do own an Android device, the first requirement is to download the Google My Business app from Google Play or the App Store.
From here, it’s simple. All you need to do is open the location in your Google My Business account that you wish to manage messaging through, tap the ‘Customers’ tab and select ‘Turn on’ under ‘Messages’. You can also turn these off here, as well as delete or block any unwanted messages.
Once you’ve turned on this option for your Google My Business location, users will be able to see the ‘Message’ button within your listing. It can be found close to the ‘Call’ and ‘Website’ buttons.
Upon setting up this feature, there are various aspects to bear in mind:
You will receive notifications whenever a user contacts the company, so there’s no need to worry about missing messages.
It is possible to create an automated welcome message to ensure customers are aware that you’re active and likely to respond when given the chance.
Anyone who has access to your Google My Business location will be able to respond to messages – make sure you’re happy for everyone who has access to do this.
Customers will be able to see the profile name and photo of whichever Google account user responds to their message – ensure everyone has a professional and appropriate selection for these.
What does this mean for your other means of contact?
Whilst many customers, particularly younger audiences, may be quite taken with using this approach, there will be customers who prefer to speak to someone about their query or who need to carry out research on your website first.
Although it certainly seems that Google is constantly introducing new features to Google My Business that could make some aspects of your website redundant, your website is still the best platform for users to find out more information about your services and products. Once a user lands on your website, they’re unlikely to return to your Google My Business listing in order to contact you.
For now, we would look at the messaging feature on Google My Business as an addition to your current means of contact, helping to improve your response time and customer relationships.
Many organisations are great at thinking strategically when it comes to their overall business but neglect to follow the same approach when it comes to Cyber Security, instead employing tactical “solutions” – or none at all.
This is a key reason why despite having made some investment in Cyber Security, organisations frequently suffer financial loss and/or reputational damage due to hacks, ransomware or other types of malware that somehow seem to circumvent the measures they have in place.
Over the last few years, technology, and our reliance on it to run our businesses has changed significantly and continues to do so fast. That brings enormous opportunities -but also new risks. As we rely more on technology, and particularly Data, so we suffer more if that data is unavailable or compromised. Compromise to the Confidentiality of data (think Personal Data under GDPR particularly) can lead to reputational damage as well as trouble from the ICO. There are many ways in which this can happen.
Our reliance on data and technology used to be less, and it used to be more straight forward to protect, before the advent of cloud-based file sharing, tablet and mobile phone access and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).
Like many things, you can approach Security strategically, or tactically.
An effective Cyber Security strategy needs to:
Be based on the risks to your business
Focused on the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of Data and Systems
Consider People, Process and Technology
Consider ALL of the copies of data
Evolve, constantly
Include a plan to deal with incidents and breaches
The Cyber Security of many organisations is more tactical in nature, frequently based on technical solutions only. This leads to many gaps, which not only leave them vulnerable to ever evolving Cyber Threats, but also would likely fail the test of “appropriate” measures in the event of an investigation following a Personal Data Breach (if you’re not familiar with Article 32 of GDPR, check it out).
Common reasons for this include:
Belief that Cyber Security is just an “IT Problem” (Hint: It’s a BUSINESS problem)
IT Security that has grown “organically” over time rather than to a plan
Focus on Technical Solutions only (ignoring key things like policies and processes, user training and business continuity planning)
Lack of investment (Time, money, skills)
So, What Next?
If you haven’t started approaching your Cyber Security strategically yet, here’s a quick outline of steps:
Understand what data you have and where
Understand what, and who accesses it
Consider the threats (and weakest links)
Assess the risks and impacts to your business (and to Personal Data)
Plan to reduce, mitigate (or accept, where appropriate), the risk accordingly
Document those decisions
Implement the plan, record progress, and evolve
Whether you’re looking at Cyber Security because of GDPR or because your clients are asking more questions around how you secure data they share with you, or just because you’ve become more aware of the risks to your business, the important thing is to get started!
Start to assess where you are. If you need help just with that piece, an initial Cyber Security Assessment or audit can cover this for you.
Build a plan; start with simple steps and incorporate some quick wins to reduce your risks quickly. We’ll cover some common ones in another blog. Include an Incident and Breach response plan.
Doing something is better than doing nothing. Once you get started, you’ll start to build momentum, and all the time you’ll be gradually reducing your risk.
XLwerks is an architectural design practice based in Norwich (UK) that was conceived as a collaborative concept. In this brainchild of founder James Lee Burgess, a team of architects, urban planners, sustainability experts, interior designers and technology experts works together on urban planning and designs, interior landscapes and future-proof buildings. Focus is on collaboration, innovation and technology, all leading to integral sustainable designs.
“Our collaborative mindset, combined with a high level of technology adoption, enables us to tackle sizable and complex projects with a small core team,” says Lee. “As a team we are constantly looking for solutions that help us to not only deliver better design work, but also enhance our customers’ involvement and engagement in the design process.” For XLwerks, collaboration also means making the client an integral part of the process. And it is this set of qualities that has made the company move into mixed reality content design.
