4 easy questions to help get stuff done
Taking action is the hard part of getting stuff done, the talk is easy, but when the rubber has to hit the road, then you see who is really adding any value. The 4 simple questions I ask are: Who is responsible? Who is accountable? Who is to be consulted? Who is to be...
How to make your first impression work for you.
'A picture tells a thousand words' and 'You do not get a second chance to make a first impression' are two clichés that we all accept for good reason: they are true. Why is it than that so many of us fail to present ourselves in a good light on line? A few facts to...
Why do customers buy from you?
Last week I found myself in another conversation trying to make the case to the owner of a medium sized manufacturer that his best shot at survival was to focus obsessively on a niche where he could add value in some way to customers that his competitors could not...
Rethinking the 6 challenges of local advertising.
Local businesses only need local advertising. Right? Usually. So the choice is then between local analogue adverting and digital or a mix. How do you make the choices when you are a small local business with a small marketing budget. (The reality is that every...
8 rules for successful networking
Networking has become a 'must-do' for those in small business. As a group we have bought into the value of networking, being able to meet those with whom you may have something in common on neutral round, have a conversation, build a rapport, and perhaps do some...
The most important question to ask yourself
Working with clients to develop a sustainable, robust and commercially viable strategy is usually not just a walk in the park that leverages my 40 years of doing this stuff. The technique I usually employ in conversation is what I call hindsight planning, a process...
Environmental research: A commercial necessity.
Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to a session that outlined the latest Roy Morgan research focussing on Mortgage stress and superannuation. The data presented by Morgans CEO Michele Levine was both informative and disturbing in a number of ways. I...
10 steps to world class excellence
Watching Michael Phelps weave his magic in the pool at Rio has been more than a sporting feast, it was a lesson in superior performance that has required solid foundations and enormous hard work over a very long period. Where does that drive, determination, and...
Shoe-string marketing for SME’s
All small and medium sized businesses struggle with the problem of not enough marketing budget. They have come, or perhaps been led to the conclusion that marketing must be expensive, and often it is, but a bit of creativity goes a long way. You do not have to spend...
9 reasons to be wary of marketing automation
Marketing automation is the new game in town, it builds leverage onto marketing investments. Absolutely right, and I am a believer. Scott Brinkers amazing work illustrates just how rapidly it is advancing. Automation delivers the opportunity for huge leverage when...