Startup Tips

When it comes to digital marketing, some people believe you can do no wrong. A lot of the time, the people who believe you can do no wrong are actually doing it wrong! The problem with digital marketing is that people often put too much focus into one area of it. Or, perhaps, they don’t quite understand when results mean something good and when they mean something bad.

The most popular digital marketing practices have been around for a few years now, but they’re still pretty new. They’re more complex than the more traditional advertising methods such as newspapers and television. You need to make sure you’re on top of your game when you engage in digital marketing. You also need to recognize the signs that your current strategy isn’t working as soon as possible.

Here are some of signs that you may be doing digital marketing incorrectly!

You’re too focused on shares and likes

This is a very common mistake. When people think of digital marketing, they think of trends. They think of going viral. And when you think about going viral, you think about likes and shares on social media. How can you be doing things wrong when you’re getting thousands of likes on that sweet Facebook post? Where’s the error if your Tweet has been retweeted hundreds of times?

There is, of course, nothing wrong with this. But the problem is that people often get too caught up on these numbers. Here’s something you need to know, and it will reduce the importance of these numbers in your eyes. You ready?: People often like and share things without actually reading them. See this ingenious experiment if you don’t believe me! So getting thousands of likes and shares doesn’t always mean you got thousands of clicks on your website.

You’re ignoring search engine optimization

I’m sure many readers will skip over this section. Some will pass over it because they are using SEO, and may even believe that no-one in their right mind wouldn’t! Others may be tempted to pass over it because they have no interest in SEO.

As unbelievable as it sounds, many businesses engaged in digital marketing aren’t using SEO. Perhaps it seems like too complex or boring a task. It certainly isn’t as immediate as all the other tactics. And when the results do come, it can be hard to tell! But SEO is undoubtedly one of the most important weapons you can have in your digital marketing arsenal. Yes, it can be complex and time-consuming. But you can always get assistance with small business SEO, so don’t neglect this step.

You’re not sure how successful your campaigns are

This is a common mistake and an understandable one. As the above two “warning signs” may have made clear, it can be tough to see the results sometimes. There are a lot of numbers here and there, but they don’t always mean what they appear to mean.

You need to be keeping a close eye on expenditure and the returns on investments. You need to know how many more clicks you’ve been getting since you started a particular campaign. You need to know how many of those visits turned into sales. You need comprehensive analytics! Many of the best digital marketing agencies can offer this service.

Ever thought about starting a construction business? There are a wide array of opportunities for you to choose from, and it can be a lucrative sector, whatever your skills. In today’s guide, we’re going to take you through starting a construction business. Let’s get started right away.

Choose the right sector

There are so many different areas within the construction industry, so think about what you can contribute. If you have a trade, for example, then you could consider connecting to larger building firms as a contractor. You might team up with another tradesperson who compliments your skills and offer a fuller service. The great thing about the construction business is that it is kind to entry-level workers. You could pick up a job as a labourer, for instance, learn some skills and even end up as a site foreperson. Find a firm that provides training opportunities, and the only barrier to success is yourself.

Find a niche

Once you have skills, you can start a business and work on any project, of course. But, you might have a little more success if you decide on a niche. It’s all about differentiating yourself from the competition. And, focusing on getting suitable work for your skills. For example, you might prefer the whole process of building a house from the foundations up. Or, you might find your expertise lies in doing something like extensions. In this case, you could market yourself as a new home builder, rather than something more generic.

Invest in the right tools

In the construction industry, the quicker you finish a job, the faster you can move onto the next one. It doesn’t mean you should rush your work, of course. But, there are ways of making sure you do all your work with speed and high quality. One of the most important things to do is to invest in good quality tools. It matters – in every area of any project. For safety, get reliable winches, hoisting and jacking solutions for lifting heavy materials. Use the best and most accurate power tools for precision jobs. And, always look after them. The tools of your trade are how you make money, and you have to treat them with a lot of respect.

Invest in training

As you grow your business, you will start to hire more people. It’s vital that you get the best employees for the job, who care about their work and are as productive as possible. It’s not enough to hand over a wage packet every week, these days. Workers look to forward-thinking companies who offer other things, too. Offering training to staff helps them become better at their jobs and learn new skills. You can’t do it all yourself – and if you have an honest, reliable team, it can help you take on more jobs and grow your company.

