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Do you show what’s behind the scenes?

Behind the scenesSometimes it can feel as if marketing is one big front. You set out your stall to persuade people to do business with you. The idea of showing them behind the scenes seems completely counterintuitive. There’s no way you could show people the cogs working, is there?

I’m not saying that your marketing has to be a warts and all account of your business. For one thing, it would get repetitive. My days are mostly spent sat behind a keyboard, even if the work I’m doing varies. Some days are frustrating, long or just plain boring. However, giving your customers a glimpse behind the scenes could be a powerful communication tool.

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Why do your customers need to know like and trust you?

Know like and trustIf you’ve been reading about marketing for any length of time you’ve probably come across the concept of know like and trust. If you haven’t, here’s your introduction.

Who do you trust? Hopefully you’ve got at least a few friends and family members that you can rely on. But who else? What about big business?

Now you might be thinking, “hang on, I don’t trust those big corporations”. And yet we all behave in a way that shows we do. We buy our clothes from high street chains, get our electricity from one of the big five suppliers and eat in McDonalds. People queue for hours to be the first to get the new iPhone. There was uproar about the way our Facebook data has been used but most of us are still on the platform.

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How you can build your local area into your marketing

local area marketingWhen you have an online business, you can (in theory) work with anyone, anywhere in the world. But what if you only serve one local area? Sometimes, where you’re based is key to your marketing. I know that there are people who travel between London, Paris and New York to find the right hairdresser, but what if you’re in Wigan?

There’s loads of advice about online marketing out there. The good news is, you can use it wherever you are and it works for all sorts of different businesses. It’s perfect if you’re only working online but you can use it when you have physical premises too.

The even better news is that using your location in your marketing can be a great way of attracting your ideal customers. Here’s how.

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How you can put personality into your marketing

It might be a cliché, but it’s true: people buy from people. Even when you shop with a big brand, your decisions end up being based on the service you receive. A helpful member of staff could convince you to buy something and have you recommending them to your friends.

What does that have to do with putting personality into your marketing? Quite a lot. The truth is that sharing something of yourself could help to bring new customers your way.

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How you can create an email nurture campaign that wins new customers

email nurture campaignYou might be looking at that title and wondering what on earth an email nurture campaign is. Even if you haven’t heard the term before you’ve probably seen one. A nurture series is one of those email sequences that you sometimes get when you first sign up to a new mailing list. You might get an email every day.

I know that some people find them annoying. However, done properly a nurture campaign can be a wonderful thing.

Read more to find out how.

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Your tribe: how you can talk to a niche audience

Talking niche audience tribeThe term ‘tribe’ has become a bit of a business buzzword recently. I’m still trying to work out whether I like it or not, but I know that a lot of you do so I’ll go with it. For me, the word tribe describes a niche audience, people who will come to you because they know you offer what they need.

On reflection I think I prefer talking about ‘my people’. I’ve been part of a fantastic group coaching programme recently and I’ve found myself describing the coach and the other members as my people quite a lot.

Anyway, none of us are here to get into a debate about semantics just now. Whatever you call them, your tribe, people, gang, or fans are all people who like you. Who those people are will depend on your business but the way you speak to them is incredibly important.

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How blogging can help you to attract new customers

Blogging attract new customersI know, I know, you’ve heard it all before. Start a blog and new customers will magically drop into your lap from the sky. Your life will be transformed because suddenly everyone on the internet will be beating a path to your door.

Well… no. Sadly, as with everything else in life, it’s not that simple. If I was a get rich quick guru with a ridiculously expensive blogging course to sell I might tell you that, but I’m not. So far I don’t even have a cheap as chips blogging course for you.

However, what I do have is a firm belief in the power of blogging. I keep hearing that it isn’t relevant any more, or that it’s making a comeback. As far as I’m concerned it hasn’t gone anywhere and it’s still working for me. How does it work? Read on and I’ll tell you.

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Do you want to make your hotel famous?

Hotel famousThere are some hotels whose names will be recognised wherever you go in the world. You could be in New York or on an island somewhere in the Pacific and people will have heard of the Ritz, The Dorchester or Claridges. You might think that your regional hotel will never be able to reach those heights, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try and bring a little fame your way.

The question is, how do you do it? Start forging some partnerships…

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What niche do you want to be famous for?

What niche famous forDid my last blog (catch up here if you haven’t read it) sell you on the idea of building your business in a specific niche? If it did, you might have some ideas already about the sort of audience you want to target. If, on the other hand, you’ve no idea what niche you’re aiming for, you’re in the right place.

A quick recap

If you’re taking a TL; DR attitude to my last blog, here’s the short version. Choosing a niche for your business can help you to focus your marketing on a specific set of customers so that they feel you understand them. You can become known as a specialist in your area and get lots of referrals and word of mouth recommendations.

What niche?

So, what niche are you going to choose?

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Why on earth would I want to niche down?

why would I nicheWhen you start talking about niching, people start to panic. It’s a natural reaction. Why would you deliberately narrow your audience when there’s so much potential business out there? You’d have to be crazy to turn good customers away, right?

Well, maybe not. The trouble with marketing to the whole world is that you don’t end up connecting with anyone. A good marketing message connects with your customers in a way that gives them an ‘a-ha’ moment. They read your blog post or see your ad and know that you understand what they need. It all means that the more focused you are, the more likely you are to get that reaction.

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