An early 10^th birthday present to the business (we turn 10 next year), the new website reflects our most up-to-date services and has some new features that we hope you find useful:

Free Downloadable Marketing Resources:

We’ve added a new Resources section where you can download useful marketing tools and templates that you can use in your own business. We will be adding to this section over time and have lots more to come, so stay tuned.

Easy Online Consultation Booking:

Getting yourself booked in is easy – you can now book your marketing consultations online. Just select your preferred date, time and consultation type, and we will confirm your meeting.

Four Core Marketing Packages:

We offer four core, tailored marketing packages with expert advice and trusted methods, to kickstart your new marketing strategy or streamline an existing one. From one-off troubleshoots and strategy planning, to bespoke outsourcing and digital copywriting services. Check out our Services to find out how we can you help your business.

How We Help Clients:

We feature a number of client stories to give you an idea of how we can support your business. From an award-winning toy brand and independent knitwear designer, to high-end milliner and more. We are proud to work with a range of brilliant clients. Go take a peek!

A few words of thanks

As anyone who has ever built a website will know, it takes a long time to bring to life. Always longer than you think (just me?!?). And it takes a team. A brilliant one.

Firstly, a big thank you to Chloe Robertson of Design by Smith for her amazing creativity, impeccable taste and endless patience. I am forever grateful to have you as a partner in crime, friend and trusted recommendation for my own clients.

Thank you also to the brilliant Mo Lawson of The Word Fairy for her generous ideas, suggestions and copywriting expertise. And just all-round loveliness. You do indeed make sparkly copy for blank pages.

Thank you to the gorgeous Ally of Ally Berry Photography for her personal branding photo shoot at Marketing Vision HQ. Having my photo taken is never my favourite thing, but you made me feel relaxed and comfortable, and took some super lovely shots.

And more photography thanks to the fabulous Tina of We Take Fab Photos for her brilliant marketing workshops photos – taken back when we could meet in person and enjoy spending time with like-minded business friends. Hopefully we’ll be able to do that again soon.

Thank you to the awesome Zahid Iqbal of MZ Creative Studio, for taking Chloe’s amazing website design and bringing it to life. You are the best website developer ever and make it seem so easy. It is always a pleasure to work with you, and exciting to think my site has been built halfway across the world. Marketing Vision remains global (very important to me), thank you.

And of course, a BIG thank you to my wonderful clients who very kindly agreed to be Featured Clients and took the time out of their busy schedules to write a testimonial for me. It is very much appreciated.

Enjoy the new website

We hope you enjoy the new site and make good use of the free resources. We’re mostly on Instagram these days so hop on over to @paula_marketingvc to keep up with our latest news.

Now that the website is live, we will be more active on social media (free time again!!) – sharing marketing tips and more. And a sparkly new e-newsletter will be coming in the New Year. Along with (hopefully!), the return of our marketing workshops in the summer. Because nothing beats in-person learning, mingling and sharing of ideas. We love to hear that attendees have come away from our workshops feeling fired up and inspired. I think we all miss that.

Do feel free to get in touch and let us know what you think of the new site. We’d love to hear from you!

Now to have a well-earned cuppa and biscuit (or two). Or perhaps something a little stronger!

The post Marketing Vision’s new website is live! appeared first on Marketing Vision.

Don’t despair, help is on hand.

As a busy small business owner, it can be really challenging to proactively market your business on top of all the other demands on your time.

But in the absence of big budgets, little and often (regular, consistent marketing) is the absolute key to gaining traction, building brand awareness and forming a strong foundation for growth. (If you want results, you can’t get away with leaving your marketing until last thing on a Friday afternoon!).

So, this week we’re sharing 5 tried and tested ways to help you make more time for marketing your business:

1. Make a plan:

Not only will you create more time, businesses with a plan in place are 20% more profitable than those without. Having a succinct, targeted marketing plan for your business allows you to focus on core priorities and schedule the less pressing activities for a later date.

Developing a clear, manageable plan will help you feel more in control of your marketing, enabling you to make confident decisions and reduce stress. And it doesn’t have to be complex, a simple marketing plan is better than none at all.

2. Jot down your weekly priorities:

Got your plan in place? Great! Now you need to break it down into actionable tasks that you can power through each week.

Scheduling your marketing activities into a planner will hugely increase the chances of them happening. Whether you like to use an app, online project management tool, wall planner or tear-off desk pad – the logic is the same. What doesn’t get written down won’t get done – fact. (Plus, it’s very motivating to tick items off as you go).

