Feb
2
 2012

Avoiding unnecessary business jargon in your marketing

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No matter what product or service you are trying to sell, writing is an important part of your marketing efforts. Whether you are sending out a press release, updating your business’ Facebook status or even drafting  a simple email or company letter, you probably want to get your point across in as clear and concise a manner as possible.

Resorting to business jargon in an effort to appeal to your corporate audience is a common mistake and one that could leave your prospective clients rolling their eyes and clicking the unsubscribe button well before you have the opportunity to ‘leverage your strategic position’ and something that should be avoided.

Corporate clichés will make your clients cringe

There are certain catchphrases that are increasingly popular in business communication, but when it comes down to it many of them are meaningless and often irritating. If you are tempted to use phrases like ‘think outside the box,’ or ‘proactive approach,’ in a bid to make yourself sound more dynamic and professional be aware that this may have the opposite effect. Your original and inspiring sales message could end up lost in a sea of baffling business jargon, leaving your intended audience scratching their heads or, more likely, shrugging and hitting the delete button.

Business buzzwords worth avoiding

Are you a corporate catchphrase junkie? If you are struggling to wean yourself off the office lingo, here are some suggested alternatives to a few common clichés:

  1. Thinking outside the box – original
  2. Bring to the table – can provide
  3. Leverage – use
  4. Strategic – useful
  5. Going forward – in future
  6. Deliverables – results
  7. Touch base – talk

Written communication forms an integral part of any marketing strategy but done badly it can do more harm than good. By keeping your communication brief, clear and cliché free you have a better chance of getting your message across and creating a great impression on your prospective clients!

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Feb
1
 2012

Monorail Studio Word Art

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I am always pleasantly surprised with the quality and variety of goods that are available on Etsy.

One Etsy store that has caught my eye is Monorail, a shop dedicated to word art.  Big smile!

The Monorail store provides a mix of more corporate and more homely styles in a variety of colours, which makes it a great choice.

My favourites include -

What is your favourite Etsy store?

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Jan
31
 2012

False moves and other marketing mistakes exposed

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MARKETING MISTAKE NUMBER TWO:

STYLE GUIDE, WHAT IS THAT?

Not having a style guide for your business makes the ‘design’ process more difficult to oversee and control, whether you work with graphic designers direct or through an agency.

A style guide is there to help you manage one of the most challenging aspects of a brand, which is, consistency over a long period of time.

The fact is, over the life of your business it is going to be pretty rare to have one graphic designer work on your brand, even if you use the same agency.

Why is this a problem? Without basic brand rules and guidelines, the natural instincts of designers will be to ‘play with your brand’, and if you are managing the process yourself, you will have to be very diligent to ensure this doesn’t happen to you.

In summary, a style guide:

  • Reduces design time (costs) over the long term
  • Facilitates brand recognition (sales) through design consistency

QUICK TIP: Have a style guide for your business and brand. Create an environment where consistent design work is a basic requirement.

If you are looking for outsourced help, Next Marketing can help.

Coming up next – Mistake Three, misaligned brand.

 

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Jan
26
 2012

Preaching to the converted – why marketing to your existing client base is so effective

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Growing a business can be done in two ways – you can attract new customers or clients or you can encourage your existing customers and clients to increase their spend with your company.  Both are important but many businesses focus their attention on expanding their reach (attracting new customers) rather than up selling to those who are already loyal to them.

Your customer database provides an enormous amount of information that can help you grow your business from within your customer base. First of all you need to make sure you are capturing useful information about your existing clients.  Knowing their contact details, how much and how frequently they have spent with you and what they buy, is critical.  Analysing this data will show you if your client base is growing, stagnant or in decline.

Look at your inactive clients and consider why they may have stopped using your business as frequently as they used to.  Have price rises bitten too deeply, are you losing ground to your competitors, or is your service or product no longer relevant to them?  Have you lost contact with them because your communication methods are not frequent enough or just not working?  If you don’t know the answers to these questions you won’t be able to solve the problem.  Get back in contact with your inactive clients and find out why they haven’t used your business recently.

To maintain your relevance to your existing client base you might have to rethink the services or products you provide to ensure you are meeting your clients changing needs.

Maintaining existing client relationships is important to every business.  Attracting new customers is vital, but once you’ve engaged them in your business strengthening your relationship with them will make sound financial and marketing sense.

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Jan
25
 2012

Using LinkedIn as a Marketing tool

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In the not-so-distant past, networking usually meant attending a conference or a seminar. It involved getting out there, name tag attached, and physically meeting people. Now you can network effectively online at a time that suits you, and your online profile can be on the job 24 hours a day. The rapid rise of LinkedIn has seen an immense range of users begin to network globally for mutual rewards. Aside from helping you to attract new business, LinkedIn has networking groups that can help you to stay on top of current trends in your field.

Do you know how best to use LinkedIn to create valuable marketing tool for you or your business? Here’s a quick checklist:

  1. Sound interesting

Create an individual and company profile that isn’t going to bore the readers. If it is not engaging people will leave. If it is too long and overly self promotional, it can be off-putting. Keep your profiles clear and concise—you want people to spend at least 1-2 minutes reading what you have to say.

  1. Highlight your expertise

Think of your profile as an online resume with a current photo and detailed history of your skills and experience. Fill out all available sections to get the most out of what’s available. If you don’t sell your skills, then who will?

  1. Combine your online activity with offline activity

Don’t let LinkedIn replace all of your networking activities. There will always be a place for face-to-face meetings. Familiarise yourself with some of the networking groups on LinkedIn. You might find some valuable groups by checking the profiles of some of your contacts. Join related groups and contribute to discussions. Initiate communication with other contacts through phone calls and emails. You can also use LinkedIn as a way to ‘stay connected’ to contacts you meet offline – when you meet new contacts consider connecting with them on LinkedIn.

  1. Ask for recommendations

Testimonials are one of the best marketing tools available and LinkedIn makes it easy for you to add them. Do be selective about which contacts you ask – their personal brands can become a reflection of yours. If you offer a range of services or the types of clients you service are diverse, aim to include a range of testimonials that reflect the scope of your expertise.

  1. Outsource the copywriting

Unless you are a writer, consider outsourcing this. When you do something everyday (day in day out) it can be hard to make it sound interesting. A good writer will be able to make the most of your expertise and create interesting and concise content that makes readers want to know more.

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