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Author Archive
#GEC2012 – Global Entrepreneurship Congress (Liverpool)
GEC2012 Liverpool
I got the opportunity and received a ticket the day before from a person who couldn’t make it. I sent him the monies for the ticket and printed it off in excitement. I attended my weekly BNI meeting the same morning and proceeded to tell everyone where I was going the rest of the day.
The GEC is something I have wanted to go to since I saw the hype about it; “Sir Richard Branson is coming to town…“. Now for me that’s not something I could not miss.
Born on the same day as Richard (18th July) I would like to think that Koogar is the next Virgin….. Well, I can always dream and you never know do you.
I left the Hard Days Night Hotel just after 8:30am and parked in the closest car park to the Echo Area and excitedly walked towards the doors and then into queue to tell them I have arrived so I could collect the bites and pieces they give out. I quickly realised I left my ticket on the table at BNI with a few of my other things but I was able to show the Steward my ticket via my Blackberry, which helped me secure my seat and lanyard moments after.
Once sorted, I gathered my bearings I called a BNI colleague to see if he could see my file, which he did and will be passing it to me next week. (Saved my day; Mr.Mark Wilson)
I saw a few faces I knew said Hi and waited patiently until we could be seated for the forthcoming events of the day and this is what I thought of #GEC2012:
Sir Richard Branson – If I’m honest I was a little disappointed that the #GEC decided to interview him and not give him the opportunity to speak to the 3,000 strong crowd by giving us tips and inspiration to keep us going to do what we do. Instead he was interviewed by a person who said “If I get him, I’m interviewing him” which I thought to be quite selfish… (All about the me not the we!) But hey, I just expected it to be more than what it was and I think others around me did too. I did make plenty of notes and the biggest thing I took away from Richards slot was to:
“Get the right people in place, delegation is important and will help your grow as well as passion!”
Since the event I have come away and looked into The Elders to find out more about them and what they have been doing as I hadn’t heard of them before.
Sir Terry Leahy delivered an excellent talk about “The Winner Within” -
“Show courage and take the risk”
The day carried on and the next highlight for me was The Black Farmer; I think I now love Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones.
His island twang coming out ever so slightly during his interjections on the panel. He is a straight talking, no bull-s**t kind of guy who just wants to get the job done and doesn’t wait around. He mentioned that he couldn’t get his sausages into the large supermarkets so proceeded to ask his audience “If you like my sausages, please email the nearest person to you and tell them”.
Now that’s a great way to market yourself and product as well as to use your network!
Lord Heseltine was awesome! What a man… I thought he might be a little humdrum but no! He was the complete opposite. A very interesting man who has achieved a lot. One thing he said was “We are all unique, so why should I give you any advice?”, which made me laugh. The point was that we all think and do things differently. His biggest message during the day was;
Passion; make sure you enjoy getting up on a Monday morning. If you don’t change your job!
The next few people who finished off the day for me was Martha Lane Fox – who I have heard is a great speaker but not seen her before the day. And I agree! Very passionate, knowledgeable and a down to earth kind of lady.
Lara Morgan – What a cool woman! Quietly reserved but leading lady. One of her tips during “The Power of We” session.
“Delegate, be fair, grow people and give them a voice. The power of many! Things will go wrong but the more you trust them the more they trust you”
Michael Hayman by far was the best panel facilitator. He was fast paced, interesting and kept the momentum of the session along with Doug Richard who moderated a different session in which he was cheeky and controversial.
All in all the day was good! 6 pages of notes written and now I need to do something about them!
It would have been really good if the GEC could have give us workshops or handouts of exercises to do during the day which gets more engagement/participation from the audience.
I’m glad I went as it gave me the KUTA (Kick up the arse) I needed. How about you, what did you think?
I’m going to take that Tiger outside, for a ride…
Noel Gallagher - High Flying Birds
Just watched The BRIT Awards 2012 and noticed what I noticed. Have you ever done that?
When you notice what you notice you are seeing something you haven’t seen or recognised before.
But what I noticed is what motivates me. Passion!
Passion: (from the Ancient Greek verb πάσχω (paskho) meaning to suffer) is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.
