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Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Free SEO Tools

February 25th, 2009 Sean No comments

SEO Book

One of our favourite websites for assistance with Search Engine Optimisation is, you guessed it. SEOBook.com.

In particular they provide FREE tools as add-ons for Firefox.

We’ve been using:

A few features of Rank Checker worth mentioning:

  • It enables you to check all your keyword rankings within the SERPS of Google, Yahoo and Live Search (MSN).
  • You can specify which Google to check. We’ve been using the .co.uk version of Google.
  • It performs quicker than a lot of other tools we’ve tried out. (Web CEO for one…painfully slow)
  • The top 200 results are checked for a rank, if you aren’t found you’ll see a dash.
  • After using it for a month or so we’ve found it to be not always accurate, but its usually within 10 places or so.

Read more…

How to be a GREAT Leader or Manager

February 25th, 2009 Alexander No comments

Leadership begins inside; with the inner character not the outward personality.

Being a Great leader requires a combination of skills, character traits, experience, mental strength, intelligence and principles.

If you are a leader and you lack any one of the following YOU WILL ultimately get found out and crash and burn:

  • Can articulate a compelling vision of the future that’s clear and focused
  • A good communicator with a simple message
  • A charismatic and enthusiastic character
  • Able to mobilise people and hold their company/team together
  • Can inspire confidence and empower others
  • Can bring out the best in others
  • Is credible, courageous and proactive
  • Has admirable principles which guide decisions
  • Makes decisions intelligently, quickly and with commitment
  • Has high expectations in self and others
  • Can establish a success formula and achieve tasks efficiently
  • Searches for new opportunities for their company to consider
  • Is flexible and can refocus in light of new opportunities or threats
  • Predicts future demand and trends and plans for them
  • Embraces technology
  • Puts health and family before work (within reason)
  • Can take advice and knows the right people to get it from
  • Can manage change effectively

Alexander Bullivant
Roxbourne Marketing Consultants

leadership graphic Obama

Categories: Business Strategy

Referral Marketing Success – Build KNOW, TRUST and LIKE

April 13th, 2009 Alexander No comments

(Further to the content on our main website about why a firm with clients would want to develop an effective Referral Marketing Strategy)

Those who get a lot of referred business are usually good at their job – AND clients know it.

Their clients KNOW, understand and appreciate the service and its benefits, believe they are given good value for money and they also TRUST and LIKE the person that deals with them or provides the service to the extent that they want to help them.

Referral Marketing

KNOW, TRUST & LIKE are the attributes that need to be improved in order to get lots of quality referrals. more…

Read more…

Categories: Referral Marketing

Rejuvenate your Business in 2009 – Get a Company Action Plan

March 18th, 2009 Alexander No comments

It all starts with your Mission –

  • Why are you in business and where do you want to take it?
  • What is mission critical?
  • What barriers to success are in your way?
  • What sets you apart from your competition?
  • What do your customers really need/want?
  • Have you researched it?
  • What kind of service do they expect these days?

Endless things to consider.. all you know is turnover and profits must rise and stress levels must fall.

What’s needed are a new Mission Statement and an Action Plan to get passionate about. You need to research, innovate and develop your offering to attract more and better business, boost client/customer satisfaction and reputation.

mission-critical-marketing590 Read more…

Categories: Business Strategy

Getting Referrals from Centres of Influence

March 26th, 2009 Alexander No comments

This blog is also for any firm or individual that has clients and a client base, rather than customers. It follows on from our other blogs on Referral Marketing and from info on our main website . Referral Marketing is the best business development strategy there is for Service Providers…

A COI is ideally a client who knows your firm and at least one person in it very well and trusts and respects what you do and is confident enough to recommend you often and without hesitation.

The reason they are like this is a combination of their character – “they are just naturally like that”, and their social status or power status at work. COIs need to be identified within your client-base and treated very well for obvious reasons. More…

Read more…

Categories: Referral Marketing

Your Work Colleagues could be a Great Source of Leads

February 27th, 2009 Alexander No comments

Referral Marketing

Getting leads from Colleagues, Internal Business Referrals,  Inter-departmental Referring or Cross-selling, whatever you call it – either way you’re maximising the value of your clients. Here’s some simple tips – but be aware of the common problems.

This post is for any firm or individual that has clients,  rather than customers. It follows on from our other blogs on Referral Marketing and from info on our main website. Referral Marketing is the best business development strategy there is for Service Providers…

Some firms are good at inter-departmental referring others are not; either way your strategy for dealing with this should be included in your overall Marketing Plan.

Human nature needs to be used to your advantage rather than disadvantage.

Read more…

Categories: Referral Marketing

Getting FREE leads from External Connections

April 14th, 2009 Alexander No comments

Referrals From External Connections
This blog is for any person or firm that has clients rather than customers.

Referral Marketing is the best business development strategy there is for Service Providers…

…Accountants, Financial Advisers, Solicitors, Dentists, Designers, Architects, Plastic Surgeons, Builders, Vets, IT Services, Website Designers, Stylists, Trainers, Consultants, Printers, Landscape Gardeners, Brokers, etc.

Other service providers and professions other than your own have clients that may also need your services; your clients might also need their services. So it makes perfect sense to be proactive about it. Working more holistically and referring your clients to other carefully selected providers and professionals will compliment your own offering, bringing ‘added value services’ that your clients will appreciate and remember you for. In return the service providers and professionals are also more inclined to refer their clients to you, which is the main objective.
Read more…

Categories: Referral Marketing

Asking for Business Referrals – Handling Objections

April 14th, 2009 Alexander No comments

Objections and Hesitation – What to do when simply asking your clients for referrals doesn’t work. PLUS thank you gifts.

This blog is for any firm or individual that has clients and a client base, rather than customers. It follows on from our other blogs on Referral Marketing and from info on our main website. Referral Marketing is the best business development strategy there is for Service Providers…

Simple is best – it’s easier to ask with just one sentence, it’s clearly faster and efficient and less likely to be left out of a meeting than a long rehearsed speech on why you want referrals and how the system benefits the client, etc. However, you need to memorise a longer set of effective phrases when you come up against resistance to referral giving.

Read more…

Categories: Referral Marketing

READ NOW! Ultimate Attention Grabbing Headline Writing Tip

February 26th, 2009 Alexander No comments

LOOK!

The key to successful copy-writing -  for blogs, press releases, marketing literature, web pages, sales letters, tele-sales scripts, leaflets, posters, brochures, adverts, book titles, articles, white papers, etc.

……is having a High-Impact HEADLINE or TITLE

Draw people’s attention to reading the body text using a strong attention grabbing headline.

Grab them from the start. It’s about the HEADLINE TEST; if the title makes people read further – you have succeeded.

The headline should make sense, get ATTENTION and ATTRACT enough INTEREST for the reader to have the DESIRE to ACT by reading more.

If not, your copy headline is not strong enough.

To labour the point here’s a video of Dan Kennedy…

Categories: Marketing

Modern Marketing Strategy

June 18th, 2009 Alexander No comments

Make sure you’re barking up the right tree!

Aimed at business managers and entrepreneurs – this post is just to start you thinking about ways to improve your marketing efforts in 2009 and beyond.

New Economic Era – New Marketing Plan, The Customer Experience, Pain Points, Behavioural Data, Online-Shopping, Marketing in a Recession, Generation X, Y, Baby Boomers and Traditionalists. Predicting the Future.

Read more…

Categories: Marketing