The Business Bulletin Issue #14 - Focus On Sales & Marketing

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Business Bulletin By business owners, for business owners

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Issue #14

Focus on Sales and Marketing Spotlight on Marie-Louise O’Neill PLUS Is your Pre-Marketing position right?

Stop obsessing about your ideal customer!

How to make your time on LinkedIn enjoyable and profitable

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The Business Bulletin

A magazine that works for everyone Paul Green Founder & Chief Editor

Welcome to the fourteenth edition of The Business Bulletin.

Hopefully you will enjoy this edition which focuses on sales and marketing. Published every four weeks, it will cycle through the following themes: ■ Finance ■ Sales & Marketing ■ Operations & Resources ■ Strategy & Personal Development It will bring together a collection of articles aimed at any small business owner who doesn’t have all the answers and is open to some thoughts and advice from some of the leading experts in their fields. So what makes this different to any other publication?

I’m glad you asked!

For the reader – no more advertorials. All the featured articles have been chosen for their valuable content, not because the author has paid to be published or taken out an advert to get their slot!

For the contributor – you can submit articles for inclusion without having to pay for the privilege or having to advertise. If your article is deemed suitable based on its merits – that it is relevant,

All the articles featured in this magazine have been chosen because of their valuable content

good and engaging content and not promotional of your business, then it will be published.

For the advertiser – if a publication is more engaging due to the content, then it is more likely your adverts with be noticed. The number of full-page and half-page ads is limited for each edition and there will be a limit on the number of advertisers from a given industry sector. This means your advertisement is more likely to stand out from the crowd and not be lost in a sea of competitors.

Your feedback and thoughts on this magazine are welcome – let

Join in!

us know your experience.

Contact us to contribute an article or

Thanks,

place an advert for future editions contribute@business-bulletin.co.uk

Design & Layout: Pixooma Ltd

Proof-reading: James Tarry

© Copyright 2021 The Business Bulletin. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the editor or the author of the article.

Disclaimer – no responsibility can be accepted for any actions that you take as a result of the content provided in this magazine. There is no guarantee that implementing any of the advice contained in the articles will definitely ensure your business success or have a positive impact. They are presented as information based on the experience of the authors working with many different types of businesses in their field of expertise and are provided as a choice for you to consider if they will be useful for your business.

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 3

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The Business Bulletin

Contents This edition focuses on sales and marketing and brings together a wide range of topics with a selection of quality articles from leading experts in their field.

Ramping up your sales planning Julie Futcher

6

Is branding important for your business?

Mark Coster

8

Social media scheduling for small businesses Sarah German

How your web hosting impacts your SEO Eloise Idoine

30

Insights into marketing a small business Andy Sarson

34

12

Spotlight on

36

Stop obsessing about your ideal customer!

Lindsay Woodward

15

Marie-Louise O’Neill

What to consider before working with a PR agency Eleanor Lester

17

How to make your time on LinkedIn enjoyable and profitable Petra Fisher

40

Is your Pre-Marketing position right?

Arup Biswas

20

Hang in there and be 99% fat-free Kevin Robinson

43

Why getting to know your competitors is key to growing your business Jessica Shailes

24

How do you represent your brand?

Marie-Louise O’Neill

46

Ask the experts

49

The importance of radio in your marketing Martin Steers

27

SME survey

52

Cover image courtesy of Jo Blackwell Photography

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 5

The Business Bulletin

Ramping up your sales planning – the importance of a softly, softly approach to restarting your business

Now, regardless of your predictions, I can’t imagine your stats look much like those in your 2020 plans right now. Some industries have gone incredibly quiet while others have found themselves with higher than ever demand.

It can be tempting to throw your original plan out the window and just go with the flow for the rest of the year. Please don’t do that!

It’s more important than ever, when things are looking a little hairy, to get some goals and plans in place.

And now is the perfect time to do this.

But how?

If you’ve been following The Sales Manager for a while now, you’ll know that I spend a lot of time talking about planning and the importance of having a sales plan in place for your business.

6 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

Setting Goals Goal setting doesn’t have to be scary.

Start by really looking at where you’re at now and how your revenue has fluctuated over the last quarter, year and couple of years. What kind of

The Business Bulletin

Get to Know Your Numbers

Scale Up

Do you know exactly what you need

clients. These are people you need

to earn to cover your costs?

■ Do you know which of your

Julie Futcher The Sales Ace Julie has nearly 25 years experience within a sales role and has successfully trained many individuals to sell by developing their own style but using tried and tested sales techniques. She understands how daunting it can be to have to pick up the telephone or meet with clients/customers face to face. Julie established The Sales Ace to support and train business owners to increase their revenue. She also provides a sales support service which provides telesales/ telemarketing, assisting in managing sales staff, help with setting and managing KPI’s and well as one to one coaching.

01604 532004 julie@thesalesace.co.uk thesalesace.co.uk

able to pull in a few pounds right

■ Do you know which products or services sell best in bulk or on repeat and which tend to be one-off purchases?

These are the kinds of questions you need to answer before setting goals and laying down your sales strategy. If you know your baseline figures and you know how many of a certain product or service you need to sell in order to reach them, you’re vastly better equipped to set yourself goals that are genuinely attainable.

I go about starting to sell again?

Softly Does It People are still vulnerable, and our

industry is faring under the current

reputations still hang pretty lightly.

restrictions and how likely it is that

How you treat people as things begin

you’ll be able to match previous levels

to ramp back up is going to make

of growth. Once you’ve got a sense of

a huge difference to where your

this, start laying down some targets.

business is in 6 months or a years time.

When you’re setting goals, always

You want to take a soft sales approach

remember SMART:

which looks something like this:

■ Achievable – don’t set yourself up for failure, set goals you’re able to achieve ■ Realistic – remember things are not normal right now, be realistic with your figures ■ Time-bound – when do you plan to hit certain goals?

away, this is the most likely source.

After you’ve spoken to your current customers consider reaching out with the same soft approach to businesses you have quotes out with or with whom you’ve recently discussed a product or service.

Only then, do you want to scale up to approach new prospects or cold leads. These are likely to be harder to win right now. However, you’re sowing the seeds for your future revenue and, if you treat people well now, they’ll remember.

Ok, so I’ve set my goals, but how do

take into consideration how your

when you’ve hit your target?

relationship with you, and who trust you with their business. If you are

in with a really hard sales approach.

■ Measurable – how will you know

also people who already have a

highest mark-up?

growth do you typically achieve? Then

can with your targets

to keep happy and on side. They’re

products or services has the

It’s important right now not to dive

■ Specific – be as specific as you

Start by contacting your current

■ “Hi [Client Name], how are things for you?”

Don’t Forget Your Marketing Remember the power of marketing.

Continue to feed information and support to your audiences through your website, social media channels and email lists. Marketing like this works because it reinforces trust and reminds prospects that you’re there.

When they’re ready to buy, they’ll know where to find you!

Having a solid strategy and plan for the coming months will make a huge difference to your mindset, your day-to-day decision making and your long-term revenue.

■ “Is there anything I can do to help you right now?”

■ “Ok, it looks like our current contract isn’t quite working, here’s what I can do to improve that” ■ “It’s good to catch up, I’ll give you a call back in [x amount of time] to see how things are going”

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 7

The Business Bulletin

Is branding important for your business?

The short answer is yes. It’s a vital component to a successful business. So there you go, no need to read any further!

But if you’ve got questions or are

it doesn’t apply to them yet, but it’s

for what result you’ll get from your

not utterly convinced that branding

relevant to EVERY business, not just

bargain-basement logo website, well

is utterly central to your business

the likes of Apple and Nike, and you’ll

that’s another story…

success, then read on and I’ll explain…

see why as we go on.

The myths of branding

Myth 2: “It’s just a logo and I can get

expensive agencies do – I can’t

one from the internet for a couple

afford that!”

Myth 1: “Branding doesn’t apply to

of quid.“

me – I’m a small business/startup.“

It doesn’t have to involve a swanky

Yes, you can get a logo “designed”

London agency with a name that

Lots of small business owners think a

for a small fee, but that isn’t the

sounds like a firm of solicitors, nor

brand is something you create when

whole story with branding – it has a

does it have to cost you a lot of money

your company gets bigger, and so

much wider scope than that. And as

– just a bit of forethought. So let’s deal

8 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

Myth 3: “Branding is what huge

The Business Bulletin

with a key issue first of all – what do we mean when we say ‘branding’?

What is a brand?

Quite often when people say ‘branding’ they really are just talking about the company’s logo. But its scope is much

These are extremes, and you

to be consistent

these dizzying heights of brand

It’s not just about using the same

loyalty, but you can apply the same basic principles that they do, without needing a huge marketing budget.

The key is consistency

the company’s colour scheme – which

You can’t directly control your “brand”

(yep, getting there), but it’s much, much bigger than even that. In fact, the description I like most is – “Your brand is what people say about your company when you’re not there”.

And that actually has nothing

strapline everywhere – like Nike’s “Just Do It” for example. Everything else you say in your marketing needs to have a consistent approach, not just

bigger than that. They might mean is closer, or the style of their advertising

Your message(s) need

probably aren’t worried about reaching

as it’s the feeling your customers have about your business, and even those that have never (and will never) use your service. BUT you can indirectly influence it and your best chance to

in “what” you say, but also “how” you say it – this is your tone of voice.

What message do your adverts (TV, Radio, online, print) say about your business? What subconscious impression are you trying to convey? If you appear to be all cuddly and family-

do this is with “consistency”.

friendly one minute, but aggressive

Your product or service needs

in style will confuse people and they

to be consistent.

won’t know what to believe.

and contentious the next, this change

(directly) to do with logos, colours or

Now I’d argue that it should be

anything else. It’s how people “feel”

consistently the best service possible,

about your company. Think of some

but Ryanair is proof that you can

to be consistent

of the big brands you know – how do

have a successful business where

Your corporate identity or visual

they make you feel? Hungry, excited,

you arguably have a terrible (but

identity or corporate style is the thing

disgusted, depressed? We all have

fairly consistent) reputation amongst

most people think of as branding –

companies that we love and those

your staff and customers, but the

it’s the things you can actually direct

that we hate, and not all of it will

customers keep coming. Why?

control. It’s your business cards, your

be based on logic or limited to our

Because they constantly advertise

website, leaflets, magazines, adverts,

experience with them directly – we

some of the lowest prices for flights.

exhibition materials, building signage,

may never have actually used them.

Whether those prices are achievable or

vehicles, social media and everything

not is another matter, but the headline

else visual that people can see, touch

price is what attracts them. Does it

and feel.

Take Apple for example – it inspires a wide range of emotions but its customers are incredibly loyal. It doesn’t matter whether you believe they make fantastic, pioneering products or just piggyback existing technologies and charge ridiculous

inspire true “loyalty”? I’m not sure and if the price is your only brand message you could be in trouble as there is always someone prepared to go lower.

So I’d advise providing a good,

Your corporate identity needs

That doesn’t mean everything needs to look identical – that would be dull. But everything should look like it’s from the same “family”, i.e. like it has come from the same place. This

prices, the truth is that it would be

better or best service rather than

means defining a set of design styles

impossible for every one of their

take Ryanair’s policy, but whatever

(fonts, colours, graphics) and ensuring

products to be the best in its class.

level you aim for make sure you can

that everything refers back to them.

Yet they inspire absolute devotion in

achieve it consistently.

Again not identical, but two adverts

some people. Some of their customers have bought into their brand so much they’ll queue overnight for the latest iPhone, despite being able to get one the next day just as easily.

Harley-Davidson has such a clear

Think of those times you’ve visited a shop/hotel/garden centre or anything else and your first experience is amazing, but a subsequent visit is terrible. As

from the same business should have a strong style that links them – especially if they are part of a single marketing campaign.