Mixed reality
To bring its designs to life for its clients, XLwerks acquired two Microsoft Hololens and two Trimble XR10 mixed reality devices. The XR10 is developed on Microsoft’s Hololens 2 technology and features holographic glasses mounted on a standard type hardhat. It is the only safety-certified HoloLens device available. The wearer can view and interact with 3D designs projected as an overlay over the real world. Head tracking and eye tracking makes for high accuracy, a microphone and a Bluetooth headset with bone-conduction enables two-way communication with the office. Gesture control enables the user to truly interact with models stored in the cloud and accessed through Trimble Connect for HoloLens software.
Collaborative design
XLwerks launched a program called ConstructXR, a mixed reality program, and under that umbrella is working on a collaborative design project, the Digi-Tech Factory (DTF) Building for City College in Norwich. The DTF is designed to be an inspirational facility for digital skills development for students of Norwich and beyond. The new four floor building will be instrumental in the continued growth of regional digital education provision. The college is keen to play a key role in delivering innovative, industry-standard learning. It has developed a digital skills curriculum with strong input from employers from the region.
From brief to handover
“ConstructXR is delivering training to project partners in the use of the mixed reality devices and the Trimble Connect for Hololens, demonstrating its capabilities in the design process: from the initial brief stage up until final handover of the building. We’re all about continually improving the practical implementation of Mixed Reality as there is an enormous potential in terms of project efficiency and transparency. We are recording our findings to overcome challenges faced onsite and highlighting where potential improvements can be made.”
On the Digi-Tech project, XLwerks works with the whole design team (RG Carter Construction, Coffey Architects, Clear Consulting and Design and Clancy Consulting) bringing their 3D design to life through mixed reality. The designs are all stored in the Building Information Model (BIM) and with the help of Trimble Connect for HoloLens, the designs are available on site at scale. All this helps the contractors on the project to get a feel for the building and its scale. Their feedback is logged for future reference while they virtually travel through the construction project, which is helpful in getting the design fine tuned.
Engagement boost
Lee, “What we find is that design professionals, once they get into the technology – which takes only about 15-20 minutes – are without exception enthusiastic about the possibilities.” On the Norwich Castle Museum renovation project, another construct.XR project that the Trimble XR10 is being used on, XLwerks gave Conisbee Structural Engineers the possibility to see their steel structure design come to life in the real world through mixed reality. Norwich Castle Keep, the five-level structure at the heart of the bigger castle complex, is a twelfth-century castle. It is being maintained and managed by the Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service. In this project, part of the bigger Gateway to Medieval England initiative, all five floors of the Castle Keep will be opened up and made accessible through a steel structure with staircases and walks. Visitors will then be able to see the Castle Keep as it looked at the time when it was a Norman medieval palace
To-Do list
Seeing their design projected as a mixed reality overlay of the real-world situation with Trimble XR10, the structural engineers could immediately put in their to-do items in the design. The museum client meanwhile got to see an impression of the finished product and got a real feel for what the end result would look like, which Lee says helped tremendously in terms of engagement.Conisbee have since asked XLwerks to assist them further with the coordination of the steel structure with the existing fabric.
Game changer
XLwerks, through its digital collaboration business strategy, believes the Trimble XR10 to be a real game-changer in the field of construction. The company already was an avid user of Trimble’s SketchUp 3D design software, and with the XR10 now has a novel way to quickly present 3D design concepts to clients. The possibilities for the mixed reality technology stretch far beyond construction alone. XLWerks is now exploring the possibilities of using the Trimble XR10 in marketing initiatives and is training firms to use the technology as well. Lee concludes, “There is a huge potential for technology like this in different areas, anywhere where you want to present a customer with an idea and have them truly interact with the concept in a penetrating way.”
All too often when speaking with small business owners, we hear how Cyber Security is not a major concern.
Cyber Criminals only go for targeted attacks against big organisations with huge assets and valuable data right?
Why should a small business choose to spend any of its valuable and limited time, money and resources on Cyber Security? Surely it would be better to focus on operating and growing the business, instead of just mitigating a risk that isn’t deemed to be much of a risk in the first place?
Well what if attacks aren’t targeted at all? What if launching a Cyber Attack against your small business and thousands more like it was only as much ‘bother’ as clicking a button? What if you don’t fully appreciate what your data is worth? What if the easiest way of attacking big corporations to get at their valuable data is by attacking a smaller business in its supply chain- a small business where Cyber Security is not a major concern??
Unfortunately, this is the reality of the Cyber Threat landscape your business is facing today, and regardless of the size of the organisation you need to make sure that Cyber Security is firmly on your radar.
Not convinced? Let’s look at some facts.
Small businesses are typically less protected and less security-aware than larger businesses and therefore ‘low-hanging fruit’ for Cyber Criminals to pick off at will
Data is where the real value is today (particularly financial data) and every business large or small holds data. Data for employees, data for customers, data for suppliers… you don’t want to be the ‘weak link’ in any supply chain you may be involved with by letting attackers in
The majority of Cyber Attacks are not targeted at all. Most Ransomware and phishing attacks are actually automated ‘scattergun’ attacks, fired indiscriminately at whatever mailing list or list of web domains an attacker decides to choose that day.
