Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Entrepreneurship Business Blog for SMB's

Marketing Strategy Blog - Small Business Marketing - Page 5

Why some small businesses won't ever expand internationally

Why some small businesses won't ever expand internationally

Inundated with calls from friends, its refreshing to know that through my experience with business expansion, others are able to rethink their business strategies and look at their own business potential.

The US market for my business is 27 times bigger than Australia and as such, a lucrative opportunity exist for businesses like mine that have a strong product or service to capitalise on the market opportunity.

Marketing Eye provides a bespoke business solution for companies that do not have in-house marketing capabilities providing small to medium sized businesses with a complete outsourced marketing department for just $2,000 per month. This includes an experienced marketing manager backed by a team of graphic design, branding, public relations, web and online specialists, all under one brand - no freelancers or outsourcing.

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The way your company wins in the future is very different...

The way your company wins in the future is very different...

There is one thing we all know for sure about business as we go into the future:

The way your business wins in the future is very different than the way it has won in the past

Just when we think we have got it 'sorted out' something else comes along and again, small businesses fall behind the eight ball.

If I look back on the past 20 years or so, business has changed dramatically. 

  • Globalization is changing the way we work, play and learn
  • Technology affects every element of our lives and being
  • Employees have become the single most important part of any business
  • A person can no longer just blunder into business and expect to survive
  • Old business models and paradigms have changed and will continue to do so
  • Connecting with customers doesn't come just by word of mouth, a strong sales team or advertising in the local newspaper
  • People have changed.
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Rules of the Red Rubber Ball

Rules of the Red Rubber Ball

Last night I had the opportunity to attend an event at JWT Atlanta, the best experiential marketing company in Atlanta and one of the most experienced and creative agencies in all of the US.

They put together events every other month, bringing together people from the marketing and advertising industry.

I really enjoy going to their events as they have quality speakers and as a company, JWT Atlanta is as inspiring as any of the people that they have present. Their office space is uber creative and their people, so much fun, that even I want to go and work there.

Yesterday's speaker was Kevin Carroll, the founder of Katalyst. To say that he is inspirational, passionate and above all, a game-changer is an understatement.

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Are your customers going to buy from you because you're on Twitter?

Are your customers going to buy from you because you're on Twitter?

There is not a small business on the planet that hasn't heard of Twitter, yet many are still failing to execute a social media strategy that cleverly integrates Twitter as a social media platform designed to connect and communicate key messages.

Co-founder Jack Dorsey, a 36 year old tech titan, and now CEO of small business payment technology, Square, has built his billions on knowing what small businesses want and need. Square is the fastest growing small business payments technology in the world today, and through his small business meetings in Town Halls throughout the US, Canada and Japan, #letstalk, he is educating small business owners to talk and support each other, rather than work alone.
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Marketing Automation - Why small businesses need to get onboard

Marketing Automation - Why small businesses need to get onboard

Marketing automation has the fastest growth of any CRM-related segment in the last five (5) years and there is a reason why. Senior management have been desperate for years to have a clear picture of sales pipeline performance, which until marketing and sales automation came along, was unheard of - in a real sense. There were many inferior solutions in the market, but none that really hit the nail on the head quite like marketing automation.

Interestingly, after speaking with a number of marketing automation vendors in the past few weeks, it has become apparent that there is one clear contender for the top marketing automation spot - and that is Marketo.
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Top 20 Entrepreneurs Blogs : 2013

It's a Saturday and rather than head to my nearest Starbucks to buy a NY Times, I decided to get all of my news online. Looking for some inspiration from other bloggers as I am about to embark on phase 3 of Marketing Eye's expansion and to be honest, I am nervous and excited at the same time. Any wisdom from my fellow bloggers is welcome. 

Another thing that struck me while looking for blogs is how out of date they are. If you type in a search in Google, you will get blogs as far back as 2005 that have never been written on again. Hope with the new change of algorithms that Google fixes this problems.

However, there are 20 very worthwhile blogs that are great weekend reads if you are looking for something easy to absorb, interesting, educational and business savvy.

TOP 20 ENTREPRENEURS BLOGS : 2013

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8 Free Apps That Analyze Your Brand On Social Media

8 Free Apps That Analyze Your Brand On Social Media

There are so many Apps around today, that it is hard to know which one's to download and take up space on either your smart phone, tablet or computer.

As a marketing agency, we use a number of "must have" apps to ensure that we are regularly monitoring our clients performance online and ensuring that we are abreast of their competitors movements, campaigns and conversations as well as leveraging industry news and developments to bring their brands to the forefront.

While we continue to grow audiences, increasing our clients brands within the circles in which they trade, it becomes increasingly important to utilize Apps that cut-through the clutter and help ensures that we don't waste time on social media where possible.

