by fmadmin | May 12, 2020 | Content, Digital, Strategy
By Kerri Eckart, CEO
We’ve all experienced it. Being in the position of needing to engage a service provider but when browsing around, business offerings get a little confusing.
For example, moving apartments is on the horizon for me so I’ve started doing my research on bond cleaning. However, most businesses I’ve found say they offer the usual things – exceptional cleaning, top quality cleaners and we can get your bond back!
But what does that mean for me? Will the blinds be cleaned? Does that include carpet? Will the oven and dishwasher be cleaned out?
Marketing your business is about selling your business to potential customers. Confused service offerings lead to confused customers. That’s not ideal if, like any business owner, you want long-term success.
These days, usually the first point of contact is through business websites.
But customers will only contact a business if the communicated service offerings answer what they need (or at the very least, what they think they need).
If it leaves them scratching their heads they will move on to look at the competition instead.
That’s why it’s important to clearly define and communicate service offerings across all marketing collateral.
Because if the offer makes sense, more customers will walk through your door and you’ll get the chance to meet their needs.
Simple, right?
by fmadmin | May 12, 2020 | Strategy, Training
By Kerri Eckart, CEO
Traditional marketing has always and still does play a very big role in your overall brand and business success. The spotlight for years has been on digital marketing, with many not realising digital is just a part of their marketing strategy. Without wanting to make you cry I repeat – it’s just a part of the marketing puzzle. Digital should integrate with a traditional marketing strategy that’s already in place.
What typically happens is this. You get an idea, start your business, think of a name, create a logo then build a new website and think the job is done. Does that sound like you? Or you have a well-established brand and think, sales have dropped, I need to do what everyone else is doing – more digital marketing is required!
You must start with identifying or reidentifying your brand, your target market and finding out what keeps them awake at night before you start building a website or creating 5 new social media channels which consume your every waking hour.
Some tips to get your marketing foundations right:
- Create a written strategy – having a strategy on paper means you can share it with your team and it makes everyone accountable to actually execute what is required.
- Include both traditional and digital marketing elements in your plan – they should be treated as one channel and should integrate seamlessly with each other.
- Remember that marketing has internal and external elements – internal marketing to your team is just as important to external marketing to your customers (more on that in the next blog).
- Align your messaging offline and online – this comes back to your brand and ensuring the offline and online experience is one that makes sense to your customer, is consistent, fits your company brand and culture and is not a total miss match.
So, before you jump 4 steps ahead, start with building the right marketing foundations. And if you don’t know where to start, a marketing workshop might just be the answer to get the juices flowing.
by fmadmin | May 12, 2020 | Content, Strategy
By Kerri Eckart, CEO
How can you motivate your audience to do your marketing for you?
Online word of mouth is a great way to share your product or service across the world with minimal effort from you. The trick with word of mouth is how you get customers to talk about you.
People listen to other people more than they listen to a business, in fact people are 90% more likely to trust and buy a brand recommended by a friend*1. By encouraging people to recommend your brand or offering them an incentive they are more likely to share their purchase on their social media.
Companies like Dropbox and Raiz have cracked open the market using word of mouth with a few tweaks to the traditional strategy. Using a process of customer reward to incentivise people they encourage customers to share a customised link. Dropbox gives users extra data storage for every user that signs up using their personalised link. Similarly, Raiz gives a five dollar bonus to both invitee and recipient when the recipient signs up for a new account.
These ideas disguise your marketing as an opportunity to get extra benefits or rewards for not only you but also your invitees. Your audience is more likely to trust your company and signup hearing about your business from a trusted friend.
What we can gleam from these companies is that word of mouth marketing can be successful with the right incentives. What you offer customers must be valuable enough that they will feel happy to share their affiliation and enticing enough to make them want it. A few of the more popular examples of offerings are money/vouchers, free subscriptions, gifts or discounts. Small but free rewards are most successful because they offer instant recognition and allow compounding of many small rewards into one large one as they recommend your company to all their friends.
by fmadmin | Aug 23, 2019 | Uncategorised
As a Millennial I can admit I spend a pretty large chunk of my time on my phone (an average of 4 hours and 27 minutes a day to be exact), and with the average millennial checking their phone more than 100 times a day I’m not alone here. But what does this mean for Marketing and how can companies use this ‘smartphone obsession’ to their advantage?
Millennials today are usually defined as being 18 to 34 years old and make up one of the largest demographics in Australia. Successful marketing for this generation means changing your tactics to realise how differently they think and consume.