Don’t forget to check out our Resources section if you’d like to access our downloadable weekly planner. Each day is broken down into hourly time blocks to keep you focused.

Use planners to schedule your marketing activities and make them happen!

3. Time your tasks:

If you’re short on time, allocate a rough time estimate to each marketing task you have on your list. It may be a quick 10-minute phone call, a 1-hour networking group you need to attend, or a more time-intensive content planning session.

Start by blocking out the biggest chunks of time you need first; this will give immediate structure to your week. Shorter, 10-30 minutes marketing activities can be then be plugged into windows of free time (either planned or additional pockets of time that crop up). I often work on train journeys to make use of otherwise dead time – quiet, uninterrupted time that’s perfect for planning out blogs or social media content.

4. Work in 90-minute focus blocks

If you need to be more productive in order to free up time for marketing, a top tip shared by Talented Ladies Club is to work in 90-minute focus blocks.

Have you tried it? It really works.

Focus blocks are dedicated, highly productive pockets of time in which you concentrate solely on the task in hand. No tech distractions. No emails. No phone calls or interruptions. You’ll be amazed at how much this will boost your productivity and create free time.

If you think you could be using your time more effectively, handy time tracker apps like Toggl are also great for boosting productivity and winning back your time.

5. Find yourself an accountability partner:

Did you know that you’re a whopping 95% more likely to achieve your goals if you have an accountability partner?

That’s seriously impressive! If you find that you’re dragging your heels with a specific marketing task or bigger project, find yourself an accountability partner and get it done! It might just be a procrastination habit that is holding you back.

Why is having an accountability partner so effective? Because when you’re accountable to someone for something you said you would do, you engage the power of social commitment which dramatically increases your chances of success. Give it a try! I highly recommend it.

Want more small business marketing advice? Join our growing Instagram community for our latest news, marketing tips and small business inspiration!

[Blog illustration by Chloe’s Office].

The post 5 ways to make more time for marketing appeared first on Marketing Vision.

The role of a marketing plan is to map out all aspects of an organisation’s marketing intentions and activities for a set period of time. It’s a summary document that provides an important framework to ensure that marketing activities are carried out in a controlled way, and results (and profits!) maximised.

Even if you have been in business for a while without a plan, it’s a good idea to create one.

Whilst marketing plans are often mistakenly perceived as relevant to business life only in the corporate world, they are in fact hugely beneficial to small businesses also. Taking the time and effort to create a marketing plan really is a must for all small business owners. It will make your life a whole lot easier too, I promise!

So what are the key benefits of a marketing plan to your business?

1. Creating a focused & forward-thinking business

Taking the time to build a marketing plan requires you to sit down and really think about the direction that your business is heading in.

You’ll need to give consideration to important questions around where are you now and where do you want to be. How are you going to get there and what resources do you have available? You’ll also need to think about the wider environment – your competitors, customers, and current issues in the world that might impact the marketplace within which you operate.

A very real danger of not having a plan or an awareness of what is happening in the world (and how this might impact your business), is not being able to react successfully when challenges arise or consumer demand changes. There are many examples of failed businesses that have been caught out in this way.

2. Enabling clear decision making

Dedicating time to understanding your business and how it fits within the wider marketplace will enable you to make clear, informed decisions.

Knowledge of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges that lie ahead will support you in investing funds and resources in the right places. The ability to make controlled, logical decisions will help you drive your business forward with confidence.

3. Integrating long-term planning with short-term implementation

As a small business owner it can sometimes be overwhelming knowing where to start with marketing. What opportunities should you explore? What can you actually afford and what will give you the biggest return on your investment?

Creating a marketing plan allows you to document all your potential marketing options and to stagger them in a controlled way that will help you achieve your business goals. For example, you might not be able to afford a PR campaign in your first year of business, but it is something that you would really like to do. Create a 3 year marketing plan and you can park it as a future activity in year two when you have built up more funds from implementing other less-costly marketing activities.

Integrating long-term planning with short-term implementation will help you to feel more in control and able to rationalise the choices that you make. Unless you are incredibly lucky, no start-up or small business has endless pots of money to invest in marketing – so well-planned, controlled and measurable strategies are essential.

No marketing plan? Expect a bumpy ride

“I don’t have time to write a plan!”  “I don’t need a plan things are going really well just now!” “Marketing plan? I wouldn’t know where to start!”  These are just some of the justifications frequently cited by businesses as reasons for not having a marketing plan. If you want your business to grow, you will need strategic direction and a plan to get there.

