All members - The Marketing Compass

Is your website mobile friendly?

April 2, 2012July 16, 2012 By Ben Temple1 Comment

Web enabled mobile phones are great aren't they? You can use them to check directions, weather, emails and websites on the go. According to the BBC, over 45% of mobile phone users regularly use the internet on the move. So the big question is: Is your website mobile friendly? * 1.2 billion mobile webs users worldwide - many of these only use the mobile web * 8.49% of global website visits in 2011 * Smartphones are only a fraction of web enabled phones * Mobile searches quadrupled in last 12 months alone * $3.3 billion spent worldwide on mobile advertising in 2011 - Estimated to increase to $20.6 billion worldwide a year by 2015 * 300,000 mobile apps developed in the last three years - with over 10.9 billion downloads in that period * M-Commerce (mobile commerce) expected to reach $119 billion worldwide per year by 2015 * 71% of 16 - 24 year olds use mobiles to access the internet as their main device * 24 - 36 years...

Marketing is like playing chess

March 23, 2012July 16, 2012 By Nigel TempleNo Comments

When you receive a new sales enquiry or make a sale to a new customer, the chances are that they didn't hear about you from one source. Typically, it goes something like this: A) Someone arrives on your website. B) They join your newsletter list. C) They receive your newsletters and open a few of them. D) Months go by, during which they follow you on Twitter and read one or two or your blog posts. E) They revisit your website to see what you are up to. F) Finally, they have a requirement that you can help with and they send you an email or make a purchase via your website. Exhausting, isn't it? Many people simply give up, because 'my marketing isn't working'. During my marketing seminars, I am often asked which promotional techniques are the most effective. Bearing in mind that I only work with independent professionals and small business owners (who don't have marketing budgets), my initial...

How to get more likes on Facebook and more followers on Twitter

February 22, 2012July 16, 2012 By Ben TempleNo Comments

We often get asked by our members how to get more likes on facebook & how to grow their social media following and how to use their pages effectively to grow their business online and get more sales enquiries. Here are a few simple principles to kick start your campaigns... 1) Ask your friends! Invite contacts on social networks and in person. 2) Include a 'like' / 'follow' link in your email signature, on your website and on your printed marketing material. 3) Offer an incentive. You could send new 'likes' a gift, this could be a guide that shares some of your professional knowledge...this often leads to solid sales leads! 4) Leave comments on relevant company's Facebook / Twitter pages with your incentive. It's amazing how many companies don't engage with their fans, it's an opportunity glaring you in the face! Once you start to get more fans and followers, make sure you engage with them. Post regular updates that are inspiring, connective, educative and...

The praise sandwich

February 11, 2012July 16, 2012 By Nigel TempleNo Comments

Here's a short story about the praise sandwich, which can help motivate your team... Karen Kimberley has been a member of our community for several years. Her marketing strapline is: 'Changing people inside' - which I have always liked. Karen helps large companies with communications workshops, confidence training and coaching. Karen has shared many helpful ideas with me. One of my favourites is The Praise Sandwich. Here is a Tweet which I have just sent out to my 11K+ Followers: When giving feedback, use "The Praise Sandwich": Praise - Constructive Criticism - Praise. @kkimberley karenkimberley.co.uk All too often, we hurt each others' feelings by being too direct. The client offends the supplier. The manager succeeds in making the staff member clam up and stop asking questions. The boss wonders why nobody comes up with creative ideas. IMHO The Praise Sandwich should be taught in Primary schools. It should be displayed in large lettering on giant posters in offices. It should be etched into watch straps,...

Marketing a classical string ensemble

February 3, 2012July 16, 2012 By Nigel Temple2 Comments

One of our recent projects has been marketing a classical string ensemble. Fedora Strings is an ensemble of conservatoire-trained musicians who can be hired for wedding quartets, trios, duos or solos. Each member is an accomplished musician in their own right and has played in some of the best professional ensembles in the UK. No matter the quality of the 'product' it still has to be marketed. Joanna Borrett and her fellow musicians believe in continual marketing. They have recently launched a new website - www.fedorastrings.com - which has a series of recordings which visitors can play, directly from the homepage. These include the Flower Duet by Delibes, I Got Rhythm by Gershwin and an Irish reel (which shows product diversity!) Joanna blogs regularly, as you can see here: http://www.fedorastrings.com/blog/ Joanna tells us that her Google search engine rankings are doing well and that she is receiving booking enquiries via the site, which was built by www.totosites.com - which specialises in small business websites. During...

