Local Call Number: 0845 47 47 486 |
Local Call Number: 0845 47 47 486 |
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Do you have a burning marketing question you want answering in language you can understand? Perhaps you've felt reluctant to ask your marketing question because you think the it's too simple, you don't want to seem foolish, or the marketing answer will be too complicated. Well, I'm a firm believer there's no such thing as a stupid marketing question if it's the marketing question you need answering. I also believe the marketing answer should be jargon free and in language you can understand. Why not go ahead and ask me your marketing question right now? Simply email me your marketing question by clicking here. I'll endeavour to get back to you as soon as possible. I write a monthly marketing column in Buton Mail's 'Good For Business' section which includes marketing Q&As that are either actual marketing questions I get asked, or reflect the typical marketing questions I frequently hear from my clients and the business owners I speak to. By there very nature these marketing questions and answers are fairly brief. So if you need more detailed marketing advice on these marketing questions, or any others, just give me a ring on my local call number 0845 47 47 486. I'll be happy to talk with you. The intention is to build a library of marketing questions and answers that provide understandable solutions to marketing issues smaller businesses face from day to day. The marketing Q&A below will be updated regularly, and you'll be able to see some previous marketing Q&As in the right hand column. I hope you find these useful. Is Facebook a good marketing tool for my business? Q. I struggle to see the point of using Facebook for my business. So can you explain why I should consider using Facebook as a marketing tool? A. The bottom line is that with 500 million users Facebook is currently the biggest social network in the world. That’s important because there has been a huge sea change in the way people make decisions about what they buy and why. Consumers now see more value in what their peers say when it comes to recommendations on products and services, and they use social media to find and make those recommendations. Today, 76% of consumers rely on what others say, and just 15% rely on advertising. Having a business Facebook page is a powerful way for you to engage with and influence your potential customers. It’s not about being self-promoting, but about what others say. In marketing terms it’s called ‘customer engagement’. Facebook is a brilliant for creating group discussions and drawing people regularly to your page through ‘posts’, ‘tags’ and ‘likes’. Step one is to create a customised Facebook page, and then start working on a social media marketing strategy to engage your fans and getting them to leave posts on your page. Give me a ring on 0845 47 47 486 to discuss how Facebook can benefit your business. Don't trip up over shopping centre Footfall
Q. I’ve been offered a short-term ‘pitch’ in a local shopping centre. I’ve never done this sort of thing before. Can you give me some tips? A. First, do your homework. What’s the basis of the space you’ve been offered? Is it part of a special promotion that the centre is running that fits your business profile i.e. a wedding event? Has the centre provided you with ‘footfall’ figures to show how many people are likely to visit the centre over the period you will be there? Next, you need an objective for your time in the centre. Is it to provide information, gather customer details, sell a product or service or make appointments? This will determine your marketing plan, marketing materials and your display. You need to project the right image, so have proper display boards, banners or point of sale displays. These are a good investment if you want to do this more often. Just having a table with a cloth and few leaflets could give the wrong image for your business. Above all, be proactive. There’s nothing worse than seeing people just standing around a promotional stand looking bored. So be prepared to approach people. Decide what you want to say that will interest and engage them. Practice this to you don’t get tongue tied. For further tips, give me a ring on 0845 47 47 486. |
Why's my website lost on Google? Q. I launched my new website three weeks ago having spent a considerable amount of money on it and have been disappointed that it doesn’t seem to appear on the first page of Google. My web designers have said this is quite normal and it takes time to appear, but I need to attract new customers sooner rather than later. So, are they right, and if so, how long does it take? A. A new website is unlikely to make it onto the first page of Google so soon after launch. Search engines, including Google, need time to index the content of your website and measure its relevance to searches being made. There are several elements to successful search engine optimisation (SEO). One important factor is how long your website has been around for. The older the website the more authoritative the search engines consider it to be. Other very important elements include how relevant and well optimised your website content is for the key words people are searching for, how often you update your website with new content and how many relevant links your website has. All this takes time, typically at least 6 months. There are other factors to consider as well, so I suggest you contact a specialist search engine optimisation (SEO) provider to help you out. But don’t despair, you can begin to get enquiries to your website much quicker by using Pay Per Click marketing, often known as sponsored listings or Google Adwords. For a free fact sheet ‘7 Essential Tips about Pay Per Click Advertising’ ring 0845 47 47 486.
I don’t want to be an email marketing spammer Q. I’m thinking about using email to promote my service to other businesses, but I’m concerned about being labelled a Spammer. Have you any advice? A. Done properly email marketing can be one of the most cost effective ways and profitable to market your business. The problem is too many people don’t do it properly, which means their email marketing ends up in the Spam or junk email folders of recipients. One essential is that you use a proper email marketing system rather than trying to cut corners and use MS Outlook. This will allow you to avoid many of the pitfalls that end up with your marketing email being caught by Spam filters. Just as important, a proper system will give you the essential marketing information about what happens to your email marketing campaigns when you send them. How many are delivered, who does and does not open them, what they do when they do open your email, plus a lot more. There are several email marketing systems available which you can often try out for free, such as MailChimp, Constant Contact and Vertical Response. Also important is the quality of the data you use for your email marketing. Poor, inaccurate data is next to worthless and can get you labelled a Spammer, so either build your own accurate list, or find a reputable list provider and buy in your data. It’s not as expensive as you might think. In addition, writing effective marketing emails is different to writing sales letters, so if you don’t think you have the skill, find someone experienced in email marketing copywriting to help you out. For a free fact sheet ’10 Essential Tips about using Email Marketing’ ring 0845 47 47 486. |
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