Lastly, your imagery needs to have

a customer, you want to know

a consistent style. And even here

market and loyal following that some

what you’re going to get, and this

you don’t need to be so prescriptive

fans even have tattoos of the logo on

inconsistency damages its reputation

that everything looks monotonously

themselves. Can you imagine many

for you. Not only that, but you may

identical. You might say that all of

people that’d get a tattoo of the Asda

well tell other people as well, which

your images – should contain people;

logo or Shell or Google?

weakens the brand further.

that they should never be looking

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 9

The Business Bulletin

directly at the camera; and that they should be mainly images of families enjoying life outdoors. Alternatively, you might simply say that the imagery should be bright and engaging and that it should not contain anything contentious. You also need to consider whether you’ll ever use illustrations and if so what style(s) they should be as well. Using a mix of colourful, detailed 3D illustrations, sketchy linedrawings and simple flat icons may be a confusing mix of styles that detracts from the message you’re trying to convey.

Your communication needs to be consistent

A strong brand is a reliably consistent one No matter how much you define each area, and how tight the restrictions are, it should amount to one thing – someone who deals with you knows exactly what they’re going to get.

Every single time. If you’re really quick to respond to a sales enquiry the first time they ring, but then midproject they can’t get hold of you for weeks on end that will damage your

things you need to consider – 1. It must be a Vector file, NOT a

business so they can just do more of the things that they’re good at, but he wanted to operate as a larger business would from day one. He has maintained excellent levels of service and put in processes and procedures that help him provide an efficient, proactive service.

01536 217007 mark.coster@pixooma.co.uk pixooma.co.uk

10 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

needs. but research them carefully. service may vary and you’ll be liaising an interactive system. This means to get the result you want. And often cheap services charge extra for lots of things that would be standard from a traditional agency.

Again always do your research, look at

fine for some uses, but if that’s

reviews and seek recommendations.

all you have you’re going to

A good agency will work with you to

have problems. Unlike a vector

carefully understand what you need,

file, it’ll become blurry and

they’ll probably also challenge your

pixelated if you enlarge it, and

brief in order to get a good result and

it simply isn’t versatile enough.

will be focused on you and your needs first. And of course, if you can find one that offers a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, then even better!

of instances. And it’s best to avoid trends as these will date it very quickly.

3. It doesn’t HAVE to say what

Do your research There are lots of great design professionals from freelancers to

you do, in fact, often it can be

large agencies, but over the years I’ve

better to not do so, especially

heard a few scare stories from my

if it makes it complicated

contacts when they dealt with other

4. It doesn’t HAVE to have an icon or image at all, lots of big brands just have textbased logos

Judging by his many 5* Google reviews (the most in the UK), it’s working.

that cater to a wide range of design

wrong. A Jpeg of your logo is

way it’ll work in a wide variety

brands. Most people start their own

There are lots of online services

Use a professional

versatile, and appropriate. This

of large organisations and national

Use a budget service

JPEG. Lots of people get this

2. Your logo should be simple,

Mark has spent over 20 years as a

creative options a professional would.

you’ll need to provide a lot of input

might use the same phrasing when

graphic designer, working for a number

and you may not explore the same

Well in most cases your brand starts

comes to logos there are some key

Pixooma

aware that it will take you a long time

with someone remotely or using

you’ll respond to email enquiries, you

Mark Coster

it! It’ll mean no cash outlay, but be

Where do you start? all starts with your logo. And when it

written in a specific style.

software, and creative ability, go for

You may not get a good result, the

You might want to define how quickly

and you might want emails to be

If you have the skills, the right

credibility and your brand.

with your corporate identity, and that

you (or your staff) answer the phone,

Do it yourself

designers and although rare, this highlights some rather dubious ways of looking at branding and how it’s important to do your research and get recommendations where possible.

What does all this cost?

Inventing new work

Whether you’re creating a new logo,

In one a contact had commissioned

brochure or a website there are

a web designer to create a new

always a number of options

website, but the designer said they

The Business Bulletin

didn’t like the company logo and it should be changed.

To me, this is totally irrelevant.

Whether you do or don’t like a company logo is none of your concern as a designer, unless there is something fundamentally and objectively wrong with it that should be fixed. To me, this approach suggests the designer was looking to create extra paid work for themselves which I believe is utterly wrong.

Getting it the wrong way around

This is the wrong way around. The

your company grows and it helps

logo is a key part of the branding

give people reassurance that you’re

and shouldn’t be changed on a

serious and stable as a company.

whim – all future materials should

Then the rest is up to you to deliver

complement the logo, not the other

a product or service that meets your

way around. Can you imagine Shell,

customers’ needs.

Apple or Microsoft changing their logo because they had a new website designed?

Building a trusted brand Everything people see and hear about your business influences how they think about your company (i.e.

In another, a website was also being

your brand). Choose the elements

designed and when it was near

that are most important to you and

completion they suggested that they

do them consistently. Well thought

could change the logo to make it

out and consistent branding is the

match the new site better.

foundation that can be built on as

The Business Bulletin

Social media scheduling for small businesses – why should you schedule and which tool should you use?

I first heard about social media scheduling many years ago when a friend (not a business owner), who was a self-confessed social media addict, was looking for a way to save time by posting the same content across all his platforms in one go.

And that was the last I’d heard about it until I started my own business last year.

I remember, at the time, feeling

that consistency without it taking

slightly baffled and overwhelmed

over your life. AND…

by the array of scheduling tools and wondering which one to choose.

Everyone I asked said something

Sarah German VAVA Sarah helps small businesses with training, workshops and full management of Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest Ad campaigns. Together with her team, Sarah also provides a variety of social media and marketing support services, enabling her clients to outsource time-consuming tasks and spend more time focusing on their zone of genius.

07817 907730 info@va-va.co.uk va-va.co.uk

12 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

different, so it wasn’t an easy decision.

So, if you’re starting to feel like your socials are taking over your life and you need ideas on planning and overwhelm-prevention, read on.

To schedule? Or not to schedule?

Short answer, YES! If you’re a small business and you want to get yourself seen on social media,

It saves you time.

Yes, that old chestnut. Imagine if you were stopping to post on Facebook, then Twitter, then Instagram…I don’t think you’d be very productive. Just like my social-media-addict-friend noticed, having one place to post rather than four or five, saves so much valuable time. Plus, you can timeblock a few hours to do all your posts in one go, leaving you free to get on with your billable tasks.

several times a week consistently to

It enables you to post consistently at peak times.

keep feeding that pesky algorithm.

If you’ve ever checked out your

Scheduling is the only way to achieve

platform insights – if not, you really

then you are going to need to post

The Business Bulletin

should- you’ll know that there

calendar and some providing a

all in one place. Having everything

are peak times to post, when the

preview of your Instagram grid.

in one place is another great time-

majority of your audience is online.

Using a tool to do it for you makes

saving hack that helps to maintain

consistency. Having the ability to

You can easily repurpose content.

post at peak times can also help

Repurposing your content (i.e. editing

to improve your reach and your

and reusing it) is a great way to save

engagement.

time and reinforce your messaging.

total sense in terms of time and

Some schedulers enable you to

consistency.

So, which scheduling tools should you use?

As with anything, my advice is to choose whichever works for you, by trying them out. All have a free trial,

It enables you to plan and enhance your strategy.

categorise your posts and recycle

Once you’ve defined your strategy

that plugs in to regular slots.

some limitations. These are the ones

The Free Ones

content, it’s time to get scheduling.

You get easy access to all your socials in one place.

Content plans can be easily

Some scheduling tools allow you not

which launched in September 2020 to

transferred into a scheduling tool,

only to post, but also to view your

help businesses to seamlessly access

with most providing a helpful visual

social stream and comment on it

all things Facebook and Instagram in

them for use at a later point in time, or even to have evergreen content

and set out your ideal client, your content pillars, researched your hashtags, awareness days and

some have a free tier in their pricing plan, but as you would expect with that I have tried.

First up is Facebook Business Suite,

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 13

The Business Bulletin

Just like my social-media-addict-friend noticed, having one place to post rather than four or five, saves so much valuable time one place. It’s still being rolled out so

hit if you want to schedule your

The paid-for ones (with a free trial)

you may not have come across is yet. If

Tweet for later. There is no calendar

not you can download the app to your

for visual planning, but you could

Agorapulse, Smarterqueue and

phone. It’s also possible to schedule

schedule several tweets to go out

your posts from here, which can be

through the day or week in one go.

quite handy to do via the app when

PostFity all offer a free trial, but then move on to a tiered payment plan. All are super-easy to use, allow you to plan a post across platforms

out and about. Take a picture, upload

The free tiers with paid upgrades

to Business Suite and schedule for

Hootsuite and Buffer are the tools

Both Agorapulse and Postfity allow

I hear people talk about the most.

posting directly to Instagram, but

Both offer a limited free tier and

there is an extra step required

later – but don’t forget to amend it before it’s published.

and then edit individually to suit.

vary in their pricing after that. With

with SmarterQueue (and many

the Business Suite is a completely

Hootsuite, you can connect 3 social

schedulers that don’t yet have a

free tool that can be accessed using

media accounts and schedule 30

direct agreement with Instagram),

your Facebook or Instagram login.

posts a month. Buffer, on the other

whereby the final stage has to be

The beauty of it is that there are no

hand only lets you schedule 10 posts a

actioned from your phone. All three

limits other than the character and

month on the free version.

have some super cool features when

Creator Studio, the precursor to

hashtag limits and video lengths that already exist on the platforms. On the Instagram side, you also have access to a hashtag suggester, which can be a really helpful and another great

Later and Planoly are both very popular tools for scheduling Instagram as both allow you to plan and review your grid. Both allow

paid for, with PostFity being the cheapest and Agorapulse, by far, the most expensive.

There are lots more that I haven’t

you to also hook up your Facebook,

tried yet such as ContentCal,

Twitter and Pinterest. On the free

SocialPilot, Sendible, MeetEdgar, the

version, both are limited to 30 posts

list goes on. However, if you’re just

per profile, no videos, no multiple

getting started, or you’re ready for the

photos, no stories, no hashtag

next step in your social media journey,

suggestions or mentions. To stay

any of the free versions should be

on the free version, you may want

adequate for you. And if you’ve taken

scheduler on the platform.

to interchange with CreatorStudio,

the time to build out a strategy and

Underneath your tweet, you’ll find a

where all of the aforementioned is

a plan first, the scheduling should be

series of icons. The last is a calendar

possible, although you still won’t be

the easy part.

with a clock and this is the one to

able to schedule Stories from there.

time saver. The downside is that it can be glitchy and there is no way to plan your Instagram grid, schedule stories or seamlessly post on both Facebook and Instagram at the same time.

Twitter has its own inbuilt

14 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

The Business Bulletin

Stop obsessing about your ideal customer!

Lindsay Woodward Lindsay Woodward Marketing Lindsay is a marketing strategist and skilled writer, with a proven track record of helping businesses to grow. She is also

When I speak to people about marketing, quite often one of the first things they want to talk about is who their ideal customer is. Whether they want advice on how to find their ideal customer or they’ve spent time considering it and are eager to share, there seems to be a focus on finding that one type of client that would be perfect for them.