Bottom line, you don’t actually need to be a target to be hit with an attack.
Still not convinced? Okay, well consider this: Cyber Security for small businesses isn’t just about mitigating risk, it’s about gaining a competitive edge.
You can be sure that the majority of larger organisations are fully aware of the Cyber Security risks they face and are fully focussed on mitigating that long list of risks as far as possible. You can also be sure that near the top of that list is the supply chain.
Big businesses are now more often than not seeking to ensure that Cyber Security is a concern for any company they do business with, no matter the size. Many are now demanding that existing and potential suppliers prove, and can demonstrate compliance with security standards such as Cyber Essentials or ISO 27001- just to even be considered as a business partner. This means that a significant deciding factor in retaining contracts, winning tenders and even just building a relationship of trust with clients and suppliers could be down to how Cyber Secure that business is.
Having robust and demonstrable security policies in place show that your business has taken steps to protect not only its own interests but those of clients and suppliers alike- and that is precisely what companies are looking for when choosing partners or suppliers to engage with. If your business can’t show this consideration then you risk losing out to competitors who can, and if nothing else then surely that is a risk that every business owner can understand.
With this potential loss of business, financial fallout of an attack potentially running into the thousands, loss of confidence in your business and all that potential reputational damage, how long can your business afford to ignore the risk?
It’s best not to wait to find out. The good news is, there is plenty of free information around to help you improve your cyber security position and get ahead of the game (and your competitors). The NCSC site from the UK government is one good place to start but here are plenty of others, take a look.
Above all, if you own a small business, don’t be one of the reported 60% of business owners who assume they’re not at risk. Don’t bury your head in the sand and don’t miss out on an opportunity to grow your business, and set it apart from the competition. Doing something is better than doing nothing, and the best time to do something is before your business becomes just another statistic. So, start today.
Become your own ‘PR star’ in the new year with the help of online course creator, PR coach and strategist Elma Glasgow
If you joined us for our ‘Introduction To PR’ workshop back in October you’ll be familiar with the brilliant Suffolk-based PR consultant, Elma Glasgow, as she gave us a rundown of what it takes to create successful PR for your business.
When starting a business or even a few years down the line, it can be an ongoing struggle to stay on top of outward processes that your customers and followers see. Having good PR can do wonders for your brand, from boosting awareness to having better transparency with your audience, however many SMEs don’t have the time or resources to apply themselves fully.
It’s clear from scrolling through media outlets that the trending focus is becoming more and more interested in ethical issues, which is great for ethical businesses. From climate change and environmentalism to access to food and racial equality; more businesses are expected to show what they’re doing to combat these issues. Once again, smaller companies typically find it harder to respond and get their expertise and stories across. Enter Elma!
For ethical entrepreneurs who want to put more thought into their PR but don’t know how, Elma’s soon to be launched ‘Beginners’ PR for Ethical Entrepreneurs’ business courses are the perfect place to start. Having over 25 years’ experience working freelance and in-house with agencies, Elma’s passion is working with brands and experts who share the same goal in having a positive impact on the world, with much of her focus surrounding arts, charities, ethical and well-being brands.
The two courses designed for the ethical sector are set to launch on Monday 11th January. They will provide businesses with key PR skills to secure their own media coverage, which will help their business grow and have a greater impact. Both courses offer similar content, with one course offering the added benefit of live coaching sessions from Elma to help deepen learning.
Check out this fantastic testimonial from just one former student, already reaping the rewards from their new PR skills!
Make sure to get in touch with Elma to sign up for your chosen course and sign up to her newsletters which are bursting with news, advice and carefully selected media opportunities.
Take a look at what events Hethel Innovation has coming up in 2021 or contact us if you need support with your business at info@hethelinnovation.com.
As B2B marketing specialists, we thought we’d look at some of the trends in B2B marketing which may influence all businesses in 2020.
Though not every development will be applicable, there are national and global trends in B2B marketing that small and medium business can capitalise upon too in the year ahead.
Marketing Personalisation
Direct marketing has long been one of the most important and effective tactics of B2B marketing. In 2020, the rise of personalised marketing is set to increase.
Today’s consumers expect a lot from the brands they interact with. B2B relationships are becoming no different, as business buyers begin to anticipate the same level of personalisation they receive from B2C brands like Amazon and Netflix.
Increased personalisation means the content of marketing materials is tailored to the individual target organisation and their interests, activity and interactions with your business. The more personalised the method, frequency and message, the greater the results. For example, emails with personalised subject lines are 29.3% more likely to be opened.
‘Hyper-targeting’ may become one of the buzzwords of 2020. It is used to identify the perfect person within a business to target and seeks to understand their values, aspirations, attitudes and selection triggers. Whether sending emails, mailers, social media messages, presentations or proposals, it’s best to find the specific decision maker you need and devise something relatable to refer to in your message.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
In 2020, the zenith of personalised B2B marketing may be Account-Based Marketing.
