Marketing Eye is always the last to market ourselves, but having put together some 'hairy audacious goals' for 2010, we are looking at every possible avenue to market our business to small to medium sized businesses.
There are so many ways to market a small business in the b2b environment and so the choice is limitless however, when you have limited budget and not alot of time, it's integral that the marketing platforms that you use are in fact the best 'bang for your buck' and the least amount of effort.
To me, unless you are doing consumer based marketing, Twitter can be very time consuming.
With writing ongoing tweets, finding people to follow and to follow you, replying to direct messages and in general keeping up to date with what's going on - it's pretty time consuming.
What really is twitter? Wikipedia does an apt definition that is easy to understand
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter)and most people don't need to look too much further than this to understand exactly what twitter is.
Last Friday, I did an experiment. Time limit on twitter was 2 hours from start to finish and I had to achieve something - anything - that was relevant to my lead generation requirements.
So I found a few people who had twitter accounts that had a similar demographic to Marketing Eye and followed people following them. A tongue twister - I know! 200 in total were followed for the sake of this experiment.
I then wrote a few tweets about marketing including some interesting marketing stories that I found online.
Additionally, I added a few personal tweets - to ensure that the tweet followers got to know me as well. "Hugh Grant is coming to Australia on 22 December to promote his new movie". I am a huge fan of Hugh Grant and desperately want to play a round of golf with him. I am hopeless and he is really good. Almost at a level of being a professional! Needless to say, it would be one long round all in my favour!
THE RESPONSE
Within a couple of hours, I received direct tweets;
- From a journalist wanting to write a story on me
- A small business wanting to know more about Marketing Eye's marketing services
- An individual wanting a website that is cost effective
- Reconnection with an old client
- 100 extra people who are relevant following my tweets!To me, this is an amazing response! 2 hours work and no added costs other than time -and this was my result.
To all those people who slam twitter as a waste of time, think again!
IF YOUR TARGET MARKET IS B2B, HERE'S SOME TIPS:
1. Set up a twitter account immediately
2. Tweet about relevant topics, opinions and offers your business has
3. Follow people who are relevant to your business
4. Find people who have the same demographic as your client base and go through their list and follow their followers
5. Make sure you respond to all direct messages
6. Make sure you thank people who are following you. It's the first touch point of many to come
7. If someone following you is relevant to your business, follow them back
8. Don't waste time on Twitter. Use this time as a direct marketing effort to engage your audience, communicate your unique selling proposition and position you as an industry leader
9. Add the odd personal tweet so people get to know you
10. Make sure your Twitter account is giving your business a ROI.
Marketing Eye is a leading national marketing consulting firm for small to medium sized businesses in Australia. All Marketing Eye consultants are trained on web 2.0 to ensure that if your business can benefit from social networks, then you are leveraging this medium.
Find out more on Marketing Eye's new website www.marketingeye.com.au
Showing posts with label exhibition marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exhibition marketing. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Campaign of the Year
What takes a corporation to take notice?
Money? Sales decline?
Infoactiv, a multiparty logistics company headquartered in Melbourne has been educating corporates for the past 5 years on Greenscaping their businesses. There are a few that are proactive and have taken the ‘bull by the horns’ so to speak, but there still are quite a few that have held back, waiting to see what others do, or what the Government’s next move may be.
Greenscaping isn’t just about Government legislation although that has to be part of it. It’s about ‘greenscaping’ the entire enterprise to not only realise efficiencies and save money, but to also save the environment.
So many companies talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.
Infoactiv’s Managing Director, Helen Jarman’s passion for bringing businesses and environmental issues together and developing plans within organisation’s that encapsulate an end-to-end greenscaping strategy across the entire supply chain in an organisation, will ultimately lead to a mind-shift in the CEO’s of today.
“The truth of the matter is there won’t be anything left for our grandchildren if we don’t make radical changes in our businesses. It’s not just about recycling paper or plastic containers. Greenscaping is so much more than that and touches so many areas previously ignored in a businesses lifecycle.”
“Getting CEO’s to champion greenscaping unfortunately tends to be a business decision led by either government legislation or cost-savings.”