However, straight away I tell them that they could be losing clients by thinking that way.

a CIM qualified Chartered Marketer with nearly 20 years’ experience in helping to enhance brands and grow businesses. As a consultant, she works with companies that require marketing support. Whether it’s aiding an existing marketing team or looking after all the marketing for a company, she can develop a marketing strategy, produce a marketing plan and execute a range of activities as needed. In 2020 Lindsay was elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

07939 432249 lindsay@l-w-marketing.com l-w-marketing.com

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 15

The Business Bulletin

I am highly trained in marketing and

out to the local sweet shop without

I’ve been lucky enough to work with

their parents’ permission. So perhaps

marketing channel is best. My answer

some very experienced marketers. Not

you should market to the parents?

is always that it depends on what

once with anyone in the professional

They’re the ones buying, after all. But

you’re trying to achieve. This is where

marketing world have I ever had a

then you need to consider pester

the power of segmentation can

discussion about ‘ideal customers’.

power. If the children don’t ask for

help, as you now know exactly who

Instead, we talk about segmentation.

it, will the parents buy it? However,

you’re selling to and what you want

even if the child wants it, if you haven’t

to achieve. If you’re marketing to kids

worked on your brand and the parents

then you only need to think about

don’t trust in your company, that could

the channels that those children will

still have a negative impact. You could

be looking at. The same for adults

also throw grandparents into the mix.

who like retro sweets. Where are they

And what about Christmas, Easter

spending their time? You only need to

and other celebrations? How do they

market in the places that your chosen

affect buying patterns?

segments will be looking. Suddenly

By thinking about just one type of ideal customer you are immediately closing your mind to other possibilities. Unless you have an incredibly niche product with very limited sales opportunities, then you’re going to want to sell to more than one type of person or business.

The best sorts of marketing plans

Then there is the adult market.

target two or three types of distinct

Retro sweets are very fashionable

customers. It gives you far more

at the minute. So could you be

chance of success.

marketing to adults with a sweet

I find that when most people come up with their ideal customer, they’ve done it by focusing in on things quickly. I encourage the opposite. What you should do is list every customer type that you could possibly sell to first. Look at the whole of your market and then start to narrow down who is the best target. Evaluate each ‘segment’ objectively and then you will make sound decisions that will give you the best chance of success. Quite simply, without exploring every option, how could you ever know that you’ve

tooth? That could be hugely profitable.

There is no right or wrong here.

You could market to all of these with great success. But marketing to loads of different segments can become confusing to your audience and takes a lot of time, money and effort. So what do you do? What you need to do is explore all the options and then choose two or three segments that will give you the best chance of ROI. If you focus in straight away, you’re likely to make snap decisions. But if you take some time to explore all

made the right decision?

your options and you think about

Example

properly, you’ll never be in a position

A great way to highlight this is using a sweet shop example. If you owned a sweet shop, who would be your ideal client? You might think straight

how to segment your marketing where you’ve missed an important opportunity, and you’ll also have the focus to know the way forward.

A question I’m often asked is which

it’s not such a huge blank canvas.

Now you can really start to focus.

Influencers One of the most important elements that you lose when you don’t explore all your options is that you never consider influencers. This is something the notion of an ideal customer completely sidesteps. You might immediately think of celebrities here, but there could be much simpler ways to harness the power of influence.

Pester power is a prime example.

And it can work for B2B. If you want that business to buy your products, then it might help if their customers were demanding it. It’s an extra layer of complexity that doesn’t always work, but done right it can make a massive impact. You don’t always have to market to the people that are actually buying from you. You can create demand in many different ways.

Next time you’re planning your marketing, take a few minutes to

away that it’s children and focus your

Marketing activity

marketing on them. But as soon as

When you have chosen your two or

you could sell to. Be imaginative

three segments, you then need to

and cover all bases. You never know,

build activity around how you’re going

it might open up a new stream to

to market to them. And the segments

your marketing that you’ve never

can be completely different. You could

considered before.

you start to peel back the layers, it becomes obvious that it’s really not that simple.

For starters, children have no money of their own, or very little of it.

market to children under 10 at the

But even if they have pocket money,

same time as adults over 30 who love

it’s still ultimately the parents in

retro sweets, because you’d do it in

charge. Children are unlikely to pop

very different ways.

16 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

list down every type of customer

The Business Bulletin

What to consider before working with a PR agency Public Relations should be part of the overall communications strategy for your business. Undertaking regular PR and being consistent in your approach helps to raise awareness of your brand and services and enables you to get your key messages in front of your target audience at the right time.

Doing this well takes time and effort

Make sure you have clear a PR brief.

for example you might say that

and with so many other priorities

Whenever I meet with a prospective

you produce experiences that your

for your business, I know that PR can sometimes be left or forgotten about. If this is the case then you may be considering working with a PR agency or freelancer. Outsourcing will

client the first thing I do is get them to describe what it is that their business does. I ask them to do this without using industry

target customers interact with whilst also being the place where your customers can buy your products.

It’s also really important that you

jargon or acronyms, and to treat me

explain who your competitors are,

as though I have zero knowledge

remember that this may not be

or understanding of their area

as obvious as you think it is. Your

of expertise. When it comes to

competitors don’t have to be in the

describing what your business does

same field as you, they could, for

PR agency or freelancer it’s worth

it’s likely that there may two or more

example, offer products or services

thinking about the following:-

ways of doing this. If you’re a retailer

at the same price points as yours

free up your time to concentrate on the other areas of your business that need your attention.

Before you start working with a

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 17

The Business Bulletin

that also deliver the same level of

as to the best way of getting your

increase newsletter sign ups or

gratification.

story into these types of publications,

download freemium content. The

it’s about educating and informing

more specific you can be in answer

rather than selling.

to this question, the easier you’ll

Doing this will give your PR a really good picture of what you do and where you sit within the marketplace.

If your target customers are joe

They’ll also be able to do their own

public like you and me, it’s really

research and read up on your industry

useful if you can describe who

sector, allowing them to appear

they are. This will help your PR to

knowledgeable when speak to the

identify the potential consumer

media on your behalf.

publications that are appropriate for you, each media outlet has a specific

Who are you looking to target with your PR campaign.

audience. Remember this could be

If you’re a business whose core

magazines, TV and Radio.

customers are other businesses then your PR is likely to be focused around the key industry sectors that you’re targeting. It’s also important to remember the job title of the key people who make purchasing decisions within the sectors you’re targeting. For example, if you’re looking to get your business in front of Marketing or HR managers then Marketing Week or HR Today could be suitable media targets for you.

Your PR will be able to advise you

Online magazines and bloggers, national and local newspapers, lifestyle and special interest PR articles do a lot of the heavy lifting for your business when it comes to raising your profile,

can bring to small and medium sized businesses.

07764 611971 eleanor@shrewdpr.co.uk shrewdpr.co.uk

18 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

to shout about? If you already have a communications strategy for your business how do you see PR fitting into this?

For PR to really benefit your

there maybe after you’ve run your

buzz about your brand.

initial campaign. If you’re a B2B

Create a wish list of the media you’d like to appear in.

together you can explore the options

that good PR and strategic marketing

new products and services you want

about what other PR opportunities

advise you how to get into these and

She is a passionate believer in the value

a period of expansion, do you have

helps to create the word of mouth

magazines. Your PR is best placed to

and drink, fashion and online retail.

won an award, have you undergone

out to your ideal client. All of this

bloggers, newspapers and consumer

experience, including B2B, lifestyle, food

within your business? Have you just

process, so it’s also worth thinking

industry titles, as well as online titles,

Professional with over 20 years’

and understands what’s going on

simply getting your key messages

session. Remember to include

Eleanor Lester is a PR and Marketing

It’s important that your PR knows

business it needs to be an ongoing

new client as part of the briefing

Shrewd PR

Why are you embarking on a PR campaign now?

positioning you as an authority or

This is something that I ask every

Eleanor Lester

make your PR’s life.

business then it’s worth looking for ways in which you can raise your profile in the appropriate trade press, could you offer a spokesperson for the monthly Q&A for example? If you’re more B2C focused do you have more products and services in the pipeline that you can talk about?

How are you going to measure success?

that might be available.

Measuring the results of your PR

What do you want people to do in response to your PR campaign?

advertising campaign, it can be

Remember that PR whilst won’t

activity by the number of lipsticks

necessarily drive sales it will most

he sold. I can guarantee that the

certainly generate exposure for

PR activity didn’t generate a single

your business and generate brand

sale, however over the course of

awareness for you. Many of the

the years we worked together we

businesses I work with use PR as

achieved consistent media and

part of their general marketing

online coverage for his business

strategy and we look for the PR to

in appropriate titles that helped

generate traffic to their website,

to raise brand awareness, which

activity is very difficult. Unlike an tricky to see hard and fast results from your PR. I used to have a client who tried to evaluate my PR

The Business Bulletin

steady flow of new clients beating a

Who is your PR agency or Freelancer going to report to?

path to his door.

Having taken the decision to employ

resulted in increased traffic to his website and phone enquiries, all of which meant that his business had a

When you sit down with your

spokesperson available should the need arise. Having regular update meetings will enable you to track results, and plan your next steps.

In my career I’ve been fortunate

an external PR it’s vital that you

that in the main, I’ve been viewed

PR it’s worthwhile discussing how

spend some time working together

as an integral part of the marketing/

you’re going to measure success.

and developing a good working

communications team for my clients.

It might be that you want to get 5

relationship. You might even decide

There has, on whole, been a free flow

pieces of trade press coverage on

to do mini inductions for them,

of information and as a result we’ve

the launch of your new service, it

after all, the more your PR knows

achieved great results.

may be that you want to increase

and understands your business the

your website SEO, if this is the case

better your PR is going to be. It’s also

your target might be to secure

important that you have systems

follow links back to your website. The

and processes in place so that your

other way to measure success is to

PR is able to do their job, it’s likely

look at key messaging and aim to

that they’re going to need access to

ensure that these are covered in any

your marketing collateral, you also

media articles.

need to make yourself or a company

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The Business Bulletin

Is your Pre-Marketing position right?

Are you one of those businesses or business people that are spending hundreds or thousands of pounds or dollars on marketing, but not getting the results you want?​Unfortunately most businesses are. ​

You invest heavily in marketing

more, only to receive a trickle of

you know that does compete on

activities such as online and offline

interest, or worse still, no interest at all.

price; what do they do when a new

advertising, social media campaigns, business networking, and much

The reason is sadly very simple.

You haven’t got your Pre-Marketing positioning right, or maybe haven’t invested enough time in defining these vital business basics.

And the truth is unless you do, you will always be struggling to find customers and will always be struggling to stand out from your competition. What’s more, once

Arup Biswas Absolutely Write Arup is a former national newspaper journalist with more than 20 years of experience in the media sector, including as a national press officer and spokesman for Oxfam. Thanks to this, and his experience in senior operations and strategy roles for national and international organisations, he has an in-depth and unique understanding of customers and audiences. As the UK’s leading content and pre-marketing specialist, he creates high impact and engaging content for organisations of all

you’re in this difficult situation, the

foundations (Pre-Marketing) position. ?? ???l absolutelywrite.co.uk

20 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

themselves even cheaper than they do? Drop their prices to continue being the cheapest? If so, how long can they do this for, and are they really a business that is sustainable?

And what happens when another competitor shows up who has lower costs and offers their services or products for even less?

A strategy based on price is

only thing you can do to try and win

ultimately doomed to fail, but the

business is to compete on price. You

good news is with just a little time

have to discount your prices, or run

spent on getting their Pre-Marketing

sales, or offer freebies, or undertake

activities and positioning right, any

other price slashing activities that

business can remove price from the

one by one make you cheaper than

equation and win customers who are

your competitors.

prepared to pay much more for the

This is a depressing but inevitable downward spiral, and in the process

services or products they offer.

Ask yourself this – if you don’t

you’re devaluing your services or

differentiate yourself effectively

products, and telling your customers

from your competitors by having

that what you offer isn’t of high value

the right Pre-Marketing position

or worth a higher price.

and business messages, why would customers choose you unless you’re

sizes and from all sectors, and works with companies to develop their marketing

competitor comes along and prices

The dangers of competing on price

the cheapest?

Competing on price is a dangerous

such as convenience or location –

and ultimately fruitless strategy for

are enough to grow their business.

any business. Consider a business

And there is no doubt that for

Many businesses and business owners think that other factors –

The Business Bulletin

some businesses these factors are

will ultimately fail or consistently

getting your USP right is

important. But (and it’s a big but)

struggle to survive.

vital, but don’t believe for

what these factors don’t create is CUSTOMER LOYALTY; the magic ingredient every business needs to really achieve success and grow.

