Keep learning…

by attending seminars, workshops and talks from people in the same industry as you as well as those involved in completely different ones. By attending such events you’ll increase your knowledge and keep on top of changes within your industry. However, you don’t just have to attend talks focused on your industry, it can be fun and worthwhile attending a talk on a subject you know nothing about or would like to know more on- a subject completely unrelated to your business.

We love to learn and attend seminars, workshops and talks whenever possible. Most of our learning is centred around business development and marketing- areas we are involved with.

However, we do occasionally attend talks on subjects that sound interesting and exciting such as how to network and reading people’s mannerisms. So, the likelihood is that you’ll probably see us at a variety of talks and workshops as they are great opportunities to learn new things and increase your confidence too.

It’s always good to try and learn something new each day, if this is something you’d like to do too then check out our weekly Marketing Tips.

Remember, learning new things will make you more confident and confidence can only help your businesses wellbeing.

http://www.2010healthandwellbeing.org.uk/index.php

Hi there!

As many of you will know I started working with Koogar in February, on a student work placement (hopefully you may remember my diary entries).  However, sadly my time with Koogar is coming to an end as of Friday 15th October as I’m off to pastures new.

I started off by doing Koogar’s marketing and helping organise events such as workshops.  However, as my time progressed I began updating the website, going along with Amanda to meetings, starting to network and, of course, becoming Koogar’s first in-house copywriter and employee.  Since that time I’ve worked with a number of clients on their website content, met hundreds of people whilst out at different networking events and learnt so much as Koogar’s Copywriting and Marketing Consultant.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with Koogar and Amanda has been instrumental in my development, through my role within the company to personal development.  Amanda even let me loose on networking events as well as some of you!  All of which has boosted my confidence, knowledge and skills.

Koogar have some really exciting products and new marketing techniques up their sleeve so I’ll definitely be keeping in touch to see how things are coming along.

So, I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to the Koogar team, especially Amanda as without her guidance and support I would not have been successful in attaining my new opportunity.

Thank you again,

Laura

Take notice…

                                 of your business and everything involved within it. By taking notice of your products, services, business and marketing plans you’ll be better able to evaluate your business when the time arises, whenever that may be; hopefully once a year at least.

It may seem insignificant, but if you regularly check to see how a product is selling or how successful an email campaign is and so on then you can make sound judgements throughout the year and make the changes when they count, rather than deciding your marketing for a product isn’t the right move a year after it started. Taking notice of your business will help to develop it and save you money.

We regularly check our marketing and new services to see whether they’re working. Not only that, but we also hold regular meetings to discuss how we can improve our services, brand and the business itself. It is through these meetings that we actually come up with and then proceed with a lot of our ideas, which is why we always have something new going on.

If we never took the time to look at the smaller details of our business we would never have the time, energy or resources to proceed with the big ideas.

Taking notice of your products, services and business will help you evaluate what really matters, improving your business wellbeing.

 http://www.2010healthandwellbeing.org.uk/index.php

At the Koogar HQ we have been discussing our blogs and Marketing Tips and what we want from them.  The first obvious answer is, of course, to supply our users with hopefully useful information, which they can implement into their business. 

Secondly, our blogs are there to tell you what we have been up to, events or workshops that we think are beneficial for you as well as the wonderfully random blogs that focus on areas not directly related to us, but that we know others will find extremely useful.

And finally…they are there as a forum so people can share their experiences.  For example, if you have tried one of the Marketing Tips and want to tell people if it helped or not or if you tweaked it to fit your business.  So we really want you to COMMENT on this information!

However, we don’t just want you to comment for our sake, oh no.  Commenting is a great way to get links from another website to your own, which helps to push you up the search engine rankings.  Commenting is also a great way to raise your profile and awareness of your business. 

When people start to comment within a forum, bouncing ideas and experiences off one another, others become aware of Joe Blogs from Joe Blogs Ltd, which lets face it could lead to new opportunities which you would never have been made aware of if you hadn’t COMMENTED in the first place.  So commenting really can be selfish, but in the best possible and most productive way!

So, don’t be shy, start commenting!

What are Telesales and Webinars?  They are, in essence, talks; presentations you can give to a wide audience on an area of your expertise, which you think people will 1) be interested in and 2) will benefit from the information you provide.

There is a lot you can do with telesales or webinars:

• You can provide training via them.
• You can promote or sell a product or service to an audience interested in them.
• You can provide information, advice and guidance on subjects that will benefit people.

There are a number of reasons why hosting a telesales or webinar are useful:

• Your audience capacity can be as large as you want as you are not confined to a room.
• Your audience can listen in or watch in their preferred environment.
• You can charge a smaller amount for any training etc you put on as you have no overheads (i.e. a room, refreshments etc), which may tempt more people to listen in or watch.
• You are raising the profile of your business, especially through webinars, as search engines will pick up on your business, name and webinar title, especially if you have a lot of interest in it.

