Best Of Worthing - January 2013

January 2013

Update

Tirelessly working to make your business the best it can be...

ALL YOU NEED

IS LOVE I was in the car last week when the Beatles’ classic “All you need is love” came on the radio. I caught myself inadvertently singing along and I was a bit shocked when the DJ announced that the song was 45 years old!

1967 – Where do the years go?

Take a look at your Business

Even now, after so many listens, it’s a song that I defy anyone not to feel uplifted when they hear it.

Tip of the month

So I was in a particularly perky mood when I arrived at my destination to see one of our existing Members. There were two main reasons for my visit, firstly to help crystallise and clarify a super powerful offer that we could put out on our newsletters and on the website to pull in more business for him during a specific campaign that he had lined up and, also to present him with a certificate, officially recognising his business as one of the very best in town.

The people behind the business New members this month

an d M ore...

www.thebestof.co.uk/worthing

We don’t give these away lightly, but when the number of positive, glowing reviews from customers reaches a certain threshold, it’s entirely appropriate that we confer genuine ”Best of” status on our fab Member businesses.

On this occasion, the response I got when I produced the framed certificate from my bag was somewhat unexpected.

“That’s amazing” he exclaimed, “no one’s given me a certificate since I was swimming at school in the 1960s”.

And that’s when I realised that, just like Paul McCartney and John Lennon said, “It’s easy…all you need is love…” People need to be appreciated and told how good they are yet, as a society, we shy away from it.

Continued...

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We’re much quicker to complain than compliment. We don’t hesitate to pick fault, yet miss oodles of opportunity to congratulate and commend on a job well done.

That’s why I’m on a mission over the next few weeks to sprinkle my own particular type of love to everyone I meet. Don’t worry, I’m not going all hippy and bohemian on you – and I certainly haven’t been smoking anything – but wouldn’t it be just fab if we all collaborated and focused our efforts, for just a couple of weeks, on spreading the love around and making people feel great?

I’m going to become expert at catching people doing things well, so I can tell them how fab they are – because I know, in a small way, it’ll make them feel better – just like I did when I was listening to that song on the radio and, just like my customer did when I gave him that certificate.

It was an awesome feeling and I want more of it and I want to spread it around.

Will you help me?

Imagine what damage we could do to the gloom, doom and misery if we all got together on this one.

run up to Valentines Day. I’m going to work my little socks off to get as many people as possible in our area to “Show some love” to their favourite local businesses. I want to encourage people to fill in a postcard, or log on to our website and leave a nice comment about a great local business that’s done something well - including yours.

So many entrepreneurs labour tirelessly day after day, month after month and, often for little reward. Well, over the next few weeks I want at least part of their reward to be the feeling they’ll get when lots of their customers tell them just how appreciated they are for what they do.

Come on, join in. You can log on now and leave a review on any of your fellow businesses on thebestof.

“Love, love, love, all you need is love…love is all you need…”

Have a great month...

As part of that, we’ll be running our 14 Days of Love campaign from 1st to 14th February, in the

M e l a n ie

Offer of the Month BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE ON SELECTED MEALS On all selected meals with this voucher This voucher has no cash alternative and is not transferable. It cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or promotion. Photocopies will not be accepted. Rights are reserved to refuse custom and withdraw this offer at any time.

www.thebestof.co.uk/worthing

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Gio’s Restaurant & Bar The Burlington Hotel Marine Parade Worthing West Sussex BN11 3QL. Tel:01903 211 222

Update January 2013

20/12/2012 12:18

The People Behind The Business Claire Love – helping businesses achieve growth through marketing A true passion for business has seen Claire grow her sole trader web company into a leading ‘full services’ marketing agency in just a few years. After securing private investment to grow their own company, Claire and the rest of the team are now specialising in helping clients achieve significant growth goals through the intelligent use of both traditional and digital marketing tools.

Despite its rapid growth, LWS remains true to the principals on which Claire founded the company – keeping it simple and talking the clients’ language. Her own background in retail, as well as that of her co-director Julian Allen – the pair have CVs boasting a string of management roles at household names such as Sainsbury’s and Homebase – mean they understand what it takes to run a commercial business these days, both on and offline.

The LWS team also includes in-house professional copywriters Sarah Engerran and Hannah Knott, also a social media whizz, Creative Director and branding guru, Duncan Jones, professional marketing consultant and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Adrian Slade, digital marketer John Mills and a strong team of web, design and search engine professionals.

Newest recruit, Business Development guru, Jack Symonds has an entrepreneurial streak and extensive experience in the latest media and technology. Chairman Mike Escott, a funding specialist, brings additional expertise to the team’s aim to specialise in working with businesses whose goals are significant growth, investment, exit or acquisition planning.