I once read a great analogy between marketing plans and a road map. The question raised in the analogy was, ‘You wouldn’t start a long journey without a map, so why would you start a business without a marketing plan?’  This strongly resonated with me and prompted me to write this blog as without a marketing plan, you should expect a bumpy ride with lots of wrong turns and missed opportunities.

A simple plan is better than no plan

You don’t have to create a mammoth document. A simple, well-thought out plan that keeps you on track (and is readily available for you to refer back to) is better than no plan at all. With lots of templates and guides on how to complete a marketing plan freely available online, creating a plan may be easier than you think.

Check out our Resources section to download our 90-Day Calendar. It’s a great template to use to plan out 90 days of marketing activity and really move your business forward. And it’s undated too, so you can start it whenever you like.

Have you got a question on marketing plans? Please get in touch or connect with us on Instagram. We’re here to help you!

The post 3 reasons why your business needs a marketing plan appeared first on Marketing Vision.

If your business isn’t seen by the right customers then they are not going to buy into it, no matter how much of a great idea it is, or how well it is branded and packaged.

So we asked Alice Broomhall – London-based market research consultant – to share her top tips for defining your target market. With 20+ years industry experience, Alice sure knows her stuff.

Knowing your target market is crucial

“I don’t have a target market, my business is relevant to everyone!” That’s fine, but the risk of aiming at too broad a market is that your business won’t stand out from the crowd. A target market is just that – a target – and other types of customers will always come to you if you are offering them something they need at the time.

Having a target market in mind will help you focus on where you want your business to go, and will ensure that you don’t waste time and money marketing your services to people that are less likely to be interested.

Get to know your target market

“But I don’t know who my target market is!” There are two things you need to do here:

1. Profile your existing customers

These people have chosen your company for a reason (if you are already in business). Either the product/service you offer meets a practical need that they have, or there is something about your business/branding /location etc that connects with them on a more emotional level.

Either way, you need to understand who your customers are so that you can find more people like them and grow your business.

2. Observe, observe, observe

Go out there and watch people in places/situations where they are likely to use a product/service like yours.

• Lurk in shops selling similar things. What sort of people are in there? What sort of people are actually buying rather than just looking?
• Search the internet. Who are your competitors aiming their websites at? Read reviews of your competitors – what can you glean about their customers’ lives/ demographics from this, and what complaints do they make that your business could learn from?
• Find events where people that might be interested in your business would go. Talk to as many people as you can or hand out paper questionnaires. Ask if they’d be interested in your business, and ask all the profiling questions you can. Watch and note down what these people are like so you can build up a portrait of your imaginary perfect customer.

Surveys are a great market research tool

A simple market research survey can give you a wealth of information that can be used to profile your customers and better target your product development and strategies to encourage more of your core customer types to come to your business.

Surveys can be carried out in many ways including via email using your own customer email lists, through social media, or using paper questionnaires if you have a physical ‘shop’ your customers come to.

Questions you should ask

Great questions to ask are: Age, gender, occupation, family situation, income, where they live, hobbies / interests, media consumption (favourite TV, websites, apps, magazines, newspapers etc.), other favourite relevant companies they use, how much they spend on relevant products / services, and other questions relevant to your particular business.

For example, a textile designer might ask how often customers change their sofa cushions to understand whether she should offer long lasting, more traditional cushion designs, or include a range of cheaper designs in seasonal prints.

Knowing your target market is essential for business growth

And it’s ok if your research doesn’t give you a conclusive answer as to who your target customer is. There may be more than one group of people that you need to target and you can plan you product development and marketing accordingly.

Or you may be able to define your own new target by looking at the profile of customers that spend the most money with you or use you most frequently – if you can market to more consumers like them, then you’re guaranteed business growth.

Alice Broomhall is a freelance market research consultant specialising in helping start-ups and small businesses understand their customers and develop their services. Before going solo she spent twelve years working for large, international market research agencies, covering everything from helping banks to develop new business banking services, to testing car insurance advertisements, to evaluating how parents choose toys for their children. She loves being out in the park with her two daughters and in her spare time likes to buy, and renovate, properties.

Need to spend some time getting to know your target market? Head to our Resources section to download our Customer Avatar template to profile your ideal customers and make better, more informed marketing decisions. And if you need some support filling out the template, you might find this target audience blog helpful.

Or of course, get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!

The post How to define your target market appeared first on Marketing Vision.

You spend a lot of time carefully creating content but you don’t seem to be getting anywhere? You are not alone!

We know that as a small business owner you have a lot of plates to spin. And that trying to stand out on Instagram (and Facebook) can start to feel like a tedious chore if you’re not getting the audience engagement or growth that you’d like.