What is Pre-Marketing?

one second that just being Pre-Marketing fundamentals include: ■ Definition and clarity of your Unique Selling Point (USP). Every business is unique but more than 99% of

you is enough! Whilst you are unique, a business’s USP is only ever effective when it adds value to the customer.

■ Identification of your value

Pre-Marketing refers to the

businesses around the world

offering (also known as the

essential fundamentals you must

fail to promote their unique

‘value stack’) to customers.

have in place BEFORE you start

difference. What this means

In all likelihood, what you

marketing activities of any kind.

is that they end up looking,

provide your customers with

Think of them as your business’s

and being seen as by

goes far beyond just the

promotional foundations, like the

customers, like every other

service or product they are

foundations of a house. Without the

company in their sector. And

buying. You may provide

right foundations, the house will

when all the options look the

them with free advice and

ultimately collapse, and it’s the same

same to the customer, they

guidance, or access to

for businesses; unless your marketing

have no choice but to make

special offers or deals, or free

foundations are right, your business

a choice based on price. So

resources that are valuable to

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 21

The Business Bulletin

marketing activities of any kind are as effective as possible.

Competing on price is a dangerous and ultimately fruitless strategy for any business

Unless you do, you’ll likely waste hundreds or thousands of pounds or dollars on marketing campaigns that cost you a fortune and deliver only meagre results.

You may have heard about Strategic Marketing and Tactical Marketing, the two areas that virtually every marketer or marketing company around the world focuses on. Pre-Marketing is the hidden essential element that they ignore or often don’t know about, but which

them. These are all examples

customers to understand

of elements of your value

what you do or what your

offering (or value stack) – the

values are quickly and easily.

benefits you provide that

An effective strapline does

go above and beyond the

this, and is a powerful way

price customers pay for your

to get across important

products or services. And the

information in an easily

stronger your value offering

understandable way.

is, the more attractive your business becomes to

■ Creation of core

has the greatest impact on how successful or not your marketing activities and campaigns are.

As you would expect, PreMarketing comes before you develop your marketing strategy, and well before you consider what marketing activities you are actually going to do (your marketing tactics). Consider the development of your marketing

business messages – the

strategy and your marketing tactics

fundamental statements

as stages two and three in the

and information about your

process, with Pre-Marketing being

definition of customer

business that you want

the essential initial stage (stage one)

benefits. The service or

customers and prospects

that you have to get right first.

product you offer must

to always remember.

solve a customer problem;

Most people will struggle

solving this problem is the

to remember company

customer benefit you offer.

information particularly

Simply stating what you do

when comparing many

What’s the benefit of getting my PreMarketing right?

or what you provide is not

different businesses, so it

Having the right Pre-Marketing

enough. Customers need to

is essential that you have

foundations in place results in you

know how you make their

succinct and effective

effectively differentiating yourself

lives easier, or you risk just

core business messages

from your competitors, and no

being judged on the prices

that you consistently use

longer having to compete on price

you charge. Remember

and promote. This helps

(and no longer in the download race

a customer benefit is

differentiate your business

to the bottom to be the cheapest).

only of value if it solves a

from all the others doing the

customer’s problem.

same or a similar thing.

potential customers.

■ Identification and

With the right Pre-Marketing business messages and USP, value offering, customer benefits, and

■ Creation of your business

positioning, you will generate far

focus, expertise, or benefits.

Why is getting your PreMarketing position right so important?

You want your business

You need to get your Pre-Marketing

a new pipeline of hot leads.

to be memorable and for

position right to ensure your

strapline – the short form of words or phrase that gets across your business’s

greater interest and engagement from your prospects, leading to a significant increase in your sales and

Securing your business

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The Business Bulletin

Why getting to know your competitors is key to growing your business Do you know who your competitors are? At first this may seem like a silly question; after all, if you are an accountancy firm, clearly your competitors are the other accountants in your local area.

Jessica Shailes The Ideal Marketing Company Jess is MD of The Ideal Marketing Company, a full-service marketing agency which offers digital marketing services as well as PR, direct mail, copywriting and design. She has specialised in digital marketing for over 10 years and in that time has watched it evolve from an experimental marketing option to an essential tool for the majority of businesses. Jess’s interest in strategy and passion for delving into the numbers means she is driven to help businesses achieve their objectives with a bespoke approach using the best marketing resources available.

01858 445543 jess@idealmarketingcompany.com idealmarketingcompany.co.uk

24 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

The Business Bulletin

However, while this is true, for most

Direct competitors

interviews and product testing.

businesses local and visible competitors

These are the easy-to-define

However, when building a picture of

are only part of the story. Piecing together the whole picture is crucial if you want to move your business on to greater success with a marketing strategy that will give you an edge over your competitors. After all, if you have no awareness of what your rivals are doing well and not so well, how will you be able to differentiate from them and strengthen your own position in your market?

Learning from the competition At this point, you may be thinking, ‘I have a fantastic product and service and I know how to run my business, so why should I worry about what other companies are doing?’

It’s certainly true that these attributes are a recipe for success and competitor research will never be the solution to improving results for a sub-standard product or service.

However, which business owner can honestly say that they have everything nailed and there is no opportunity to learn lessons, both good and bad from similar companies? The truth is every organisation’s offering can be enhanced with benchmarking using competitor research, particularly if like most businesses, you are operating in

businesses who offer the same service as you, for the same demographic in the same area. For example, if you are a solicitor specialising in family law, your direct competition is other

your potential customers’ motivations and concerns, don’t miss the opportunity to ask them questions whenever you get the chance.

Whenever you can, ask clients

divorce lawyers in your local area.

how they found you and which other

Equally, if you are an executive coach

companies were involved in the

offering coaching via Zoom, your direct

decision-making process that led

competition is other coaches offering a

them to you. Indeed, you don’t always

similar service in the same time zone.

need to wait until the customer has chosen you – asking them who else

Indirect competitors This kind of competitor can be defined as a business who provides a different service in the same category. For example, an indirect

they are considering when they are still in the decision-making process can provide valuable insights into their needs.

competitor to a high street hair salon

Get social

could be a hairdresser who visits

Social media can be a treasure trove

clients in their homes.

when it comes to finding out what

However, in today’s digital world, where being seen online is allimportant, your indirect competitors are any organisations who are competing with you for search engine rankings. This means any other business who is using the same SEO keywords as you to get noticed and clicked on as far up the search engine listings as possible. It’s important to remember that these businesses may not be in the same area as you – they may not be even

your target audience is buying and why. This is particularly true if your target audience includes millennials, as research shows that 50% of this demographic place high importance on recommendations from friends and family when it comes to their buying decisions. As well as checking out conversations on apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, look at conversations on forums such as Reddit and Quora to find out more about what people are looking for

selling the same product.

advice and recommendations on.

Finding your direct competitors

How to identify indirect competitors

Because your most obvious direct

Finding out who is competing with

competitors are often so visible and

you indirectly is crucial if you want to

well known to you, it’s all too easy to

feature in the buyer’s journey as they

forget to cast the net a bit wider to

go online to research the product or

find out who else is selling a product

service they are looking for. The steps

or service that directly competes

you need to take are as follows:

a crowded marketplace.

Remember, competitor research is not about copying what others are doing or merely finding areas to criticise; it’s about building on rivals’ strengths and learning from their weaknesses. And of course, what you learn will provide new insights into your own unique strengths and weaknesses too.

Who are your business competitors?

with yours. To cover all bases, do the following: Research the market

Do keyword research The mysteries of Google’s algorithms can make SEO seem like a dark art

Your competitors can be divided into

Market research can involve formal

to the uninitiated. But to get started,

two categories – direct and indirect.

focus groups, customer surveys,

simply ask yourself what words or

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 25

The Business Bulletin

Competitor analysis for a competitive edge

phrases are people typing into search

research yourself to find niche or

engines when they are looking for a

less-used terms you may rank for

product like yours? The companies

using SEO software. You can then use

who also rely on these keywords to

your findings to build a content plan.

get seen online are your indirect

However, this is an area where it can

competitors regardless of size or

be worth using an SEO specialist to

location. Unsurprisingly, this means

conduct SEO analysis and come up

that it can feel like David v Goliath for

with a realistic and results-focused

small and medium-sized businesses

strategy for you.

based on your findings will more

popular terms. Not only that, the

Benefit from advertising –

gaining a competitive edge and

formerly popular practice of ‘keyword

without paying!

stuffing’ designed to raise you

You can reap rewards from online

trying to compete for the most

through the Google rankings is now penalised by Google’s algorithms.

That said, there is still plenty you

Taking the time to find out exactly what is and isn’t working for your competition doesn’t have to be a mammoth task. Making it a habit and gradually building up a picture than pay off when it comes to growing your business.

advertising without even using it. By looking at your business’s keywords in Google Ads, you can see which

can do as a small or medium-sized

businesses are paying for advertising

business to improve your online

based on those keywords and act

presence. You can conduct keyword

accordingly.

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The Business Bulletin

The importance of radio in your marketing Never before have we had so many channels to communicate, market and spread our message as we do today, and the drive over the past few decades has been too digital – forever new and launching platforms and frontiers, each then developing their own experts as to how to use that platform and how it’s best for XYZ industry and ABC customers (and of course using their expertise to help deliver it).

Radio isn’t dead!

ownership), but I normally then go

especially for new businesses,

Whenever I speak to marketers,

as a percentage they think listen

enterprises and new marketers, I want

or to school, college or university

to radio each week with a ‘price is

to remind and maybe even introduce

students about radio, as part of the

right’ style higher or lower game.

you to the power and importance

introduction I normally ask them

Why not take a moment to consider

of making sure radio is in your

how many listen to radio each week,

this yourself…. 50%, 60%, 70%, higher,

marketing plan, from free media to

normally with varied results based

lower? It might surprise you to know

paid for promotion.

on age and other factors (such as car

that around 90% of adults (15+)

However, in this drive to digital quite often the old ways can be forgotten,

on to ask how many adults nationally

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 27

The Business Bulletin

tune in to the radio every week and

/ stations so now we end up with

with journalists, producers and

that the average listener tunes in

national stations with super region

presenters over email, social media or

for over 20 hours per week (Rajar

opt-outs – Heart as an example as a

face to face.

2020). Now radio in the UK comes

regional drive show and the rest all

in many different forms, platforms

comes from London.

and formats which are useful to know and understand especially depending on your target market.

Local Radio The new local radio was born over 15 years ago in its current form as

National Radio

“Community Radio” which means

You might get a few lines in a news story, a short clip in a bulletin or invited in for an interview.

With free media and pitching.

1. It has to be interesting, current or newsworthy to their

These can be your national BBC

it’s a not-for-profit station, for a

audience or the presenter,

brands such as Radio 1 – 6, and

town or small area of a county, and

there is always a way to take

national commercial brands such as

normally passionately covers and

any story and make it work.

Absolute Radio, Capital, LBC, Heart,

engages with its community. This

Smooth, etc.

could be a community of location or a community of interest. (As a side

Regional/Quasinational radio

note, there are still a handful of older local commercial stations that are

Over the past 15 years we’ve seen an amalgamation of what were the old local radio stations, first by renaming them all (in the main part to Hearts, but most recently Greatest Hits), and then sacking off local presenters

still broadcasting).

In addition, you have the Local BBC stations, which depending on where you are covering the whole county or several counties together.

Each of these stations, regardless of size will normally still have a

2. Forward planning, most radio shows and stations are planned days and weeks ahead, so there is no point sending an embargoed press release the day before and hope it gets covered.

Especially if you want to get more air time, guests on air or even get the station to an event, activity or even to your business or company.

target market, for local radio the BBC stations are normally for over 50’s or those with a keen interest in their area, and even community of location stations normally have a core audience.