To become more efficient and effective, B2B marketers will expend energy selling to those customers they know would truly benefit from their product or service, rather than speculatively marketing to a broad audience. Online marketing is more targeted, sales pitches are more refined and relationships are more carefully nurtured. Each interaction has a defined purpose and clear objective.
For B2B firms who sell products or services which have a long sales cycle, or involve many stakeholders and decision -makers, Account-Based Marketing represents a more effective way to generate new business.
A 2017 report claimed 87% of B2B marketers said Account-Based Marketing had led to their largest return-on-investment. If you know exactly who you are targeting, your product is high-value and the sales gestation period is long, you should consider Account-Based Marketing.
B2B Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has long been a feature of B2C marketing with celebrities, experts and social media stars all affecting buying behaviour.
In 2020, similar tactics may see another incremental increase in B2B marketing though the tactics are different.
Businesses aren’t looking for celebrity testimonials but do appreciate reliable, authoritative and research-backed evidence and opinion of why they should choose a particular product, service or supplier. Customer testimonials and case studies help to influence decision making, as do referrals from current and past clients.
The newest trend is for podcasts where B2B organisations provide entertaining and informative video or audio content which subtly introduces their product and expertise. These are likely to increase in 2020 and can be a powerful tactic for small and medium businesses too.
Longer-Form Content Marketing
Content (in the form of blogs and written articles) has long been an important B2B tactic to grab attention, attract customers and prove your business’s skills and leadership.
For many years, convention has been that content should be short, immediate and to-the-point. 85% of content published on the web contains less than 1000 words. However, articles with more than 1000 words gain much greater engagement and SEO benefits. For 2020, the trend may increasingly be for longer content that is of more value.
Readers who feeling overwhelmed by endless blogs and articles are increasingly finding long-form content better researched, more analytic and more valuable. Google too favours long form content for SEO on the assumption that the information within it is more useful and reliable.
Longer content (over 1,000 words) can put off readers who want quick answers to easy questions. However, these people are generally less likely to be future customers. The remainder tend to have a more genuine interest in your ideas, products or expertise – and are willing to invest their time to gain valuable information.
B2B marketers are moving away from making accessing valuable content (reports and guides etc) subject to completing a sign up or contact form. Gated content deters many, restricts reach and many businesses then fail to use the contact details effectively anyway. People who submit their details often cannot be relied upon to be good leads. As content marketing becomes more important in B2B marketing, the mindset is to distribute content far and wide without restriction.
Video Content
As in 2019, next year is likely to see B2B marketers increasingly turning to interactive visual and video content to better engage their target customers.
A HubSpot survey found 81% of businesses use video content and 74% of business people say they’ve made a purchase after watching another company’s video.
Short-form videos for use on websites and social media are seeing greater use across B2B businesses of all sizes. Other visual content, such as infographics, motion graphics and animations are also becoming more prominent and frequently used to explain products, processes and complex information.
In 2020, this is also likely to lead to greater use of social channels – such as LinkedIn, Facebook and even Instagram – to share video content with other businesses.
Social Selling
In 2020, social selling may become a wider tactic in B2B marketing.
LinkedIn in particular has over a half a billion members, of which 40 million are decision-makers and 61 million are senior level influencers.
Social selling takes advantage of the fact that if you’re active on LinkedIn and other platforms, you’re most likely already connected to individuals who could be your business’s next customers. Social selling simply means prospecting for leads through already built and trusted relationships and LinkedIn is typically the most effective way to do so for B2B.
Employee Advocacy
In 2020, B2B businesses may increasingly encourage – and even incentivise – employees to represent their brand and showcase it to the world.
The most common type of employee advocacy is employees using social media to share and endorse content from their organisation with their own networks.
Only 17% of firms say they currently use such tactics but those who do claim it leads to increased attraction, shorter sales cycles, new revenue streams and more growth.
Experiential Marketing and Immersive Events
Live events such as trade shows and conferences have long been a staple of B2B marketing. Despite of the importance of digital marketing, many B2B marketers consistently rank live events as the strongest tactic for converting leads into new clients.
Live events have evolved hugely in B2C marketing and B2B may follow in 2020. Whether at trade shows, exhibitions, seminars or social events, companies will need to give their audience something memorable that will raise emotions and build relationships.
Tactics and technologies which may become more mainstream in B2B include:
Creative scenic design which moves away from the tradition pop-up stand and table to a more staged trade show presence with lighting, visual displays and comfy furniture
3D projection of images, video or graphics onto walls and surfaces to create a more immersive experience
Interactivity, AR and VR using digital technology to deliver new experiences and information as visitors explore your trade show presence
Website Design and Optimisation
Counter to the recent focus on content market, client experiences and account-based marketing, many B2B firms may once again focus on their website in 2020.
Almost all B2B marketing brings prospective customers to your website. As all modern websites up their game, a B2B website should thus serve as a platform for differentiation, thought-leadership, business development and attracting talented staff – all whilst delivering a great user experience.