OK, so there you have it. These four simple tips will get you started off in the construction industry. And, with a lot of hard work and focus on providing a great service, they will help you on the road to success.

Right now we live in an environment where employees have dense timetables and customers have a thousand distractions. In practice, that means that communication between employee and customer can easily breakdown. And a breakdown in communication can wreak havoc on organisational costs and your bottom line. That’s why this post scours the web for some of the best tips out there for improving customer-employee communication. Here they are.

Get To The Point

Customer communication should be short and to the point. While there’s a time and a place for long, flowing introductions, pitching in this way isn’t usually effective. Customers want simple and straightforward content that will help them to take immediate action.

Making sure that the clients react to your input is not a simple task. One of the biggest mistakes marketers make is that they talk about their own abilities and talents. But customers are rarely interested in what businesspeople can do. They’re far more interested in what they can do for them. The focus, therefore, should be on what they get out of the transaction.

If you’re sending an email, focus on the benefits they’ll receive in the email subject line. If the subject line is catchy enough, they’ll open the email and that’s your chance to pitch more detailed offers.

Keep Customers Informed

Keeping customers informed is an important part of any customer relationship strategy. Customers want to know when their product has been processed and shipped. And they want to want to know what time it will be arriving.

But in addition to that, customers may also want to know the important information in a timely manner. Suppose that your business has had an outage, and it affects when their product will be delivered.  One of the most effective ways to do this is to send out a text message explaining the situation. You can also use SMS reminders to ensure that customers turn up to their appointments.

Keep Communication Open

Once customers hand over money to you, they want to feel connected to your business. Firms that are very hands-off tend to struggle to retain customers because their clients feel cut off. Customers, therefore, should always be able to contact you by either email or by phone. One good strategy is to operate a phone service during regular office hours. And then operate an email service outside of office hours, in the evenings and at the weekend.

Every time you communicate with a customer, they should have the opportunity to reply. And if they do reply, pay particularly close attention to what they say. Usually, customers know exactly what it is that they want. And when you listen, you’re in a far better position to deliver. What’s more, their feedback often serves as a useful tool for improving your business’s products and services.

The key here is to see customers not so much as clients but as partners. Building partnerships is usually far more productive than building customers into your processes. You’ll retain customers for longer and that’s always good news for the financial health of your company.

Each year the business world changes. And each year that brings new challenges to CEOs. But dealing with these changes is a CEO’s job. It’s up to them to work out how to best use the resources at their disposal. And it’s up to them to work out how they’re going to manage their company through economic booms and busts.

This year there is unlikely to be a slowdown in the pace of change. We have disruptive new technologies launching practically every week. Dark clouds are hanging over the world economy right now, particularly with respect to global trade. And there is the ongoing asset bubble which could pop and send the whole economy into a recession.

2016 is certainly shaping up to be a turbulent year. So what are some of the significant challenges that CEOs are facing?

The Presidential Election

Nobody would contend that the 2016 election is just another election cycle. Here we have, for the first time in American history, a businessman poised to take the Republican nomination. But what if Trump beats Clinton/Sanders and wins the presidency? The fallout for businesses could potentially be enormous. A new trade deal with China could spell the end of cheap outsourcing. Penalties for companies moving to Mexico could mean that CEOs have to rethink where they produce their products. And financial markets might be rattled if they believe that Trump will reign in government spending. CEOs could potentially see millions wiped off their market cap for any of these reasons.

Rising Input Prices

Don’t expect the recent hiatus in input price inflation to last. Everything from cheap oil to HP ink cartridges is vulnerable to dollar devaluation. Remember the dollar index has fallen against world currencies this year. And that’s despite money printing abroad.  

Cybersecurity

The digital world is the new frontier in crime. The rewards are big and the policing is small. It’s still a Wild West out there and businesses need to be vigilant. Hackers are trying to gain sensitive customer data, login credentials and money. And they’re doing it all by exploiting weaknesses in company IT systems. Zero-day hacks are on the increase as data, not physical stuff, becomes the truly valuable commodity.

Getting Capital

Right now the banks are holding huge reserves at the Federal Reserve. The reasons for this are complicated. But it basically amounts to the fact that they’re massively overleveraged and don’t want to lend out anymore. In other words, banks are no longer where businesses go to get access to credit.