“Yes, cost-savings are a real benefit of Greenscaping, but the fundamental decision making process needs to be more human.”
“Al Gore has done a lot for the educating on Climate Change but without me personally knocking on every big corporate’s door and telling them what more they can be doing more – change may not occur at a pace required to save the environment for our future generations.”
“There is a lot of work to be done and it’s going to be challenging. Businesses need to take greater ownership of what they are doing and the impact they have,” said Ms Jarman.
Infoactiv’s release of ‘Time, runs out’ will provoke a greater thinking of the consequences of not greenscaping amongst our current generation. We will be that old lady in the local park surrounded by waste pictured in the campaign if we don’t take action now. What sort of price can corporations place on the events that lead to this?
Money? Sales decline?
Infoactiv, a multiparty logistics company headquartered in Melbourne has been educating corporates for the past 5 years on Greenscaping their businesses. There are a few that are proactive and have taken the ‘bull by the horns’ so to speak, but there still are quite a few that have held back, waiting to see what others do, or what the Government’s next move may be.
Greenscaping isn’t just about Government legislation although that has to be part of it. It’s about ‘greenscaping’ the entire enterprise to not only realise efficiencies and save money, but to also save the environment.
So many companies talk the talk but don’t walk the walk.
Infoactiv’s Managing Director, Helen Jarman’s passion for bringing businesses and environmental issues together and developing plans within organisation’s that encapsulate an end-to-end greenscaping strategy across the entire supply chain in an organisation, will ultimately lead to a mind-shift in the CEO’s of today.
“The truth of the matter is there won’t be anything left for our grandchildren if we don’t make radical changes in our businesses. It’s not just about recycling paper or plastic containers. Greenscaping is so much more than that and touches so many areas previously ignored in a businesses lifecycle.”
“Getting CEO’s to champion greenscaping unfortunately tends to be a business decision led by either government legislation or cost-savings.”
“Yes, cost-savings are a real benefit of Greenscaping, but the fundamental decision making process needs to be more human.”
“Al Gore has done a lot for the educating on Climate Change but without me personally knocking on every big corporate’s door and telling them what more they can be doing more – change may not occur at a pace required to save the environment for our future generations.”
“There is a lot of work to be done and it’s going to be challenging. Businesses need to take greater ownership of what they are doing and the impact they have,” said Ms Jarman.
Infoactiv’s release of ‘Time, runs out’ will provoke a greater thinking of the consequences of not greenscaping amongst our current generation. We will be that old lady in the local park surrounded by waste pictured in the campaign if we don’t take action now. What sort of price can corporations place on the events that lead to this?
The campaign is one of the most 'in your face' campaigns to corporate that I have seen that doesn't involve abuse, alcoholism or cigarette smoking.
It's message is loud and clear. 'Time, Runs Out' - and it does. There is going to be a time when it is too late. Large corporates and smaller businesses need to do more and be educated on how much more there is to be done. It isn't just the obvious - recycling of tins, glass etc or just eWaste. It's all of it and alot more.
Sitting down for 30 minutes with expert Helen Jarman will give everyone a snapshot of what they should be doing enterprise-wide.
I applaud people like this that are making a difference! Congratulations!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Big Corporates Know When To Support An Event
It always amazes me that from the corridors of a big corporation that consistently moves with the times, that they in fact always know what to support and what not to. Does the CEO talk to other CEO's to see what they are doing, or are the marketing departments so switched on that they just don't miss a beat?
Today, I noticed that the millionaire’s factory, Macquarie Bank has secured the high profile Carbon Market Expo Australasia event on the Gold Coast as a major sponsor alongside international law firm, Baker and McKenzie.
How pertinent! In this current economic environment, when every paper I pick up has a story on carbon trading, greenscaping, green companies, carbon footprints and alike, that a major investment bank that has always been known for being ahead of the curve is lending its support and corporate sponsorship to the headline event for the industry in 2009. I bet there were quite a few banks queuing for the top billing because even when people are cutting expenditure in other areas, this area hasn't hurt a bit.