Here are 8 of the most efficient analytical Apps that Marketing Eye uses:

1. HootSuite: If you don't use this, then you have not only been hiding under a rock, but you are missing a valuable tool. HootSuite is a social media management solution that enables teams to collaborately execute social media campaigns across multiple platforms from one single view point - a dashboard. HootSuite includes audience identification tools, the ability to streamline workflow and customize reporting. It is perfect for managing Twitter accounts.
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5 Habits of REALLY Successful People

When I am talking successful, I am meaning someone who is really successful. A person who at their disposal, can spend $20 million on a property without blinking an eye lid or pick up their friends and family from wherever they are in the world, in a private jet, just because ... they can.

There are many habits of really successful people - the billionaire type, but here are 5 that come to mind based on my experience in observing their traits:

1.  Dominance is in everything they do
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25 Ways To Turn a Startup Into A Million Dollar Business in 12 Months

25 Ways To Turn a Startup Into A Million Dollar Business in 12 Months

What started out as a dream became a reality, much faster than I anticipated.

Many entrepreneurs can attest to having a dream or maybe just something on their bucket list that needs to be crossed off. I am one of those people. I have a dream but most importantly for me, an item on my bucket list that needs to be crossed off by a given time frame. 

What once was a dirty word to me, the position of entrepreneur in a fast growing, dynamic company is the most exhilarating career choice I could have every made.

What other job has you jumping out of bed at 5am each morning, dressing in a matter of minutes and rushing off to the office to start your day? For that matter, what other job gives you the highs of an entrepreneur and the flexibility to be exactly who you are?
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Why #24yrold ? What does it mean ?

Why #24yrold ? What does it mean ?

If I could have a dollar for every time I didn't trust my gut instinct, I would be a very rich woman.

Like most entrepreneurs, I have failed more times than I have succeeded and every single time I have failed I have thought back to how I could have done things differently. 9 times out of 10, it was because I didn't trust my gut instinct.

Trusting in yourself and your intuition is important, but if you are anything like me, you second guess what you think you should do and find reasons as to why you should do something a different way. It's not too indifferent from taking a risk. We are all reluctant to take risks but sometimes there is this thing inside us that tells us that we must do it - even though there a thousand reasons why we shouldn't.
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Watch and learn... how your clients can teach you more than you realize

Only in Australia for a few days and I have had the pleasure to sit in on a workshop with a company that started just 16 months ago and has had a phenomenal rate of growth.

The Bond Street Group is a company that provides private and public institutions advice and support in enhancing outcomes through leadership, strategy, people and equity effectiveness. Their team is made up of senior professionals that have excelled in their given fields.
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New brand brings health insurance broker company new light

New brand brings health insurance broker company new light

A few weeks ago, we met with the delightful Jack Rehm and Karen Larkin of Midsouth Planning in Atlanta. The first thing that struck me about both Jack and Karen is how nice they are. Now, nice isn't a word that many people would like associated with themselves because of the connotations that it has, but its true. They are smart, thoughtful, considerate and nice.

It was a big step for both of them to take to hire a marketing company as it isn't something that they had done before. 
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Same bed, but it feels a bit bigger now

Same bed, but it feels a bit bigger now

"Same bed, but it feels a bit bigger now" is the lyrics in the famous Bruno Mars song "When I was your man".  An apt description of Marketing Eye's business expansion into the US market. It's the same company, but its a bit bigger now. 

What started out as a step to expand the international footprint of our brand, has taken on a whole new dimension. Australian and America have long been tied and now more so than ever. The ebbs of the economy has led to an opportunity for Australian companies that are geared for expansion to leverage the strength of the Australian dollar, and affordable set up costs in the US market without breaking the bank. The downside, is US dollars are not worth as much, as the dollar loses its grip on parity.

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Why your clients hire you for the job and not someone else

Why your clients hire you for the job and not someone else

We hit the road running in Atlanta and haven't looked back since.

In just six short months, we have embarked on changing the mindsets of many small businesses in Atlanta, that have been pressured by the Global Financial Crisis and are reluctant to ease their way out and invest in marketing.

As we know, many companies that increased their investment in marketing during this period grew significantly. It's just like when everyone is walking one way and you are walking the other. You all of a sudden stand out and people take notice of you. If they like what they see, then you make connections.

The past few months, we have been working with one of the most impressive companies in the US - Accretive Solutions. They provide consulting, staffing and outsourcing solutions to companies and have 11 offices throughout the country.

What impresses me most about Accretive Solutions is their people. If you ask any of their clients, they all say that it's their people that set Accretive Solutions apart from competitors. They don't hire juniors, and instead invest in people with experience and passion for doing challenging, interesting work.
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