Creating new ideas for your business

February 2, 2012July 16, 2012 By Nigel TempleNo Comments

Creating new ideas for your business should be high on your list of priorities. In a fast changing world, money gravitates towards the innovators. New ideas can add value to your products / services, your brand and your business. Anyone can produce new ideas on demand, as long as they believe that they can. In the 21st century, we are all busy. This certainly applies to business owners. We work long hours, in order to get everything done. When you are working, your mind produces 'high energy' beta brainwaves. When you are relaxed, calmer alpha brainwaves are produced. It is easy to become a workaholic. You may find yourself feeling guilty, when you are not 'working' during office hours. There is so much to do! Replying to / sending emails, handling phone calls and attending meetings are seen as work. Going for a walk or sitting there and not doing anything isn't. Interestingly, our most creative ideas arrive when we are not working....

The elements of marketing success

January 27, 2012July 16, 2012 By Nigel TempleNo Comments

"What are the elements of marketing success?" or "How successful will this be?" I am often asked these questions by business owners, managing directors and nervous investors. They may be about to launch. Or they may be about to kick their product or service hard enough so that it is, hopefully, propelled into orbit. The product or service itself is only one part of the jigsaw puzzle of success. Here are some of the other jigsaw pieces: VISION Successful people know where they are heading. They know their compass bearing. No matter what happens during their journey, they keep on course. Do you have a clear vision of your future business? If I spoke to you right now - could you describe this picture to me in detail? BUSINESS MODEL The internet, rising competition and economic turmoil have disrupted entire industries. The ubiquitous use of technology has slashed costs, made old skills irrelevant and created new opportunities for fast learners. Does your business model reflect...

How to make blogs easier to read

November 30, 2011July 16, 2012 By Nigel TempleNo Comments

We're going to discuss how to make your blogs easier to read. If I had to choose one piece of advice, it would be to decrease the length of your sentences. We recently built a website for Ringrose & Co (they offer advice to companies in financial difficulties). www.ringroseandco.co.uk I was talking to their MD, Mark Smillie and we were discussing blogging. Here is the feedback I gave him, regarding a draft blog entry he wrote. Here are his draft words (IP = Insolvency Practitioner): oooooOOOOOooooo Our perspective is different to the IP who must give fair and impartial advice to all concerned with the Limited Company, we will give best advice to the client, who can benefit from over twenty years’ of experience in this area. oooooOOOOOooooo I suggested that Mark cut the sentence lengths down. This is the quickest way of increasing 'readability'. So the above could become: Our perspective is different to the IP. They must give fair and impartial advice to all concerned with...

Long tail and short tail keywords explained

November 28, 2011July 16, 2012 By Nigel TempleNo Comments

What are long tail and short tail keywords? 'Keywords' = words / phrases used by search engines to find relevant web pages. Some keywords are used frequently. Within SEO* these are known as 'short tail keywords'. As they are so popular, it is relatively challenging to rank highly for them, within organic search results. Other keywords are searched for less frequently. They are known as 'long tail keywords'. Interestingly, according to Google, some 20% of the searches they see on a daily basis, have never been used before. It is quite possible to achieve page one rankings for long tail keyword phrases. However, the trick is to stay at the top and also to convert this traffic into business. Within The Marketing Compass, we recommend that our members have an alphabetical list of keywords. Generally, it is a good idea to have a balance of popular (short tail, or 'broad') and less popular (long tail, or 'narrow') keywords / phrases within your website....

Small business marketing strategy

November 16, 2011July 16, 2012 By Nigel TempleNo Comments

Here's a short story about small business marketing strategy... David (not his real name) was a client of mine, a few years ago. He was a left brain thinker. An engineer by training, he liked a structured approach, logical steps and processes. He worked endlessly on his marketing plan and talked about the detailed elements of his website and promotional mix. He was never in a rush and preferred to think everything through carefully. Stephanie (not her real name) was another client. She was chaotic to work with, never wrote anything down and was always moving onto the next great thing in marketing. She didn't like plans and used to say to me: "What's the point of plans? They never work out anyway and they take so much time. Let's get out there and DO SOMETHING!" Stephanie liked to talk about the 'big picture'. She felt that the greater the number of playing cards you throw up in the air, the greater...