Unlike many other events, carbon trading events such as Carbon Market Expo Australasia, keeps going from strength to strength and who's who of carbon trading and all the services that surround this billion dollar business are flocking to the Gold Coast in droves.
The people to expect are everyone from carbon asset investors and managers to businesses with corporate or product emissions reduction strategies who need to know what is happening, when it’s happening and how.
There will be Government at all levels participating and I am sure sponsoring this high profile event, businesses in manufacturing and retailing low carbon emission technologies, carbon offset project managers, wholesalers and retailers, carbon accountants, auditors and of course research and education institutions - they will all be there to hear everything there is to know about carbon market trading.
Who would have thought ten years ago that so many businesses would build their new business strategies around their carbon footprint?
I am keen to attend as the whispers are already going crazy on some big Government announcements that are expected to be leaked at the event - and of course, to see who else is out there.
The best business is the networking at events such as this. Where else can you network with the Top 500 companies at one event?
http://www.carbonexpo.com.au/
http://www.marketingeye.com.au/
http://www.infoactiv.com.au/
Today, I noticed that the millionaire’s factory, Macquarie Bank has secured the high profile Carbon Market Expo Australasia event on the Gold Coast as a major sponsor alongside international law firm, Baker and McKenzie.
How pertinent! In this current economic environment, when every paper I pick up has a story on carbon trading, greenscaping, green companies, carbon footprints and alike, that a major investment bank that has always been known for being ahead of the curve is lending its support and corporate sponsorship to the headline event for the industry in 2009. I bet there were quite a few banks queuing for the top billing because even when people are cutting expenditure in other areas, this area hasn't hurt a bit.
Unlike many other events, carbon trading events such as Carbon Market Expo Australasia, keeps going from strength to strength and who's who of carbon trading and all the services that surround this billion dollar business are flocking to the Gold Coast in droves.
The people to expect are everyone from carbon asset investors and managers to businesses with corporate or product emissions reduction strategies who need to know what is happening, when it’s happening and how.
There will be Government at all levels participating and I am sure sponsoring this high profile event, businesses in manufacturing and retailing low carbon emission technologies, carbon offset project managers, wholesalers and retailers, carbon accountants, auditors and of course research and education institutions - they will all be there to hear everything there is to know about carbon market trading.
Who would have thought ten years ago that so many businesses would build their new business strategies around their carbon footprint?
I am keen to attend as the whispers are already going crazy on some big Government announcements that are expected to be leaked at the event - and of course, to see who else is out there.
The best business is the networking at events such as this. Where else can you network with the Top 500 companies at one event?
http://www.carbonexpo.com.au/
http://www.marketingeye.com.au/
http://www.infoactiv.com.au/
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Accountants Do The Numbers!
They are the people we entrust with our finances. All day, every day they tap numbers into their calculators reducing our taxes, finding ways to maximise our financial futures and giving us valuable advice on our financial situation.
They are a trusted advisor.
Other than the top 10 Accounting practices, many of us do not know who to go to other than who our parents use or perhaps a practice in your local area.
Today, there are many Accounting and financial advisory firms that are tailored to different demographics like individuals that earn less than $100k, over $100k, small business, large corporates, family businesses etc.
Having worked with accounting firms over the past 10 years in my business, I have had the opportunity to see all different sized firms operate in a number of different ways.
Typically they are focused on ensuring they have a logo and a website, letterheads and perhaps the odd newsletter.
The 2009/10 financial year is going to be very different to what anyone has seen before.
A number of small to mid-tiered firms have emerged and are marketing their way into the mindset of individuals and companies looking for a change, a new approach or a more consolidated effort.
Their fresh approach is capturing the market who over the past 20 years have been more receptive to areas such as financial planning and wealth creation.
Some marketing activities that the 'new look' accounting firms are undertaking include;
- Public relations - gaining media exposure in the newspaper, key trade editorials and magazines. Even Kerri-ann Kennerly's Morning Show features an Accountant.
- Re-freshing brands to re-engage the market
- New and innovative websites that are informative and tackle the issues in which people are interested in knowing about
- Web 2.0 - Twitter, facebook, linked in, youtube - you name it - Accountants are now on it for a number of reasons - brand building, recruitment, lead generation etc
- Customer relationship management - interacting with customers more frequently and in more ways than ever before.