So, we asked three of our favourite social media experts to share their top tips for boosting engagement. Tips that you can put into action straight away in your business!

Because with so many brands competing for people’s attention, it’s getting harder and harder to increase engagement (likes, comments, engagement from your Stories, IGTV views and so on) – and we want to help you build a community that supports your business growth.

We asked: How can small businesses successfully increase engagement on Instagram and Facebook?

Here’s what our fantastic experts said:

Boost engagement with Instagram Stories

Joanna Michaels, social media coach and founder of London-based Beyond Social Buzz shared her top tips for creating brilliant Instagram Stories:

If you want to build a loyal and engaged following on Instagram, use Instagram Stories!

Instagram Stories have a unique ability to motivate users to take action. And Instagram is helping brands further boost engagement with their followers by offering a variety of engagement stickers. Add them to your Stories to encourage your followers to chat, answer questions, get to know you better by asking you questions, vote and lots more.

The more engagement you have on your Stories, the higher the visibility given to that particular Story by Instagram’s algorithm. The result? More exposure for your brand!

Joanna Michaels, founder of Beyond Social Buzz

3 top tips for nailing Instagram Stories:

1. Tell great stories: To increase the completion rate on the viewing of your Stories tell a cohesive story – one with a clear beginning, middle and end. Lulu Lemon Stories are a perfect example, so check them out and learn how to keep people watching.

2. Make use of apps: To make your Stories more engaging, check out the following apps:

• Unfold: Offers customisable templates and helps to maintain brand aesthetics
• Canva: Enables you to create branded Stories templates and even custom fonts
• InShot video editor: A photo and video editing app that will help to adjust your video to fit Instagram Stories

3. Include a clear ‘call-to-action’: Don’t forget about a clear call-to-action – give a direct instruction for what you’d like people to do next. E.g., ‘Swipe up to download’. And remember that Instagram users scroll through their feeds very quickly, so keep your headline and copy clear. And be sure to let users know straight away what they’ll get if they swipe up/click on the link in the bio.

Tell your story with video (and keep things fun!)

Helen Perry, social media content creator and founder of Not About The Kids shared her top tips on video and the importance of keeping things fun:

Helen Perry, founder of Not About The Kids

Include video content

Even short video clips are often more engaging than still images. If you are nervous about trying this (especially speaking to camera), I recommend experimenting in Stories format – either on Instagram or Facebook. What’s the worst that can happen? It’ll be gone again in 24 hours.

And remember, your footage can be very short – just a few seconds long. But when you are thinking about how to tell any story, consider how you can incorporate video.

Keep things fun and light

Generally, people open their social media apps to be entertained or distracted. So, try and think about how you can make your content fun, funny, light, casual and even…ordinary.

Use relaxed photography and video, and then make great use of all of the brilliant apps available to make your content as accessible as possible. From brilliant photo and film editing on VSCO and InShot to classy Stories templates at Unfold.

Use hashtags and targeted ad campaigns

Isil Simsek, social media consultant and founder of boutique agency Social Thyme shared her tops tips on hashtags and targeted ads:

Isil Simsek, founder of Social Thyme

Don’t post and go on Instagram!

If you want to generate engagement on Instagram, don’t just post and go! When you publish a post, stay on the platform and engage with your audience by liking and commenting on their posts. Search your key hashtags and go on the recent posts to like and comment on them. As they are recent posts, it’s very likely that those people are still on the platform and they will check out your profile and reciprocate. Take 5-10 minutes before and after publishing your content to connect with your audience.

Use Facebook & Instagram ads for targeted campaigns

Don’t waste your money by boosting Facebook posts. Boosting a post has a place, but it’s not strategic and you don’t have most of the options Facebook gives you in Business Manager. By boosting a post every time Facebook tells you your content is performing well and throwing £10 at it (hoping it sticks!), will not bring you any results.

The Business Manager gives you more strategic tools so you can target your audience based on their interests, lifestyle, searches and many other factors so you actually only hand out a ‘leaflet’ to those who are more likely to buy from you.

The beauty of Facebook and Instagram ads is that you don’t have to spend a large sum of money only to find out nobody is interested. You can see how your ad campaign is performing and react accordingly. If, after a couple of days it isn’t working, simply turn your ads off and change your strategy – test different creatives, copy and offers to find what resonates most with your audience.