By passion I mean liking, loving, feeling something so much that it makes you want to be even better. You’re so excited about that something, that you want to share it with the world.
Noel Gallagher came on stage to sing his new track called “What a life!” and over the last few weeks my boyfriend (Andy. Who is a videographer and LOVES Oasis a.k.a. The Boys) and I have been watching how he has created the video series related to the new album he is currently releasing, behind the scenes of the video’s, what cameras they are using, the story behind the videos and songs, who is helping create them, etc.
Any way, what I noticed was I was much more interested to see him perform his new song live as I knew a lot more about him, the High Flying Birds, their video, how it was made, where it was made, who was in it, where they got the extras/actors from and so on.
The passion that Noel has for what he does and how he does it is remarkable, including the passion (liking, loving, feeling) I have for what he has been doing recently.
Now, not everyone likes Noel’s music (old and/or new) but my point is by having a passion for what you do or what others do inspires me to be even better than what I currently am.
At the moment there are a lot of business struggling with getting work, keeping clients, thinking of new ideas, planning for the future, staying motivated and lots of other things that come with running a company.
Give people a reason to want to work with you! Show them the passion you have for your company, product, service and more importantly… show them you.
People buy from people.
Having passion, enthusiasm and a great interest in what you do, gives people even more confidence in you.
Digital Alphabet: “E” is for Email Marketing
"E" for Email Marketing
Email Marketing Campaigns have been abused in the past by people buying databases of names and contact details which they have never had contact with, which is a problem.
Everyday email is now seen as an interruption through out our day, but without them communication would stop and our phone would ring more, which is just another interruption. Emails can be read when we are ready and have time…
So how do you use Email Marketing Campaigns to your advantage?
Campaigns can be used to connect with customers, find out when is best to contact them and how they use the information we want to share with them.
Emails are part of social media as you want the end user to interact with it. An email campaign isn’t meant to be read fully, but used to move the user from place to place, like your website, watch a video or to read the rest of an article.
Giving too much information gives the user the illusion that it is going to take a lot of time and effort to read the whole thing, so the quicker we can move them on the better. The user can then scan the email to find the elements that are relevant to them.
Within business, your email is potentially read by recipient using their smart phones first and then re-read on a desktop or laptop later to remind them of what you were talking about, and because of the size of the screen we only need to give them one or two things to do. These are the C.T.A’s or “calls to action“.
Top tips for Email Marketing:
- Don’t buy a database of people/names you do not know. Think about what you would do when receiving an email from a stranger. Yes, that’s right… it will usually get deleted.
- When they open the email, what do you want them to do with it? Click a button to buy something, read more of an article, and watch a video? Remember to move them on….
- Check how it looks on your mobile phone as well as in other email clients to see if anything is missing or could be brought to the forefront.
- Don’t fill it with too much information. Just give them enough to get them interacting with the email and then review number two in this list. (Rinse, repeat…)
There is a lot more to Email Marketing but we wanted to just give you a few tips to get you going.
Good luck! And let us know how you’re using Email Marketing and what interaction you’re getting from it. Always here to help!
Digital Alphabet: “D” is for Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing is essentially:
Anything you do to arrange the sale of a product or service using a computer and/or mobile device.
So, you could actually create a whole digital marketing strategy of your own as well as a traditional marketing strategy.
Within that strategy you would have elements like;
- Website(s)
- Mobile Website(s)
- Blogging and Articles
- Email Marketing
- Video Promotion
- Social Media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare
- Apps
- Directories – FreeIndex, Yell.com
And more… like PowerPoint Presentations and Slide shows – Flickr
Your marketing plan shouldn’t just contain the traditional or “offline” methods of Marketing; it should contain elements from both methods.
We are currently in a digital era and there should be no excuse for us not to understand what’s going on, but because focus is currently on Social Media doesn’t mean that advertising, flyers, sales letters have stopped working.
How do you tie in digital marketing together? because one element alone isn’t what grabs your potential clients attention. So, the question is “Which part of your marketing is grabbing their attention?”
