Entries by Darren Stevens

The Challenges of Managing a Marketer When You Are Not a Marketer – And How to Overcome Them

Running a successful business requires bringing in diverse talent with expertise in various fields, and marketing is definitely no exception. For many business owners or managers, however, managing a marketer can be daunting, especially when marketing isn’t your forte. From understanding technical jargon to setting realistic expectations, navigating this relationship can be tricky. In this blog, we’ll explore the common challenges faced when managing a marketer and how best to overcome them, even if you’re not a marketing expert yourself.

1. Lack of Understanding of Marketing Terms and Processes

One of the most common challenges is the jargon and technicality involved in marketing. Terms like SEO, PPC, CTR, and ROI can seem like a foreign language if you’re unfamiliar with them. This gap in knowledge can make it difficult to communicate effectively with your marketer and evaluate their work.

Solution: Educate Yourself on the Basics

While you don’t need to become a marketing expert, learning the fundamentals of marketing will help you manage the team more effectively. There are plenty of free online resources, courses, and articles that explain marketing concepts in a simplified manner. Understanding the basics will also allow you to ask the right questions, set realistic goals, and interpret marketing metrics more confidently. You could also of course employ the services of a firm like Prestbury Marketing to work alongside you and let us de-mystify everything for you.

2. Difficulty Setting Clear Objectives

Marketers are responsible for delivering results, but without clear business objectives, even the best marketers can feel lost. If you aren’t familiar with marketing metrics or what is achievable within certain timeframes, it becomes challenging to set goals and measure progress.

Solution: Collaborate on Setting Measurable Goals

Instead of dictating what the marketer should achieve, collaborate to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals. You know your business best, and the marketer knows how to align marketing strategies with those objectives. For example, if increasing brand awareness is a goal, ask the marketer to suggest KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) like website traffic or social media engagement, which are measurable and trackable and ask them to report on these on a monthly basis.

3. Misaligned Expectations Around Timeframes

Many non-marketing managers expect quick results (sometimes un-realistically so), especially in digital marketing. However, building brand awareness, improving SEO rankings, or generating qualified leads can take time. When expectations are misaligned, it can lead to frustration on both sides.

Solution: Create a Realistic Timeline Together

Discuss and agree on a timeline that works for both you and your marketer. Understanding the difference between short-term tactics (like paid ads) and long-term strategies (like content marketing or SEO) is critical. Paid campaigns may generate immediate traffic, while organic strategies often take months to show results. By establishing a realistic timeline, you’ll prevent misunderstandings and allow the marketer to work without unnecessary pressure.

4. Uncertainty in Evaluating Performance

For non-marketers, interpreting performance metrics can be confusing. You may not know whether a certain increase in clicks or conversions is good or whether the budget allocated is being used wisely. This uncertainty makes it difficult to determine if your marketer is delivering value.

Solution: Focus on Business Outcomes, Not Just Vanity Metrics

Rather than focusing solely on marketing metrics, link them to business outcomes. For example, instead of getting caught up in website traffic, look at how that traffic translates into leads or sales (far too many businesses we encounter are not able to reliably do this). Regular check-ins and reports should highlight both marketing performance and its impact on your business goals. Request that the marketer explains the results in simple, actionable terms that align with your overarching business strategy.

5. Difficulty Balancing Creativity and Practicality

Marketing requires a blend of creativity and data-driven decision-making. Some non-marketers may struggle with approving bold or unconventional campaigns that step outside the box. While it’s important to ensure the marketer remains aligned with your brand’s vision, excessive caution can stifle creativity and limit the marketer’s ability to innovate.

Solution: Trust the Expertise and Give Creative Freedom

As long as the marketer is working within your brand guidelines, give them the creative space to execute their ideas. Creativity is a key ingredient for cutting through the noise in competitive markets. If you’re unsure about a particular campaign or direction, ask the marketer to explain the rationale and potential impact. Remember, marketers are trained to test, adapt, and refine strategies, so allow some flexibility to try new approaches.

6. Lack of Communication or Alignment with Other Departments

Marketing doesn’t operate in a vacuum. For a marketer to succeed, they need to align with other departments such as sales, product development, and customer service. Poor communication or a siloed approach can prevent your marketer from accessing the insights or resources they need to craft effective campaigns.

Solution: Foster Cross-Department Collaboration

Encourage open lines of communication between the marketing team and other departments (particularly sales and customer service). Regular meetings or touchpoints can help bridge gaps and ensure that marketing efforts are aligned with the company’s broader objectives. By fostering collaboration, your marketer can create more cohesive and effective strategies that resonate across various business functions.

7. Budget Constraints

Effective marketing often requires a financial investment in tools, paid advertising, content creation, and more. Non-marketing managers might struggle to allocate a suitable budget without a clear understanding of what’s needed. On the flip side, marketers may feel restricted by a tight budget, unable to deliver the best results.