Helpful resources

If you’d like to find out more about how our social media experts could help your small business, you can work with them in a number of ways. Our top picks:

• Sign up to Not About The Kids mailing list to access a growing treasure trove of free resources that will help you communicate beautifully on social media (plus keep up-to-date with expert tips, tricks and upcoming events)
• If you’re London-based, attend a Beyond Social Buzz course or training to help you use social media more confidently
• Book in for a Power Hour with Social Thyme and get all your social media questions answered

Thank you to each of our social media experts for so generously sharing their knowledge and insights with us!

Want to know more? Join our growing Instagram community for our latest new, marketing tips and small business inspiration! We look forward to meeting you.

The post How to increase Instagram and Facebook engagement appeared first on Marketing Vision.

Not just the basic demographic information (age, gender, location etc). But the really important stuff that makes them tick.

What motivates them? What challenges do they face? What influences their purchasing decisions? What other products or services might they also be considering? What does their typical day look like?

Vital information to know if you want to reach your ideal customers with the right message, in the right place at the right time.

But how do you get started with really getting to know your target audience?

How to get to know your target audience

A great place to start is by creating a customer avatar – a fictional, detailed profile of your ideal customer that gives you clarity on their key characteristics.

Why is this so important? Because when you’re clear on who your customers are, any part of the marketing or sales process that reaches them will massively improve.

Investing time in creating a clear picture of your ideal customer will greatly help you:

1. Develop products or services that sell more easily (because they deliver on a genuine customer need)
2. Create engaging marketing messaging that resonates with your customers (and moves them to action – e.g. make a purchase, subscribe to your email list, sign up to a workshop etc)
3. Improve virtually every aspect of your marketing (and make you more money!)

Top Tip: You’ll likely need to create more than one customer avatar unless your product or service is particularly niche. As a guide, creating two or three distinct avatars is fairly typical.

Developing a customer avatar will give you clarity on your ideal customers

The 5 things you need to know about your customers

Understanding your ideal customer will influence your content marketing strategy, social media activity, copywriting, promotional campaigns, pricing strategies and more.

There are five core things you need to know about them:

1. Goals and values:

You need to understand what your ideal customer is trying to achieve. And what he or she really values. This underpins motivation and what shapes their purchasing decisions (make a note of those that are relevant to your products or services).

Example: A busy mum is looking for lunchbox snack ideas for her school-age children but is unhappy with what she’s seen in the supermarkets. What is she actually trying to achieve? She’s likely looking for a healthy (and filling) snack that her kids will love, so that she knows they’ve eaten well at school and will concentrate on their lessons post-lunch. Her values? This mum values her children’s health and education.

A savvy brand will weave these insights into their marketing communications and be sure to connect with the mum in a way that is aligned with her goals and values (So for example, will talk to health/well-being and high-quality  ingredients that taste great, rather than to price).

2. Where they seek information and entertainment:

Consider where your ideal customer goes to for information and entertainment. Which books do they read? Magazines? Blogs? News sources? Which social media platforms are they on (if any)?

Understanding where your ideal customers are seeking information (essentially where they hang out) will influence your content marketing strategy, choice of social media platform(s), advertising decisions and more.

3. Core demographics:

Delving into demographic information helps bring your customer avatar to life. Start by jotting down the basics – their age, gender, marital status, job and location. You might also like to think about whether they have children (and if so, their ages) – as this can often have a huge impact on their motivations and decision-making process.

Being able to visualise your ideal customers (literally, imagine them sitting across the table from you!) is hugely beneficial when it comes to developing your products or services, making decisions about the wording you’ll use in your marketing campaigns, and so much more.

4. Frustrations and pain points:

Unlocking customer frustrations and pain points – really getting inside their head – will impact pretty much all of your marketing efforts.

You can use these insights to:

• Create products or services that truly provide solutions to your customer’s challenges and pain points (add value to their lives)
• Ensure that you use language that addresses their challenges and pain points in your marketing communications and show that you ‘get’ them (compel them to action)

5. Reasons not to buy:

Why might your ideal customer choose not to purchase your products or services? Typical objections (and questions for you to consider) are:

• “I can get it cheaper elsewhere” (but is it the same quality?)
• “I can’t afford it right now” (are they waiting for pay day?)
• “I can teach myself how to do that” (but will they actually put it into action?)
• “I’m confused by the number of options available” (can you help them narrow it down?)
• “I haven’t got time” (is it a priority for them just now?)

By addressing these objections upfront in your marketing copy, you’ll be able to position your offering in the best possible way.

And if they still don’t buy from you? They likely don’t fit your customer avatar (and you shouldn’t worry about it!). Instead focus on delighting those who do, and you will flourish.

Need help developing your customer avatar?

We love working with our small business clients to help them unlock the opportunities that come from really understanding their customers!