So, the key, like any platform, is to understand your radio outlets and who their audience is, how you tailor

Martin Steers NLive Radio

your approach to that station and what you can get out of it.

Martin has been the Station Manager of NLive Radio for 2 years, and prior to that has worked for BBC Oxford, Eagle Radio in Surrey as well as other community stations. He has also worked and consulted in the wider radio

organisation that develops, supports and represents Ofcom licensed Community Radio stations. Martin is the founder and Chair of the Community Radio Awards. phone??? email??? nliveradio.com

The approaches – how to get the most out of your message

everything or pivot off something quirky! Local radio stations, and especially local BBC’s are always looking for go to ‘experts’ about all sorts of topics and interests, so if you are well-spoken on a certain topic make sure you are known to producers and presenters, but to speak. You see something in the national or international news or current affairs that might be of interest to their audience, offer to talk about it. But also, be creative, is there

Free media – Content is king! Great

an ‘international day of XYZ’ that you

content makes great radio!

can pivot as a talking point for your

Most radio stations are crying out for

brand, business or organisation. But

local content and local people to talk to, you should never underestimate the power of a good press release to the radio station, listening to the station for their interests, engaging

28 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

Have something to say about

also follow current news and offer

industry, and is one of the founders of the UK Community Radio Network; the

Be a voice

also, don’t be afraid to show other areas and interests, do you have a niche that you can speak on, but be created as ‘local businesses person from ABC who also happens to be an

The Business Bulletin

expert / has experience in random/ obscure or niche interests’ Paying for it Sometimes paying for your message

Radio advertising works, you just

on the big regional brands, but local

research which shows an average

stations would only be a couple of

£7.70 ROI on radio for every £1 spent.

hundred. Also, never underestimate

Remember to keep it simple, radio

can be the best way (and doesn’t

ads work best to promote a brand,

apply to the BBC)

goods or service, not always a direct

In radio there are lots of ways to pay to get your message out there, from traditional spot adverts (those 30 – 40 second catchy adverts that people say they hate but can’t help singing the theme or slogan all day), to sponsoring shows, features or branded promotions, competitions and deals – this could be ‘Win XYZ products’ ‘Traffic and travel brought to you by XYZ’ or however creative you can be!

expect to pay thousands a month

need to check out the Radiocentre’s

sell, it’s about raising or sustaining

the power of the contra deal, can you offer goods and services (or promotion) in exchange for some advertising airtime!

awareness. Radio is a passive medium, so it’s not about people rushing out to get that product now but knowing you’re out there when they need it. Also, the longer on-air the better, sometimes it’s better to have a few adverts every day for a few months than loads of adverts for a few weeks.

Radio advertising doesn’t always have to be expensive; you might

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How your web hosting impacts your SEO When it comes to SEO marketing, Google’s ever-evolving algorithms set the standard for what marketeers and agencies often go to great lengths to stay on top of.

With Google maintaining a market

This is why we often hear SEO

However, it’s worth bearing in

share of 92.47% as of January

referred to as “difficult to define’’ or a

mind that some downtime will

2021, this search engine giant is

‘’mystery’’ and it’s impossible to predict

occur when the hosts are carrying

in a position to pull the strings

what is coming next. There are 200

out essential maintenance. You

and are constantly updating their

ranking factors that Google consider

can ask your hosting provider how

algorithms (PageRank) behind the

for their SERPs (Search Engine

often this is likely to occur and factor

scenes leaving marketeers with

Results Pages) and many of these are

that into your decision-making

a continuous process of trying to

essentially out of our control. So, what

process as some hosts may perform

adhere to these elusive rules.

can marketeers do to stay on top of

maintenance more often than others.

their PageRank? Well, outside of the

For managed hosting, it’s worth

website itself, there are a number of elements that can be maintained and controlled and a significant part of that comes down to choosing the right web hosting solution for your business!

Uptime/downtime Eloise Idoine CWCS Managed Hosting Eloise spent the last 11 years working in software, marketing and hosting and prides herself on helping businesses grow and achieve their objectives by implementing the right solutions.

There is a great sense of achievement when she can assist a business or an individual to streamline their processes and make their working lives easier.

Eloise passionate about learning, sharing knowledge and inspiring others to achieve more!

0800 1 777 000 sales@cwcs.co.uk www.cwcs.co.uk

30 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

Choosing the right type of hosting is essential as this greatly impacts the uptime/downtime implications for your site. Search engine spiders, or ‘’crawlers’’, are likely to visit your site several times throughout any given

asking your provider if they can run an RTO/RPO (Recovery Time/Point Objective) test which will ultimately give you a realistic recovery time should your server go down.

Aside from costly software, there are some useful free tools available to you online where you can check your website’s uptime/downtime such as IsItWP, where all you have to do is enter your site’s URL: https://www. isitwp.com/uptime-checker You can always ask for advice to

day and record inaccessibility due to

ensure you know where you stand

downtime. Repeated reports of this

when it comes to managing your

can flag the site with Google and

site’s uptime/downtime. Ideally, you

negatively impact page rankings.

want to choose a hosting provider

Think about it, if your site is down for even just 1% of the time over a month, that equates to 7 hours and this can have serious implications

who can guarantee 99.9% uptime which, spread across a year, only totals 8.8 hours of downtime!

Other aspects which can impact

for a business, especially if you are

downtime include SPOF (Single

an e-commerce site that relies on

Points of Failure) and security within

uptime for revenue.

your network. Your hosting provider

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should be able to offer you security

your business online and the trust

add-ons which can help prevent

they put in you. Slow load times

DDoS, malware attacks etc.

and unresponsive sites do not instil confidence in your online customers

Speed Since 2000 the human attention span has decreased from 12 seconds to between just 3 and 5 seconds for the average internet user in 2020!

Standard website load time is in the region of 2 seconds and research shows that 40% of people are likely to entirely abandon your site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load which could have huge implications on your overall traffic.

Google factors this into their

or visitors.

Shared hosting users can feel the effects of this due to their shared resources which can have a direct impact on their site.

When choosing a hosting provider and plan, you should consider your traffic, storage and resource requirements. For faster speed and performance, VPS or dedicated servers are the best options as you have scalable RAM and bandwidth.

Your hosting company should also be

algorithms which detect slow page

able to offer CDN (Content Delivery

loading, which in turn, has a direct

Network) which will minimise delays

effect on your SEO! It was back in 2010

in loading web page content.

when Google decided to factor load time into their ranking algorithms.

Google saw users moving away from their search engine as a result of slow loading times and this had a monetary consequence as they were making less from their ads.

Site speed has become so fundamental to how people perceive

To check the performance of

Server location Where your site is hosted may also have an effect on speed and load times. When you have a shared, VPS or a dedicated server hosting plan, then your website is being hosted within your provider’s physical DC (Data Centre) meaning that the location may directly impact load speed.

Having a distant server location can look suspect to search engine algorithms and this can filter down to SEO too. The ideal is to have a data centre that is geographically close to the majority of your site visitors. For example, if someone is looking for a UK based business or site, then those that have a UK based IP address will come higher on the SERP. This is where a CDN (Content Delivery Network) can come into play

your web pages, you can use tools

as it is a geographically distributed

such as Pingdom, GT Metrix and

network of data centres and proxy

Google’s “PSI” (PageSpeed Insights)

servers and work as a layer in the

which provides you with reports on

internet ecosystem. Content owners

the performance of a page on both

essentially pay CDN operators to deliver

mobile and desktop devices. It will

their content whilst the CDN would pay

also provide suggestions on how that

the IPS (Internet Service Provider) for

page may be improved.

hosting its servers in their DC’s.

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 31

The Business Bulletin

be impacted by other sites on the

Alongside a shared IP address, you are

on a server’s IP address and a native

Google search results will depend

network, Google employees have

also sharing bandwidth and RAM so

server location will result in more

refuted this and said that this isn’t

if one of those sites has a large surge

relevant website traffic. Ultimately,

necessarily a factor and may only

in traffic, then your site could also be

choosing a local host will make it easy

be flagged when a large number of

negatively affected.

to target a local audience and it will

sites on the network are spammy or

eventually improve your web store’s

deemed troublesome.

local search engine rankings.

After some extensive reading, it

Shared hosting is great for smaller websites where you have less than 1000 visitors per day. If you are looking

seems that the lines are still blurred

to grow your business, have multiple

Shared hosting

on this topic, so instead of trying to

web pages, high traffic volumes and

There has been a reasonable amount

decipher something even industry

increasing functionality requirements,

experts can’t seem to agree on,

then it is time to move away from

let’s take a look at the elements

shared hosting. You will need to

where shared hosting can have a

upgrade to either VPS, Dedicated

measurable impact on SEO.

Servers or Cloud hosting, to

of debate as to the effects of shared hosting on SEO, especially in relation to having a shared IP address.

Whilst researching for this blog, I came across numerous articles

Over time, a high bounce rate

accommodate your business needs.

with conflicting information as to

can damage your PageRanking.

whether or not a shared IP can really

When using a shared hosting plan,

Trends Analyst, John Mueller, puts it:

have a substantial negative impact

it is worth bearing in mind that

“Host where it makes sense for you.”

on a business’s marketing. Whilst

you are sharing resources amongst

some claim that a shared IP can

potentially 100’s of different websites.

As Google’s Senior Webmaster

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Insights into marketing a small business Marketing for smaller businesses can be a real struggle, especially in the early stages. Having to ‘get the word out’ on a limited budget can be hard when you must try to understand what the best-value techniques are to attract new customers, raise awareness and your profile, increase sales, and get a real return on your investment.

As it’s a very broad subject, I’ve split

without a thought to any sort of

the time and resources needed, and

this piece into two parts with part 1

strategy and plan to ensure they reach

sticking to it, are the common secret

now…part 2 will come next time, so be

their target market…in fact, some don’t

to marketing success.

sure not to miss it!

know their target market!

These days, smaller business owners

It’s just as important to know ‘what

Let’s be honest, while you’re all fantastic at what you do, you are

(by smaller businesses, I am talking

not to do’ as ‘what to do’. Whatever

maybe not experienced or skilled in

about ‘sole trader up to employing

others may say to you, there’s no

marketing. This probably accounts

50 people’) find marketing more and

magic marketing wand or ‘one size

for the following research results.

more challenging and complicated.

fits all’. Every smaller business is

However, if you don’t market your

I’ve come across so many that take an

different. However, the process of

products or services (which might

ad-hoc approach to their marketing,

building a strategy and plan, giving

be the best in the world), no one will

34 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

The Business Bulletin

know about you, and you won’t sell

targeting and positioning supported

service selected on preference or

anything and inevitably fail.

by market research). Businesses

recommendation, then little or no

are so often fixated on saving a few

brand value exists. Then you compete

disturbing results from a recent poll.

pence here and there, that they’re

just on price.

What the poll said…

because they’re not investing

Here are some interesting, if not

A recent research study for Adzooma has revealed some shocking findings that lack of marketing knowledge in UK smaller businesses is hindering their performance and growth.

Nearly half of UK small business

losing pounds in potential revenue strategically in marketing.

Marketing done right changes

select your product or service based on preference or spread the word,

better design.

then no brand value exists, and you must compete on price alone.

60% haven’t even considered using

Based on a large international study,

social media to promote their

the most successful companies

business, 39% don’t even have a

invest 5 to 7 percent of their

website, 30% say they seek business

turnover in marketing. Without a

advice from friends and family, not

marketing strategy or plan though,

experienced professionals, and 30%

many business owners focus on

of business owners have no idea what

certain channels (they already

SEO is or how it works

know) or reactive tactics. Instead,

these stats are criminal and mean that those businesses are more likely to fail. Here’s some simple advice and information, drawn from my 30+ years industry experience. These tips will help you understand marketing a little better and make you think about what marketing actions you need to take to grow your business.

What is marketing?