The Fed has tried to solve this problem with endless rounds of quantitative easing. They’ve been literally injecting trillions of dollars into the banking system. Yet the debts owed the banks are so high that they’re still unwilling to lend. This means that in 2016, CEOs are going to have to find alternative means of finance. Expect to see greater competition for venture capital.

Manage Growth Expectations

If the stock market is to be believed, companies across America are due to make bumper profits this year. But it’s far more likely that the stock market is overpriced. That means CEOs are going to have to manage investor expectations.

Franchises are an excellent route to becoming your own boss and growing a business. However, there are a few things you should know and understand before taking the plunge. In today’s guide, we’re going to take a look at the questions you must ask yourself if you want to succeed as a franchise owner.

How does it work?

First of all, you need to know how the franchise system works. It’s a simple idea – in theory. Someone has an idea for a product or a service and sets up a business. It’s a success, and they think it might be just as successful elsewhere in the country – or even around the world. They can grow the company themselves, of course. But, an alternative option is to franchise the business. So, the business owner will look for potential investors who will put their money into the brand, and run the business as their own.

What are the benefits?

The benefits of becoming a franchisee can be enormous. You will have all the marketing of

the franchisor behind you, for a start. You will also be able to buy a ready-to-go product or service, and get all the training you need to succeed. Raw materials and supplies will be cheaper, too, as you can access the buying power of the franchisor.

Which is the right franchise for me?

There are many different options out there, but not all guarantee franchise business success. You would be wise to choose a brand that you have something in common with, whether it is professional experience or general interest. It will give you that little extra drive to succeed, and help you through the tough times ahead that always come with starting a new business.

Am I the right sort of person?

It’s important to understand that it takes a certain type of personality to make it as a franchisee. There are often a strict set of rules in place, to start with – which we’ll go into a little later. So, if you are the sort of person that sees yourself as a trailblazer, wildcard, or rule breaker, franchising probably isn’t for you. You should also have access to some savings. Depending on the franchise you choose, it can cost a considerable sum of money. Some might start at $5,000 – others can be over a million dollars. Work this out at an early stage, as you will be wasting your time if you don’t have the cash to invest.

What are the rules?

All franchises are different, but they will all have rules to follow. There will be a set way of doing things that have brought the franchisor success. You will be expected to follow these rules, down to the last letter. Before making any commitment, it is vital that you understand what those instructions are. It will help you maintain the consistency of the brand and push you towards success.

We hope you have enjoyed this brief guide to the key questions about becoming a franchisee. Do you have any experience of franchises? Let us know below and join in on the conversation!

Cyber security is a big deal, but physical security is also very important for new businesses. Small and medium-sized businesses especially seem to discard their physical security quite early. It is almost as if they can’t be bothered paying the extra cash. Well, that is a bad idea because that money could save them a fortune in the long run.

As a small business owner, you don’t want to make the same common mistakes that others make so willingly. Instead, you want to avoid them so that your business can benefit and prosper. To do that, you need to consider your business’s safety. When your business is secure, you don’t have to worry about anyone from outside ruining your future. Here are the features that you need to consider if you want to secure your premises.

Use A High-Quality Alarm

An alarm is one of the first things that you should consider when you move into a new building. If it doesn’t have one, you need to think about finding a place that does or installing one beforehand. However, you should never use an alarm that isn’t up to the right standard. The alarm you choose needs to use certain features that make it harder for the thieves. If you don’t, it won’t act as deterrent. A good example is an alarm with a line to a 24-hour security company. As soon as the company receives a signal from your alarm, they will alert you and come to your residence. A quick response is essential if you want to limit the damage.

And CCTV Cameras

An alarm system is one thing, but CCTV cameras are another thing completely. The problem with them is the cost – they are expensive. But, they are expensive because they are effective. Burglars hate CCTV cameras as it increases their risk. One false move and their face could be there for all to see. And, the police will have a better chance of using the images to catch the culprit. They also can’t tell whether they are on or off, which makes them a good choice regardless. In fact, lots of homeowners take the chance and buy dummy cameras as they don’t cost as much to operate.

Light Up The Outside

Always light up as much as the exterior of the building as possible. Light is a great way to stop anyone from taking a gamble with the building. Again, it is a deterrent because thieves like to use darkness as a cover. It lets them creep around and scope the building without the risk of getting caught. Exterior lights take that cover away from them, and that adds to the risk. Lights are especially effective if you share your premises with other companies. Then, the odds of getting caught are more as there are more people to spot the burglars.

