This new and exciting programme is designed to equip individuals (aged 19+) with the technical skills, knowledge and understanding needed to produce digital content across several platforms, ensuring you can use social media most effectively for your small business, sports team or trade.
This course will provide a great opportunity for you to develop graphic design techniques, such as designing and producing a brand identity and branded graphics for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and more. There is a host of exciting modules that your tutor will guide you through, including:
Planning your Project
Typography and Layouts
Working with Illustrator and Photoshop
Creating a Brand
We can’t think of many businesses that don’t need some sort of digital presence these days. For many a dedicated business website is essential to sell, collect leads, provide brand awareness, or company information.
For this website to work well for the business it needs to be found, and it needs to stand out from competing websites. This is where the search engines come in, and SEO. Unfortunately, the world of SEO can seem impenetrable to the inexperienced, with its secret algorithms, computer languages and technical knowhow. It is a highly specialised discipline that most companies need help with on a regular basis. A particular challenge is often how to get the balance right between SEO, eCommerce and usability in your page content. You may need the support of SEO experts for this, hence a proliferation of national and local SEO Agencies.
All SEO Agencies promise higher rankings and more traffic for your site, so how can you be sure you are hiring the best, the one that will be able to deliver on that promise and more? There are no professional accreditations, no formal qualifications for SEO. But there are things you can do to make sure you are hiring a great SEO Agency to work with you.
Step 1 – Research SEO Agencies that have a similar client profile to your business
This might be similarities in the industry you work in, or in company size or budget size, or even in ethical outlook or company vision. Have a detailed look at their website – is it professional, useful, knowledgeable, and engaging? And where do they rank for terms relevant to their business like ‘SEO Agency in [INSERT CITY THEY ARE IN]’, ‘SEO Agency in [INSERT INDUSTRY THEY WORK WITH]’
If they can get their own website to rank well for highly competitive terms like these then they know what they are doing!
Step 2 – Make a short list
Research and make a shortlist of 3 or 4 agencies, including a mixture of maybe regional and national, or large and small SEO firms and call them to arrange a telephone or face to face interview.
Step 3 – Watch this excellent video
Have a watch of ‘How to Hire an SEO Agency’ from Maile Ohye, who was a top Google representative. If you don’t have time to watch it below, (11 minutes) we have outlined all the main points in the next section of this article.
Step 4 – Ask for references
Testimonials and case studies are useful however, these may not always give a complete picture. Ask for a few references of their current or past clients and drop them a line or call. If other clients are willing to take a few minutes to recommend the agency’s services, then that is a great thumbs up.
Step 5 – Be prepared to give it time
SEO is a mid to long term marketing strategy. It is unlikely you will see positive results immediately – we recommend 6 to 9 months is the absolute minimum time you should wait before assessing the outcomes and next moves with your chosen agency. If you jump ship too early you may end up losing all the SEO advantages you have just invested in. But do expect to be kept fully informed on progress on a regular basis.
If you have not got the time to watch the video, then do have a read of our synopsis of the advice from Maile Ohye, in the official Google video on finding the best SEO company for you. You can read the helpful tips and advice all about selecting the right SEO agency for your business.
If you would like any more advice, or to discuss a technical SEO audit or what we feel our SEO agency can offer you, then please give us a call and talk to our SEO experts. We are a specialist SEO agency for Bristol and would like to understand your business and help you to achieve your goals. We have SEO clients who are happy to provide references for us and give you the low down on their results and what it is like to work with us, so if you would like to chat to one, we can put you in touch.
When many people think of SEO they think of Google and other search engines and how to higher up in the ‘rankings’ on their results pages.
Whilst this is still crucial and for many the cornerstone of the industry as a whole, there has been a lot of evolution in other platforms as well and the phrase SEO now covers optimisation strategies and techniques on a wide range of different platforms and sites including:
Essentially, you should be thinking of SEO whether you are uploading your latest company podcast or sending out your next company tweet. There are plenty of opportunities to get your content in front of a wider audience without focusing too much on the orderly nature of rankings.
Here we have compiled a guide of actions, strategies and quick wins that you can implement to improve the SEO of your Instagram page and start to create an audience that will support your growth as a business.
For the sake of time we will assume that you already have an Instagram page set up and ready to go with a good idea of the content you are looking to share, so where do you start with your SEO on the site?
