by admin+ | Feb 20, 2013 | Uncategorized
For many small business owners, their business marketing strategy is an afterthought – if there is a strategy in place at all. Marketing for these businesses is a haphazard approach at best – something that they do if they have the time between the day to day running of other aspects of their business. It shouldn’t be this way. Business marketing strategy, as a solution for driving sales, should be front and centre in all decision making processes. It should be front of mind and be considered before anything else in your business. Without a business marketing strategy you will unlikely find you get many leads and your business will struggle to thrive. Business Marketing Strategy – What to measure. Part of any business marketing strategy should be measuring and tracking results. Here are some of the things you should be measuring (at a very minimum.) No of leads generated and where they come from – Without leads, without someone interested in potentially buying your product or service, you won’t make any money. Any business marketing strategy should involve a number of different marketing channels and measuring the effectiveness of these channels. This means that your strategy should identify how many leads are generated and where they came from. You should then concentrate your efforts on those that generate you the most leads. Total qualified leads – A word of caution though. Not all leads are created equally. You need to qualify the leads that are generated and you should measure the total number of qualified leads you generate. Your business marketing strategy should also identify those marketing channels...
by admin+ | Feb 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
Network Marketing and MLM seem scary and put many people off. It’s true that MLM can have some negative connotations that arise from bad practitioners but this does not mean that all businesses cannot learn from successful Network Marketers. The best MLM networkers implement a number of lead generation techniques to successfully grow their business. they don’t rely on pressure selling to friends and family. Lead Generation Techniques that you can use starting today. Here are some of the lead generation techniques used by the successful entrepreneurs can learn from those who are excellent MLM practitioners in order to grow their own business: Create content and be an authority figure Cold-calling has lost its effectiveness as a lead generation technique. For many businesses it used to be the go to option as you could reach a number of prospects quite easily and cheaply without even leaving the office. It does still work as a lead generation technique but because it is overused now people are not as receptive to cold calling and telemarketing as they used to be. And why needs cold calling anyway? Chances are people are already looking for your product or service and you need to spend some time giving them a reason to choose you over your competitors. By creating content – whitepapers, ebooks etc – and writing articles for your local media or other authority sites you will begin to position yourself as an expert in your field. This means that your prospects will begin to trust you and, instead of selling to them, you will find that they come to you with their...
by admin+ | Jan 21, 2013 | Sponsorship
Many local sporting and community groups spend a lot of time wondering how to get sponsors. It’s an important consideration given that these groups often rely on the funding from sponsors for day to day running of their organisation. Before worrying about how to get sponsors, these groups would be better suited first learning about sponsorship. What is sponsorship? First things first, what is sponsorship not? Sponsorship is not a donation. If you are wondering how to get sponsors or how to keep sponsors this point could be a key factor. When you are worried about how to get sponsors you need to remember that you are not just looking for people to make a donation. (If you do just want donations be clear about this.) You are not just giving money to a sporting group, community group or event with the expectation of nothing in return. That is a donation. There’s nothing wrong with donating money to a sporting group or community group but this is not what sponsorship is. if you are seeking sponsors, you have to remember that a potential sponsor expects something in return. How to get sponsors may be as simple as changing your sponsorship prospectus to be more clear to potential sponsors about what they can gain from sponsoring your group. Remember to tailor your solution by explaining what is in it for them. Here are some details of what sponsorship is and what it entails. Sponsorship is an investment – When a business sponsors your group or event they are making an investment. Like all investors, when they put money in they...
by admin+ | Jan 16, 2013 | Sponsorship
Corporate Sponsorship is big business. In the big leagues, companies spend millions of dollars for the right to be associated with a particular sporting team, competition or worldwide event. You see evidence of this sponsorship everywhere – from in stadium signage to logos on a player jersey. These days you don’t need to be competing at an elite level of competition to look for and receive sponsorship. It is these smaller opportunities that businesses, like yours, should be looking to sponsor. You won’t have to spend millions of dollars but you will get the advantage of being associated with a team. You should sponsor a local sporting team. I outline some great reasons why below: Networking opportunities – If you sponsor a local sporting team there should be plenty of opportunities for networking. You won’t be the only business sponsoring the team so there is a networking opportunity. You can also network with players, officials and coaching staff. Brand recognition and goodwill – If you sponsor a sporting team this is great for brand recognition. If you are doing your job properly you should be in front of your prospects regularly, as should your brand message be appearing in their newsletters and on their website etc. The more these people see your logo and your message the more likely they are to remember it in future if they need your product or service. Being recognised as a sponsor of a sporting team is also great for your brand goodwill. Corporate sponsorship and entertainment Another great benefit of a corporate sponsorship package with a local sporting team is that it...