First let’s understand what marketing is. In research by a national media group, eight out of ten start-ups wrongly describe it as ‘sales’ or ‘advertising’. However, this is less than 15 percent of what true marketing is really about. According to the

You must lay the foundation (marketing strategy with a value proposition that attracts a profitable target market) or your business may be like a house built on quicksand and ultimately be costly.

they should take a more integrated approach aligned to a strategy that encompasses the marketing mix.

They should focus on their target market and apply measurement techniques. That way, they’ll learn what works and what doesn’t.

Have you thought about branding?

Branding is much more than just a logo. It’s one of the three core elements of a marketing strategy (also known as positioning). All brands have their visual identity and their ‘personality’ or tone of voice. These are built up over time, through consistent brand communications.

Seth Godin (well-known author and

Chartered Institute of Marketing

entrepreneur) defines a brand as: ‘a

(CIM) it is ‘the management

set of expectations, memories, stories

process responsible for identifying,

and relationships that, taken together,

anticipating and satisfying customer

account for a buyer’s decision to choose

requirements profitability’.

one product or service over another’.

Most small business owners don’t

consumer doesn’t pay a premium,

amplify your impact, and help create

to market their business! A whopping

Alarming isn’t it! To a marketer,

the mind of the consumer; if the

everything. It will increase your sales,

How much should you spend on marketing?

owners have said they don’t know how

At the heart of branding is value (perceived or real). Value sits in

Value is at the heart of branding,

know the true purpose of marketing

which can be either perceived or real.

– in other words, to create value

Value is in the mind of any customer

and how to do it (segmentation,

– no premium paid, or product or

Andy Sarson APS Marketing Consulting Services Andy helps small businesses ‘make their marketing pieces fit’, by developing marketing strategies with affordable plans and campaign delivery designed for growth and to get results. With more than 30 years’ marketing industry experience at marketing agencies and large corporates, much of it working with local and regional sales outlets, he has the knowledge to find the right marketing mix to reach your target audience to achieve the best possible ROI. Services include marketing strategy and planning, project management, campaign management and, of course, marketing consultancy. Andy is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing 07773 366393 andy.sarson@apsmarketingservices.co.uk apsmarketingservices.co.uk

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 35

The Business Bulletin

Spotllight on…

Spotlight on Marie-louise O'Neill

Marie-Louise is the owner of Lovely Evolution. She has over 15 years’ industry experience in branding and graphic design. She is a brand specialist

How did you get to where you are today running your own business?

It started back in 2008, when I was getting married. I’ve been a designer

who happens to also work with Canva. This

for many years, I studied it. I was

means that she can do all sorts of logo design

job in London. I was doing kind of

and rebranding; but also she can do design

working in a very corporate based a lot of annual reports and design and stuff like with the occasional

one to one using Canva. In addition, she offers

more interesting project! As I was

various training options for small businesses and

I would design my own stationery. I

getting married, it made sense that

those that use Canva and want to use it better:

was at an age where all my friends

learn how to bring in that branding and design

about getting married. I thought

element to what they're doing.

were possibly going to start thinking maybe it’s something that I could do on the side alongside my agency job.

It wasn’t competing with what I did

36 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

The Business Bulletin

about Canva. What do you think?

I just get so passionate about it because people can have that “aha moment” when I am working with them

Aha – a bit of a leading question! I got approached earlier this year via LinkedIn from a publisher called Packt Publishing. They specialise in “how to” manuals and they wanted to know if I could create something similar for on Canva. I thought this is such a massive opportunity, I’m being invited to write this book, the context of it is really great. I did some research and there wasn’t anything up to date, or to the level of what I wanted to share. And so yeah, so I’ve been busy writing the book outline. So, all being well, I am on the path to being a

in my day job. I thought it could be

social media or whatever, that can be

published author! It is really exciting.

a bit of fun, so created this business

shared with clients more easily than

It will be another way for people to

called Lovely Designs.

the “traditional” software I use.

access my knowledge.

You’ve created quite a lot of content

What is your “why”?

with Canva and give a fair bit of that

I just love being creative. I love that

Fast forward a few years, things were changing in my day job. It was time to move on. I was looking at working full time for myself. This was

knowledge away? How do people

challenge of figuring out with the

back in January 2016. I was really

get access to that?

umming and aahing - do I keep Lovely

The easiest way is to join my free

Designs or rename it something else?

branding and graphic design. If it’s

Facebook group: Lovely Canva Crew.

I ended up deciding to keep it and I

a rebrand – what elements are we

I’ve been sharing tips in there. This

thought let's figure it out as I go.

keeping, what are we honouring and

year is about bringing a bit more of

moving forward what can be left

the branding and design elements

behind. I think people don’t realise

a couple of years ago I relaunched

into it. I give people insights how they

how much of a massive impact

Lovely Evolution. That was because

can use this simple tool to improve

having a really good brand can be

I wanted to work with slightly more

their branding and it is a quick win

on their business because it really

established business owners. I’d done

for people. If they need, then they can

gives them that clarity and what

a couple of branding projects where

get me to do things for them – for a

they’re doing. As well as getting

sometimes it was just a few small

fee obviously!

their message across and hopefully

The business evolved over time and

client what they want from their

tweaks. Sometimes it was a rebrand, but staying true to the original design aesthetic of that logo.

More recently I added Canva to my portfolio of skills and picked up the tag #CanvaGirl! I found out about Canva about 2017 (it has been going a lot longer than that). I thought there was real mileage in this free tool. I just liked that it meant that I could create some logo and other designs when ordinarily I would use other software. Canva gives the client

I added Canva to my portfolio of skills and picked up the tag #CanvaGirl

the ability to update any design by.

It allows me to create templates for

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 37

Spotllight on…

You should maybe write a book

The Business Bulletin

improving profits, etc. It’s that feeling of creating something out of nothing; I really love collaborating with my clients. I just get so passionate about it because people can have that “aha moment” when I am working with them live on Zoom for example. They can feel involved with it. Because of this process of the way I’m working, I just get really energised when I’m

I am on the path to being a published author! It is really exciting

training on it or creating something with a client. I love it! the client. I think I know in myself sort

particularly good for me, because

What makes you different from your

of where I sit and what I do and if for

they are using Canva. But they’re not

competitors? Why would someone

whatever reason I am not a fit, I can

necessarily coming from a design

choose you?

refer to other designers.

background, and they’re being asked

I think in my more local network, I’m

to do so much: can you just do this, Do you have an ideal target market

and can you just do that? If they

on Canva - combining the process

that you prefer to work with?

don’t understand some of the core

together using branding and design,

It does depend a little bit on the type

principles that I teach about branding

but partnering up with using Canva

of project. For the Canva training

which no one else does. I’ve been

and stuff like the membership of

doing this for over 15 years, so I like to

my programme, it’s a little bit more

I'm looking for more established

think I know what I’m doing! It’s all

broad. So it is those people that are

businesses that have been going at

about the rapport between me and

using Canva. Virtual assistants are

least one or two years. They may have

the only one who’s really jumped

38 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

then I can help.

When it comes to branding,

The Business Bulletin

and made it happen without some external advice and point of view.

If you were to give a top tip for any other small business owner out there, what would that top tip be?

I would say if you’re struggling, reach out and get some support. It doesn’t necessarily have to be coaching per se. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go out and invest in a coach or coaching group. Reach out to those that are in your network, who you trust their opinion and feel that you can open up and be a bit more vulnerable.

It’s something that I have done in the past. It’s been really helpful to be able created something themselves but it’s

During what we've experienced

a bit DIY - maybe not so great! They’re

with the pandemic, I think my

ready to invest in a professionally

mindset has been the biggest

designed logo and brand. It could

thing. If my mental health, and my

be a business that's been going a lot

motivation is high, then I feel like I can

longer and they want to have a bit of a

kind of tackle things and get on with

refresh. Having a rebrand, whether it's

the job in hand. But I've experienced

small tweaks or a complete overhaul

quite a kind of low moods at times in

can be massively powerful to get that

my business, where I'm like – “What

business on track. Generally speaking,

am I doing?”. Should I just pack this

I work with a lot of “solopreneurs” -

all in and just get a job? I think the

they're maybe doing quite a lot of

biggest learning has been investing

things themselves. They might like

in coaching and having that support.

being creative and in control. They

That’s been the massive difference to

might have the finances to outsource

being able to go – “Okay, I'm not in

but they really enjoy creating stuff in

this alone”.

Canva and don't want to. Or it could be a budget thing where they still in that “I need to do everything myself” mode, or they're just a much smaller business. You know, and, you know, keeping things in house.

What would you say is the biggest business challenge you faced?

How important has coaching been to you?

Absolutely huge? I definitely think

to offload and get their advice in or a different point of view. Whether it is someone who’s in a same or similar industry, or someone that has been in business for a lot longer than you - someone you feel may have seen and done it a lot more and can give you some good advice – ask for help.

It’s just like any problem, if you’re able to talk out, it becomes not as big and you’re able to look at it with a bit more clarity. Reaching out for help - you’re not in it alone. I think that’s the power of being in a really strong networking and support group, because there is this wealth of people looking out for each other.

Photos courtesy of Jo Blackwell Photography

if I hadn’t invested in coaching, and I’m really looking at how I can grow my business, how can I shape my business going further - I probably would have not evolved things and

Watch the interview

I think it’s been knowing that what

tried things. I certainly wouldn’t

I’m doing is working. Actually Mark

have tried the membership model.

Coster (who designs this magazine)

I probably wouldn’t be looking

This is an extract of a video

acted as an unofficial mentor. He’s

at launching a programme. And

interview – to watch the

been in business a couple of years

now, looking ahead, what’s going

full session, visit: https://

longer than and it was useful to

to happen with this programme?

www.youtube.com/

“compare notes” with him; like a

How can I grow it? I’m not limited

watch?v=wqMpG-LO5FA

sanity check sometimes.

by numbers. I wouldn’t be able to

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 39

Spotllight on…

have necessarily thought this way

The Business Bulletin

How to make your time on LinkedIn enjoyable and profitable

Petra Fisher Petra Fisher Consulting “Cranky old fuddy-duddy claims to know shitloads about LinkedIn. Says she can help global entrepreneurs attract clients”, is the first thing you’ll read on Petra Fisher’s LinkedIn Profile. Global entrepreneurs who aren’t after any old client, but want the most fun, brilliant, motivated client work with Petra. “Your LinkedIn Presence must filter out crap clients and attract the right people”, she says. Petra lives with a big fat red

“I enjoy Facebook, but don’t know how to use LinkedIn, it is all so serious.” I hear this a lot and it makes me sigh. Sure, LinkedIn is a business platform. If you don’t bore yourself to death when running your business, there is no need to act boring on LinkedIn. 40 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

cat (Bluey) and legally adult daughter (who thinks Petra’s brilliant jokes are quite dumb). PS Petra trained over 3500 entrepreneurs, leaders and other clever cookies and has no intention to stop doing so. +31 (0)6 – 2277 0668 info@petrafisher.com petrafisher.com

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Anyone can organically grow their

and send a clear message together

business through LinkedIn. On a free

with your headline.

account, without any ad spend. Yet the best strategy is useless if you don’t stick to it. Find out how LinkedIn can be enjoyable (so that you stick to it) and profitable whilst you’re at it.

■ The headline is a short pitch (220 characters including spaces). Tell people exactly what you do and whom for. Make sure to use keywords for the search

Paid advertising is something I know nothing about. When you want to go that way, I suggest you hop onto YouTube. AJ Wilcox is the queen of LinkedIn advertising. If you have a paid LinkedIn account you might also want to look for AJs courses on LinkedIn Learning.

LinkedIn is a great tool to

engines and some personality

incorporate into your marketing

for the human reader. The first

Spray and pray is an ongoing

strategy. I mean, it’s got everything.