Here’s what meditation expert Laura Coleman said about her 1-2-1 consultation with Marketing Vision:

I was looking to get more clarity on who my ideal customer is for my business Be.Modern Meditation. Paula helped me drill down and understand my customer avatar and also gave me the tools to revisit and understand it. Her knowledge and expertise is really varied and wide ranging, and I gained a lot from our session. She asked helpful clarifying questions and I came away with a clear and actionable plan. Beyond our session she has been so engaged and supportive of me and my business. She regularly sends me helpful hints or leads to follow up. Get her on your team – she’s small business gold!

We helped Laura understand her ideal customers & develop a clear plan of action

Need to get to know your target customers better? Head to our Resources section to download our Customer Avatar template. Spend some quality time profiling your ideal customers and you’ll be on your way to making better, more informed marketing decisions.

Get in touch!

If you’d like to have a chat about how we can help you improve your marketing by getting to know your customers, get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.

Or get involved in the conversation over on Instagram. Join our growing Instagram community for our latest marketing news, tips and small business inspiration!

The post 5 things you need to know about your target audience appeared first on Marketing Vision.

By consistently sharing fresh content (rich with your own thoughts and insights), you naturally grow your search traffic, build customer trust and ultimately, sales.

From humanising your brand and improving search visibility, to building authority, providing quality social media content and more – blogs have many business boosting benefits.

But not everyone likes to write. Plus, as a busy business owner, time is tight – right?

So, how can you write great blog posts fast?

We share five quick tips that you can put into action right away:

1. Build a bank of blog ideas

Having a bank of potential blog ideas readily available will save you oodles of time. When an idea for a post pops into your head, be sure to jot it down. Whether you carry a notebook, prefer to work online or use an app – try to note them down in the same place each time. A healthy pot of ideas will help prevent writer’s block when you come to sit down and create your posts.

Top tip: If new blog ideas don’t come easily to you, block out an hour in your diary each month for a concentrated brainstorming session. Coffee and cake are optional brain fuel (but come highly recommended!).

2. Be sure to plan ahead

Draft up a simple content schedule and your blogging life will instantly become a whole lot easier. Work out a frequency that you can commit to and start from there. (There’s no point in announcing your exciting new weekly blog to your community, if you can’t maintain that frequency). Use a planner – whether printed or online – to plug in your planned blogs for the upcoming months. Schedule time in your diary to get your blogs ready ahead of time – remembering to factor in sourcing images, creating your blog header and social media images also.

Top tip: If you tend to let your blog schedule slide, give yourself a fake deadline in advance of your diarised ‘go live’ date. Or check in with an accountability partner until you’re more in the swing of things. A sporadic blog is a big no, no if you want to reap the rewards!

3. Remove all distractions

Distractions are your enemy when it comes to knocking out blogs fast. Social media, emails, phone calls, piles of paperwork, nipping off to make a cup of tea…. Sounds familiar? Find a quiet, uncluttered place where you won’t be disturbed and turn off social and email notifications – make your cuppa, bash out your blog.

Work on your post without stopping or doing anything else. If you don’t like to work in silence, the hum of a café or co-working space can also work really well. Do whatever works best to keep you focused.

Top tip: Set a timer and give yourself 30 minutes for the first draft. It won’t be perfect but having the basic structure in place (introduction, main body and conclusion) will make you feel a lot more motivated to get on and finish it (versus staring at a blank page!).

4. Forget about being perfect

Your first draft may not be as you want it. But don’t stress – build the bones and you can improve it.

Keep the content concise, focused and the intention behind your blog top of mind. What’s the purpose of the blog? Is it to share expertise? Showcase new products or services? Other? Edit your draft so that your blog achieves what you want it to and doesn’t go off on a tangent (as this will then require a time-consuming re-work).

Top tip: When you want to write fast, consciously keep your target audience in mind to reduce editing. Why will they want to read your blog and how will it entertain, educate or inform them? Does your blog deliver on this?

5. Read other blogs

If you want to write great blogs, be sure to read others. Lots of them! The more you read, the more ideas you will generate for your own business. And not just ideas for what to write, but also thoughts about how to write – attention-grabbing headlines, engaging content types (e.g., list posts, ‘how to’ guides, infographics etc), use of imagery, selecting topics that will resonate, exploring different tones of voice and more.

Top tip: A time-saving tool like Feedly.com is a great way to pull your favourite blogs and online news sources into one central location. Organised and ready at your fingertips for you to read when time allows, forming a brilliant source of fresh blog ideas and inspiration.