“From ambitious sole traders through to multi-million dollar turnover global companies, we love that we get to work with such a range of businesses” says Claire. “But they all have one thing in common - they want to work with an expert partner who will help their businesses to grow, produce a return on their investment and achieve their profit targets. Taking private investment is a life changing step for any business and took a lot of adjustment - but our growth and acquisition plans, coupled with what we can do for the growth and value of our clients’ companies, makes where we are now a really exciting place to be. It’s an amazing buzz for both myself and the rest of the LWS team.”

uld It co

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The LWS Team’s Top Three Marketing Tips for 2013 • Engage – Talking to your customers is easier than ever. Make 2013 the year you reach out to them with the plethora of free online tools available.

• Go Mobile – Got a website? Is it mobile ready? Mobile searches are expected to overtake desktop searches in 2013.

• Get a Strategy – We’re all guilty of ploughing through what we think we should be doing without stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. Take time in 2013 to think about your long term goals.

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Working Well...

JSPC & Valusys MPS - tell us what’s great about working together We love seeing our clients working together, we really do care about every one of our business members and we are there every step of the way to ensure that the bestof works for them, one of the key aspects of Worthing & Melanie our Sales & Marketing Director is getting our clients working together, we recently helped introduce two of our business members JSPC Computers & Valusys Managed Print Solutions, here is what they had to say…

your e r a h “S let d n a s sse succe know what ie f Melan thebesto f bits o orking are w u.” for yo

“Over ten years JSPC has built up a fantastic rapport with West Sussex schools and it essential to JSPC that we work with and develop business partnerships with companies who have the same high professional standards as those at JSPC. Mel at thebestof Worthing helped introduce JSPC to Valusys and we feel we have benefitted greatly from this introduction. Central to the service JSPC offers schools is the ability to save schools money and Valusys help achieve this remit along with their commitment to customer service.

There has been an instant synergy and a beneficial involvement between our two companies. We have enjoyed working with Valusys and Mel at the bestof Worthing and look forward to continuing to achieve a positive growth to our companies.”

James Stoner Managing Director JSPC “Having attended the same networking event both Valusys and JSPC saw mutual benefits in working together. Subsequent meetings were established and a plan to introduce each companies services to their customers was put in place. As a member of bestof Worthing it is important for us to consider businesses who share our core values and part of the reason why Valusys chose to work with JSPC was their growing reputation with West Sussex schools as well as the quality of customers that form part of the best of Worthing client base.

There was an instant synergy and both company staff bought into the concepts of the other business.

We took very seriously the customer commitment that JSPC had made and looked to add to that with our own range of products and services and over the past 6 months we have secured additional business. The team at bestof Worthing has worked hard to assist both our companies in this growth and so far we have not regretted the partnership we have made with JSPC. We look forward to continuing this business relationship and with the assistance of the bestof Worthing we are confident this will happen.”

At thebestof Worthing we are on the lookout for other great members. This month we are looking for....

• Estate Agents • Solicitors • Hairdressers • Cleaning Companies If you know a business that fits the bill please contact the team...

01903 890266

Mark Perring Managing Director Valusys MPS

.thebestof is not just about the website its about introducing clients & working together www.thebestof.co.uk/worthing Bestof-Worthing-Jan2013.indd 4

Update January 2013 20/12/2012 12:18

We’ve uncovered more hidden gems over the last few weeks. A big welcome to the following businesses who have joined us recently:

Give them a call & make them feel welcome Eat Food Love Food

Sussex Cruise Club

....near Worthing is a quality catering company, catering for parties and functions of all sizes for both the corporate and private client.

....near Worthing is a travel agents and holiday company specialising in cruises. Whether you want a cruise around the world, a cruise full of family fun or a river cruise, the cruise specialists at Sussex Cruise Company can help

07703 346483

01903 641508

The Downlands Café ....in Worthing is a popular café serving traditional home cooked food seven days a week! Serving Comfort Food Every Day!

01903 366530

JSPC Computer Services Ltd ....provides a wide range of computer services and IT solutions to businesses, home users and schools throughout Worthing.

01903 767122

Woods Travel Ltd ....is an award winning travel agents and holiday company near Worthing offering Coach Tours, Air Tours and Day Excursions.

A well established, family run business, Woods Travel Ltd provides a personal and door to door service.

01903 641507

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VisitWorthing Information Centre Make the most of your visit to Worthing by visiting the VisitWorthing Information Centre – the knowledgeable staff can help you organise every stage of your trip.

01903 221066

20/12/2012 12:18

Your Facebook page -

flying or a flop?

You don’t need me to tell you how important social media is becoming in business – and here at thebestof we’ve been ahead of most over the last few years at understanding how to utilise social media to drive a business forward.

Facebook, of course, is the daddy at the moment, especially if your market is B2C and the two questions I get asked most about Facebook are;

What on earth do I write on my Page? and…

How do I get people to respond?

Now, they’re both good questions so I thought I’d help you out this month and share the answers with you...

Who are you talking to?

If you don’t know who you’re talking to on Facebook then how can you possibly know what’s going to interest/ engage/ entertain/ challenge them? So – some proper thought around WHO your audience is please (or rather – who do you want them to be?) What is their lifestyle? What family do they have? What motivates them? What do they want to achieve? What do they love and hate? How can you help them achieve/ avoid key things? If you have already created an avatar of your ideal customer then you will be able to utilise this here.

makes you special, your ‘category of one’. It’s also intrinsically linked with talking to the right type of client, of course, so not surprisingly, points one and two are inter-dependent.