One of the main steps you should take is to optimise your Instagram profile page. Not only will this help your SEO, but it will also add valuable content that will help visitors to the page work out who you are and what you are about. Below we have listed some of the steps to take to optimise your Instagram page for SEO.
If you want to optimise your profile for Instagram then including some primary keywords within your name and username will help increase your searchability, although it should be stated this is not the be-all and end-all for Instagram SEO. It is also worth noting that snippets from the profile bio’s are also pulled through, strengthening the case for having some target keywords within the first line of your Instagram bio.
Try to avoid ‘keyword-stuffing’, just like Google, this can be a spammy tactic that will not get you anywhere on a platform like Instagram where content is key and optimisation comes in as a supporting function.
Captions are a big part of Instagram SEO, and if you write keyword optimised captions you will make it easier for the Algorithm to pick up your posts and share them with the relevant people. It is worth noting that the content will be shown to different people depending on their interests, if you are a coffee company, your posts will be more likely to be shown to people who have expressed an interest in coffee, particularly if you are including relevant keywords within your captions.
Alt tags are fantastic if you are looking to upgrade your Instagram SEO, and whilst they are less important in the eyes of Google, they can still have a considerable impact on the social media platform. Much like on your website, alt tags will help visually impaired audiences and you can use #hashtags and competitor handles in your alt tags to improve visibility and be found alongside your competitors and other relevant content. Make sure the alt tag is descriptive enough to be of value to potential audiences.
Additionally, a recent talk from Digital AdDoctor’s Freya Jones at BrightonSEO confirmed that #hashtags should be included within the caption of your Instagram posts as opposed to the first comment to drive better engagement. This is crucial if you want your #hashtags to be picked up by the Algorithm to improve your Instagram SEO.
Whilst #hashtags are very important in Instagram just like other social media networks, you no longer need #hashtags to search for people or accounts, the information you have in your username and bio has become more important.
Whilst you may be tempted to use certain ‘black hat’ SEO tactics in Instagram like buying followers and likes, we recommend avoiding it at all costs. Much like Google, the Instagram algorithm will get better at weeding out companies employing poor tactics and punishing them accordingly.
Once you have implemented a good Instagram content plan optimised for SEO you will want to find a way of tracking your progress. Find a good analytics provider and measure your results, we recommend not putting too much focus on vanity figures like followers as these can be misleading, although they are still very useful as a starting point.
Look at your engagement and find out if your SEO efforts are helping you get greater coverage on Instagram, this will help you work out what the next steps are and how to use the additional coverage to drive better results and revenue for your business.
If you are looking to drive leads and traffic to a site, then make sure you consider that aim when it comes to your Instagram SEO. Whilst this should not be the end goal, getting users off the site and into your databases and lead funnels will help give you more control over your channels, although it is worth noting that engagement on the platform is just as important. Try not to view Instagram purely as a means of driving leads and signups for your business and potential clients.
Whilst having a strong Instagram presence will not directly impact your SEO in Google, it will help you build an audience and drive relevant and engaged traffic to your site, which will help build your overall digital visibility and following.
Make sure you keep an eye on your Instagram and keep up to date with any new SEO changes and tactics the site may be making to ensure you stay ahead of the competition. Of course, if you would like any information on SEO and how we can help, then feel free to get in touch with a member of the Varn team today.
What does the future of PR and marketing look like? Business leaders are planning ahead for 2022 in one of the most unique situations that people have faced. How do you prepare your business for life when dealing with a pandemic?
AMBITIOUS and Insider Media spoke to business leaders in the South West to find out what their approaches to PR and marketing will be in 2022. Which areas will be their focus? Where are they increasing their investment? And, where they’ll be choosing not to spend.
The answers show that business leaders in the South West are planning to invest: engaging with their core customers and visitors more than ever before. And not just their customers. Thanks to a skills shortage across many sectors, using online to source new recruits is alo where businesses will be investing. As a result, online activity is becoming more important than ever for PR and marketing activities.
Life really did move online during the last 12 months and while in-person events are starting to come back, digital has taken the lead on many aspects of businesses. As well as B2C companies, B2B businesses are seeing the value of social media and how to use it for success.