40 characters or so are visible

numbers game. It is based on cold

The narrative of your career shows

every time you comment on

calling. You connect with people and

that YOU are brilliant, experienced

LinkedIn. So put clarity before

pretty much hit them with a sales

and skilled at what you do.

creativity (my own headline is

pitch as soon as they accept. You do

the exception to prove the rule).

this for a while and then work out

Your contact details, often underutilised or only filled out half-

■ Cover story. A 30-sec video

heartedly. I’ll be the first to admit that

(portrait mode) where you

LinkedIn doesn’t make it intuitive to

introduce yourself. You can

use this the smart way. Your network.

record straight into the

Every client, supplier or collaborator

LinkedIn app (you can only

you need for your business is there.

add it on mobile) or record and

How much easier do you want things

edit it first. This way you can

to get?

add captions. About 60% of

And then we have content and conversations. You can post to share your expertise and add value in comments. Before you know it people

LinkedIn users do so on their phone and 80% of them have create inclusivity for the hearing

start tagging you for your knowhow.

Passive LinkedIn use

to upload if you are 1/1000 of a

someone mentions you or before they have a meeting with you. Your LinkedIn profile ranks high in Google.

If you do nothing else, make sure you’re profile is set out to convert visitors to prospects. If you do nothing else, that is passive LinkedIn use.

In order for your profile to convert visitors to prospective clients, it needs to be clear what you do and whom for. Back this up by proof that you are fabulous at what you do. First impressions are made in seconds.

The top of your profile must be clear and resonate with those you want to work with.

■ The big bad banner image that spans across to the top of your profile is the first attention grabber.

Make sure it relates to what you do

invitations 70 people accept and that out of those seventy 2 people buy.

You then know that you have a 2% conversion from the invites sent. If you need to sell 10 a month to hit your revenue goals, you need to send 500 invites a month. This is tricky now that LinkedIn has limited the invitations to 100 per week.

the sound off. Also, captions impaired. Keep it to 29-sec max

Most people will Google you when

your numbers. Say that out of 100

as LinkedIn will not allow you second over the 30 sec.

■ Name pronunciation. LinkedIn allows you (also mobile only) to record the pronunciation of your name. This is invaluable for people who are about to call you, they can make sure they get it right. Mind you, LinkedIn gives us 10 seconds meaning you can actually record a 25-30 word pitch.

Building relationships & sharing expertise Using LinkedIn to sustainably grow your business means sharing your expertise. Through your own posts and through comments on other posts. Before you get your knickers in a knot about having to be all serious and business-like…

When you meet with a client what do you wear? Suit and tie, a jacket or a hoody? That’s what you wear in your profile picture and videos. How do you communicate with your clients?

Do you speak quite formal? Casual?

Do you joke? Are you to the point or

Active LinkedIn use Different strategies work for different business models.

■ Using paid advertising campaigns.

■ Spray and pray.

■ Building relationships & sharing expertise.

chatty? There is no right or wrong here. Consider how YOU show up in your business and show up the same on LinkedIn. One way to share your expertise is by posting on LinkedIn. Different formats are: ■ Record a short video (remember to add captions).

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 41

The Business Bulletin

■ Create a multi-page PDF which then displays as a carousel.

■ Write a text post (max 3000 characters) with or without an image.

you post, you have to hope for the

bookmark this page or save the link

best that someone will see it. When

in a spreadsheet. Now all you have to

you comment, the person who

do is check 3 of them each day, this

posted receives a notification. Always

means you engage with all of them at

add to the post with your comment,

least once a week.

don’t try to outshine the bride.

Stick to the format you’re

Who to comment on? People who

Decide on 2-3 types of content that you actually enjoy creating

comfortable with. When you mix it

serve the same clients as you, but with

and work out how often you’d like

up you’ll reach more people as some

a different service. As a book editor,

to post. Weekly, monthly, daily, it

prefer video, others prefer text or

you can engage with illustrators and

doesn’t matter. Do what is fun for

an images + text carousel. Even the

publishers as you all have authors as

you and commit to it. LinkedIn may

algothingymebob likes a bit of a mix

clients. This is an easy way to become

feel like social media, it is part of your

more than one type of content only.

visible to your target audience.

marketing strategy and as such needs

Make sure you reply to every comment on your post. Ask a question to keep the conversation going and slip in some of your expertise.

Create a list of 15 people that you can engage with. People who regularly post on LinkedIn, often get more than

to be scheduled in your calendar.

When it feels like a chore inste ad of fun review your strategy!

3 comments and who either share

Commenting on content by others is even more effective. I mean, when

your expertise or serve the same clients. Check their recent activity and

Do you have something to say?

Are you considered an expert in your field?

Then why not submit an article for inclusion in a future edition of The Business Bulletin?

There is no cost to have an article included

The Business Bulletin

Hang in there and be 99% fat-free – understanding that content is created not grown

Kevin Robinson 13 Media Kevin worked for over a decade in corporate marketing. During the late 90s, he trained as a video producer and television writer before moving into education where he taught screenwriting, audio and video production for many years. Since the birth of 13 Media, he has written 900+ articles and produced a wide range of video and audio production for clients from rock bands to corporates. Although initially set up to produce video only,

I admit to being a bit of an iconoclast at times.

as word spread of his experience as a

It’s not that I am unduly argumentative or that

were asking for a wider, more integrated

I enjoy pulling things apart, it’s just that some things push my buttons.

marketer the business found people service.

01327 317440 kevin.robinson@13ma.co.uk 13ma.co.uk

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 43

The Business Bulletin

That is an important point that I

More to the point it doesn’t matter

example, they are from the sweary,

want to play as a sort of ‘get out of

one dingo’s kidney if they annoy

shouty, kind of influencer stable

jail free’ card right at the beginning

me. I am not the target audience. in

then they must continue to be the

of this article. I very clearly said ‘my

short, this is not a product for me, so

sweary, shouty influencer across all

buttons’ not everyone’s buttons.

nobody cares what I think. As proof of

their content. Again, I have no issue

I wrote it in bold and everything

that I will offer a similar product which

with this in principle. They have built

so that it was clear I am talking

was perfect for me. I will tell you about

a brand that has roots in an approach

about me personally. Can everyone

it at the end of this article.

and that has now become an intrinsic

please remember that as you read this because I am going to be controversial and maybe upset a few people. Ready?

I dislike motivational posters and sayings It’s not the message that annoys me, it’s the way they trivialise things. I find them, trite and over-simplistic. That is because they actually are trite and simplistic, often about very complex matters. You know as well as I do that the mug you have that says ‘Why

Shut up, unless people want to hear you When you approach your content, regardless of what sort of content it is, reaching out to the right audience with the right tone of voice should always underpin what you

part of their sales and marketing process. It is not the reality of their consumers’ world though; it is an understanding of that world being used to appeal to them. There is a subtle but important difference in those things.

To put it another way, if you go to

do. That needs to be across all your

Nandos in Rochdale you get clear

interactions with them.

brand and tone of voice linked to

Here is where I am going to be the iconoclast, maybe for the second time if you are a lover of ‘reaching for the stars’ motivational stuff.

Portugal and South Africa during your visit. It is everywhere, on menus, on the uniforms, even on the walls, but when you step back outside, it turns out you are still in Rochdale, but

worry – tomorrow you will barely

Who you are and ‘authenticity’

remember today’ isn’t changing

is only a factor in this if it is relevant

anything when you are worried sick

to your consumer. Your personal

about paying the mortgage. Yet they

‘why’ for example is only applicable

sell these things in their millions.

to the people who want to see it, so

Kittens dangling off clothes lines

the tone of your content is better

and you quickly reach the conclusion

are encouraged to ‘hang in there,

based on what your consumer

that if you want to build a tone of

baby’ and apparently, we all ‘got this’,

wants, not in your attempt to build a

voice and a consistent message

regardless of which particular ‘this’

cult of personality around yourself…

across your product, service or

it is, because it says so on everything

unless your customers want to be

business (I am not including personal

from t-shirts to posters.

part of your cult. Be yourself and be

brand here because if you need one, it

authentic only works if it is applicable

is part of your business – you are just a

to the target audience.

product) then you need to be able to

Part of the reason these annoying little snippets are so prevalent is because of how they appeal. It

If you consider the carefully

the trip to South Africa and Portugal (and the peri-peri fries, I love those) was nice.

So, follow that thought back then

stand back and plan what that tone of voice and approach is.

is not because they are useful in

crafted personalities and language

themselves. Nobody expects you to

used by some of the top influencers

look at that mouse mat you picked

you will see what I am driving at. I

that is what the tone of my <insert

up from a trade show in 2012 and be

would argue that their process is

as appropriate> will be’ only works

inspired to jump out of your seat and

underpinned by the rule of ‘be the

if you know the market is there that

‘dance like nobody is watching’. They

crafted personality I created in all

will accept that tone of voice. If it

are not meant to be taken practically

the video, written word and audio I

isn’t then you are approaching your

or even particularly seriously. They

produce and people who want to be

content by shoving a square peg into

are ephemeral moments of pseudo-

me or like being addressed that way

a round hole and hoping the hole will

wisdom. They are supposed to be

will follow me’. Which is great and

like it enough to become square. Our

trite and over-simplistic. In fact,

clearly works as they have become

shouty, sweary, influencer is selling

I am wrong for allowing myself

the successful persona they created.

their brand in a particular way. That

to be annoyed by them. I am the

The result of that though is that

way will not work elsewhere. Or as

aberration. It is me that is at fault. I

the communication they have with

they would put it “I’m ******* selling

shouldn’t allow them to get to me.

their consumers is now fixed. If, for

my ******* passion and my ******* self

44 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

In short, to say ‘this is what I am so

The Business Bulletin

by saying ******* ever other ******* word.

sweary influencer knows their brand

really bad advice. It is great to believe

I would be proper ******* terrible and

enough to tone it down when they are

in what you do but that must be

totally ******* useless if I tried selling

picking up their kids from school. Are

grounded in reality for you to create

******* funeral services this ******* way”.

they being untrue to themselves? are

successful content.

Believe but accept the truth

they dishonest? No, of course not. In these circumstances, their brand is ‘a parent’ so they use parent language.

The title of this article refers to a very true maxim credited to Manoj Aurora

Remember I said there was a product that appealed to me that was like the motivational posters?

If you want to appeal to your

Well, you can buy anti-motivational

who said that telling consumers

reader, listener, or viewer then the

posters that basically steamroll over

something is 99% fat-free will feel

tone you use should be planned. It

those trite sayings with a reality dozer.

healthier than saying it contains 1% fat.

doesn’t matter if you bumble your

They have pictures of high clouds

While it’s all well and good to keep it

way through your videos if the viewer

and sun accompanied by ‘The Eagle

‘real’ it’s often better to keep it the ‘real’

accepts that you are an amateur

may fly high… but weasels don’t get

that your consumer wants to hear.

presenter and that fits with your

sucked into jet engines’ and similar.

Mixing up the difference between 99%

brand. It really, really does matter that

My particular favourite hangs above

fat-free and contains 1% fat yourself

you don’t bumble your way through

my desk and it says ‘Do some work!

means you are not understanding

presenting the news… know the

Nobody is paying you to follow your

your brand properly. Buy into the

difference though and if bumbling

dreams’. When I am flagging a bit, it

99% fat-free principle if it makes you

through works then plan it, produce

inspires me. But then it would, it’s the

feel good but understand why it is

it and develop it. If it doesn’t work,

right tone for me.

important to describe it that way. Our

then ‘be yourself and it will be OK’ is

LW Marketing?

The Business Bulletin

How do you represent your brand?

Every day and every second we’re making snap judgements about everything we see. And all of those details and opinions add up and build our whole impression of a person or brand.