Solution: Be Transparent and Work Within Financial Limits

Be upfront about your budget, and ask the marketer to create a plan that maximises the available resources. Discuss the potential trade-offs—whether it’s reducing the number of campaigns or focusing on high-impact strategies. Marketers are often skilled at finding creative solutions within budget constraints, but both parties need to align on financial expectations to avoid misunderstandings.

8. Developing your Marketer

If you are not a marketer yourself it can be difficult to develop your marketing person. Not only is this important from your businesses perspective in enabling them to deliver more year on year, but most marketing professionals will be hungry for development and want to build their skillset.

Solution: The good news is their lots of opportunities

Encourage them to attend specialist Marketing exhibitions and conferences, where there will be great opportunities to attend presentations and workshops, as well as meet potential new suppliers.

Encourage them to network and have the opportunity to meet peers and share experiences. Here in Gloucestershire we are spoilt with some great business membership organisations including Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce, Circle 2 Success, Business West and the FSB.

Consider professional qualifications like the Chartered Institute of Digital Marketing. A highly practical qualification that could significantly enhance their capabilities.

Map the skills they need against their job description and benchmark their capabilities. Conduct regular appraisals where you monitor progress and agree priorities.

Enlist the help of firms like Prestbury Marketing. We act like what we call a “dotted line boss”, where can provide the marketing guidance and direction your employee needs.

Managing a marketer when you aren’t one yourself presents unique challenges, but it’s not an insurmountable task. By educating yourself on the basics, setting clear objectives, fostering collaboration, and trusting in their expertise, you can create a productive working relationship that drives results for your business.

At Prestbury Marketing and Consulting, we understand the intricacies of marketing management, especially for non-marketing managers. Our tailored solutions ensure that you get the best from your marketing efforts while staying focused on your core business goals. Contact us today to learn how we can help you bridge the gap between marketing and management!

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Why Your Google Business Listing is an Essential Marketing Tool

In today’s digital age, where your online presence is absolutely crucial, your Google Business listing is one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal. It’s more than just a simple directory listing—it’s a gateway for potential customers to find, learn about, and engage with your business. Here’s why maintaining an optimised Google Business profile is essential, what you can do to enhance your profile and how it can significantly impact your business’s growth.

1. Be Easily Found by Your Target Audience

One of the biggest advantages of having a Google Business listing is its ability to make your business easily discoverable. When someone searches for products or services related to your business on Google, your listing can appear in the search results and on Google Maps. This visibility is particularly important for local businesses, as most consumers tend to search for businesses “near me” when they’re ready to make a purchase. By appearing in these local searches, your business is put directly in front of potential customers who are in your area and actively seeking what you offer.

2. Boosting Local SEO

Google Business listings are integral to local search engine optimization (SEO). Google uses the information in your profile—such as your business name, location, and category—to determine when and where your business should appear in local search results. The more complete and accurate your profile, the better your chances of ranking higher in these searches. This is especially important for small businesses that rely on local customers.

3. Stand Out from the Competition

In a crowded marketplace, standing out is key. Your Google Business listing allows you to differentiate your business from competitors. A complete and well-maintained profile presents a professional image and builds trust with potential customers. It provides essential information at a glance, including your business hours, contact details, and customer reviews.

4. Showcasing Your Unique Offerings

Google Business listings also let you highlight what makes your business unique. Through the description, attributes, updates, and categories, you can showcase your specialities and the value you bring to your customers. This is where you can make a compelling case for why someone should choose your business over others.

5. Drive Traffic to Your Website

Your Google Business listing is a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website. The listing includes a direct link to your site, making it easy for potential customers to learn more about your business and what you offer (and the insights will tell you how many people are clicking on this link). The more information you provide in your Google Business profile, the more likely users are to click through to your website.

6. Trackable Insights

Google provides analytics for your business listing, showing how many people viewed your profile, visited your website, requested directions, or called your business. These insights allow you to understand how well your listing is performing and where there may be opportunities for improvement. These shouldn’t be confused with the analytics for your website itself.

7. Make It Easy for Customers to Contact You

Your Google Business listing makes it easy for customers to contact you. With just one click, they can call your business, visit your website, or get directions to your location. This ease of access is crucial, especially in the age of mobile devices, where users expect quick and easy ways to connect with businesses.

8. Increase Engagement with Messaging

Google Business also offers a messaging feature that allows customers to send you messages directly from your listing. This feature is a great way to engage with potential customers in real-time, answer their questions, and guide them toward making a purchase.

9. The Importance of a Complete Profile

A complete Google Business profile is more likely to rank higher in search results and attract more customers. Google favours profiles that are fully completed, with accurate and up-to-date information. Ensure your profile includes more than just your business name, address, phone number, website, business hours, and a detailed description of your services. The more information you provide, the easier it is for customers to find and trust your business. Helpfully Google will tell you what percentage your profile is complete.