Mike Ribbeck, Insider Media Editor said: “As the purse strings tighten, business leaders look at expenditure and decide which are the most important functions to protect and which areas of the business are expendable.
“The reality is that, rather than bringing the world to a standstill, the pandemic has accelerated many of the trends that were reshaping the world that we all live and work in. The digital revolution has picked up pace and businesses from all sectors and different sizes have made the transition to operating virtually.
“All of that means that the need to get the message out about your business and the services it can offer has never been more important.
“And the channels of communication to potential clients and business partners have continued to multiply with social media playing an even more important role when it comes to marketing and PR.
“According to our survey, the majority of businesses have maintained the level of spending or even increased.
“One of the most interesting findings was where businesses will be concentrating theory efforts. The two main areas that stood out were content creation and social media.”
Our survey has found that there are six core areas where business leaders will be focusing their PR and marketing efforts, including content, PR and SEO. Results from our survey include:
Phil Smith, Managing Director, Business West, said: “In the past 18 months, South West businesses have wrestled with a unique and complex set of challenges as a result of Brexit and the pandemic.
“Whilst business impacts such as social distancing measures are temporary, labour shortages and inflationary pressures look set to continue (at least in the medium term) and could have a stymieing effect on our economic recovery.
“As the government looks to recoup some of the £300bn+ that it spent during the pandemic, SW businesses will no doubt be anxious about potential tax hikes and rate increases.”
It is encouraging that businesses recognise the huge part that PR and marketing play not only in boosting their brand and growing sales but generating awareness of new products and services too.
It is also evident that marketing has a vital role in attracting, engaging, and recruiting talent into the business (as well as helping to retain talent). Indeed, today’s job candidates discover and weigh up potential employers in the same way they find consumer goods, restaurants, and hotels. It is mission critical that marketing budgets reflect this digital shift.
The amount of online content consumed by the average person doubled to seven hours a day. Social media activity increased by 12.3 per cent with the average person spending nearly two and a half hours on social sites.
A clear, resounding message from the businesses we spoke to is that we are going through an accelerated pace of significant change.
The pandemic hit the fast forward button, transforming consumer perceptions, expectations, and behaviours almost overnight. There are no pause or rewind buttons – consumers and the world have moved on. This has profound implications for how we market ourselves. Failure to keep up with the pace of change could mean being left behind forever.
Download your copy of the white paper now.
Most people don’t go into business because of their love of finance (except us, of course). Whatever your ‘why’ is, it’s unlikely that involves organising invoices, chasing debts, and delving into your reports. But even as a team of one, having a financial forecasting model in place can actually take the pressure off and give you the confidence in your numbers you need to get on with the parts of your business you really love.
Once you understand the benefits of having an accurate and realistic forecast that can support your day to day, it’s much less intimidating and far more empowering. So, let’s get into some of the reasons you should make a financial forecast a priority in your business.
The money coming in and out of your business doesn’t always line up with your plans. An accurate forecast will give you a good view on your cash flow over the coming months so you can be prepared when things don’t always go to plan. For example, before you go and spend big on a new piece of equipment, you’ll be able to see what will happen if invoices get paid late next month and make sure you don’t end up in the red. Mismanaging cash flow is the biggest reason that small businesses fail, so this is an important one.
Have you ever been caught out by a surprise tax bill? Or maybe your invoices go out and before you know it, they’re a week late and you’ve not chased up? Setting up a forecasting model will give you a chance to make sure everything is accounted for. You can siphon off small amounts across the year to make sure big bills don’t hit quite as hard and implement revenue recognition strategies to make sure that money coming in is acknowledged in the right period. If you do project work and get paid in large lump sums, it’s advisable to spread that income across the time it takes you to do the work so that your finances tell the story of the reality of your business.
Having an up to date and realistic forecast will impress any stakeholders that you need, from the board to potential investors. It can act as a communication tool to express your plans, concerns, and ideas as well as help answer any questions they have, no matter how detailed.
Once you have a forecast in place, as long as you update and engage with it regularly, you can use it as a tool to support your decision making. Having all the elements of your business in one place will give you an overview of how one decision will affect another. It will be easy to see how each decision, big or small, will impact your finances and future.
While a forecast needs to be realistic, you can use it to do more than tell the story of your business – utilise it to take control and make your goals happen! Once you have a clear picture of your numbers you’ll be in a much better position to see the path you’re heading down and change course to get where you want to go.