- Customer events and seminars - allowing customers to be better informed on their finances and other areas such as superannuation and insurances.
- Alliance partnerships with other companies that have synergies and similar brand values
Accounting firms that choose to not re-engage their clients or fail to communicate more frequently on multiple levels will fail to keep clients who are actively being marketed to by other firms.
The new financial year is a new fresh start for many Accountants and Financial Planners. It gives every company an opportunity to look at their brands in an objective way, undertake surveys amongst their clients and market to see what people are looking for in a service provider and create better connectivity to clients on multiple levels.
Boutique Accounting firms that are leading the way include mutualtrust.com.au, sabergroup.com.au and thirdviewfinancial.com.au.
Watch this space. 1300 300 080
They are a trusted advisor.
Other than the top 10 Accounting practices, many of us do not know who to go to other than who our parents use or perhaps a practice in your local area.
Today, there are many Accounting and financial advisory firms that are tailored to different demographics like individuals that earn less than $100k, over $100k, small business, large corporates, family businesses etc.
Having worked with accounting firms over the past 10 years in my business, I have had the opportunity to see all different sized firms operate in a number of different ways.
Typically they are focused on ensuring they have a logo and a website, letterheads and perhaps the odd newsletter.
The 2009/10 financial year is going to be very different to what anyone has seen before.
A number of small to mid-tiered firms have emerged and are marketing their way into the mindset of individuals and companies looking for a change, a new approach or a more consolidated effort.
Their fresh approach is capturing the market who over the past 20 years have been more receptive to areas such as financial planning and wealth creation.
Some marketing activities that the 'new look' accounting firms are undertaking include;
- Public relations - gaining media exposure in the newspaper, key trade editorials and magazines. Even Kerri-ann Kennerly's Morning Show features an Accountant.
- Re-freshing brands to re-engage the market
- New and innovative websites that are informative and tackle the issues in which people are interested in knowing about
- Web 2.0 - Twitter, facebook, linked in, youtube - you name it - Accountants are now on it for a number of reasons - brand building, recruitment, lead generation etc
- Customer relationship management - interacting with customers more frequently and in more ways than ever before.
- Customer events and seminars - allowing customers to be better informed on their finances and other areas such as superannuation and insurances.
- Alliance partnerships with other companies that have synergies and similar brand values
Accounting firms that choose to not re-engage their clients or fail to communicate more frequently on multiple levels will fail to keep clients who are actively being marketed to by other firms.
The new financial year is a new fresh start for many Accountants and Financial Planners. It gives every company an opportunity to look at their brands in an objective way, undertake surveys amongst their clients and market to see what people are looking for in a service provider and create better connectivity to clients on multiple levels.
Boutique Accounting firms that are leading the way include mutualtrust.com.au, sabergroup.com.au and thirdviewfinancial.com.au.
Watch this space. 1300 300 080
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Drunk on Stupidity
Harsh - probably, but I am yet again flabbergasted that people waste valuable marketing dollars on half hearted attempts at marketing and sit back and have a pity party wondering why they did not work.
Yes, those who put no effort or quite simply have no idea. They pay for a exhibition stand at CEBIT in Sydney on 12-14th May 2009 and are wonder why they receive no quality leads and people haven't visited their stands.
How valuable is your brand? Obviously, not that valuable to some. As I walked through what is Australia's biggest IT expo, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was a good quarter of the exhibitors at CEBIT who put together stands with pathetic banners (you know the ones you use for a seminar) up against the walls, cheap and nasty flyers and poor displays of what they were trying to sell.
You don't have to spend alot of money to have a great stand. It's not about the money, its about the effort and the understanding of what the audience is looking to see, feel and hear.
Engage your audience and make them take notice of who you are.
As always, the great displays had the people in abundance queuing to talk to someone to find out more.
And there were others. There were stands that may not have cost a fortunate, but were tastefully decorated and their marketing material was targeted at the audience they wanted to attract.