In 2020, firms many approach their website redesign or update differently by focusing squarely on their audience and building around the user, not the firm.
SEO will continue to be more critical than ever in competing for online visitors as Google and other search engines become the first port of call for most B2B buyers. The focus of SEO will again include page speed optimisation, mobile-first design and improved security.
Voice-Generated SEO
With the rise of smart speakers and other interactive devices, more people than ever may turn to Alexa, Siri or Cortana for internet searches in 2020.
Google recently released a ‘speak-able schema mark-up’ which allows web designers to nominate sections of their content to respond to voice activated searches. Though still in early development, it’s an area which will play an important role on B2C marketing and trickle down into B2B.
While B2C marketers have been using artificial intelligence (AI) for a while, B2B has been slower to react. With benefits including better insights, detailed analysis, prospect identification, hyper-targeting, content personalisation and automation, it may also become a rising feature of B2B marketing in 2020.
Is 2020 a Pivotal Year for B2B?
Though B2B marketing is always evolving, 2020 may very well become a notable year for a shift towards personalised direct marketing, longer and more valuable content marketing and greater focus on business’s websites as critical to success.
You’re here because you want a successful business, right?
Well, let me start by asking you this. What’s the difference between a successful, profit-making business owner, and one who struggles to pay the bills?
Successful Entrepreneurs Do Their Homework
If you answered that the successful business owner is prepared, you’re right!
The popular myth surrounding top entrepreneurs is that they are talented and intuitive mavericks who fly by the seat of their pants.
But in reality, successful businesspeople prepare. They research their industry, their market, their competition, and their own offer… so when an opportunity arises, they can grab it with both hands.
To the casual observer, these opportunities seem like risks. To the entrepreneur, they are calculated business moves!
The Seven Golden Rules of Business Success
If you want to be a successful business owner, you’ll have to constantly question your assumptions. Not just about your chosen industry and the market you’re operating in, but your own offer.
Each of the Golden Rules below contains a set of essential questions to ask yourself, so you can help lessen uncertainty and risk and do more of what works…
…all of which will, ultimately, help you increase your business profit.
1. It’s All About Outcomes, Not Inputs
You’ve got a great business idea, and you work hard. Surely that’s enough to make a profit?
Factors like these are important, but they won’t generate success on their own. Business success is all about creating outputs for the customer, rather than inputs from you, the business owner.
Turn your focus to the people who are most likely to buy your product or service. Why would they? How, exactly, will it benefit them?
2. Don’t Make Your Business ‘Fit’ a Customer, Decide Who Your Customer Is
‘One size fits all’ isn’t a successful business strategy, so you’ll have to get specific about what works for your target customer (and forget the rest!)
First, ask yourself who they are. Then, why would they buy from you, rather than someone else? What else do they need, and how might you provide it?
Analyse your offer in detail. Are there other customer groups who could benefit from your product or service? Who are they, and where will you find them?
3. Know Your Competition (Then Do It Better!)
Many businesspeople have to steel themselves to look at what their competitors are up to. What if they’re more successful?
But understanding who else is out there, doing what you do, is a golden opportunity for you to do it better!
So, take a deep breath, and get researching. Where are your competitors, and what exactly do they do?
How does your product or service compare… are there any tweaks you could use to make it better, or more unique?
4. Understand Your Market
You may have heard of SWOT and PESTLE before.
If not, they are extremely useful tools you can use to analyse and understand your business market.
SWOT helps you identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for your business, while PESTLE looks at Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental impacts in the wider market.
Start by grabbing a piece of paper, and try to list at least two thoughts under each heading.
If you need any help with this, why not book a Breakthrough Session so we can talk about it?
5. Ensure You Are Pricing for Profit, Not How Much You Think They Will Pay
Pricing can be one of the toughest decisions business owners make.
But there are some questions that will help you find the right price points. First: which of your products or services make the most profit? Could you raise the price on those now? Which ones could you increase the prices for over time?
Don’t forget to analyse the purchasing patterns of your ideal customer, so you can feel confident about providing them with the right product or service, at the right price.
6. Make Friends With Your Numbers
Do you know how many customers you need to meet your annual turnover target?
(In my experience, it’s surprising how many business owners don’t!)
If not, get a calculator and start crunching those numbers.
You should also think about how much your business costs to run – things like website maintenance, marketing, and professional memberships all count.
Your financial targets should consider the amount you need to make in order to both cover these costs, and have some money to live on.
7. If It’s Not Working – Ditch It
Now it’s time for some brutal honesty!
Go through your products and services. Are any of them under-performing?
If so, they should be dropped, NOW.
Getting rid of ‘dead wood’ means you can give your time and energy to the products and services that your customers love the most (and the ones that make you the most profit!)
What Next?
Although this is by no means an exhaustive list, following these Golden Rules should help you plan and prepare for business success.
If you need help answering some of the questions, why not book a complimentary, half-hour Breakthrough Session, and we can talk them through together?
There is no question that video is now an important marketing tool and will be for the foreseeable future. But how do you add a video to your email marketing campaigns?