Getting started is usually the hardest part, but having the right expert to help can make it an empowering experience. They’ll be able to support you in finding the right model and make sure it’s set up in a way that makes sense for you. Having a bespoke model will make your experience with forecasting far more efficient and effective.
FD Works know what’s involved in running a small business, from startup to success. We’ve used our experience to create a customisable forecasting model to specifically support complex, small businesses.
If you want to know more about how to get started with forecasting and how it can support your business, read our research report on SMEs and their relationship with forecasts.
If you’re looking for a forecasting model, or some guidance around financial forecasting then get in touch on 01454 300 999 or [email protected], or head over to www.fd-works.co.uk to find out more.
Most agency owners are familiar with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) — these are values that measure the success of your ongoing progress against a defined metric. In essence, a KPI will measure, or indicate, how an agency is likely to grow.
For most of us, KPIs have been a mainstay of working life since our internship days. However, what often comes as a surprise to many of my clients is that KPIs can come in two forms, Leading & Lagging.
In this article, I discuss leading & lagging KPIs, how and why you should measure both types and why the high performing agencies do just that.
As we all know, a KPI is a pre-defined metric or milestone which is used to gauge progress across all functions and departments. KPIs are tangible, valuable insights that help inform decisions about how an agency is run.
A Leading KPI is input related. Leading KPIs measure the current activity in your agency, whereas a lagging KPI only demonstrates what you’ve already achieved.
Lagging KPIs are important to monitor, as they give a good snapshot of the topline performance of your agency. However, if the numbers are a little off, and this is the only metric you have, it can be tricky to pinpoint and fix where things went wrong.
The idea behind Leading KPIs is that they create targets, focus and accountability within your agency on a daily basis. This helps to keep you (and your team) on track toward successfully meeting your lagging KPIs.
To get a good handle on your agency’s growth trajectory, me and my fellow Coaches always recommend tracking more leading KPIs than lagging ones — with a ratio in and around 4:1.
This is often the secret sauce to success — monitoring, reporting and acting upon leading and lagging KPIs is what sets the high-performing agencies apart from the pack.
Because I love an analogy, let’s imagine your digital agency is trying to shed some pounds. In this instance, you would have a Lagging KPI of ‘Total Weight Lost’.
Jumping on the scales once a month just to measure the outcome and see how much weight has been lost is going to make for slow, blinded progress.
Instead, you could measure your daily exercise, track your diet and weigh yourself on a weekly basis. These metrics would be your Leading KPIs and will give a more accurate reading of how you are tracking toward your weight-loss goal.
If you reach the end of your third month and you still haven’t lost any weight, then you can review all your KPIs and see where the shortfalls or issues might be. The more Leading KPIs you track, the easier it is to identify areas of improvement.
A key differentiator between high and underperforming agencies is how many, and what kind of KPIs they are measuring and learning from.
Successful digital agencies have more Leading KPIs than lagging. This helps them predict and prepare for their growth — they’ll know where their agency is heading before it actually gets there.
By monitoring both types of KPIs, you are able to see the relationship your leading efforts will have on your overarching goal. By keeping an eye on both figures, you’ll be able to attribute any issues with your Sales to any increases or decreases to your Call Tally or Event Attendance.
At Digital Agency Coach, we host bi-weekly Mastermind Groups for digital agency owners. These informal workshops are centred around peer learning — you’ll learn from other agencies who are navigating the same challenges as you and will pick up game-changing tactics such as today’s KPI hack, which improve the performance of your agency.
Get In Touch with myself or my team of friendly digital agency experts, we’d be delighted to help answer any questions about this article, our Mastermind Group or our Coaching & Mentoring Programs.
If your understanding of the startup world is based on the series produced by (and starring) mid-noughties nerdy heartthrob, Adam Brody, it might surprise you to learn that most tech ventures aren’t funded by dubious dosh from the criminal underworld. That isn’t to say that StartUp isn’t an entertaining show, by the way, but it’s not exactly an accurate representation of how startup founders might seek investment.
While there are some great examples of companies that have ‘bootstrapped’ their way to billions, most successful tech businesses will raise equity finance at some stage in their scale-up journey — usually over several funding rounds. The right investment not only unlocks the cash you need to accelerate growth but also provides you with a new business partner who is aligned with your goals, brings business acumen and an invaluable network of industry contacts.