10. Enhance Your Profile with Photos

Photos are a crucial element of your Google Business listing. They allow you to visually showcase your business, products, and services, giving potential customers a better understanding of what to expect. Listings with photos receive more clicks, calls, and requests for directions than those without. Regularly update your photos to keep your profile fresh and engaging. Should anybody from Google be reading this can we please have added the functionality to sort the photos into the order we want them.

11. Types of Photos to Add

Exterior and Interior Shots: Show customers what your business looks like from the outside and inside. This helps them feel more comfortable when visiting.

Product Photos: Highlight your best-selling or unique products.

Team Photos: Introduce the people behind your business to build a personal connection.

Customer Photos: Share images of happy customers (with their permission) to build social proof.

12. Utilise Google Posts to Keep Your Audience Engaged

Google Posts is a feature that allows you to share updates, promotions, events, and news directly on your Google Business listing. These posts appear prominently on your profile, providing a great way to communicate with potential customers and keep them informed about what’s happening at your business. They also rather helpfully push further down the page, suggestions of businesses that might be competitors. If you only do one thing today – with your profile – check that you have updates visible on your profile as should you not have posted one for a while it may have expired.

13. How to Use Google Posts Effectively

Share Promotions and Offers: Highlight special deals and discounts to attract more customers.

Announce Events: Promote upcoming events to increase attendance. Remember that post updates will automatically expire after the event, freeing up space for another update.

Highlight New Products or Services: Keep your audience informed about new offerings.

Share Blog Posts or Articles: Drive traffic to your website by sharing your latest blog posts or articles.

Your Google Business listing is an essential marketing tool that can significantly impact your business’s visibility, customer engagement, and growth. By ensuring your profile is complete, adding high-quality photos, and utilizing features like Google Posts, you can stand out from the competition, attract more customers, and drive traffic to your website. Don’t overlook this powerful tool—optimize your Google Business listing today and watch your business thrive.

14. Make sure that you have claimed you profile

Even if you never set up a Google Business profile, Google may well have set up one for your business. If you don’t claim it however you will not be able to edit it or post updates.

15. Make sure that you have more than one person with admin rights to the Profile

If you only have one person as an admin to your page and that person leaves the business you could lose access to your page. Having more than one admin spreads the workload and also means that potential customers interacting are likely to get a fast response.

We hope that you find these tips useful. If it all sounds just too much hassle (and in most cases it shouldn’t be), then why not get us to manage your profile for you. For more tips on how to leverage digital marketing tools like Google Business, feel free to contact Prestbury Marketing & Consulting. We’re here to help!

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The top 10 most common mistakes businesses make with Social Media

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media, businesses have a tremendous opportunity to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive growth. However, navigating the intricacies of social media marketing can be challenging, leading to common mistakes that hinder success. In this blog post, we explore the emotional rollercoaster of the top 10 most common mistakes businesses make with social media. So get ready to learn from these pitfalls, ensuring your social media journey is the best that it can be.

Neglecting a Clear Strategy:
Without a well-defined social media strategy, businesses can find themselves lost in the vast sea of platforms and content possibilities. Don’t fall into the trap of aimlessly posting without purpose and create a comprehensive strategy that aligns with your business goals, target audience, and brand identity.

Failing to Understand the Target Audience:
Every successful social media campaign begins with a deep understanding of the target audience. Only by having a clear picture of who is target customer can you create content that resonates with your audience on a profound level. Learn how to conduct thorough audience research, identify their needs and desires, and tailor your content to create an emotional bond that fosters loyalty and engagement. Think about what will interest your target market.

Inconsistent Brand Voice:
Inconsistency in your brand voice can lead to confusion and disengagement. Avoid mixed messaging and discover the power of a consistent and authentic brand voice. Ensure your brand’s personality shines through in every social media interaction, fostering trust and building a strong emotional connection with your audience.

Lack of Engaging Content:
Nothing dampens the spirit of social media like boring, uninspiring content. Create engaging content that captivates and sparks conversation. Fully utilise the power of storytelling, visual appeal, and interactive elements to keep your audience coming back for more.

Ignoring Social Listening:
Social listening is the key to understanding your audience’s sentiments, preferences, and pain points. Don’t miss opportunities for meaningful engagement and unlock the power of social listening to gather insights, address customer concerns, and tailor your content strategy to meet their evolving needs.

Overlooking Community Management:
Neglecting community management can result in a sense of isolation and detachment from your audience. The importance of active engagement cannot be overstated, responding to comments and messages, and fostering a sense of community around your brand. Explore the emotional rewards of building genuine relationships and the impact it has on your business’s reputation and customer loyalty.

Overpromotion and Salesy Tactics:
Constant self-promotion and aggressive sales tactics can alienate your audience and evoke feelings of annoyance and frustration. Discover the art of balanced promotion, where value-driven content takes centre stage and sales messages are seamlessly integrated. Learn how to build trust and credibility through authenticity and providing meaningful solutions to your audience’s pain points.