I am sure that you will have noticed that many organisations now turning to video to enhance their news, updates, helpful tips and other information. COVID-19 made ‘Zoom’ and ‘Teams’ names that every business person has recently become aware of, practically overnight. As many of us are working remotely and not able to engage in person it’s easy to see that video can fill an important gap.
Video is now becoming more important as a marketing tool and is likely be for the foreseeable future, but how do you add a video to your Email Marketing Campaigns? There are some important factors to consider as it is vital that you get this right, there is nothing worse than clicking a play button only to discover that it doesn’t work, or worse still, just offers an empty box on the page where your video should be.
Bear in mind that most commonly used email clients including, Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo, do not support video within the body of an email. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a video within your campaign, it just means that you have to approach it from a different angle to get a video in front of your reader.
Embedding Video in Your Email Campaign
The easiest way to insert a video into your email campaign is to simply create an engaging still from the video and link this to the operational video hosted online. This could be on YouTube, Vimeo or another public video hosting platform. However, a better option would to be to link this to a page on your website where the video is embedded and set to play automatically. This means that when the user clicks on the video not only does it start playing for them automatically, but they are also now on your website where (hopefully) you have other content for them to consume and engage with.
Movement attracts attention
As an alternative to using a still image another technique is to use an animated gif. This is more complex than just using a static image, but the addition of movement into the body of your email can really attract attention
If you have your own design team they should be able to create the necessary gif’s for you. If that’s not the case then you can speak to our design team for this service. In addition there are online tools which can automatically generate gif’s from image sets that you upload. Once you have an animated gif you use it within your campaigns in the same way as a static image.
Placement is important
Make sure you pick the perfect spot within your campaign to place your image or animated gif. If you put it right at the bottom of your campaign and make people scroll (yawn) to get to it they are likely not to see it and therefore not click to watch your video. Ideally you want a short piece of text at the top of your email and then your ‘video’ underneath.
Top Tip – Just push play
Whichever route you take, either inserting an animated gif or a static image, make sure you include a play button on the gif/image to tell the viewer that it is a video and thus encourage them to click through to your content.
If you are struggling to get a video in your campaign or if you would like us to review your campaign before you send it, just drop us a line, we are a friendly bunch and always happy to help! 01603 858250 / communicate@smartmessenger.co.uk
Nothing stands still in the social media world for long, that’s part of the reason we love it so much – there’s rarely a dull moment. But, just when you thought the trend of here-today-gone-tomorrow content was done with, along comes Twitter with its oddly named Fleets.
A squished-up version of ‘fleeting moments’, Fleets last just 24 hours, and are to Twitter what Stories are to LinkedIn and Instagram and, more recently, Vanish mode is to Messenger and Instagram. Or what they all are to Snapchat.
Confused? Let us explain. The boffins at Twitter wanted to give new or shy users the chance to dip a toe in the platform’s conversational waters, without getting bogged down in likes and retweets.
With us so far? Jolly good. Now, this is where Fleets come in. Users can post text, or reactions to tweets with the tweet attached, as well as photos and videos, all of which can be personalised with snazzy backgrounds or fonts.
Here’s where you can go a bit cross-eyed if you don’t pay attention. You can reply to Fleets by sending a private Direct Message, but only if you follow the person you’re contacting and they follow you OR if the person you want to reply to has their Direct Messages set to open.
“We’ve learned that some people feel more comfortable joining conversations on Twitter with this ephemeral format, so what they’re saying lives just for a moment in time,” wrote Joshua Harris, director of design, and Sam Haveson, product manager, in a blog.
We’ll have to wait and see if Fleets bring a host of new blood to the platform, but the feature certainly has got its work cut out for it with the sudden rush of short-term competition. Tell us which are your favourites and we’ll tell you ours…
We’re 24 fingers, a digital marketing agency and a proud member of the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Excel Business Networking Group, the Trusted Business Community and the Organisation for Responsible Businesses. If you’re feeling all fingers and thumbs with your online marketing, use our hands (and hearts and minds) to get extra digits on your bottom line. Book your free strategy call here.
Did you know you can also use text marketing for appointment reminders?
Everyone needs an appointment
It used to be that appointments were used only in a few businesses, so people were used to remembering them. As rules change, more and more businesses are finding they now have to use appointments in order to safely manage the risk of coronavirus. Appointments are the perfect way to ensure you’re keeping everyone safe, but there is always a risk of customers forgetting and not turning up. You can’t stop making appointments or overbook and risk too many people turning up at once, so what do you do?
Help stop no-shows
With text reminders, you significantly reduce the risk of no shows by reminding customers about their appointment without the need to make time-sapping reminder phone calls. Unlike other forms of marketing, text messaging has high open rates and fast response times, meaning customers will soon let you know if they can’t make it.
It’s relatively easy to miss or ignore an email and reminder calls are not only time-consuming for you to make, they are unlikely to be made at a convenient time for every customer. Text reminders are the perfect way to get a short message across to customers without intruding on their day.