Knowing how to turn your venture into an investment magnet is key to getting the attention of the right type of investor while never feeling pressured to settle for a bad fit. So, how do you as a startup founder attract that perfect investor? Here are 6 qualities investors will be looking for in your tech startup.
As a startup founder, being passionate about your project should be a prerequisite. If not, then it’s probably the wrong venture for you. You need to truly believe in the product/service you want to provide and be confident that it’s either an improvement on what’s available on the market or an entirely new take on addressing an old problem.
Beyond your bright idea, you should also be mindful that investors are investing in you as much as they are in your business. Are you able to distil and describe the journey you’ve been on thus far? Can you showcase your passion, skill-set and creativity?
However, while passion per se is great, would you put your money where your mouth is? Most investors are looking for founders who are willing to invest their own capital — hypothetically, at the very least. After all, why should someone part with their hard-earned cash for your project if you’re unwilling to do the same? The same applies to investing your time. If you’re unwilling to work hard on your own project, then it’s unrealistic to expect anyone else to.
To get your business off the ground, you’ll have to — or will have had to — raise the initial capital yourself. This can come from your own savings, borrowings, or even friends and family. Either way, this is a concrete example of demonstrating that you believe in your product/service, so much so that you’re willing to invest money into it.
To be worthy of investment, any new product/service needs to have a proven market and be appealing to that market. Ideally, your venture will have begun operations and demonstrated an ability to sell that product or service — essentially, you need to have a robust ‘proof of concept’ to show investors. Investors will look for the following:
For a tech startup, the proof of concept is often an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) — a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide adequate feedback for future product development. Through our experiences building brilliant launchpad apps for businesses, we’ve come up with a checklist to help you get started with your MVP ASAP.
Most investors are looking for business opportunities that have potential — primarily, for growth. This is all relative, of course, based on the size of your market, but ideally, you need to have a market with significant reach — regionally at least — depending on the nature of your product or service.
Not every product/service is going to have a worldwide market, of course, but a large enough market to increase scale and margins within your operations is typically a requirement for investors.
If your startup is a would-be disruptor in an existing, saturated market then the same rules apply. However, your growth potential is likely to be deeply scrutinised because any market share gained is being taken directly from a competitor, therefore your competitive advantage needs to be demonstrable.
Which leads us on nicely…
No matter what the product — whether it’s clothing, music or a new software platform — the same question always applies: what makes your product unique? To be worthy of investment, there has to be something that sets you apart.
If your product or service is genuinely the first of its kind (something that many founders wrongly convince themselves is the case), then that’s your competitive advantage. What’s more likely, however, is that your startup will be entering an existing market. This is where having a real differentiator is crucial for success.
Take German neobank, N26, for example. Voted ‘Best Bank in the World 2021’, N26 is by no means the only player in the online-only banking market — competitors include the likes of Monzo and Revolut. However, by taking a service that people have to consume and generally dislike (banking), and turning it into an enjoyable process by focusing 100% of its efforts on user experience, N26 has confidently positioned itself as ‘the bank you’ll love’.
To save on cost, most startups will have very limited staffing (at the start of their journey, at least), usually consisting of one or two founders. Whether it’s a team of two or ten, the number of staff isn’t an issue so long as the key areas of the business are covered. For example, if your business is centred around AI technology, do you have someone in the team who is a specialist in this area? It’s extremely important that you have an expert in the tech or market you’re entering.
Operating control is another area investors will be looking at before taking a punt on your startup. They’ll expect you as the founder to have developed (or be in the process of developing) policies and procedures to control the business and ensure their investment doesn’t go to waste.
It’s also important that as a founder, you’re able to ‘let go’ and delegate authority across your team. We get it, your startup is your baby, but over time, you need to trust someone else to take care of the proverbial nappies. Or bedtime story. You get the gist. Investors will take comfort in seeing expertise and autonomy spread across a fully engaged team.
The coldness with which investors approach this topic can be a bit of a shock, but getting into their mindset — ie. looking for a return, can keep you focused on what’s important for your startup. It’s important to know that from a financial perspective, investors will have two primary questions when looking at a project:
These questions can be answered by a thorough financial projection which you can do yourself, but if you’re struggling, there are people you can hire to help out.