It costs thousands for a piece of real estate at an Expo like this. Why then would you throw away this investment but not doing a good job.
Even worse is the number of companies that will not follow up their leads afterwards.
They are the ones who have every good intention of doing so, but are swallowed up with the 'big' deals or what they think are the hot opportunities for the day, that they disregard those who should be in the deal pipeline.
Followup is integral to the success of your investment.
So, if you exhibited at CEBIT and found that you didn't get the result you wanted and the effort you put in was not exactly what you had intented to, but at the end of the day, you didn't have time, money or energy to do any better - then now is the time to redeem yourself.
The delegates have probably forgotten who you are anyway. If your stand and your people were not memorable, then make sure your followup is.
Steps to expo followup;
- Put together a database preferrably in a customer relationship management program (there's cost effective versions like ACT Today! available on the market)
- Create a marketing campaign - an offer - a reason to do business with you
- Ensure your brand is intact, professionally presented and your website has a landing page with more information that is going to get your target audience salvitating over what you are offering
- Email, direct market, telemarket and followup until you have exhausted your database of leads
- Eliminate leads that are worthless and have no value to your marketing efforts
- Segregate hot, warm and cold leads - and work it baby, work it!
Every dollar you invest in marketing should be worth it. Now is not the time to throw away valuable marketing dollars on marketing activities that do not create greater brand awareness, leads and positioning in the market.
Reinforce to your staff, your clients and your prospects your brand and its value proposition. Repeat it over and over again. They say Politicians say everything 3 times - and in marketing, we say the same.
Get out there and stand proud behind the brand you represent and sell, sell, sell...
www.marketingeye.com.au
Yes, those who put no effort or quite simply have no idea. They pay for a exhibition stand at CEBIT in Sydney on 12-14th May 2009 and are wonder why they receive no quality leads and people haven't visited their stands.
How valuable is your brand? Obviously, not that valuable to some. As I walked through what is Australia's biggest IT expo, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was a good quarter of the exhibitors at CEBIT who put together stands with pathetic banners (you know the ones you use for a seminar) up against the walls, cheap and nasty flyers and poor displays of what they were trying to sell.
You don't have to spend alot of money to have a great stand. It's not about the money, its about the effort and the understanding of what the audience is looking to see, feel and hear.
Engage your audience and make them take notice of who you are.
As always, the great displays had the people in abundance queuing to talk to someone to find out more.
And there were others. There were stands that may not have cost a fortunate, but were tastefully decorated and their marketing material was targeted at the audience they wanted to attract.
It costs thousands for a piece of real estate at an Expo like this. Why then would you throw away this investment but not doing a good job.
Even worse is the number of companies that will not follow up their leads afterwards.
They are the ones who have every good intention of doing so, but are swallowed up with the 'big' deals or what they think are the hot opportunities for the day, that they disregard those who should be in the deal pipeline.
Followup is integral to the success of your investment.
So, if you exhibited at CEBIT and found that you didn't get the result you wanted and the effort you put in was not exactly what you had intented to, but at the end of the day, you didn't have time, money or energy to do any better - then now is the time to redeem yourself.
The delegates have probably forgotten who you are anyway. If your stand and your people were not memorable, then make sure your followup is.
Steps to expo followup;
- Put together a database preferrably in a customer relationship management program (there's cost effective versions like ACT Today! available on the market)
- Create a marketing campaign - an offer - a reason to do business with you
- Ensure your brand is intact, professionally presented and your website has a landing page with more information that is going to get your target audience salvitating over what you are offering
- Email, direct market, telemarket and followup until you have exhausted your database of leads
- Eliminate leads that are worthless and have no value to your marketing efforts
- Segregate hot, warm and cold leads - and work it baby, work it!
Every dollar you invest in marketing should be worth it. Now is not the time to throw away valuable marketing dollars on marketing activities that do not create greater brand awareness, leads and positioning in the market.
Reinforce to your staff, your clients and your prospects your brand and its value proposition. Repeat it over and over again. They say Politicians say everything 3 times - and in marketing, we say the same.
Get out there and stand proud behind the brand you represent and sell, sell, sell...
www.marketingeye.com.au
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