Your clients are demanding online access to you

If you haven't been paying attenton to the trends... too bad. Your clients will be walking with their fingers. Two recent news items have clearly highlighted there is an increasing demand for information to be supplied via the internet. Your clients are demanding it.

One article discusses the one-billionth music download from Apple's iTunes online store. And that is in only 3-years - and while competing with other legal music download sites, illegal sites, and file sharing networks. Make no mistake. The marketing is really huge.

The second article mentions that online retailers saw a 30% increase in online sales from 2004 to 2005. That was partly driven by paid search engine marketing (also called pay-per-click advertising). WOW - a 30% increase. I bet your clients are part of that crowd.

Don't miss the growth happening in the online sector. It's not a fad. It is a fast-growing form of communications. You need to review your communications/marketing plan to keep up to date. Your clients are demanding it.

Thinking of sponsorship? Read this...

"They'll look at a brand and ask 'Why are you here?' And if it doesn't make sense you'll get listed as a 'try-hard', and that can be very damaging for your brand."

This article from the recent Big Day Out concert in New Zealand gives some helpful insights into how NOT to go about participating as a sponsor - especially at youth-oriented events.

The message is that you need to carefully plan your involvement in sponsored events to make sure that you are "integrated" into the event, rather than just being seen as an irrelevant add-on.

Networking proves itself again

Just yesterday I was attending a networking event on the fabulous Gold Coast organised by networking guru Terri Cooper. Many local business people attended to hear the key seminar speaker - ex-Olympian Selina Scoble.

While I was there I met a number of potential clients, as well as a few potential collaborators, from Brisbane and the Gold Coast. These 'collaborators' are other service providers that I may be able to work with on future client projects. Their areas of expertise cover printing, PR and journalism, software training and recruitment.

I'm glad I went, as one of those new contacts could be a key player in a new project.

So don't get scared off attending networking events in your local area. Find a few opportunities to meet new people. Think of it like your old school days - every year you got to mingle with new students in new classes - maybe you even went to a new school.

Be brave... make new friends... and get more business.

Education not key to business success

Research in the UK has shown that you don't need a good education to be a success in business. But successful business owners have often had an early start with jobs like paper rounds before they are 13 years old. They also demonstrate an ongoing drive to achieve.

2006 sales training schedule now online

A quick heads-up on the new 2006 schedule for Selling With Confidence in Brisbane and Sydney. This is my sales training course for service professionals, business owners, advisors, service firms, and anyone who needs to build a quality client relationship AND make more sales.

See the schedule here, register immediately online, or download the brochure for booking by fax or mail.

Don't rely on Pay-Per-Click ads to get web traffic

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of creating your web site pages so that they rank highly in the natural search engines results pages. These natural results are not the paid ad's that are also on the page (paid ad's are usually in coloured blocks to the right or top of the page). The higher your natural page ranking, the more chance you have of being seen by web surfers. Not many people go past page 3 of results, and that is when they are really keen!

Background... SEO is about: the content on the page (copy writing); using page 'tags' correctly; web site structure; understanding what search engines look for; using images properly; and more.

This report from Marketing Sherpa explains what happens when people look at a web page. The info is based on actual "eye tracking" studies. Yes - it is real, and it can predict where people will look on the page.

The report has some startling facts about how long people spend reading each link (only 0.7 seconds). It is well worth reading.

Why you should create your marketing package

In this article from the UK, a major accounting firm emphasises the dangers in offering discounts too frequently. In particular they make the point that "end of season" clearance events must be used as part of a "robust pricing, ranging and sourcing strategy".

In other words... have more than one string for your promotional bow. Don't just rely on one promotional tool to do all your work.

The same goes for marketing within any firm. Develop a "package" of marketing tactics that will work all year round - without having to 'give away the farm' to achieve revenue targets.

Tale of the technophobic client

If you're in business these days you need to know about technology stuff. If you want to be successful... you can't avoid it. Why do I say this? Well, on Friday I was visiting a client and he said that he thought he had "missed the boat" on technology - because he was 41 years old!

At the end of last year this guy moved his practice to new premises, and was wondering whether to upgrade his patient record system. He had used a manual card system for years. His friends told him it was time to update and use a standard software system. But he was worried - and probably a bit scared about taking on something new.

He decided to bite the bullet and install the software. After only 3 months he loves it... and will never go back to manual systems.

Don't fool yourself into thinking you don't need to understand relevant technology. You do. To be successful in marketing (and in business) you must use current 'tools'. These tools now include a variety of technology options. Check 'em out and start using what is best for your situation.