End of Year and in the Press

The end of the year is approaching fast and 2009 is almost here!   I know myself I have attended a number of end of year functions already and have been busy getting my Christmas shopping out of the way before the shops get too busy. 

You have seen on my website an article that I wrote titled “SMEs and Client Christmas Gifts – should we or shouldn’t we?” which is published as a double page spread in the Marketing Magazine, on sale now!  

I also did a shorter version of this article for two other websites (MyBRC and Smart Company) and was also interviewed by Small Business Victoria last week as part of their SME business promotion campaign.  As a result I received the following free publicity:

• MyBRC newsletter and website
• Smart company – lead story on Tuesday, 18th November
• Small Business Victoria - E newsletter 26th November (20,000 subscribers) and Website

It has been an exiciting couple of weeks and what is even more pleasing is the many thousands of dollars of advertising/exposure secured through this PR at no cost to Next Marketing  If you aren’t getting any free PR for your business and would like too, please drop me a line to chat.

Marketing Puzzle Event Announcement

Following the huge and sell out success of the Marketing Puzzle a few weeks ago, we have booked in the new date for 2009 which is Thursday, 10th March 2008. We are limiting the number of tickets available this time and we are sure that tickets will sell out well before the event.  We will have speed networking again hosted by a MC and both myself and Angela den Hollander will be presenting.   If you would like further details or to book on line, click here.

Need a low cost Marketing idea?

One of the best ways to promote your brand and business is to giving your product away as a freebie at an event or as a prize in a competition.  To ensure that there is a win win for you, the event organiser and the prizewinner, select a product or service you have that has a high value to the end user whilst at the same time not costing you much time or money.  Here are some events/ideas to keep an eye out for.

• Door prize for an business event (we did this at the Marketing Puzzle)
• Product Launch
• New business launch
• Giveaway in an e newsletter (such as the Global SMS offer last edition)
• Local council business event
• Door prize at a networking event
• Local newspaper competition (Leader newspaper)

Do visitors to your website get lost?

Having a well designed and easy to navigate website is crucial for visitors to your site. In addition to that, each page in your website should have a purpose and focus. Otherwise, why have it there at all. For example, there should be a clear title that says to the visitor, “Start reading here”. The text and links to other pages in your site should flow next with a strong call to action. Always keep in mind when adding pages to your website, what action do I want my visitors to take once they have read this information.  If you would like Next Marketing to audit your website, drop us a line to see how we can help.

Like some powerful words to use?

The words that we use to describe our business and product offer are a powerful way to connect with our customers and sometimes when we need them most, like when we are writing a sales quote or proposal, is when we can't think of any!

Here are some words that I consider to be powerful and you may like to use in your brochures, website or other marketing materials.

• Approved
• Authentic
• Delivered
• Endorsed
• Exclusive
• Expert
• Practical
• Successful
• Tested

When used correctly, these powerful words will convey to your customers a sense of integrity, quality and reliability about your business and products, which really, can only be a good thing!  If you would like to discuss how to use these words in your website or email campaigns, drop me a line.