So, there you have it! Five tried and tested tips that will help you write great blogs – fast! Do you have a time-saving blogging tip to share? Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!

Or get involved in the conversation on Instagram. Join our growing Instagram community for our latest marketing news, tips and small business inspiration – we’d love to meet you!

The post How to write great blog posts – fast! appeared first on Marketing Vision.

Whether it be for a networking event, formal presentation, a casual coffee meet-up or inclusion in your marketing communications, being able to tell your business story in a succinct and engaging way will prove invaluable.

You will be asked time over about your business and the products or services that you offer. And as your front PR-person, it is vital that you can confidently give a concise response, being careful to include your key selling points in a persuasive way (that doesn’t sound rehearsed!).

Perfecting your elevator pitch

Have you ever been unprepared with a snappy response when someone has asked you about your business? Perhaps you blurted out a long, rambling answer and missed your chance to start a meaningful conversation? What a wasted opportunity to promote your products or services!

So how do you create your perfect business pitch (also often referred to as an ‘elevator pitch’)? It’s actually pretty simple. Dedicate some quiet time to jotting down 1-2 sentences in response to each of the following questions.

1. What do you do?
2. What problem do you solve?
3. How is your product or service unique?
4. How can you help me?

If you keep each of your answers brief, your business story will total to around 60 seconds. Using this technique, you can be confident that you have included your key selling points plus comfortably be able to deliver an engaging and memorable introduction to your business at any time.

A working example

Let’s look at an example of how this pitch development process might look for an organic farm offering home-delivered fruit and vegetable boxes.

1. “We are an award-winning organic fruit and vegetable farm delivering only the freshest of produce to homes around the UK 
   [What do you do?].
2. We deliver seasonal, organic goods directly to your door – putting fresh fruit and vegetables on the family table at an affordable price [What problem do you solve?].
3. Our great-tasting, organic produce is grown at regional farms throughout the UK helping us to keep the food miles low, support local farmers and create local employment. We are 20-30% cheaper than the supermarkets and offer our customers convenient 1-hour delivery slots [How is your product/service different?].
4. Our customers love the convenience of having fresh, seasonal products delivered directly to their door. We are passionate about supporting healthy food choices whilst saving our customers both time and money” [How can you help me?].

Practice makes perfect

Once you are happy with your responses to these key questions, practice saying them out loud. Keep refining them. Practice in front of a mirror, a friend or family member until you are comfortable with your pitch.

It’s important that the response doesn’t sound rehearsed so be careful not to be too rigid when you are talking (or look like you are trying to recall all the points that you want to include!). But don’t worry, the more you practice, the more natural you will sound.

Have you got a question about how to successfully pitch your business? Find us over on Instagram or drop us a line through our website – we’d love to hear from you.

The post How to introduce your business in 60 seconds appeared first on Marketing Vision.

Of course. Who doesn’t want to grow their customer base?

Right. But research shows that 80% of your future profits will come from just 20% of your existing customers.

That means that your strongest source of revenue is in fact, likely sitting right under your nose.

And not only that, these customers are easier to engage with because people are far more responsive to brands they’re already familiar with.

Source: www.retentionscience.com

Positive brand experiences drive growth

So, while you should of course keep building your audience – it’s crucial that your marketing strategy also includes a strong brand loyalty component. A targeted plan of actions that keep customers coming back for more and create raving fans who happily spread the word about you.

Think about the last time you were really impressed by a business or brand. You probably went on to buy more from them, and more than likely told friends and family about your positive experience.

To build profitable brand loyalty into your business, you need to consciously cultivate a ‘wow’ factor. Deliver more than you promised and provide additional, unexpected value. Going that extra mile really will keep people coming back and get them talking about you.

And in our current uncertain climate, brand loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals are more important than ever for driving business growth.

Source: www.retentionscience.com

Brand loyalty boosts profitability

So, how can you nurture profitable brand loyalty in your business?

We’ve picked out 11 of our favourite (simple!) tried and tested ways to get you started:

1. Offer outstanding customer service at every touch point, always go that extra mile
2. Regularly chat with your customers on social media – be friendly and engaging
3. Be generous and include free samples of new products with orders
4. Send a personalised, hand-written thank you note
5. Start a reward or loyalty scheme (or friend referral programme)
6. Email existing customers an advance preview of new product/service launches (and maybe a cheeky discount too!)
7. If you’re a service provider, check in with clients to see how they’re getting on – be helpful
8. Ask customers for their opinion on new products/services that you’re developing
9. Tell your customers how their feedback was implemented – people love to feel  involved
10. Provide a surprise upgrade or bonus for free
11. Pop a postcard with a special discount code in with product orders

Brands who are nailing the wow factor

The beauty of being a small business is that you can make up your own rules. You can be agile, flexible and delight customers in unexpected ways that help you build loyalty and stand out from the crowd.

