It’s perhaps natural for smaller and even medium-sized businesses to assume that domestic customers should be the priority. It’s less hassle, and your product or service will appeal less to the foreign market, right? Actually, no.
Government’s Blessing
According to UK Trade & Investment’s report, exporting companies are more productive, have stronger financial performance and a greater chance of staying in business. Other benefits include increased confidence and higher efficiency rates.
Companies surveyed also reported that exporting was the catalyst to new product and service ideas.…
At a price of $4m for a 60 second slot, a Super Bowl half time advert is out of the reach of 99% of businesses’ advertising and marketing budgets – however, there are limitless branding opportunities for smaller companies with more modest means.
Eschewing some of the more traditional branding opportunities, it is possible to develop a refined, intricate brand identity for your company.
Be Personal and Relevant
Standard branded items such as pens have remained enduringly popular due to their affordability and almost universal relevance.…
While most of the population will view the New Year as a fresh start, for many businesses the pressure is on to save as much money as possible before the end of the 2014/15 financial year.
In general, the future’s looking bright for SMEs. There is a growing confidence in the economy as the demand for independent businesses increases. Government initiatives such as Small Business Saturday are backed to encourage consumers to shop locally, and have achieved lucrative results with hundreds of customers supporting SMEs all over the country.…
When it comes to link building, one of the easiest ways to land quality links is creating viral content. A viral piece of content is one that your audience will pick up and willingly share with their networks. It becomes viral when hundreds of people you are not directly connected to share and talk about it. Your viral content can be clever infographics, videos or blog posts, but how do you create them? Here is what you need to do.
The content should be entertaining
You may be waiting for one of your everyday pieces of content to quickly go viral, attracting thousands of old and new customers.…
When most people think of business conferences, they picture serious professionals in suits gathering in banquet halls, or ballrooms, to listen to hour upon hour of lectures and presentations; and only taking breaks to retire to a chain restaurant or hotel bar to talk shop until the next round of presentations.
On the one hand, it is understandable that people would have this image, since the main purpose of these conferences is to share as much information as possible. However, this doesn’t mean that conferences have to be bland or boring.…
Offering a decent salary is most certainly enough to get some of the top millennial candidates through the door… but is it enough to keep them? Sure, the “almighty dollar” can be a great incentive and is definitely one of the reasons that we go to work each day, but as the cost of living goes up, the company budget tightens, and raises become far and few in between, money is no longer the motive.
In order to run a successful company, equipped with a great staff, business managers and execs must be willing to think outside of the box to maintain employee satisfaction.…
Business efficiency is a fundamental part of running any company. It means making the most out of what you have, clearly all the more important if you’re a small business owner.
Learning how to best manage your assets and streamline your processes is vitally important, so here’s a guide to help you do just that and deliver maximum business efficiency.
Get the Right Office
Your office is one of the key assets of your business, and where you and your employees probably spend the most of your time – so you need your office space to work for you.…
We have previously written a piece on the importance of human capital. It really is vital, and it starts with your recruitment.
There are a number of biases that you need to be aware of when you begin a recruitment journey. When you have battled through the sourcing process, and according to recent research it can be a real challenge identifying the people to bring to interview, you need to get the interview process right.
Human nature means that we make certain snap judgement, and use stereotypes to understand the world.…
Why do we remember some ads, but immediately forget others? If you are over forty, you probably still remember many of the jingles and taglines of ads from the seventies and eighties.
It is equally possible that you can’t remember a single ad from yesterday. Don’t worry. This is not the early onset of Alzheimer’s. It is the difference between ads that were designed to speak to the whole person versus ads that are more one-dimensional.
If you want people humming your jingle 40 years later, here’s what you need to know:
Into the Eyes of the Beholder
The eyes do more than just see things.…
Every business should consider the importance of investing in printed marketing materials. Printed products act as a tangible marketing tool that if created effectively, can present your products and services in a professional manner. There are several types of printed materials you could invest in, including letterhead, brochures, newsletters, flyers, and more. The more platforms you have for reaching your target audience, the better your chances are of securing new business on a regular basis.
Doing it Right the First Time
First impressions are pertinent to a company’s reputation.…
