I was chatting with a successful businesswoman this week who has an in-demand service in a well-defined niche. In fact she targets females within that niche. Clever. I asked how she generated leads and found new customers to which she replied “Networking, but its time consuming and I’m not growing as fast as I’d like”.…
Category: Marketing
Are you becoming a dinosaur?
I have supported Liverpool FC for a long time. I can remember the heady days of the 70s and 80s when they were European champions. For nearly a generation, between 1975 and 1990, Liverpool were dominant. They won 10 titles in England’s top division. They won the European Cup, which preceded the Champions League, four times…
You just can’t get good staff any more.
‘Really?’ I said. ‘It can’t be that hard’. ‘It’s almost impossible’ he replied. ‘There are so few people on the market and none of them are any good’. It wasn’t a conversation I wanted to continue with. After a couple more questions I said: ‘Thank-you for your time, but on balance I don’t think we…
The results so far
In a recent blog I explained why your website is your most important marketing asset. At the time my site ranked very badly in Google for the keywords someone would use to search for an accountant in Chester. So with the help of Will Robinson (who gave my website a thorough MOT) I started a exercise to improve my…
Is your website due for an MOT?
Your website should be your best marketing asset. Having an online presence is no longer a ‘nice to have’ for entrepreneurial business owners it’s an essential item to include in your marketing toolbox. And it has one big advantage over most of your other tools in that you own it rather than rent it. Unlike…
What is your digital strategy?
Entrepreneurial business owners could be forgiven for thinking that the ‘digital revolution’ only applies to larger businesses and that they can continue in their old ways and still remain competitive: nothing could be further from the truth. All businesses need to adopt a digital strategy that’s supported by a clear digital implementation roadmap. The…
Time to overthrow the existing order?
When Kodak chose not to develop the digital camera, which had been invented by their 24 year old employee Steve Sasson, in favour of sticking with their old and hugely profitable film business no-one should have been surprised. Not surprisingly the main objections to developing the digital technology came from the marketing and business sides.…
Possibly the worst advice you could give to a start-up business
This week I want to tell you about something I read whilst I was away. You see, I read a lot of blogs. I like to keep up with trends in marketing and finance. I find that blogs are usually the best way. But as with most things in life you have to be curious…
It isn’t Colonel Mustard.
If it was a game of Cluedo the prime suspect would be Amazon, in the high street with a web browser, but the causes of the devastation of retailing in many town centres is actually more complex than this, even though it is easy to blame the increase in e-commerce and online shopping. Like most…
Does your team go the extra mile?
In last week’s Sunday Supplement I wrote about coaching your team for the behaviours you want in your business. No sooner had I pressed the ‘Send’ button than I received an email from Paddi Lund about motivating your staff. He pointed out that a fundamental frustration that almost all entrepreneurial business owners face is motivating…