Neglecting Analytics and Data:
Making decisions without analyzing data can leave you lost and directionless. Uncover the power of analytics and data-driven insights – to see what really works and engages with your audience. Leverage social media analytics to track performance, measure ROI, and optimize your strategies for maximum impact.

Inconsistent Posting Schedule:
Inconsistency in posting can lead to a sense of disconnection and lead to missed engagement opportunities. Avoid sporadic posting and uncover the benefits of a consistent and well-planned content schedule. Regular posting keeps your audience engaged and eager for your next update.

Lack of Adaptability:
Social media is a dynamic and ever-changing landscape, and businesses must be adaptable to stay ahead. What worked yesterday may not work today.

Ask yourself – how many of these ten mistakes are you guilty of? If your business could do with some help with your Social Media Marketing then email Darren Stevens – darren.stevens@prestburymarketing.co.uk for an initial, no obligation discussion.

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Prestbury Marketing to take part in Seminar for start-up businesses

Darren Stevens from Prestbury Marketing is taking part in a free online Seminar on 23rd June organised by Eagle Tower titled “How to make your New Business soar”. It is specifically aimed at people who are thinking about starting a new business or have recently done so,

Starting a new business can be a very exciting time. But it can also be daunting, with so much to think about and do. Eagle Tower have put together a line up of experts that will cover all the basics you need to know from a legal, financial, marketing and sales perspective.

Darren’s session “The ten Marketing things your business should be doing” acknowledges that one of the daunting things when you start a new business is the seemingly endless list of things on your marketing “to do list”. Some of these can appear quite technical and with others you can spend endless hours trying to craft the perfect message. The sheer choice of marketing options can be bewildering and often one of the hardest questions facing you will be – “how much marketing is enough”.

With over 30 years’ marketing experience, Darren will in this highly practical session provide clarity on what he considers are the 10 most important marketing things any start up or early stage business should be doing.

The pandemic has caused people to re-evaluate what they are doing with their lives and this is expected to lead to an increase in people deciding to set up their own business.

The event also features speakers from Eagle Tower, Hazlewoods, JV Consultancy and Hughes Paddison.

Anyone wishing to reserve a space can do so here.

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Clean Air Cheltenham seeking a volunteer to be their Publicity Co-ordinator

We are helping Clean Air Cheltenham spread the word about a volunteer position to become their Publicity Co-ordinator. The position would obviously be ideal for anybody who can share the organisation’s passion for the subject. The opportunity would enable somebody to gain practical experience in this field and demonstrate a track record of achievement. More details including how to apply can be found below.

The role of Voluntary Publicity Coordinator requires:

  • A friendly confident manner
  • The ability to think fast, laterally and creatively
  • A capacity to take the initiative, as well as collaborate
  • Experience of using Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

Work will entail:

  • Creating, maintaining and updating a media list
  • Establishing named contacts at as many local media outlets as possible
  • Setting up Google Alerts and other means for receiving relevant breaking news
  • Networking relevant news stories as they arise
  • Publicising Clean Air Cheltenham events
  • Seeking interviews with local media
  • Pitching, and writing, features for local publications e.g. Cotswold Life
  • Keeping interested colleagues in Cheltenham’s twin towns informed of activities

Time commitment: In the short-term this will require approximately 2 hours per week which will increase at times of special events.

Future plans/events: The kinds of events they would like the Coordinator to promote will range from online poetry workshops, interdisciplinary webinars (linking air quality, health, transport and technology), as well as events with a national outreach, such as Clean Air Day (June 2021) and Car Free Day (September 2021).

To apply, please email: Caroline Sherwood caroline@cleanaircheltenham.org with a short explanation of why you would like this voluntary position, and details of relevant experience.

Closing date: 10th February 2021

Background to Clean Air Cheltenham

Clean Air Cheltenham aims to improve the air quality in Cheltenham by:

  1. Raising awareness through an annual Multimedia Celebration of Clean Air
  2. Liaising with groups pursuing similar aims, such as cycling and environmental groups, tree planting organisations, residents’ associations, and schools
  3. Encouraging collaborative action between all agencies concerned with the quality of air in the town, principally those responsible for transport and health care
  4. Raising funds to support relevant projects

Clean Air Cheltenham recognises the critical role air quality plays in physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. The quality of the air is of central importance to the well-being of all, as well as being of particular concern to those who suffer from respiratory disease, to parents and children and to the elderly.

Membership is open to anyone over 16 years old who supports the aims of Clean Air Cheltenham. There is no charge for membership and members join through the website by opting in to receive newsletters and updates.

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Thinking of starting a business? Here are some of the things that you need to do.

At this time of year and after this year of all years, now is the time when many are reviewing what they currently doing and considering taking the plunge and starting their own business. This is not a decision to take lightly though, so we thought we would shares some tips on what you need to do.