Essentially, investors want to know what their ROI (return on investment) will be and when they’ll begin to see it, so including a full ROI analysis in any pitch to an investor is highly advised.
At Gravitywell, we love working with enthusiastic startups and help with prototypes, pitch decks, MVPs and conceptual work. If you’d like to discuss how we can take your idea to the next level, get in touch.
Andy Nairn, who has been named the UK’s number one brand strategist for the past three years, joined us for a fascinating and entertaining event to share insights from his new book, Go Luck Yourself: 40 ways to stack the odds in your brand’s favour.
In the book, Andy explains how the history of marketing and advertising is full of brands that stumbled across great ideas by accident or turned misfortunes into huge successes. During the event, the co-founder of advertising agency Lucky Generals highlighted some examples and outlined the lessons for creative companies. Dan Martin summarises his insights.
Opening his talk, Andy Nairn explained that we have a strange relationship with luck in the UK. “Other parts of the world find it completely natural to talk about luck and it’s a perfectly acceptable part of business conversation,” he said, “In the West, we’re a bit snooty about the whole thing. We think of it as a bit primitive and not to be trifled with.”
The negativity around luck was cemented in Victorian times, Andy said. The Industrial Revolution and the Protestant work ethic created the belief that if you were rich, you were successful because you had worked really hard for your money and God had smiled upon you, but if you were poor, it meant you hadn’t tried hard enough, you were work-shy and you should try harder.
That attitude around only hard work can generate good results still prevails, shown by the blurring of work and personal lives during the pandemic, Andy said.
“We can all think of situations where working an extra hour hasn’t given us a creative breakthrough and it can actually sometimes make it worse. Working hard means we’re stuck in the middle of it and what we really need is to get some fresh air and space around us.
“The book says yes, hard work is a good thing but you also need a bit of luck. The more you think about luck and the more you’re conscious of it, the more you can do to increase the chance of it coming your way. If you just deny that luck exists, it’s very hard for you to do that.”
There are 40 tips in Andy’s book that fit under the following four themes:
You might not realise it but you are highly likely to have assets in your business that you are not taking full advantage of. Andy used three non-business examples to illustrate his point:
Many businesses are guilty of not appreciating what they’ve got, Andy said. Brand history, heritage and provenance are often neglected by brands but talking about the history of your business, where it’s from and why it’s called what it is could be a valuable benefit to your marketing and other business activities.
Other examples include the data your business holds and the window display in your business’ offices.
And what about your logo? Could that be used in a different way?
Andy’s business, Lucky Generals, was asked to come up with an advertising campaign for Amazon that worked in multiple countries. The answer turned out to be a simple but very powerful one that was inspired by the company’s existing smile-shaped logo. As the Lucky Generals website says: “We hit upon the simple idea of heroing Amazon’s iconic packages and the epic journeys they make, to put a smile on the faces of people around the world.”
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To illustrate this point, Andy highlighted a 10-year study into the nature of luck by Professor Richard Wiseman. As part of it, he gave a group of people a newspaper and asked them to count the number of photographs. The unlucky people took around two minutes whereas the lucky people took just three seconds. The reason was that on the second page of the newspaper was the message: “Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper.”
The study concluded that lucky people are good at constantly looking for opportunities beyond what they’re working on or the thing they’ve been told to do.
This can also be illustrated by the world of science, Andy said. Several important discoveries have been made accidentally and of the most famous is Alexander Fleming who discovered penicillin after spotting some mould that had accidentally developed on a plate.
Diversity of teams is important here too. It’s easy to recruit people who are the same as you but that can mean you’ll just come up with the same ideas. However, if you take on people from different cultures, backgrounds and experiences, “it gives you a much better chance of striking it lucky” and spotting opportunities you might never have discovered.
There are many examples of businesses converting a bad experience into a good one. One brilliant one is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an early character created by Walt Disney in 1927. It was popular but a contract dispute with his producer led to Disney quitting work on the cartoons. On the train home from a meeting, he came up with a new idea. It developed into Mickey Mouse, the most successful cartoon character of all time.
“We’ve all experienced our ideas being pulled, budgets being cut, timings being changed and clients changing their minds, but what we have to do is go again and come up with something that is even better, like Walt Disney did,” Andy said.