Not only do text messages cost significantly less than traditional methods, but the reduction in no shows will also mean you’re better off. The best thing to do is to send reminders with enough notice that they can rebook if necessary, without causing too much disruption, but not so much notice that they forget to show up. Most businesses send reminders 24 hours before an appointment, but of course, this part is up to you.
What to include
The main information you should include is the recipient’s name, date and time of their appointment, and where the appointment is being held. If suitable you can also include additional information, such as anything they need to bring, link to a map, photo of the front of your building or other important things they may need to know.
As well as reminding people about their upcoming appointment, it’s good practice to give them an opportunity to rebook. You may be thinking that giving them the ability to change their appointment could cost you but actually, the more intuitive and user-friendly your messages are, the better! Surely, it’s better to have someone rebook than not turn up and disappear forever?
With Smart Messenger Text Messaging you can include links and attachments so that recipients have everything they need in one place.
If you do have a cancellation and a waiting list of people, you may wish to text your waiting list to inform them of the availability.
Mind your tone
How you word your message is key. It should be informative and get to the point but you also want to make sure it’s coming off as friendly and welcoming. Customers should feel as though they can easily call or text you back should they need to and they will be met with a friendly tone. The best advice is to keep the message as short and simple as possible, after all, you’re just reminding them about an appointment, not marketing to them!
Business cost
You might be thinking that text reminders sound like they’ll be a great addition to your business but are wondering if they’re costly to implement. The answer is no, with Smart Messenger we can build a package to suit your needs so whether you’re sending messages to ten or a thousand people we’ll find the right solution for your business. Our prices start from just £10 per month.
If you’d like to find out how text messaging can help reduce your no shows and boost customer satisfaction, get in touch.
Email marketing works best when you have a dedicated list of recipients who gain value from the content you share. Email marketing works best when you have a dedicated list of recipients who gain value from the content you share.
It’s no good having a massive list if those contacts are never going to bother opening your campaigns. So instead, focus on getting sign-ups to your email list from people who are genuinely interested. Those are the recipients who are most likely to engage and ultimately work with you.
Building your email list from scratch isn’t an easy task, but there are tried-and-tested ways to create a good one. We’re going to show you how in five steps.
Step 1: Make a compelling offer
Before anybody signs up to your email list, it’s important to tell them what content you intend to share. As an expert in your industry, you may be sending out news and views, thought leadership pieces, instructional guides or updates about events. If you are not sure what to write, read our blog ‘Help! What content should I create for my email marketing campaigns?’ for inspiration.
Once you’ve decided what kind of valuable content you intend to share, make it clear whenever you ask people to sign up to your list. Whether that’s a pop-up banner, a landing page or a call to action at the end of a blog post, explain exactly what they’re signing up for. If a reader enjoys a blog you’ve shared on LinkedIn, they may well be compelled to sign up to your email list to read more. Give them the opportunity by clarifying your compelling offer and what they can expect.
Step 2: Position your sign-up forms
Deciding how to position your sign-up forms is tricky. You want them to be prominent and eye-catching, but not irritating and off-putting. Some businesses use pop-up forms on their websites, which may increase the quantity of sign-ups, but these do run the risk of annoying visitors. It’s vital not to give the impression that your email marketing will be spammy. So, try to strike a balance about when using them.
That said, you want to provide plenty of opportunities to sign up to your email list across your website and social media platforms. Be logical about where you place your sign-up form, like beside each blog post. You can also have a floating bar on each page so as the visitor scrolls through, it remains visible for them to sign up. You can also place the sign-up form in either the header or footer of your website pages too.
Step 3: Keep it simple
You don’t need a lot of data from the people signing up for your email list, so don’t ask for it. Whatever email marketing platform you use, whether it’s one of the big-name companies or a Mailchimp alternative like Smart Messenger, you only need the email address itself to get started. You may be keen to personalise each email, so you are addressing the recipient by name, so you can ask for a name and email address if you want. However, it’s good to remember that the less you ask from people, the more likely they are to sign-up.
Remember that you are legally obliged to process data in line with the rules of GDPR. So, you must be clear on every sign-up, whether that’s an online form or if you are collecting data at events or networking, precisely what you are using people’s data for. In doing this, you give people signing up the chance to be clear on what to expect and to judge whether your campaigns will be of legitimate interest to them.
Step 4: Develop multiple ways to get sign-ups
It’s not enough to simply host a form on your website and expect to get more sign-ups to your email list. You need to be multi-faceted in your approach. Consider options like hosting webinars or events where, when people sign up to attend, they also sign up to your email list. By making sure that the event/webinar/session aligns with the content you share, you’ll know the people joining your list are genuinely interested.
Use your social media to its full advantage too. Put links to your sign-up form in the bios of all your social accounts and regularly put the link at the bottom of your longer posts. This works well when you are posting blogs on social media, so the reader can get on the list to directly receive more content like the piece they’ve just enjoyed.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask the people on your email list to share your emails with their network. Not only does this help you to reach more people, but a forwarded email comes with social proof because it’s been recommended by somebody independent of your organisation.