Listen out for and keep your eyes peeled for Koogar’s very own Webinars in the New Year!

*For more information about telesales or webinars, please feel free to contact us.

Byte Night is an annual sleep out by members of the IT industry to support Action for Children; a charity helping to keep children and young adults off the streets.

Each year, supporters spend 1 night out on the streets, exposed to the elements to raise both money and awareness for Action for Children.

12 years ago 30 individuals from the IT industry slept out and raised £35,000. The event has grown tremendously since then to over 700 sleepers raising almost £550,000 in 2009 alone. Sleepers, sponsors and patrons of the event include anyone and everyone from the IT industry from marketers and developers to celebrities and leading figures and many many more.

They are still looking for people to take part or to sponsor someone taking part in the event or to make a donation so if this sounds like something you’d be interested in, be sure to check out their website.

http://www.bytenight.org.uk/index.cfm

Be active…

in getting your clients. Don’t sit around the office waiting for clients to come to you, get out there and find them. Take a walk and introduce yourself to your business neighbours, skip between networking events and make people aware of who you and your business are.

We are very active when it comes to potential, new and existing clients. Firstly we network to meet potential clients and get our name and faces out there at the same time. Secondly we travel to see our clients for meetings or to see how their business is developing.

Now although most of this travel is done via transport and still, therefore, involving sitting around, but in a different environment, we still walk to and from train stations and can, on occasion, be seen walking the streets of Liverpool with roller banner and laptop in hand.

The point is that we don’t just wait for the phone to ring or rely on referrals and word of mouth; we get out there and actively seek out our clients.

Remember, being active makes you feel good as it releases ‘happy’ hormones, positively affecting the wellbeing of your business. So at least when you leave the office to seek out potential clients you’ll have a smile on your face!

 http://www.2010healthandwellbeing.org.uk/index.php

As you should know by now, Koogar have a weekly business show on Crewe’s newest Internet radio station; RedShiftRadio.co.uk.  But, Business Day-to-Day is not the only interesting and enjoyable show on the new station.

RedShiftradio.co.uk boasts a large variety of shows so there is something for everyone, including the Polish communities!

So whether you’re into your gardening or cooking, interested in your child’s education, seeking business advice or simply want to hear some tunes, then RedShift Radio is the station to tune in to.

For more details about the shows and their presenters as well as a programme listing, please download the PDF’s below.

• Programme Schedule

We know there is a programme for everyone, so take a look and happy listening!

I know I have already mentioned the importance of following up with a client or potential client after networking with them, but I must stress just how important it is as most people only start really taking notice of you after several attempts of follow ups.

Have you ever met someone at a networking event or through a referral that says they need one of your services, but when you try to contact them to arrange a meeting they are extremely difficult to get hold of or don’t get back to you? 

Well here’s why…

Although these people do want your services, they too are extremely busy in their line of work and although it can be frustrating, you need to keep contacting them to book in that meeting and even after the meeting you should give them a call to go over what was discussed in the meeting and the steps to take from there.

We always follow up via an email after a networking event, but if we need to book a meeting with someone then we will ring them.  If we haven’t heard anything, we will email them the following week and then ring them the week after that and so on. 

Remember, you don’t want to hassle people, but give them a gentle reminder that you’re still there.  After all, they are the ones who approached you for your services!

Marketing: What, How & When

Many peoples’ perception of marketing is that it is too expensive, a waste of money and resource and it doesn’t work. However, marketing is essential if you want your business to succeed. 

Therefore, because of all the negativity surrounding marketing Koogar & Azzure Marketing have teamed up and organised another FREE Marketing forum this time in Nantwich, which will discuss marketing and the importance of not only using it, but using it effectively. 

Effective marketing can: 

• Be the difference between a potential client choosing your business over your competitors.
• Help to sustain as well as grow your business.
• Save you money and time – if done properly of course!

The FREE 4 hour event will consist of two speakers, detailed below, with the chance for questions and networking. 

Amanda Daniels (Koogar): 

‘Attracting New Clients’ - The key information you need for a successful online presence.

Julie Webb (Azzure Marketing):

‘Promoting your Business’ - Understanding your business position to target your customers, using the right marketing tools. 

Event details: Marketing: What, How & When 

Date: Wednesday 20th October 

Venue: Reaseheath College, Rease Heath, Nantwich, CW5 6DF 

Time: 09:00 – 13:00 

Places for this event are limited so please be sure to book your place in plenty of time.  You can book you place by following the link below: 

 http://freemarketingworkshop.eventbrite.com 

You will also have the opportunity, after the workshop, to sign up for our full day workshop, which will focus on and personalise marketing for you and your business. 

*Date and time to be announced.