“The best companies don’t just deal with a bit of bad luck, it’s almost like they go running towards the bad luck. There’s a good energy that comes out of that.”
Steve Jobs was known for killing off his own products (the iMac killed the Macintosh and the iPhone killed the iPod) because, as Andy said, “his attitude was, if I don’t kill them off, someone else will.”
There are also some brands that take on taboos and talk about them directly. Bodyform and periods is an example.
Others take what could be seen as an annoying product flaw and turn it into a positive. Think of Guinness and “good things come to those who wait”.
When working with a big brand, Andy said he goes to the “darkest corners of social media” to find the negative conversation about that brand. “The jokes and nasty comments often have a truth and by acknowledging them, you can own the joke, turn it on its head and turn against those people.”
Andy’s last point is about deliberately building luck into your processes. He illustrated it with examples from music.
What similar techniques can you build into your business processes so you constantly generate ideas?
Be lucky!
The next Bristol Creative Industries online keynote is with Anne Thistleton, marketing veteran and former strategy lead for The Coca-Cola Company in South Africa. She will share easy and practical lessons from mind science to make sure your audience really hears you. BCI members get £15 off tickets. Book your place here for the event on 21 October.
We’ve been taking stock of the latest trends in the eCommerce world and reviewing tips for improving conversion rates and lifetime value. Earlier in the month, the Ecomm World Event had some exciting speakers. While, the Shopify Unite developer conference introduced some fantastic new features and improvements to the Shopify ecosystem, which we’ll be covering in another article.
The latest Treasure Data and MarTech Alliance survey also provided good insights into the challenges facing marketers in delivering better customer experiences. The report shows that 50% of marketing managers questioned are focused on joined-up digital and offline experiences, while 37% are committed to omnichannel integrated marketing campaigns to deliver consistent customer experience and grow top-of-funnel volumes.
Key takeouts and trends to follow this month are as follows.
Once you have addressed the big-ticket optimisations on your store, it’s time to start identifying the micro-moments in your customer journeys that impact propensity to purchase even in a small way. These moments could be viewing an alternate product image, engaging with video or on-page chat, as well as viewing shipping/tax info or fitting guides. Pick one or two of these moments to focus on, set up your analytics to track the events, and work on optimising the experience with A/B testing by making small changes such as underlining links, changing sign-post copy, etc.
What’s great about this way of tweaking your site is that it’s very reactive. It’s all about continuous optimisation. Plus, individually, these might all be low risk changes that lead to better conversion rates when combined.
Your product page is the most important page on your store. Over time, it’s easy to focus on landing pages, supporting content, and more extensive site-wide changes to drive conversion. To help decide if your product pages need some love, here are some key questions to ask:
Depending on the type of products you are selling, you may want to develop a product microsite giving your users easy access to product benefits, FAQs, the product origin story, detailed usage instructions, and strong advocacy links.
When you are ready, plan your changes and set up A/B tests to further improve conversion rates.
The brain is a funny thing. It’s very irrational. We know that £49.99 is just a penny less than £50.00, but there’s still a perceived saving. We can use this irrationality to shape buyer behavior and improve conversion rates. Some top tips from Alex Chahin include:
With CMO’s focused on customer experience, joined-up digital experiences, and an ongoing shift to online purchasing, you should be watching your competitors closely. Sign up to their newsletters, buy their products and interact with their loyalty programs – what’s working for them can be adapted for you. In addition, you will spot opportunities around weaker points in your customer experience of their brand.
We’ve said it before, but never more is it truer. Your customers are your biggest advocates. Building advocacy into your customer experience from the start will help you build loyalty, trust, and a growing customer base, as well as improve onsite conversion rates.
To do this, you need to get personal:
Remember, what works for one person may not work for another!
Why not reach out to us and let us how you get your customers talking. We’d love to hear how you do it.
While you are here, check out what we’ve been doing for McCormick and Symprove to optimize conversion rates.
In our previous blog, we explored a joint report from LinkedIn and the B2B Institute, ‘5 principles of Growth in B2B Marketing’ to find out how businesses make their purchasing decisions.
In the second part of this series, we’re exploring the case for brand memorability – or mental availability – and why you should consider a route to B2B fame.
Expanding your customer base
Acquiring new customers is expensive.