Things to do before you make the decision

Ask yourself why you want to do this? Phrases like being your own boss are often quoted and we understand that motivation. Many start up businesses quickly find though that their customers start to feel like “bosses” because of their expectations and demands. Others decide to go it alone to do what they love. That is fine but ask yourself is this the only way you can achieve this? It is not that we are against starting up businesses (after all we did that ourselves nearly 11 years ago), but we do find that most start up businesses underestimate how much hard work it will be.

Work out how much you want/need to earn. Then estimate what your fixed and variable costs will be and you will soon have an idea of how much you will need to turnover to realise your aspirations. Break this down into months and how many sales you need to do (or if you are offering services the number of hours you need to work) and remember the need to consider the fact that not all enquiries or expressions of interest will turn into sales. You have some of the elements of a business plan now and something to gauge your progress against.

Try and assess the level of demand for what you intend to offer. Ask potential customers would they be interested in what you intend to offer, what price they would expect to pay and where if they were looking for it, would they look. Wrong assumptions at this stage can be crucial. For example if you plan to sell an item for £25 and people expect to pay £18, you need to justify that premium and anticipate that some people, even those that want what you are selling may be put off. Also look out for competitors. If they are there – ask yourself how you will compare and standout? If they are not there, then just maybe that indicates there are not enough people looking for what you intend to offer/do in that area.

After the decision to go-ahead.

This is where the hard work really starts. This is not an exhaustive list but some of the key things you need to do.

Create a “to do list” and start to plot these in some sort of calendar or plan. This will help you put things into the right order, determine your priorities and highlight interdependencies. It also will help you drive your activity and help maintain momentum – “what I need to get done this week”. Beware the temptation to keep delaying things to get “all your ducks in a row”. Try and categorise things, maybe into “must haves” and “nice to haves”.

Finalise what you are going to offer (your products or services) and how and where you are going to offer this. In part this is about where you intend to operate but it is equally about your routes to market.

Settle on a business name. Remember to check Companies House to see if somebody is already using it and for similar reason google the name you are considering. Check the Government website for trademarks (remember that even if there is a clash if they operate in a different field or class this may not a be a show stopper) and that there is a domain name that matches or is very close to your name. We use 123 reg but there are other providers. If you are planning to operate internationally check on how your name translates and what its meaning is in different languages.

Create a logo for your name. This will be the visual representation of your name and will feature on everything you produce and you will also need it for your website, business cards, social media etc. You can try and do this yourself, but we usually find using the services of a professional designer is better in the long run.

Remember the practicalities. If you are going to be limited company register the business with Companies House. Set up a business bank account, take on an accountant and consider what premises, equipment or software you need from day one. Think about what insurances you need, what laws and regulations you must comply with and whether you will register your trademark at the outset. The latter of these is usually advisable if you have aspirations to grow your business. Think about what services and suppliers you need or in the short term what skills gaps you have if you are going to “insource” elements e.g. bookkeeping. Organisations like the Growth Hub which supports Gloucestershire businesses can be a great help. If you are outside Gloucestershire you will probably have your own equivalent.

Consider whether (or when) you will have a website. Determine how you are going to get it produced e.g. do it yourself or via a web company (we can help you find one). Create a brief of what the site will contain and make sure to look at lots of competitors. A common preference is for a light or uncluttered site but remember you are designing it for Google as much as you are the end user and a site with too few pages or words can struggle to rank. Remember you will need copy and photographs for your site (very often a stumbling block) and that you will need to pay for a domain name and to host your website. Make sure you set up your Google My Business profile and when your site is live make sure it has Google Analytics installed.

Decide what social media platforms you are going to use and set up your profiles. Remember to think what social media platforms your potential customers use and look at what your competitors are using. If you do not know how to do this organisations such as ourselves can do this for you. We also offer training and advice on how to make the best use of social media and also offer an outsourced service if required. You can find information on our social media services here.

Decide what if any local business groups you might want to join. We are members of the Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce and Circle 2 Success (we are happy to share why we have chosen these two if you want to get in touch) but we have been members of the Institute of Directors and Gloucestershire Chamber of Commerce in the past and many small businesses choose to join the Federation of Small Businesses.

Decide on how you are going to promote your business. We come across far too many businesses who have inadvertently become the best kept secret. A great first step is to identify your target customers and make a list of the different ways that you can reach them. Some marketing will jump straight to generating a sale, but more often than not you will find you will need to take them through a process. For most businesses the steps in this will be making them aware of you and what you do, creating a positive impression and then creating enough desire for what you offer for them to get in touch. It is a good idea at the outset to set a budget for how much you are going to spend on marketing in the first year. This provides a great framework for decision making and will greatly minimise the chances of costs running away. Remember the importance of repetition and reinforcement to guide your potential customers through your process. Also don’t forget to make the most of free sources e.g. social media, recommendations and referrals.