Electronically Operated Fences

A big fence is a good idea as long as it doesn’t give burglars more cover to break into your offices. An electronically operated fence is the best option if you can afford one. The great thing about them is that they let you control who comes in and out of the premises. If you don’t want anyone to enter, you can politely tell them to go away over the intercom. An intercom is a great addition too as it gives you the ability to see and speak to your visitors. Go online at Electrical Connection to learn more about intercom systems. Business owners think that it is the people that they don’t know that they have to worry about, but that isn’t true. Usually, the thief will try and hide in plain sight. With a fence and an intercom, you can stop that from happening.

High-Quality Locks

Don’t forget about the locks because they are your last line of defense. When you move into a building, enquire about them and their durability. If they have been there for a while, get a locksmith to fit new locks. Always go for the best quality because they could be the difference between a successful break in and a failed attempt. If you aren’t sure, check with your insurance company. Your policy might require you to use a specific type of lock. If it does, you have to use it if you want the insurance company to pay out for any damage.

Install A Safe

If the worst does happen, you need a backup plan. There is no reason for anything important to go missing should a burglar gain entry to your offices. Okay, you can’t secure everything. But, you don’t need to bother with the fixtures and fittings. What you need to bother about are the important documents that can do damage to your future in the wrong hands. The best thing to do is to buy a good quality safe. A good safe will keep the burglars out as long as they aren’t professionals with the right tools. Even then, a safe will make them go the extra mile to get their hands on your documents. Also, upload the information to a USB and store it off-site. At least if something does go wrong, you can start over again with a factory reset. All you have to do is make sure that the off-site location is as safe as the on-site one.

Join A Business Watch

What is a business watch? A business watch is a neighborhood watch but for businesses. The majority of the time, businesses share locations. That is to say that several businesses are within one location. If that applies to you, talk to the other owners and come to an agreement. All you have to do is agree to watch each other’s’ backs and you will be fine. There is no reason for anyone not to agree to the deal because it benefits all parties. After all, if there is a burglary next door, you could easily be next.

It is important to note that nothing you do will stop a thief for good. If they want to, they can break in and do some damage. However, these will make your business less of a target. And, that will suffice for the most part.

The majority of startups fail and we think that most of these failures are due to overspending. If you are running your own business in 2016, you need to think about how to cut costs from the word go. Otherwise, before your business even starts to make money, you’re going to be in debt. There will then be a long road to recovery that most entrepreneurs don’t reach the end of. Instead, let’s look at some simple ways you can keep costs under control from day one.

Don’t Buy Property, If You Can Avoid It

We understand of course, that this isn’t always going to be possible. If you’re manufacturing a product you will need a shop or factory. But if you’re eager to set up an online company, you can run it from home. There’s no need to rent or buy an office. You are just giving yourself an unnecessary expense if you do this. Setting up a new company from home is easy. You just need to make sure you have a good internet connection. You can use this to connect to any business partners or customers. If you have jobs you can’t complete, outsource the issue to another company. This is the best way to control your costs.

Do Some DIY Work

Another big spend that entrepreneurs make from day one is the set up of their business. Rather than getting their hands dirty, they hire teams of staff to install equipment or even just bring in furniture. But there’s no need. In fact most of the work can be completed by you or with the help of your team. Take duct systems on a shop floor in a factory as an example. These are needed to keep the air free of dust in a factory and make sure the environment remains in good condition. But you don’t need to get someone else to install a dust collection pipe for you. Instead, you can use ductwork that you can clamp together yourself. That’s just one example of how you can DIY the setup of your business.

Don’t Borrow Money

If you can avoid it, you do not want to borrow money to set up your business. In some cases, this isn’t possible. You’re not going to have enough money to buy a factory in your personal accounts. But at the very least you do want to control how much you owe. The last thing you want is a heavy debt weighing on your head. Instead, look for a source of financing that won’t push you into debt. Governments are interested in funding startups that have a high chance of success. As are private investors. These are the sources you should be reaching out to before you take out a business loan.