Many B2B companies believe increasing loyalty is the most profitable way to grow their businesses. Others focus on acquisition strategies, targeting new key accounts they want to penetrate.
The jointly commissioned report ‘5 Principles of Growth in B2B Marketing’ by LinkedIn and the B2B Institute shows that campaigns which talk to both new and existing customers – also known as reach strategies – are the most effective.
In fact, the report’s data reveals that those relying on a loyalty strategy alone showed a zero-success rate. Loyalty tends to be a side-effect of market share, and brands with a high penetration tend to have better loyalty rates.
Please see original article for picture: https://www.proctors.co.uk/knowledge-hub/b2b-marketing-masterclass-part-2
So that’s the science behind B2B decision making. But is it rational or emotional? The answer, according to psychologists, is that we’re all human. and our thought processes follow the same basic patterns.
One of these is our tendency to use mental shortcuts to reach a decision. NobelPrize winner, Daniel Kahneman, famously put it this way:
“Human beings are to independent thinking as cats are to swimming. They can do it, but they prefer not to. The brain is largely a machine for jumping to conclusions.”
Essentially, when presented with choices, or asked a question, we usually prefer to select the answer which comes to mind easiest. You may have experienced this yourself when put on the spot. Psychologists call this ‘mental availability’.
For brands, ‘mental availability’ has two levels.
The first level is awareness.
Your brand will have lodged in your customers’ memories, and they’ll recognise your name.
However, awareness will only get you so far, and the most you can expect is to be shortlisted from the long list of potential choices. To reach the top of your customer’s mental availability, your brand will need to level up.
The second level is fame.
Take IBM, for example.
Everyone knows their name, and I probably don’t need to remind you of their famous line: Nobody got fired for hiring IBM. This single creative line was repeated over and over again, forming an emotional connection that made it easy to make the choice. Long after they campaigned it, we still remember it, talk about it, share it.
And here’s the data which proves the point.
Please see original article for picture: https://www.proctors.co.uk/knowledge-hub/b2b-marketing-masterclass-part-2
Success isn’t a contest between lead generation and brand in B2B marketing. We can see that winning B2B companies apply both in their marketing mix. But if your Sales Director still isn’t convinced by the data, perhaps this story will help.
You’ve successfully launched your lead generation campaign. In fact, it’s been so successful that your sales team have followed up with an excellent meeting with Key Prospect Biz. Your salespeople do a great job of pitching the benefits of what you offer, and your brand makes it to the Key Prospect Biz’s shortlisting stage.
But now, your salespeople have left, and things go quiet. Key Prospect Biz’s decision goes to committee, and you’re not in the room to influence the conversation.
It’s been a while since your guys’ presentation, and human memory is short. This isn’t the final stage, but you know it’s more than likely they’ll use the easiest route to jump to their conclusions. This is where brand awareness will likely drive their mental availability and get you on the shortlist. Great news!
Now it’s a three-horse race. You’re each invited to pitch to a panel of C-suite decision-makers and the influencers who got you this far.
There may be an upstart challenger brand in the running for comparison, but the other two will be recognised brand names.
Now no-one doubts your abilities to work the room as a great salesperson. But it’s a fair bet that the famous brand amongst the pack will already have had an impact on the C-suite. In fact, they’ve probably already jumped to a conclusion before you enter the room.
So, which of the three would you rather be?
Ah yes, your Sales Director says, but our ABM campaigns have made sure that everyone in the room knows who we are and what we stand for.
True. ABM is by far the most effective B2B sales activation tool in your armoury, and a good campaign will have got you this far. But it won’t have made you famous.
Fame takes time to grow. The famous brand will have been imprinted in the minds of those executives consistently over and over again. Talked about with colleagues. Acknowledged as leaders in their sector. Collectively famous for what makes them great.
It will have made them the first name that springs to mind.
Your sales director still doesn’t buy it? OK, here’s a final question for them. Why is it that when successful salespeople move jobs, they’re usually tempted to work for bigger brands to advance their career?
If you’re still not getting anywhere, maybe it’s time you thought about moving jobs to a bigger brand yourself! (Only kidding.)
If you’d like to talk about supercharging your brand strategy with the latest industry data, or to discuss your creative marketing requirements, get in touch with us today at [email protected].
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