We hope that this list isn’t too daunting and that you will find it useful. Running your own business is very hard work, but it is also very rewarding. For us for example we get a great buzz out of the progress we see our clients making with our help. If you do think that you would benefit from some professional help with your marketing please get in touch.

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The 10 things to do, to get your business in the best possible shape for recovery from Coronavirus

Many businesses are quieter than they would ordinarily be at the moment. Some are laying off staff, others are furloughing employees. But in our view this is a golden opportunity for many to do what they ordinarily might struggle to – work on the business, rather than in the business (to be clear though you cannot do this if you have been furloughed). We have put together this check list of 10 things to do, to put your business in the best possible shape for recovery from Coronavirus. Not all of these will be applicable to all businesses and they are not in any particular order but we hope that there will be plenty that will apply to you.

1. Survey your customers.

When did you last survey your customers, to gauge their level of satisfaction, discover what about your products or services they would like to change and anything that you can do to improve? Such a survey can also be a great way to capture testimonials for use in marketing or on your website. Our survey tool of choice is the Gloucestershire survey company SmartSurvey. The chances are are that you will get a better response to your survey now than in more normal circumstances (not least because of less cluttered email boxes and some people having more time), but if you are concerned about take up, then why not pledge a charitable donation for each survey completed?

2. Claim your Google My Business listing.

Hopefully most reading this will have already done this, but if in doubt do a google search for your own business and see if the listing top right has an option to “claim this business”. These listings are becoming increasingly important for all businesses, but most particularly those that attract business from the local area. For a vaguely light hearted look at the consequences of not claiming your Google My Business listing read our blog from last year. Once you have claimed your Google listing, then do the same with Bing.

3. Check how you rank against your competitors on Google My Business.

Check out Google’s own tips on improving your ranking here but in our experience we have also found it to be highly beneficial to have more reviews and a higher score. Ideally you want to be in the top three of the most relevant category for your business in local searches.

4. Consider registering your Trademark

If your brand is important to you (and who isn’t it for) then consider protecting your name by registering it as a trademark. There are other defences if people start using a name that is a bit too close for comfort, but prior registration of your trademark is likely to be one of the most effective. You may want to take legal advice on this. Our trademark was registered for us by our Solcitor clients Hughes Paddison.

5. Review your websites Google Analytics

We are going to assume for now that you will have Google Analytics on your website – in our experience most do. Equally though in our experience, far too many organisations then don’t look at these figures to benefit from the invaluable insight they offer. Where are your visitors coming from, what pages are most popular, what goals are being triggered and what traffic sources led to these – there are just some of the insights that you will glean.

6. Carry out a brand/proposition review

In this day and age, your organisation can be found in lots of different places – your own website, generally online, social media, business directories and of course your own literature. But when did you last review how consistent these are and whether they present you in the best possible light? How likely is that they way you describe yourself will resonate with potential customers. We can help with this, by giving an impartial viewpoint and an exercise we can carry out with you, can help create what we like to call a “hierarchy of messages”, that will make it much more likely that you use the most important points first going forward.

7. Review your GDPR policy

It might seem longer ago, but GDPR was introduced nearly two years ago in the UK. Most organisations at the time wrote GDPR policies to help ensure their compliance with the information requirements at the time. But how many of those organisations have reviewed their policy since – despite the fact that the data they hold and what they use it for may well have changed. Also ask yourself when your company last did any GDPR training. One of the activities you can ask furloughed employees to do is take part in training.

8. Keep prospects warm

This is particularly relevant to those businesses that are fully closed currently. Ask yourself how are you maintaining contact with people that were in your pipeline at the time you mothballed your business? Also what about new enquiries you have received whilst you are closed. Perhaps you can give those people priority when your business starts to get going again. As a minimum are you getting people to opt in to future marketing.

9. Ensure that you don’t go silent on social media

These are challenging times and it would not be appropriate to simply post the same content that you would ordinarily. You need be sensitive to the general mood, but equally now is not a time to go silent on social media. It can play a vital role in re-enforcing your businesses presence (reminding people you are there). Think about how you can use your social media to help others whether that be sharing freely expertise like we are doing here or simply being supporting of other organisations in your local area. Incidentally remember to check what percentage of your website traffic comes from social media, this will differ for each business, but as a rough rule of thumb we would say you should be getting at least 5% of your website traffic from social media.

10. Form a recovery plan

It is difficult for us all to envisage what recovery will look like, when it will happen, how fast will it be? But this is one thing you don’t want to make up as you go along. Think – what will you do first, how much will you spend and where will you spend it. What steps do you need to take to get your business fully up and running and how do you make sure that business does not fall through your grasp in the process. The businesses that come out of this the best, will be those that have spent the time creating a recovery plan that ensures they maximise the benefits of the recovery when it comes.

