Some of you may have realised that I’m part of a group called Staffordshire Marketing Academy. We’re busy planning our first face to face event – Action for Business: LIVE – for the region’s businesses (as well as running our own businesses) and we’ve stumbled across a quite remarkable company that’s doing great things with an unusual attitude to business – well, unusual for a business turning over £90m and with a staff of over 450!

A former teacher, business man and more latterly, direct sales man, Rob decided to move away from corporate life and step out on his own. To grow his business he did a lot of networking. During a period of two years, he collected 987 business cards, went to 126 events, spent 200 hours shaking hands and £4385 on breakfasts, lunches, dinners and memberships. He won NO business! Rob reached a critical point of ‘financial urgency’ where he knew something had to change. It prompted him to learn everything he could on marketing and business relationships. In just 13 months, he multiplied his income by a factor of 15! How? Read on…

Every day I meet with people who’re either starting up, branching out or want to expand their business. Every day I feel the pressure that businesses NEED but can’t necessarily afford the level of expertise I provide. So, I mention this to some business pals. SHOCK! They get it. I share my thoughts on how I’d “like it to be” (sans bank manager). They nod with enthusiasm. GREAT! We put some ideas on paper. We have a plan. FAB! I tell the regional press what we’re plotting (here in Staffordshire it’s The Sentinel). This is the story so far…

The power of word of mouth (and ‘word of mouse’!) is increasing. However, people only talk about brilliant stuff and poor stuff – they don’t tend to talk about ‘ok stuff’!

I recently presented at a series of seminars to get the business owners of my local area thinking more about how they can market themselves. The session was designed to provoke thought around two key areas of digital marketing. Firstly, is digital marketing a passing phase? And secondly, is social media just another bandwagon? Here’s what happened…

Embarking on a rebrand is an important (and exciting) business decision but there’s some key points to bear in mind before getting carried away with new colours and fonts.

When I started thinking about my business plan I talked to a range of people including potential clients, people I call upon as mentors, fellow trade partners and of course, family. The one thing that kept cropping up was that when it came to marketing they all preferred to communicate in different ways. While some [...]

Don’t just create a Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn page or set-up a Twitter account for the sake of it. Ask yourself a couple of questions; Does social media have appropriate “fit” given your wider communication strategy? And, ultimately, will it help build your brand?

Whether marketing is high on your agenda or not, there’s no excuse for even the smallest business to skip such a crucial part of a company’s operations. Here’s my top tips to keep your customers coming back for more…

The smart companies view marketing as drivers of value, who create a framework for success, while identifying customers needs and wants. And, a presence in these challenging times is even more important than ever, as customers aren’t spending less, but they are spending differently. Adapt and innovate is the key. Look carefully at your core proposition and the value you’re delivering. If your offering could be refined and refocused then I suggest you do just that.