46 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

The Business Bulletin

Each touch point with someone is the

What do you want people to think

1. Cohesive look. If you have

opportunity to make an impression,

about you? Do you want to come

a team of people, a uniform

both positive or negative.

across as creative? Fun? Easy-going?

ensures a unified and

Professional? Also think about the

presentable look to your

often people think it’s just the logo.

clothes that make you feel and look

clients.

All these elements together build

With most of us working at home

When we think about branding,

the brand: ■ Your logo in its various forms, possibly with an icon.

■ The fonts used in the logo, marketing and website.

■ The colour palette.

■ The tone of voice on emails, your website and social media.

■ The illustration style and imagery sets the visual tone.

■ How employees interact and behave are an extension of a brand.

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room” – Jeff Bezos I’m going to take a punt and presume that your business has a logo, social media profiles on a few platforms and a website. These may have been designed recently and feel fresh and relevant, or one or all of those may be a bit neglected and out of date.

What impression are they making on your brand and business?

your best. to varying degrees, we’ve swapped our work wear for elasticated waist bands and more casual attire. I know I certainly keep comfort at the forefront of my outfit decisions at home.

For the last 5 years, I’ve considered

clean? There have been numerous studies that show that it takes less than a second for people to form

you can instantly tell what company they work with.

When your employees are wearing a uniform with your walking advertisement for

me and my brand. When I launched

your brand and services.

my online monthly training sessions back in January 2020, I knew that my appearance (at least my top half) would be seen in the training videos and saved for people to watch back.

I made sure to incorporate my brand colours into my outfits when I had my branding photoshoots with Jo Blackwell and every time I do a guest talk. As a result, I’ve accumulated a number of tops and outfits that feature my Lovely Evolution brand colours of navy and

3. Improved employee happiness. Despite what you might assume, uniforms can make employees happier. It can build team spirit (Wooo!) and is a great equaliser.

A company uniform can save employees money as they don’t have to pay for a wardrobe of work wear.

4. Increased sales. Here are some statistics from a 2011

aqua tones.

study on how customers

Tip:

❙ 56.1% of respondents

You don’t have to be head to foot in your brand colours. A pop of

view branded uniforms: stated that uniforms are more effective than

colour in an accessory like a scarf, tie,

internet advertising.

handkerchief, hand bag, phone case

❙ 73.5% of respondents

or stationery can be enough.

stated that uniforms are more effective than TV

I know that the thought of uniforms

anything on that fits and is vaguely

or Sainsbury’s employee,

company logo, they are a

Consider every time you attend a

appearance? Or did you just throw

time you see a DPD driver

thought about how that reflects on

Uniforms

person… …did you take care of your

and reputation. Every

the outfits I’ve chosen to wear and

You are what you wear networking event, either online or in

2. Increased brand awareness

advertising. ❙ 75.7% of respondents

can trigger some bad school

stated that uniforms

memories. But uniforms serve a

are more effective than

purpose in a business or organisation.

billboard advertising.

For example, in a hospital or hotel, you know who works there and what role they play in the chain of command,

Virtual meetings

just by glancing at their clothing.

When you’re in a meeting online, do

Here are some benefits to your

you have a tidy or pleasing backdrop?

choose to wear tell people a lot about

brand and business when you have a

Do you use a virtual background with

who you really are.

uniform.

your logo on it?

an opinion of you. The clothes you

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 47

The Business Bulletin

I like to use the virtual background

too cluttered, it will be busy and

feature on Zoom calls as it’s a place to

distracting and doesn’t look

add my logo, use my colours and add

good.

some text about what I do.

Not everyone likes a virtual

■ Use your brand fonts and colours.

background, and they don’t always work so well. It’s up to you if you use one or you could have a physical roller banner behind you instead.

Tips for a better virtual background: ■ The plainer the real life backdrop, the better the virtual background will behave or use a green screen.

■ If you have a light background, use a light colour on the virtual background image so you don’t get the halo round you. Do the opposite if you have a dark background.

■ Upgrade your laptop if it struggles with the virtual backdrop or not available.

■ Make sure you keep your logo and any text to the top or bottom left or right and not in the middle where you’re sitting.

■ Any important text should be a large or reasonable size that’s readable, even when your screen is smaller on a gallery view.

■ Don’t have too many elements in the background design. If it’s

Your branding online Don’t forget to look at how your branding appears online on your website and social media.

Use a professional headshot. If you don’t have the budget to work with a photographer, then make sure you take a photo in a well lit room against a plain background. Don’t be that idiot with the sunglasses and a glass of bubbly. Please update your photo if it’s 5-10 years out of date. It looks

Marie-Louise O’Neill Lovely Evolution Marie-Louise specialises in logo and branding evolution; keeping your brand fresh, up to date and ahead of the pack.

She offers a comprehensive range of visual services – from logo design, social media templates and website design in the digital space, to printed brochures, adverts, banners and packaging. She’s equipped with a breadth of design knowledge and more than 16 years’ industry experience.

unprofessional.

Be consistent and use the same profile images on your ‘About’ section

07736 234059 ml@lovelyevolution.co.uk lovelyevolution.co.uk

of your website. It reassures people that you are the same person. And if I had a £1 for every time I saw a default blank banner on a Linkedin profile, I would be very very rich by now.

Make use of the large banner

Final thoughts Take some time to assess your wardrobe and your ‘go to’ outfits to

image on your Linkedin profile and

see if they need to be improved and

your company page, and on other

can be more ‘on brand’.

social media platforms.

If you have a number of employees

Do a bit of an audit of all the places you show up online, and see

in your company, make sure that on

what needs updating to keep your

Linkedin, they have a banner image

message and brand consistent.

they can upload to their profile. They are representing your company on Linkedin too.

There have been numerous studies that show that it takes less than a second for people to form an opinion of you.

48 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

The Business Bulletin

Ask the experts Do you have a burning question that you would like the answer to?

Or maybe you’re looking for some advice to help your business? In each edition some questions will be shared and answered by some of The Business Bulletin experts.

Q. Networking doesn’t work for me! I’ve been to a few meetings and haven’t generated any leads – so what’s the point?

A. There can be multiple reasons why you’re not converting going networking into paid work. First remember referral marketing is a business process, follow the whole process and you will get a result, miss part of it and you won’t. I’ll just give you some questions to ask yourself.

■ Are you referrable?

■ Can you provide evidence of your expertise, service and ethical values for your fellow networkers to see ■ Do the people in the room know the sort of people who need your product or service?

■ Are you behaving in a way that inspires confidence, helpful, paying attention, timely, good manners, ■ Have you briefed people

sorts of people come and go on

I think to myself “do I?” and answer

the networking scene. Quickly

“No” and move on. Or he could say

establish yourself as one of the givers. No-one would expect you to give a referral until you know people but there are lots of ways of giving that demonstrates your interest in the rest of the

enquiries from their website” Now I rack my brains thinking of all the coaches I know and maybe

people give to you if you’re not

if everything else lines up I’ll find

willing to give yourself?

out if they get good results from

Are you asking correctly? Asking for

your ideal clients are, what their

help is not a weakness, it gives others

need, concern, complaint or

the opportunity to give. Consider

aspiration is that you are the

these two ways of asking for referrals.

answer. Do they know how to

imagine a web designer is asking for

bring you into the conversation

referrals.

networkers will have seen all

who complain they never get

groups’ welfare. Why should

thoroughly? Do they know who

■ Are you giving? Seasoned

“Can you help me with introductions to coaches

their website. Lastly, have you given it enough time. As a general rule if you are asking for referrals for something low risk, inexpensive and uncomplicated then people will refer you quite quickly. Save the complex, highly technical problem with a

“If you need a new website

high price ticket for when you have

then call me”.

developed a reciprocal relationship

Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing | 49

The Business Bulletin

with the people who know those sorts of clients.

Contributing experts

Jacky Sherman The Consultant’s Consultant A. When I first started my business in 2015, I decided networking was the most cost-effective and efficient way to market myself and develop relationships. I am delighted that 6 years on, this remains the case! I can confidently say that approximately

Jacky Sherman

James Blacklaws

The Consultant’s Consultant

JB Commercial Finance

80% of my business can be traced back to a networking meeting, maybe more! Many people turn up and assume they will walk out with a bunch of referrals, but this is simply not the case – it’s called netWORKING for a reason. It takes time and effort.

James Blacklaws JB Commercial Finance A. Networking is all about building relationships and establishing the trust among members and I’m sure a few meetings are NOT quite enough for that. Networking is a kind of farmer’s ground and it’s NOT for hunters! If you want anything out of networking then first give it fair shot by attending continuous meetings for at least 3-5 months. Then make some efforts to connect to members and meet them outside and learn more about them. Try to help them and, as people say, all good deeds come back to you. This is absolutely true in networking and then you’ll

Ashish Kumar

Paul Green

Web Alliance

The Business Community

groups you choose to attend, don’t

■ Follow up – you’d be surprised how

do it in an ad hoc way - commit to

often this doesn’t happen. If you

group and attend each session.

are given a referral make sure you

■ Be supportive – adopt a philosophy to help wherever you can. Offering advice, tips, do a presentation, engage in group conversation – there will be multiple options. Each activity is an opportunity to raise your profile in

follow it up. You could also give feedback to the referrer, to let them know how it went – good or bad.

Keeping them in the loop nurtures them to refer you again.

Paul Green The Business Community

the area of expertise you have.

■ Be a referrer – if you are seen to be providing potential leads, it shows

Got a question?

you are “playing the game”! You are more likely to receive referrals (not

If you have a question – then

achieved, there is no stopping point!!

necessarily from the same people

email us and these experts

Ashish Kumar Web Alliance

you give them to) if you are seen as

will set about answering it for

a giver.

you. It can be on any business

start getting the results. Once that is

A. Any networking group can work – but it is not a quick win. It takes time and some basic principles need to be followed for you to get a return on your investment of time and money.

■ Be regular – nothing to do with more fibre in your diet! Whichever

50 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

■ Be your word – networking is all about trust and people having confidence in your ability to do what you say you can do. So, if you promise to do something, make sure you deliver. There is nothing worse that letting others down by not delivering – it will hamper your credibility.

topic you like, be it finance, sales, marketing, operations, resources, strategy or personal development.

If you would like a more immediate response, then raise your question on the “Ask The Experts” forum.

Repeat Buscomm Ad?

The Business Bulletin

SME Survey Is social media important to your business?

Get involved To take part in the next survey – it looks at your approach to customers – visit here: https:// forms.gle/woTkYdwVrBcE9Zwv8.

The results will be shared in the next edition of this magazine.

they are posting manually and how often. There was no clear leader in terms of the tools used. Facebook Creator Studio and Hootsuite had 9 people using their platform; with Buffer next at 3 people sharing that Social media is here to stay and is pretty

benefits they get from them. Is it just

position with Publer. A handful of

much in everyone’s lives. It is quite

brand awareness? Or are leads being

people (5) outsource their social

surprising how much time people spend

generated that result in business?

media to a 3rd party.

on social media daily – would you believe 145 minutes per day? (Source: Statista).

So this survey asked the initial question about whether social media was important in business.

Of the 84 responses, not surprisingly, the vast majority (72.6%)

Finally, as social media activity

If you are using social media, whilst

can be very time consuming, the

these platforms are free to use, you do

third question related to what tools

need to be conscious of the amount

were used. 49 people out of the

of time you are spending. if you are

84 respondents didn’t use any tools.

doing it yourself; keeping an eye on

Again a further exploration of this

the return you get for the amount of

could identify why that was, what

effort you put in.

indicated that it was important (see figure 1). Only 6% were a no – it might be interesting (if the survey wasn’t anonymous) to understand the reason. 21.4% were “other” which covered unsure/maybe/sometimes.

The next question delved into what platforms were the most popular.

As you can see in figure 2, LinkedIn took the lead, followed by Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I guess a more detailed question in the future might be to explore how businesses are using these platforms and what

52 | Issue 14 – Sales and Marketing

Figure 1

Figure2

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