We hope that you have found this part one of our list of 10 things you should do to put your business in the best possible position for recovery, useful. If we can help with any of the elements of these ten steps, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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Marketing in uncertain times

We are most definitely living and working in a period of unprecedented change, where almost everything that we have accepted to be normal is changed for the forseeable future, “thanks” to Coronavirus. Here at Prestbury Marketing we come into daily “virtual” contact with many businesses and it has been both heartening and quite remarkable the way many businesses are seeking to re-invent themselves towards a new way of doing business. Many people in leadership positions though, may not even have had to market their business in a recession, yet alone these circumstances. We offer in this blog our initial thoughts on things you might want to consider from a marketing perspective.

Don’t waste money

Seems an obvious one but now more than ever it is vital that you ensure you are getting value for money. Track the impact of any marketing that you are running. Ask yourself three questions. Firstly, are you going to be able to handle or fulfill any enquiries that you can get. After yesterday’s statement by the Prime Minister, Pubs, Restaurants and Cafes are not going to be able to, but many other businesses ability to deal with enquiries has been affected as well. Secondly, is the mindset of the customer likely to be in the right place? Whether you are marketing to consumers or business customers, their minds may be on other things. In much the same way that peoples’ minds are on other things at Christmas and when they are on summer holiday, people are very much focussing on different things right now (at least in the very short term). Finally look closely at how the marketing is performing – is there any evidence to suggest that performance is deteriorating.

Depending on the answers to these questions, you may well need to take action, but what are your options? This will differ from business to business, depending on what forms of marketing you are currently running. Can you pause activity? In some cases like pay per click or boosted Facebook posts you will be able to pause activity straight away and the only charge you may be left with, is the management charge if you are having this activity run for you. In other cases you may be contractually bound to run what you have booked, but maybe they will agree for you to defer the activity to when things pick up as they inevitably will. Numerous studies have shown from past recessions though that those businesses that continue to market through a recession emerge stronger and faster than those that did not.

Keep communication channels open and up-to-date

If your opening hours change then make sure that you update these on your website and your Google My Business Profile. Make sure that you download the Google My Business app and the apps for the social media channels that you are active on, so that if potential or actual customers choose to contact you though these mediums, then you will be aware and respond promptly. Use the Google My Business post functionality to let people know what you are doing.

Innovate and adapt

This will not be an option for all businesses, but it will be for many. If a service or product you offer is no longer in demand what else can you do? A special mention here for our Stationery, Office Supplies and IT Business Officeworx. With many businesses asking employees to work from home, demand for some of their services is likely to tail off. They responded immediately to the prospect of schools closing and launched HomeSchool Packs this week, that they have been actively promoting on social media.

We are seeing a lot of demand for our services, but the nature of what we are working on is just very different to what it was as little as a week ago.

Use the time well to be in the best possible position for when things do recover

What aspects of your marketing could you use this period to focus on? Maybe it might be the organic ranking of your website that could be improved through Search Engine Optimisation. For some it might be the ideal time to replace your outdated website or perhaps less dramatic adding those customer testimonials or case studies that you always intended to. For some people that are less busy you may find them more receptive to requests to leave you reviews on Google My Business (if you have used our services and haven’t left us a review before, please feel free to do so).

Maintain a presence and visibility

Whilst now for many people this will be time to conserve funds it is vital that you maintain some visibility. Keep up your activity on social media and fully utilise your Google My Business posts. Blog regularly, particularly if you have knowledge or guidance that will be helpful in the current situation.

Think of others ……..

Here at Prestbury Marketing we have always been great advocates of Corporate Social Responsibility and putting something back into the community we live and work in. This is even more the case in difficult times like these, where the needs will be even greater. In Gloucestershire, the charity CCP has launched an appeal for donations, financial and actual goods or volunteering, to help the charity respond to the inevitable increase in demand for emergency food parcels. Please support it if you can. Maybe you are a pub, restaurant, or cafe that is being forced to close that wants to see perishable or date limited food put to good use or a business that has resources that you can contribute?

We hope that we have given you some food for thought here (pun intended). We are happy respond to any specific queries that you may have, having read this blog. Please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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How do you know your website is working?

This is one of the most common questions we are asked. To be clear this is not usually in the context of whether or not the site is down, but more a matter of, is it being found as well as it should be and is it making the most of the visitors it does get. We would argue though that the number of people asking this question are very tip of a much bigger iceberg/ number who are “blissfully ignorant” of how their website is performing.

In this digital age that we now live in, there is really no excuse for not knowing how well your website is performing – although that being said one of the most common failings in this area are down to human beings. So what are our top 10 ways of checking that your website is working.

1. Ask your enquirers/potential customers.
A surprisingly number of businesses don’t ask this question or if they do, they don’t log and track the answer to it. Without this information you are falling at the first hurdle of tracking where your new business comes from. Our preference would be that you log what people say and that if the answer is “found your website”, then ask how they found your website.