Step 5: Cultivate your sender reputation
Having a good sender reputation is a bit like having a good credit score, it’s something you need if you want to succeed. These days, email service providers act as gatekeepers of their customers’ inboxes, and they judge marketing emails on sender reputation before they allow them to pass.
If people routinely unsubscribe, report or send your email to the spam box, your sender reputation will plummet. That’s why it’s vital to share content that is valuable and genuinely useful to your email list. Instead of being dumped in the spam box, a good sender reputation helps improve your chances of making the recipients inbox and being read.
Your history plays a massive part in determining whether you make it through to inbox nirvana. Email service providers will check whether you’ve had good open rates, low spam complaints and minimal bounce rates. Make sure your campaign history and sender reputation are something to be proud of.
We hope this helps you to get started on building a great email list and please do sign up to our email list for more content like this and information about Smart Messenger.
If you’d like to learn more about email marketing from our Smart Messenger experts, please get in touch.It’s no good having a massive list if those contacts are never going to bother opening your campaigns. So instead, focus on getting sign-ups to your email list from people who are genuinely interested. Those are the recipients who are most likely to engage and ultimately work with you.
Building your email list from scratch isn’t an easy task, but there are tried-and-tested ways to create a good one. We’re going to show you how in five steps.
Step 1: Make a compelling offer
Before anybody signs up to your email list, it’s important to tell them what content you intend to share. As an expert in your industry, you may be sending out news and views, thought leadership pieces, instructional guides or updates about events. If you are not sure what to write, read our blog ‘Help! What content should I create for my email marketing campaigns?’ for inspiration.
Once you’ve decided what kind of valuable content you intend to share, make it clear whenever you ask people to sign up to your list. Whether that’s a pop-up banner, a landing page or a call to action at the end of a blog post, explain exactly what they’re signing up for. If a reader enjoys a blog you’ve shared on LinkedIn, they may well be compelled to sign up to your email list to read more. Give them the opportunity by clarifying your compelling offer and what they can expect.
Step 2: Position your sign-up forms
Deciding how to position your sign-up forms is tricky. You want them to be prominent and eye-catching, but not irritating and off-putting. Some businesses use pop-up forms on their websites, which may increase the quantity of sign-ups, but these do run the risk of annoying visitors. It’s vital not to give the impression that your email marketing will be spammy. So, try to strike a balance about when using them.
That said, you want to provide plenty of opportunities to sign up to your email list across your website and social media platforms. Be logical about where you place your sign-up form, like beside each blog post. You can also have a floating bar on each page so as the visitor scrolls through, it remains visible for them to sign up. You can also place the sign-up form in either the header or footer of your website pages too.
Step 3: Keep it simple
You don’t need a lot of data from the people signing up for your email list, so don’t ask for it. Whatever email marketing platform you use, whether it’s one of the big-name companies or a Mailchimp alternative like Smart Messenger, you only need the email address itself to get started. You may be keen to personalise each email, so you are addressing the recipient by name, so you can ask for a name and email address if you want. However, it’s good to remember that the less you ask from people, the more likely they are to sign-up.
Remember that you are legally obliged to process data in line with the rules of GDPR. So, you must be clear on every sign-up, whether that’s an online form or if you are collecting data at events or networking, precisely what you are using people’s data for. In doing this, you give people signing up the chance to be clear on what to expect and to judge whether your campaigns will be of legitimate interest to them.
Step 4: Develop multiple ways to get sign-ups
It’s not enough to simply host a form on your website and expect to get more sign-ups to your email list. You need to be multi-faceted in your approach. Consider options like hosting webinars or events where, when people sign up to attend, they also sign up to your email list. By making sure that the event/webinar/session aligns with the content you share, you’ll know the people joining your list are genuinely interested.
Use your social media to its full advantage too. Put links to your sign-up form in the bios of all your social accounts and regularly put the link at the bottom of your longer posts. This works well when you are posting blogs on social media, so the reader can get on the list to directly receive more content like the piece they’ve just enjoyed.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask the people on your email list to share your emails with their network. Not only does this help you to reach more people, but a forwarded email comes with social proof because it’s been recommended by somebody independent of your organisation.
Step 5: Cultivate your sender reputation
Having a good sender reputation is a bit like having a good credit score, it’s something you need if you want to succeed. These days, email service providers act as gatekeepers of their customers’ inboxes, and they judge marketing emails on sender reputation before they allow them to pass.
If people routinely unsubscribe, report or send your email to the spam box, your sender reputation will plummet. That’s why it’s vital to share content that is valuable and genuinely useful to your email list. Instead of being dumped in the spam box, a good sender reputation helps improve your chances of making the recipients inbox and being read.
Your history plays a massive part in determining whether you make it through to inbox nirvana. Email service providers will check whether you’ve had good open rates, low spam complaints and minimal bounce rates. Make sure your campaign history and sender reputation are something to be proud of.
We hope this helps you to get started on building a great email list and please do sign up to our email list for more content like this and information about Smart Messenger.
If you’d like to learn more about email marketing from our Smart Messenger experts, please get in touch.