Reaching Millennials isn’t necessarily hard, it just requires a different strategy. Resisting traditional methods and having an authentic, interactive approach, creating a connection with your audience has never been more vital. Trust translates to sales, and millennials simply don’t trust traditional marketing. Katie Elfering of CEB Iconoculture summed this up perfectly in an interview for Forbes.com:
“First, understand and speak to the values that drive them – happiness, passion, diversity, sharing and discovery.
Second, understand their realistic lifestyles and experiences and find ways to amplify their reality.
And, finally, make sure they feel informed and involved, not just marketed to.”
Millennials are no doubt a tech savvy generation, having grown up in the social media world. According to Lisa Bora from Google, Mobile consumer insights, “89% of millennials own smartphones and use them daily to access the internet.” Millennials are online nearly twice as much as any other generation which is why mobile marketing is as important as ever. We live in a world were everything is immediately available online, and millennials love this. We no longer need to leave our bed to talk to our friends and family, go shopping, stream a movie or even get food, and jumping on this bandwagon is vital to marketing success.
Millennials have changed the way we need to market. Gone are the days of print catalogues and newspaper. Millennials want real, authentic brands they can trust.
So, what can your brand do to successfully get Millennials attention?
- Optimised Mobile. Due to the rise of online shopping and social media this is the best way to reach millennials.
- Social Media Presence. According to the University of Southern California, 62% of Millennials report that brand engagement across social media is more likely to make them a loyal customer.
- Multi-platform. Millennials consume content across multiple devices, so it is important to create content for a multi-platform strategy.
- Personalisation. Millennials are more likely to make a purchase and trust your brand if it is personalised to them and their interests.
- Authenticity. Millennials are willing to share good advertising but dislike when advertising feels deceptive.
by fmadmin | Aug 23, 2019 | Uncategorised
With Mother’s Day around the corner, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to share some of the wisdom that only mums possess. Whether it be ensuring you always leave the house in clean underwear, or making sure you eat ALL the vegetables, we can all agree on the fact that mother knows best.
The Focused Marketing team took some time this week to reflect on the advice they received from their own mums:
My Mum taught me empathy from a very young age. She always listened, digested and then gave me advice. She taught me to listen. She had a great sense of humour and the warmest laugh. She taught me how to laugh no matter how difficult life can be.
And she definitely taught me (and gave me) the gift of love.
Kerri Eckart – CEO
You can always change the packaging but what’s inside is the part that can be really beautiful or really ugly. I mean, looks fade. Weight loss might just be temporary. Having a good attitude and making sure you’re a kind person? Those are the real qualities that’ll make you shine. And I am happy to say all my kids are kind and caring and basically beautiful.
And as a baker the best things my mother and grandmothers taught me is all written in the CWA cookbook – it’s a passion I share with my daughter too. Baking is my happy place – awful for the waistline but amazing for sanity.
Kristie Fankhauser – Director of Strategic Marketing
One bit of advice my mum gave me when I was younger is one that has truly resonated with me, right through to my adult life. I have always compared myself to others and, being close to my mum, I would often voice this to her. She always came back with the same response – “You only ever compare yourself to those who have more than you. Why don’t you try comparing yourself to those who have less?” I probably didn’t appreciate it much when I was a teenager, but now as a mother myself, it is definitely a life lesson I plan to teach my daughter.
Kasey Rainbow – Administration Assistant
My mum taught me a number of life lessons:
Get up, get organised and get on with life.
Someone is taking their last breath right now and wishing they could have another minute.
Life is a gift. Be kind to yourself, and others.
Sandy Holmes – Account Executive
The best advice my mother has ever given me is something she tells me on the daily, “Just breathe”. As silly and small as it might sound, it’s something you sometimes forget and from experience it truly helps you through any situation. Whenever I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed, or lost and confused I remember what Mum always says… to stop, take a minute and just breathe.
Breanna Fenton – Marketing Cadet
She taught me that it’s okay to show emotion – Well, she had no idea that she did this really…you see, she was quite a strong woman who didn’t readily show her softer side. In a weird way, this lack of ability to show emotion had the reverse effect on me. I turned out to be almost over-emotional & highly sensitive. I wouldn’t want it any other way now. I guess I have her to thank for that?
She taught me the power of looking good to feel better – For as long as I can remember, my mum wore lippy and spent time on her hair – almost 24/7! She always made sure my uniform (and my hair) was brushed before I left for school. To this day, I live, breathe and teach the philosophy of looking good/feeling better.
Alison Triffett – Administration Assistant