Do Get Insurance

Lastly, you do need to make sure that your business and any financial investments are properly insured. You’d be surprised how often a business experiences a theft or criminal act in the first week open on the market. Without insurance, an incident like this would cripple your company. Don’t take that risk. Speak to an insurance company today and make sure your business is covered for all possible damages.

When you run a business, there is always something to be thinking about. If you aren’t keeping a close eye on your accounts and finances, you have issues with staff. If your team is not playing up, then they aren’t achieving their targets or doing their jobs properly. It’s always one headache after another. But, running your own business has some amazing perks. It can be very rewarding both financially and for your ambition and goals in life. However, the IT department is probably one place where, as a business owner, you focus the least amount of time and effort on. It should take care of itself. But, this is where most business owners and entrepreneurs are missing a trick. So I thought I would share with you some of the ways you can boost the morale of your IT department team members.

Be a positive influence

Sometimes the way you talk and act can have a huge effect on the people around you. This is the same as at home as well as in business. So remaining positive within the workplace is a sure fire way to boost the morale of your team members. The positive vibe will rub off on them, and before they know it, they will be talking and acting in a more positive manner. Positivity in the workplace is a great morale booster. When everyone feels positive, the atmosphere can be much nicer to work in. Negativity can be a real mood breaker, and just as much as positivity can spread, so can the negativity. As the leader of the business, it is down to you to set the tone. It would always be advisable to be the positive influence to get the most out of your team.

Ask your staff for feedback

Talking to your IT department and asking for feedback is a great of making each team member feel valued. As the business owner, you could have a little tunnel vision when it comes to visualizing what needs to be done in the workplace. Plus, as mentioned earlier, with all the departments you need to work with it’s easy to leave people behind. Accepting feedback from the team members could provide you with excellent insight. While making each member feel part of the bigger picture. Who know’s their feedback and ideas could help your business make progress. It’s worth spending the time and communicate.

Create individual growth plans for team members

Each team member will have their ambitions and goals that they want to achieve. However, it can be easy for them to feel deflated if they aren’t taken seriously. Within an IT department, they may feel like they only can progress so much, which could also have a negative impact on their work ethics. Sitting down with your IT members and working out a plan of action to achieve their individual goals and ambitions will increase morale like you wouldn’t believe. They will instantly feel like their contribution each day is heading towards something. A great thing to include in work plans is a training schedule. Training can help hone skills, and add to their work productivity. Courses like http://www.simplilearn.com/it-hardware-and-networking/ccnp-training are one of the things you could consider.

Encourage the lunch break

These days so many people work through their lunch breaks. It’s seen as being the thing to do. But what that can do is tire out your employee and make them less productive throughout the day. So don’t promote working every minute possible. Why not encourage the lunch break? You could advise your IT department to take themselves away from their computer screens and spend some time to themselves. It’s known that staff members are much more productive with full stomachs and a chance to get some fresh air. IT staff members spend 90% of their time in front a computer screen. Allowing their eyes and mind a little screen-free time will increase the morale of the team members. It will make them more productive for the afternoon.

Show you care

Show empathy towards your staff members. Especially in a forgotten department like IT. It will make the staff feel much more valued. This could be in special circumstances. Like allowing leave if a child or family member is unwell. Or sympathizing with a personal situation that may be causing your team member to feel upset or down. Another way to show you care is by remembering birthdays or special work milestones. Maybe an IT employee has been working for you for a long time. Show you care by making a big deal of this. The sense of pride they will feel will boost morale. Also, other team members will see how you treat them and feel a valued part of the team and journey. Which will increase work productivity.

Promote from within

A great workforce will always feel a lift in morale when other team members get promoted. Promoting within will give your staff something to aim for. They will feel like their work is heading toward something. It can be part of their work plan. These days employees need and want to get ahead in their careers. So promoting within can make that happen. It means that they feel that they are working towards something.

Say thank you

Finally, just a simple thank you can be enough to boost someone’s morale. Working in IT can be one of the least thankless departments. They do what they do and without having too much focus on it from managers above. This is because most likely your IT department will just tick along nicely. Making a point to say the words “thank you” for all the hard work or perhaps for completely a project will make them feel like a valued member.

It doesn’t take much to increase morale. Especially in a department like iT that ticks along without any need for intervention. But if the department can work like that now. Without you taking much notice. Imagine the possibilities and productivity by simply increasing morale will do to it.