Lots of brands are doing amazing things in this area, but here are three that we think are nailing it right now:

Patch Plants:

Online houseplant delivery business Patch Plants offer a fantastic friend referral programme: Refer a friend, and both of you get a free plant when your friend places their first order (over £50).

This is the icing on the cake when you’ve browsed through their website packed with helpful plant advice, tips and guidance to help you choose the right plants for you. Search categories like ‘Unkillable indoor plants’ are also awesome and add a welcome touch of humour!

A definite 10 out 10 on the customer experience wow factor.

And how did I hear about Patch Plants? Through a friend sharing how brilliant they are on Instagram.

Scrubbingtons:

Foam-tastic kid’s washing products brand Scrubbingtons, never fail to impress.

Not only are their products and customer service outstanding, they also offer a free rewards programme. Customers collect points each time they buy products, these can then be redeemed against future purchases once they reach a certain value. A simple yet effective way to build brand loyalty. And I think quite unexpected for a small business.

‘It’s our way of saying a big “thanks” for being such an outstanding customer!’ Nicely done Scrubbingtons!

Full marks.

Evolve Beauty:

Organic skincare brand Evolve Beauty recently offered customers a super-sized product for the price of a regular one. What a fabulous and timely bonus!

120ml for the price of 60ml on some of their beauty favourites. Such a kind gesture to help their customers enjoy some self-care during this turbulent time.

Evolve Beauty always offer gorgeous products, amazing customer service and prompt delivery. This added generosity fits their brand perfectly.

Top work.

Do you have a brand loyalty question? Perhaps you’re looking to create something unique for your own business. Get in touch – we’re always happy to help.

Want more small business marketing advice? Join our growing Instagram community for our latest news, marketing tips and small business inspiration!

[Blog illustrations by the super-talented and all-round awesome Chloe’s Office].

The post Brand loyalty: 11 simple ways to boost profitability appeared first on Marketing Vision.

Perhaps you’ve experienced it yourself. You’ve come across spelling mistakes on a website or in a marketing campaign, and thought twice about making a purchase? I know that I have.

Poor spelling doesn’t reflect well on brand credibility or professionalism. It breaks trust.

People don’t want to spend their hard-earned money with a business who doesn’t care enough to check their copy properly.

Poor spelling will cost your business money

Their vs there. Stationary vs stationery. Your vs you’re. Seperate vs separate. These are just some of the common slip-ups in the English language.

The odd spelling mistake may seem harmless enough, but if you’re making them in key marketing communications – you could very well be turning potential customers away.

And since it takes just six seconds to capture a user’s attention when they visit your website or social media platform, first impressions really do count.

Five expert tips for word perfect marketing copy

So, how can you avoid making costly spelling mistakes in your marketing communications?

We’ve put together five quick tips that you can put into action right away.

1. Spell check and proofread

Sounds obvious, but often when you’re busy it can be tempting to skip this final step. Be sure to check your spellings manually (don’t just rely on your online spell checker – it can easily miss mistakes). And if possible, give your work a final, super-thorough proofread (and/or ask someone else to).

2. Step away from your computer

When you’ve been up close and personal with your work for a long period of time, the words can often start to blur! Take a break and come back to it a few hours later (or even the following day) with fresh eyes, and you’ll pick out mistakes much more easily.

3. Read it aloud

Such a powerful proofreading technique! When you read your writing aloud, you can hear and/or see grammatical errors and rogue spelling mistakes with ease (ones that often get missed with scan reading). Reading aloud forces you to slow down and be so much more thorough with your proofing.

4. Read it from bottom up

This one might sound odd! But reading your work from bottom to top means that as you carefully review each sentence, you can check for context. And in doing so, any errors will jump off the page more readily.

5. Utilise online tools

Some helpful online proofreading tools include:

• Grammarly.com: A clever AI-powered writing assistant that goes beyond spelling and grammar. Grammarly will also help you with style, tone and much more.
• Hemingway App: A smart online editor that will eliminate wordy sentences, and help you write with greater clarity.
• Subjectline.com: A free headline analysing tool, great for email marketing campaigns.

Do you have a tried and tested proofreading tip to share? Join in the conversation on Instagram – we’d love to hear from you!

The post Why spelling errors are costing your business money appeared first on Marketing Vision.