The biggest advantage of digital marketing over traditional is that we can monitor and track what is happening. Who is using it, how are they using it, how long for, where do they go next, what are they clicking on?
Digital marketing isn’t the answer, but it does help! Not being there is just giving them the opportunity to find your competitors.
Your potential customer needs to see your message between 5-12 times before they are ready, don’t give them the same message on the same platform. Mix it up a bit and show them your whole offering over a range of platforms.
What a Nightmare!
Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) - "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
The amount of stories and problems I have heard recently and over the years about awful customer service or none to be exact!
The Web Design/Development industry isn’t regulated in anyway and anyone can become Web Designers or even Marketeers.
Lack of communication, non-delivery of goods, not getting the results, over promise under deliver; it’s a nightmare out there!
I am sure you have come across “rouge traders” in your time but then found someone who can actually do the job you needed really well.
Some of the stories and problems I have heard:
- Non-delivery/go-live of a website for two years
- Functionality paid for but doesn’t work properly or at all!
- Can’t get access to what I need
- Waiting weeks for a response
- The web guy wants me to come up with the ideas for the design…
The list goes on… and because of this, potential customers start to believe websites and marketing doesn’t work for them, which is a real shame because it does.
So, how do you stand out from these other companies who make a mockery of your industry?
- Be honest – If you’re not sure about something, check it out first and then give an answer. Don’t pretend you know the answer if you don’t.
- Practice what you preach – If you say something works are you using/doing it yourself? Have you got evidence?
- Offer advice – Give a helping hand to those who have had bad customer service or experience. Show them why your different and why they should be working with you.
- Walk your talk – If you say you’re going to do something and do it! Don’t over promise and under deliver, trust is the biggest thing when it comes to relationships!
- Prove yourself – Show testimonials or case studies from others and examples of your work.
We would like to hear about some of your nightmares… and also the ways you make your self stand out from “the others”.
Don’t make your service, experience or company out to be a nightmare for your customers, make it beau-tiful!
Recession proof your business!
What do we currently know?
We know that we are in a recession and businesses start to tighten up on a few things. Marketing and Training are the first things to go out of the window, would you agree?
These are two things we don’t think we need to keep on top of while money is tight and other things rise on our “To Do Lists”, like the work!
Recently attended a seminar and the Council spokes person mentioned that companies who do not Market their companies or Train their staff when in a recession can potentially go under.
At Koogar, I’m keeping up to date with training on Digital Marketing as I will be flying to Amsterdam tomorrow night. I’m attending the iStrategy Conference which is about Global Digital Marketing and how to monetize it.
iStrategy is an inspirational, two-day, digital media conference for senior executives who believe that the success of their business requires a sound digital strategy. More about the event
Knowledge isnt power, its what you do with the knowledge!
I have wanted to attend this for a while and I believe I’ll come back with lots of new knowledge and ideas that I will share with you once I’m back and have digested it all.
So, one thing to help keep your company going through these tough times is to train yourself as well as staff members so you and they can handle enquires, customers, and products in the right way showing your company in the right light!
What could you learn today?
Marketing Booster Excels Business Prospects!
After months of ad hoc marketing and several networking events a week Traci Williams, Managing Director of Excel Ace, decided to trial the Pride Marketing Booster, Social Media Marketing and Training from Koogar.
The result? Well it has definitely made its mark on Excel Ace.
This case study was done in July 2011, which was the 3rd month in which the Marketing Plan had been executed.
“It’s given me the consistency and focus that I was desperately lacking.”
Traci Williams, a self-confessed geek looking to make spreadsheets fun, is Managing Director of Excel Ace, specialists in spreadsheet development; tailoring them to meet your business’ needs.
Whilst marketing Excel Ace herself Traci understood that it was about more than just the hard sell, but admitted that any marketing she tried was “inconsistent and based on guesswork.”
However, the Pride Marketing Booster from Koogar, which looked at Traci’s target market, financial goals and also set up a 12 month marketing calendar, has really helped to focus Traci’s marketing strategy.
“I think it actually takes me more time now…but this time is focussed and purpose driven, as opposed to just chancing it like I did in the past!”