2. Track how these enquiries progress
Knowing what the conversion rate of enquiries is from different sources and where applicable the average order value is key. The holy grail where you are spending money on driving traffic to your website is to know the £’s worth of order per £1 of marketing spend. This way you can compare different forms of marketing which might have very different costs.

3. Re-inforce your manual tracking through Google analytics.
It is possible to set up goals in Google Analytics for telephone calls, emails and form submissions. What this then means is that you can determine how many of these you have had and what drove them. Have you ever wondered for example whether visitors to your website are from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin convert better. Bear in mind though that only calls via mobiles will be tracked (or Skype) but that also a call is tracked by counting the number of times the message – call 01242 xxxxxx is triggered and not all these will go onto call.

4. Determine the extent of the correlation between website traffic and sales.
It is usually a case of how much of a correlation there is between movements in website traffic and sales volumes rather than a case of whether one exists. Showing sales volumes over website traffic on a graph over the same period will show this.

5. Look at Google Analytics to see what it tells you
How is website traffic performing compared with the same period last year? Is your traffic up or down and where is it coming from and how does it differ. What is the bounce rate for your site (where people arrive on one page and leave straight away)?

6. Do you know how many people are looking at your business before they make contact or visit your website?
This might sound impossible to some or it might sound like you need a crystal ball. Whereas the answer is in fact your Google My Business listing that appears top right when you search on Google for yourselves, and is the red blob on a map when people search for your type of business. Once you have claimed your business you have access to rich insights and a number of marketing tools i.e. posts, adding photo, responding to reviews or messages. Top tip – Increase the visibility of your Google My Business page and you will drive more traffic to your website or people to make contact with you.

7. Check the health of your website in the eyes of Google and Chrome?
If your website is not considered to be secure in the eyes of Chrome and Google your site ranking will suffer and you will be losing visitors. Also check whether Google thinks your site is fully mobile friendly.

8. Consider monitoring / viewing what your traffic is doing
Google Analytics has an element of live traffic that if you get sufficient volumes of web visitors will give some insight into the behaviour of your traffic. The behavioural view on analytics will also tell you where people arrived and where they went. Products such as Hotjar (other products are available) allow you to view live on screen how visitors act – great for example if you have a lot of people visiting a form but then abandon it.

9. Consider getting somebody to review your website from a user experience perspective
Whilst not statistically significant this can give valuable insight into how others view your site, particularly if they also look at some of your competitors sites. Or you could conduct a survey of your website visitors to gain their views.

10. Get an external view from a Marketing Consultant
A fresh pair of eyes can give a more balanced perspective – but then we would say that wouldn’t we? Why not get in touch to get us to have a look at your site for you.

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Some of our favourite Marketing tools that can make your life easier

Marketing in today’s multi-channel, digital world can sometimes feel a bit a confusing with so many options and an almost endless “to do list”. To make your life just that bit easier we have listed some of our favourite tools. Listed below in no particular order we hope you find the list to be useful.

1. Google My Business.
A great “window” on the number of people that are potentially looking at your business before they make contact with you. Also a good promotional platform to utilise by ensuring your business is the most ranked and highest ranked in your area and also the free post updates functionality.

2. SmartSurvey.
Gloucestershire based we find this survey tool easier and better to use than its larger rival SurveyMonkey. If you are not already using surveys then consider using them. They are great for PR, customer insight, gauging customer satisfaction and also recruiting testimonials to use in other forms of Marketing.

3. CANVA.
We use this tool all the time for creating great images to use in social media. It is easy to use, but we would still usually save this for those most important posts that you want to look really good.

4. Website Grader.
A free tool from Hubspot that lets you effectively look under “the bonnet” of your website to find things that you may want to fix. Yes the tool is of course biased towards aspects that Hubspot can help you with, but then it looks at every website in the same way, so it can be a good tool to use to see how your website compares with competitors.

5. Bitly.
A great tool to shorten links for inclusion in social media. Only use it where you need to though as people may be less likely to click on a link where they cannot see where it leads them.

6. PicResize.
A handy free online tool that allows you to resize photos to different sizes or crop them.

7. Pexels.
A handy online source of free imagery for use on social media and elsewhere. For paid for images our favourite source is Shutterstock.

8. Cookiebot.
A great free web tool that will let you know what web links you have embedded in your website. Useful for example for ensuring your Privacy Policy is accurate or for checking whether or not you have Google Analytics on your website.

9. Google News Alerts.
A great free tool from Google that lets you keep abreast of breaking news in your industry. Also great for sourcing content to use in social media.

10. Google Analytics.
We saved the best till last. Your website is undoubtedly one of your most valuable marketing assets and it is vital that you should be using this to track how your website is performing, where your traffic is coming from and what sources of traffic are triggering marketing goals.

We could have listed many more, but we hope that this handy list of some of our favourites will come in handy.

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