Take Five

Just a few simple pointers that can make all the difference to making small business marketing really effective.

Think customer

Sometimes when you are so close to a business, it’s difficult to see things from the customer perspective. With experience from many different businesses – and by asking you lots of questions – I can ensure that all marketing is absolutely focused to engage with the customer and to encourage the desired outcome. For both print and web – make it clear, concise and to the point.

Don’t make me think

This is a well used phrase within the web marketing industry. Put simply, it means using a website should be totally intuitive – if a user needs to think “how do I..?” you’ve failed. Make sure these simple principles are followed:

Content: Ensure you use high quality branding and steer clear of gimmicks. Concentrate on who you are, what you do – and critically what makes you stand out.
Navigation: Clear, easy to use navigation is a must. Ensure quick, direct access to key / useful information. Use links in and out to trusted partners – to improve the user experience and improve your Google ranking.
Make it interactive: give customers the opportunity to engage with the business; make reservations, respond to offers, give feedback, send you email. Brands that listen and respond to customers, prosper in the long term.

Update yourself

If you can edit a Word .doc, you can make simple updates to your website – text, images and navigation. A good Content Management Systems makes it super-easy. WordPress, chosen by 18millions sites, is one of the best. All my sites are based on WordPress.

Google is your friend

Google offers a range of web marketing tools, so make the most Google Analytics, Places and Adwords, not to mention getting your search engine ranking right. Most of this is FREE – you just knowing a few simple steps can leap-frog you ahead of the competition.

I am part of the Google Adwords Professioanl network.

Get on with it

Frankly speaking, all too often small business people somehow just don’t get round to ‘marketing’ or getting their business on-line. Fear, ignorance or just ‘being busy’ is not an excuse. I can help you overcome any or all of these and get the job done, with minimum fuss and disruption to your day-to-day activity.