Think of software as a strategic investment

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
Don't think of software as a cost. Think of it as an investment in your enterprise. Software can provide you with a series of benefits, including: *  Better customer service *  Greater brand awareness *  Faster response time *  Fewer mistakes *  A more professional business *  Competitive advantage *  Additional services *  Product / service insights *  Customer insights *  Increased business value *  Greater ROI When you are considering new software, think about what it can connect to. Software integrations can deliver even greater value.  In addition, consider how complex the software is: will you require training? Old, inefficient software can have a negative effect on your enterprise and you should review your software at least once a year....
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Your 2016 marketing strategy: 12 questions to ask yourself

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
What is your 2016 marketing strategy? Here are 12 questions to ask yourself: 1.  What is your offer to the marketplace? (This should be a simple sentence or two that anyone can understand). 2.  What is the one key thing that you want customers to remember about your brand, next year? 3.  Are you going to launch any new products / services in 2o16? (Hint: you can't keep selling the same old stuff forever, can you?) 4.  Have you reviewed your pricing, for the year ahead? Should it go up, stay the same, or go down? 5.  What is your digital marketing strategy for 2016? 6.  What is your mobile marketing strategy for the year ahead? 7.  How will you out-innovate your competitors, with regards to marketing, in the New Year? 8.  Who is going to do the webcopywriting?  ("The more you write, the more you sell.") Remember that writing for the web is different to writing for print. 9.  Which social media platforms will you focus on, and why? 10....
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I don’t do strategy

By Jacqui-HoganNo Comments
How many times have you heard that? Maybe you have even said it yourself. Imagine what would have happened if the Greeks had said that when they were contemplating how to seize the city of Troy. There would have been no Trojan horse and many more years of misery for both them and the Trojans. In case you may be thinking that the strategy WAS the Trojan horse, here is the probable thinking that went on in the Greek camp. “Dimetri, how long are we going to sit outside Troy then? Our supplies are running low, and some of the soldiers are pretty fed up with army rations. Having boiling oil poured on them every day for months is taking its toll on morale too” “Lord Paris says we have to stay here until Troy gives Lady Helen back, you know, the one with the really pretty face. I think he wants to capture Troy too, so they can’t steal her back’ “Yeah, but our strategy...
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What’s your market size?

By DavidNo Comments
The question "what is your market size" sounds hard to answer for a small business. It need not be, someone has probably done the work for you, its just a case of where to find it. With my marine product range, http://www.rigtube.co.uk and http://www.hikingbench.com I sell to the dinghy racing sailor. I know there are a lot of sailing clubs around the country, but how many? I looked on the Yachts and Yachting magazine (online version) and found a directory of sailing clubs together with a map of there locations. Click to view map: http://www.rigtube.co.uk/images/Sailingclubs.jpg Its likely, if you hunt in specialist magazines for your market sector you may well find something similar. This is because a number of publishing groups publish most of the magazines. Market sector is very important to them and staff move between titles, so the framework used will be similar....
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Recipe for success in 2015

By Jacqui-HoganNo Comments
2015 is upon us, so you are probably thinking about what to do to make your business more successful in 2015. If you liken your business to a great meal, you will need to get all the right ingredients together and then mix together using an effective recipe. For a well risen business, you’ll need: Your own unique recipe ingredients in a small plan Large spoon fulls of talented people 1 leader, zested A small quantity of well ground new ideas Small number of processes, well trimmed Plain or self raising finance (as needed) Well seasoned managers Customers to taste Business recipe method: Prepare your plan, checking that sufficient unique ingredients are identified and available Mix together spoonfulls of people and well ground ideas, adding a spoonful at a time until well mixed Chop your processes until small. Select only those that are fresh and fold carefully into the people mixture. Make sure your leader is well zested, and add to the mixture. Watch out for curdling – where the people and leader mixtures...
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The promotional mix – 29 ways to promote your enterprise

By Nigel Temple1 Comment
Here are 29 promotional mix categories: * Advertising * Alliance Marketing Partners * Authorship * Business blogging * Channel marketing (i.e. distributors) * Content marketing * Customers (i.e. customer clubs) * Direct mail * Email marketing * Events * Location marketing (i.e. signage) * Media relations * Networking * Newsletters * Packaging * Point of sale * Printed matter * Promotional gifts * Referrals * Sales promotion (i.e. competitions) * SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) * Selling, professional  [Visit our Professional Selling Group] * Social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) [Visit our Social Media Group] * Sponsorship * Telemarketing * Vehicle (i.e. livery) * Videos (i.e. via YouTube) * Website  [Visit our Websites Group] * Word of mouth How  many are you using? Which ones are working well for you? Which ones should you abandon? You are welcome to discuss this within our website. The promotional mix should be part of your marketing strategy and plan. Navigator members of our community can blog within our website as often as they like. We promote marketing related blogs to circa 20,000 social media contacts. Written by marketing strategist, consultant, trainer and speaker Nigel Temple....
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