Do you wish you had more control over your online business and would like to be able to monitor every activity that takes place on your website? Well, now you can, thanks to a range of different website analytics tools. Below are some of the main reasons every business should use these tools.

1. Helps Businesses Expand into Other Markets

The internet makes it much easier for businesses to expand into other countries and markets. However, you have to carry out the proper research in order to successfully undertake this international expansion online. The research you carry out will succeed or fail based on the quality of data you have available. This is where a website analytics system is extremely effective. The latest analytics systems record every event that takes place on a website. They record the location of visitors, the language they speak and much more. Over time, you can build up an accurate picture of potential markets and foreign customers that are interested in what you have to offer. Eventually, if you decide to expand into a certain location, you can localise your website or create a new localised website that caters for the needs of that market.

2. Find Out How People Find Your Website

Traditionally, it’s been difficult to find out which marketing efforts work. Website analytics is much more transparent and shows you how shoppers and other website visitors find your website. This is extremely valuable information to have, especially if you are running different online marketing campaigns and want to find out how each campaign is performing.

3. Improve Your Website Quality

You will learn a lot of lessons about your website by simply looking at a few website analytics reports. The information you retrieve can be used to improve your website in a number of different ways. You can start to optimise the content on your website by adding the words and phrases used by people interested in your products or services. Webpages can be modified to include more valuable information, so that website visitors stay for longer periods of time on your website.

4. More Control of Your Website

All of the information about the activities that occur on your website is available in one place. This gives a website owner much more control over the future of their website and they can make more informed decisions, based on real data.

5. It’s Affordable and Easy to Set Up

Modern website analytics systems cost very little. Some analytics systems like Google Analytics don’t cost anything at all. If you have a Gmail account, you automatically have access to Google Analytics. These systems are easy to set up. You simply obtain a piece of code or an identification number and add it to each page of a website, blog or ecommerce store. For many years, when it came to the events taking place on business websites, website owners were not given the full picture of these activities. This has all changed, thanks to the availability of the latest website analytics systems.

So you’ve set up a business, made a product and started to sell. Congratulations, you’re already getting further than a lot of people who aspire to get into business. But you’re reading this because you want to know how to sell more. Your current strategies aren’t working, so it’s time to go bigger. Below, we’ve got five tactics to help you do just that. You may have tried some of these before, but if not, you’re missing a step. You might want to remain and sell independently. You might be open to outside assistance. Whatever your desire, keep reading.

1. Get in touch with influencers

One of the best ways to get more people buying your products is to have someone they trust telling them to. Influencers are usually online personalities, such as bloggers or podcasts. They have a market of listeners they might be willing to inform about your product. Sometimes through sponsorships, other times through free trials. Just make sure you use influencers related to the product you want to sell, so you’re tapping the right audience.

2. Bring more people to your site

Of course, you should also be using your site to sell as many as possible. If your site isn’t bringing people to it, it needs to do more work. A lot of this can be achieved with search engine optimization. This helps your site appear higher in Google searches and other searches for relevant terms. This way, it can be paired with exactly the kind of audience looking for your products.

3. Use exhibitions

There are all manners of exhibitions and events relating to most industries and product types. Keep an eye out for these and other opportunities. Getting out there and taking your product on a tour can be a great way to get the word spreading about. There’s also usually some kind of press or blogging presence at exhibitions. If you’re lucky, you could be making an impression that spreads far and wide in the future. It’s also great for helping out with the next step we recommend.

4. Start getting in touch with retailers

Your best chance for selling a higher volume, if you can produce it, is through others. Retailers, wholesalers and distributors. Having the track record of selling at exhibitions is one way to convince them. Having a sell sheet and all your packaging and marketing prepared will help as well. You also might need to adapt it to be sold in retail environments. This could mean you have to buy barcodes, for instance.

5. Getting customers on your side

One of the best ways to start selling more is through using word of mouth. Getting customers on your side can help build up your brand, which will only bring more people to your product. Providing customer service can take place anywhere. It can mean using social media to help customers looking at your products. It can also mean having a live chat on your site so they can contact you directly without fuss.

From time to time, exhibitions will crop up that your company will want to make a splash at. You might advertise at a visitor-based exhibition. Maybe you just want a way to connect with like-minded individuals in a business-like environment? In any case, you need to make sure you represent your company well. You want to be the ones who stand out among the rest, rather than filtering into the background. However, just as importantly, you want to stand out for the right reasons.