Although the client analysis, which looks at the demographics of your target audience, showed Traci was targeting the right market for her product it highlighted that she was not making the most out of her existing clients. The new focus Koogar has provided has seen Traci reduce the time she spends networking, concentrating instead on raising her business profile through social media; another aspect of the business that was inconsistent.
“I used to use social media constantly, but then got so busy that I’d stop to concentrate on getting the work done. Then of course, it would get quiet again and the whole cycle would start over.”
Through Koogar’s Marketing Booster Traci has now automated and interlinked her Social Media campaigns including E-Mail Marketing. Updating people with latest products, workshops and free Excel tips, Traci’s Social Media campaigns are generating a hugely positive response. A move that has not gone unnoticed by her followers and clients.
“Koogar’s Marketing Plan has completely changed my business. The consistency of Social Media and E-mail Marketing has raised the awareness of Excel Ace and I have even been in contact with a company in California, who have agreed to refer work to me if and when the opportunity arises!”
With her marketing plan carefully mapped out for the next 12 months Traci knows exactly what she should be doing, when to do it and most importantly, how.
It has taken time to build momentum, Traci is now in her third month of her new marketing plan, but the results have definitely been worth it in terms of boosting business and helping Traci to develop her focus and consistency when marketing Excel Ace.
“It’s still early days for me using Koogar’s Pride Marketing Booster, but it’s brilliant and I wouldn’t want to not use it!”
Additional Quotes
“The continuous review of the strategy, where we tweak the plan if something doesn’t appear to be working as it should, is brilliant.”
“When I first discussed marketing with Amanda I was hoping to outsource this element of my business, as I didn’t consider this to be one of my strengths, but Amanda has taught me how and what to do…and it’s working!”
Digital Alphabet: “C” is for CMS (Content Managed Systems)
You might have heard us say “We create websites you can edit yourself…” in a Networking Event sometime.
A CMS or otherwise known as “Content Managed System” website allows the user/client to update the website as and when you want without having to constantly ask your web designer for assistance.
Over three years ago Koogar recognised the advantages of CMS for our clients and other business people.
- Not having to wait 3-6 weeks for the update to happen – For example; you would have the ability to add special offers on the website for a certain period of time
- SEO – (Search Engine Optimisation) Friendly – Search Engines like websites with constantly changing content they will come back more often to find out what your up to and then report back to HQ and help your website move up the ranks.
- Become the person to speak to – By changing your content frequently, you will be keeping your followers, clients and potential customers up-to-date with whats happening within your company, if you have a new product or if you have a special offer on.
- Long term saving of money – It might be more expensive to have a CMS built for you but it WILL save you money in the long run. Think about it, your company will grow, get more products to sell, staff to help out. Thinking of the bigger picture sooner is always better. P.P.P.P.P.P – Perfect planning prevents p**-poor performance!
Initially a CMS website will cost extra as it takes longer to setup for the clients requirements. Once the bulk of the site is set up and the client is trained you can then add as much or as little as you like. Remembering Search Engines like changing content/text.
At Koogar we also provide an “After Care Plan” that is there for us to make sure your site is running as smoothly as possible but to also be there to answer any questions and amend other parts of the site that may need technical attention.
Digital Alphabet: “B” for Blogging
A blog is short for “Web Log”. Its basically an online diary where you can keep track of what your company has been up to or to tell people about what you can do for them.
Why should I blog is one of the main questions I get asked on a regular basis and there are many reasons to blog.
One of the main reasons is to educate your audience to understand what you or your product can do for them.
Getting new business is a key to survival in business and sometimes you may come across people who don’t really understand what you do and how you can help them. Answering questions for them is a great way to help them understand, as I said education is the way to go.
So what questions do you get asked on a regular basis?
We always get “So how much is a website?” and our reply, 99.9% of the time is “It depends on what you want and what your company needs. We can give you a guideline/ball park figure but really it would be best to sit down with you to find out all of your requirements”….
By blogging and answering the questions you get asked on a daily basis you will slowly build up an FAQ, which can be used again and again. Go to our Blogging Page to find out more…