You wouldn’t believe the number of people who just set up a Facebook Page and dollop out some stuff and then wonder why social media doesn’t work for them.

What do they want to hear?

So just taking into account these 2 steps will raise you head and shoulders above a sizeable chunk of businesses on there. If you want a good example take a look at the Entrepreneurs Circle page. Great levels of involvement and I know from the guys behind it that it works really well to bring in new business for them.

Now you know who you’re talking to, you need to think what you’re going to talk about. This will be grounded in and reflect the positioning of your business, your brand, your core values, your USP, what you offer that

Don’t forget also that your Page can, and really should, reflect the style and personality of your business. Forget the bland and the beige - make it stand out from the crowd!

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Update January 2013 20/12/2012 12:18

What’s your sales pitch?

Can you describe what you are offering to the people who ‘like’ your Page?

You should be able to give a little sales pitch for your Page describing the benefits of ‘liking’ it to someone who hasn’t yet done so. Not only is this a great exercise in its own right to get you really thinking clearly about the focus and goals of your Page but it’s also a useful thing to have ready for when you’re out in the real world meeting people face to face and asking them to like your Page, maybe at your premises, or theirs, or at events. There’s endless research on what makes audiences like Facebook Pages – a couple of the best are getting offers and exclusive vouchers, and connecting with the business and finding out more about them.

What incentives are you offering to ensure people like your Page and are you articulating this message effectively?

What makes people respond?

Rule no. 1 – remember that real people want to respond to real people. So don’t be afraid to show your personality. There’s nothing worse than a Page that’s full of posts just about that business.

Put yourself in your audience’s shoes – what would you respond to?

You want to be working at getting a response – a ‘like’ is good, a comment is better, a ‘share’ is better still – as this is what gets your post and content seen by the friends of your fans and gives it the potential to go ‘viral’.

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Remember that your posts are now more likely than ever to be seen via the ticker feed on Facebook, rather than by people going to look at your Page directly. That means quick, attention-grabbing posts that are crying out for a response will win over long, wordy paragraphs, Think short questions requiring short answers that tap into your audience as people – ask about their opinions, what they dream of, what their favourite is, etc. Always try and talk to your audience in a very personal way. So If you post offers on your products or services, remember to describe the benefits to them, or when sharing a testimonial, try and make it relevant, so readers can imagine using your service or product themselves.

The best way to capture people’s attention?

Pictures! Images are huge on Facebook! But this is not a place for stock photos - think again about the personal angle – how about pictures of real people using your product, or novel uses for it, people at an event, or your staff or suppliers, for example? Tell your behind-thescenes business story. Pictures will need a catchy headline or point made with them to really max the impact – this could be a link back to your website for the full story or just an engaging comment or question.

If someone does come across to look at your Page in all its glory, a good sprinkling of pictures will make it look really appealing and easy on the eye. Remember to both highlight pictures and pin to the top of your page to add some real impact and variety. Facebook now lets you reposition your photos as you post them, so you no longer have to suffer shots of headless colleagues!

And finally…

When you do start getting responses to your lovingly-crafted posts, make sure to respond back. You’ll get the most out of the connection if you mention the people who have commented by name. And try to encourage the conversation to continue, as the more of a community feel that builds up around your Page by it being the host for interesting discussions, the greater the chance that people will come back for more!

Happy Facebooking!

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thebestof Worthing is run by Melanie Peters & David Costa

Our aim is to provide the best businesses in Worthing with a

world class marketing service.

We’ll raise your profile, connect you to new contacts and customers - and maximise your business potential.

We really do care about every one of our Business Members and we are there every step of the way to ensure that thebestof works for you.

1. Testimonials 2. Dual-branded postcards 3. Mix and match 4. Commercial photos 5. Certificates 6. Brand Awareness 7. Campaigns 8. Call Tracking 9. An Evening with 10. Social Media 11. Blog 12. Events 13. Video 14. Special offers for members 15. Quote me

Our 17 marketing tools

16. Mobile Website and App 17. Website feature

Here at thebestof, word of mouth just got louder!

Every business we feature has been checked out by us AND recommended by other local people, so you can use them with confidence knowing they truly are one of the best at what they do...

Call Us: 01903 890266 Email: Worthing@thebestof.co.uk

Coming Soon We thought we would share with you some of our most recent testimonials “We hired Melanie due to her outstanding reputation of getting excellent results for all her clients. Since working with us our profile has increased, our customers have doubled and our business plan has changed twice already.

We truly have no hesitation in endorsing Mel for the work she has done for Valusys.”

Mark Perring MD Valusys “Melanie is enthusiastic, vibrant and intelligent. She has a quick and comprehensive grasp of the issues and opportunities in any marketing situation. I know of no-one who has experienced anything other than a valuable service and beneficial tips from such a professional.”

Peter Bennett - Bennett Griffin

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