Be Professional

Professionalism is key if you’re going to be exhibiting at an event. Even if you’re just browsing as a visitor, you should always remain professional. So, equip yourselves with branded corporate clothing for the occasion. Keep your booth tidy at all times. Always talk to people in a professional manner. Whatever you do; don’t be tempted to drink a little too much alcohol. The last thing you want to do is to ruin your company’s reputation by making a fool out of yourself.

Plan Ahead Of Time

By the time you get to the event itself, you want to have planned extensively. That way, you’ll be able to tailor your marketing material specifically for the event. Employees will arrive with the important information they need to converse with others. You don’t want to be in a situation where questions can’t be answered due to a lack of knowledge on your part. Failing to prepare will result in an amateurish display that will fail to grab the right kind of attention.

Get Involved

You didn’t come to this event to stand in the corner and keep your mouth shut, did you? With all the competition you’ll be forced to deal with, you’ll need to be somewhat aggressive with your strategy! Start talking to people about your product. Mingle with people and don’t be afraid to start a conversation. You want to make connections and raise brand awareness. This isn’t the place to be shy, so leave that behavior at the door.

Arrive Equipped

People love freebies, so arrive at the exhibition with plenty of free gifts at the ready. It doesn’t matter what you bring; they all act as a tool of engagement. If you can encourage people to visit your booth for the free gifts, you’ve already grabbed their attention. From there, don’t let it go to waste! Talk to them and start using those gifts to your advantage as a marketing tool.

Enjoy Yourselves!

Yes, you’re there to represent your company in a professional manner, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun! Visitors are much more likely to come and talk to you if you appear friendly and happy. Overdoing it by being too formal won’t attract visitors to your booth. Have a laugh and a joke, and enjoy this rare occasion to be creative and do something different from the norm!

Events like this can tend to leave you overwhelmed and overly stressed, so try and relax a bit! As long as you’re representing your company in the right fashion, you’ll be just fine. Have fun!

B2B marketing has never been an exactly straightforward affair. These days, some would say it’s more complex than ever before. When you’re running a B2B operation, there are far more factors to consider when it comes to marketing. This makes the whole task tough, but by no means impossible. Here are some important rules for marketing to other businesses.

The first rule to follow is to talk about the customer, not about you. When you’re marketing to consumers, you can afford to be a little vague with your marketing content. If you don’t believe me, get on YouTube and watch any perfume advert. The greatest salesman in the world is one who can put a vision in the customer’s head, without having all the focus on the product or service. Look at this B2B firm for starters: http://www.filmsourceinc.net/pouch-laminator-machines-426-ctg.html . While not exactly golden, their product descriptions get straight to the point their target market will be most interested in. I know it can be tempting to use a specific pitch template, but put a little more work in. When you tailor each pitch to the specific client, you’ll have much better success.

Another good rule to follow is to make sure your business is visible on a variety of marketing channels. An increasing amount of B2B buyers are looking for customers through many different channels these days. You need to be taking advantage of all of them if you want to beat your competitors. Just like with B2C businesses, social media’s leading the way when it comes to modern marketing. Make sure that your presence on every social network is as strong as it can be, especially with LinkedIn. Do your research into the kinds of channels your target market is going to be using too. For example, you might want to get some press releases up on http://www.forbes.com. Whatever you use, make sure it’s based on fact. Assuming the kind of media your market uses can be a fatal error.

When it comes to this public content, try to keep the message wider than your sales pitches. Selling to one big “decision maker” won’t cut it anymore. You have to deal with multiple buyers with varying perspectives. You’re going to have to appeal to all of them if you want to meet your sales quotas. With the mien of modern marketing, there’s a lot of emphasis on churning out content as often as possible. Instead of getting caught up in the rush, make sure you consider whether the content you’re posting is the right kind of content. Consider your business’s own buying process, and all the factors that affect your decision. Then, try to bring those factors into the composition of your own marketing content. More content will get seen by more people, true. However, irrelevant content is wasted resources!

Marketing to other business owners is difficult, especially in 2016. However, once you understand it properly, you’ll be able to lure prospects in like an expert. Keep thinking about your marketing, and looking for ways to improve it.