by admin+ | Dec 13, 2012 | Uncategorized
5 Social Media Management Necessities for a Busy Professional Social media is no longer just a haven for gossiping students sharing photos or for keeping in touch with old friends from school that you would have lost track of years ago were it not for Facebook. Chances are that you know this but this does not necessarily mean that your social media is as effective as it could be. Effective Social Media Management is vital for the busy professional. Effective Social media management is important in any business – no matter the size of your business. Large corporations have social media management teams for their online presence. Chances are you don’t have this opportunity. This doesn’t mean that social media management is any less important. Having said that, even if it is just you, there are tools you can use to manage your social media presence and improve your productivity. If you are going to engage with social media, you want to do so with a tool that makes your life easier. If you are looking for the right social media tool you want one that offers the following: 1) Scheduling – Social Media Management in Advance Your target audience may not be online when you are awake – and what about when you want to go on holidays. Social Media Management tools with scheduling functionality mean that even if you’re in New York, you can schedule messages out to your customers in Tokyo during their workday. I participate in a number of Twitter conversations. One of them happens twice a day (to cater for different audiences in different...
by admin+ | Jul 25, 2012 | Uncategorized
Check out the Optus Future of Business report here. It covers a lot of interesting statistics that relate to online markeitng and social media management. This is a must-read document for all business owners and entrepreneurs. Social Media Management and Digital Marketing – The Future of Business. On the importance of digital marketing and social media management, the Optus Future of Business Report asks the following questions. “Should a business develop a mobile website or should it invest in a mobile app? Should a business rationalise it’s bricks and mortar presence & Increase it’s online presence? Should a business move some of its IT from a department into the cloud and allow more teleworking?” Do you even know the answers to these questions? Does your business already have a social media management strategy in place? If you don’t know what your business should be doing with its social media management or digital marketing strategies., it might be time to give us a call. The team at Greenlight Communications are specialists in the online space. We live and breathe social media management and digital marketing. We dream about Facebook and Twitter. With Social Media Management and digital marketing you can grow your business and reach out to new customers. Social Media management and digital marketing is cost effective and easy to track. Unlike traditional advertising methods (television, radio and newspapers) where you are uncertain of the effectiveness of your campaigns, with digital marketing you can reach out to new, laser- targeted audiences and achieve the results you want. Do yourself a favour. Read the Optus Future of business report and take some...
by admin+ | May 29, 2012 | Uncategorized
Greenlight Communications is developing a Websites for Tradies solution to help tradespeople get online and get found online. So many tradies don’t have websites. In this day and age when many people (especially from Gen Y and below) get all their information from Google it is business suicide to not have a web presence. If you know someone who need a website, make sure you let them know about the Greenlight Communications Web Packages – starting from as low as $40 per month. For $40 per month you get: Your easy to update, multi-paged website designed with your desired colour scheme. (If you can create a word document you can update this website! Domain name registration Website hosting. Up to 5 email addresses Great, fast response customer service and support. Websites for tradies are important. If you are a plumber, electrician, carpenter, builder, bricklayer or, for that matter, any type of tradesperson, you are potentially missing out on business and also wasting your time. Here are some reasons you need a website for tradies website. It can lessen the number of ‘tyre kicker’ phone calls if people can get all the information they need online. (For example, if you list all of your services online you won’t have people ringing up asking for services you don’t offer whilst you are on the work site. There will be no one asking for a pergola to be built if you only do house construction) You can put up photos of existing completed jobs. You can put in written testimonials from existing and happy customers. It’s not enough to just be listed...
by admin+ | May 8, 2012 | Uncategorized
We’ve just added a portfolio page to our website. Please check it out when you have the chance.
by admin+ | Apr 24, 2012 | Uncategorized
Reading this article from Anna Spargo-Ryan yesterday got me thinking I should share it with you. It’s a good article and one that I think all business owners should take the time to read. It outlines the value of effective social media management and how it should be implemented across a business. Ms Sutton has never had a transaction with a brand on Facebook that she did not have an existing relationship with away from social media. Facebook can be an extension of great customer service but you need to understand the difference between a bought like and an earned like. There are businesses out there that can find you Fans, but what is the point of having thousands of fans if you can’t convert anyone. You are better to have 100 fans that actually engage with your brand than 1000 who don’t. Social media management is not just about getting more fans. It’s about connecting with the right people online and value adding to their experiences. On another note, I want to get on my high horse about those people who are putting signs out there saying Like us on Facebook, or Find us on Facebook. It’s all very well and good to have a social presence but if you want to engage customers and clients don’t tell them what they should do, tell them why they should be doing it. Like I have already mentioned, social media management is not just about likes. Why should I like your page? What’s in it for me? You need to tell them how Facebook will value add to their business....
