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Price hike hacks: how to manage an increase without losing customers
The decision to raise your prices is a tricky one. But in the end, it’s not the hike itself that’s important, it’s how you implement it.
Netflix, for example, put its prices up recently. And while their customers didn’t like it, after a few rumblings,Read more »Feel the love: how raving fans can rock your business
You may have heard the term ‘raving fans’. It’s a passionate subset, usually about 10 to 15 percent of your customer base, who are so in love with your business that they shout it out from the rooftops. They keep coming back,Read more »
What does social media hold for business in 2018?
Markhams Otago held an exclusive seminar for its clients on 15 March on “What Does Social Media Hold for Businesses in 2018” where leading digital marketing expert Philippa Crick presented a one-hour informative session.
Social media has dramatically changed the way we interact,Read more »Free social media seminar for Dunedin businesses
Businesses who ignore social media are losing out on what today has become one of the premium marketing channels. Markhams Otago is offering a chance to learn how to develop a clear social media plan to achieve results.
Free Seminar: What Does Social Media Hold For Businesses in 2018?Read more »YouTube income and receipts
With over 400 hours of content uploaded every minute, YouTube comprises a massive entertainment platform. The site has over 1 billion monthly users, with a continual demand for quality online content across a diverse range of subjects.
Armies of users produce and upload videos,Read more »How to tell your story, without saying a word
We use images to tell a story in just about every part of everyday life; think children’s picture books, road signs or even emojis. Sometimes the purpose of that is to get a message across quickly. Sometimes it’s to help build meaning or association.Read more »
Why Facebook is still right for business
There’s some talk that Facebook is on the way out and being replaced by other platforms like Snapchat or Instagram. But as with any business decision, consider the data – recent statistics show that Facebook has actually grown more in the last year than any year since 2012 (17 percent).Read more »
Winning email campaigns
Using email campaigns as a form of marketing can be hugely effective. They help you maintain an element of rapport, simply by touching base regularly with your current clients. And it’s a great touch point to open a dialogue with prospects.Read more »
Digital marketing a win for your business
A shared universal goal of all businesses is to maximise sales of products or services. To achieve this, business owners need to implement effective marketing strategies that focus on how to reach potential customers and make their products stand out from the competition.Read more »
Retailers, be aware - misleading pricing
The Commerce Commission has recently published an open letter to retailers highlighting pricing practices that may breach the law and offering guidance on how to avoid these.
The biggest complaint area received by the Commerce Commission last year concerned pricing, and currently this is a particular area of focus for compliance education and enforcement work.Read more »Slam the door on scammers
In an earlier article we looked at some of the techniques scammers use to harvest valuable information so they can hack your systems. Some of these scams use social engineering techniques to fool business owners and employees into revealing key business data.Read more »
E-commerce solutions
When you start googling to find an online shopping solution to suit your business, the good news is there’s a sea of choice out there: CS-Cart, Shopify, Big Commerce, 3D Cart, PrestaShop, Spiffy Stores, Shopping Cart Elite, Magento and many more.Read more »
The move to online retail
The internet is now the number one shopping destination globally, and not surprisingly. For customers, it’s ideal. There’s no need to get in the car and visit ten shops without finding exactly what you want. This way, it’s all in one place and you needn’t battle with other shoppers for the nearest and driest car park.Read more »
Getting connected - stay fresh on the net
We live in a world in which more people are connected than ever before. Smartphones, tablets and laptops are now integral to our everyday lives. How is your business faring in the digital universe? Make sure that your business’ digital footprint is still stepping out even when you’ve closed up and gone home for the day.Read more »
Think about a lifetime of referrals
If you are putting a referral plan together, it’s important to look at the longer term rather than the initial cost to set one up. Here’s an example:
Say you decide to give a bottle of wine away to each client that refers someone on to you.Read more »Is your recruitment process hurting your brand?
Every time you touch another person – whether it be by email, through your recruitment process or as a supplier or customer – the brand of your company leaves an impression on them. That could be a good one, a bad one or a neutral one.Read more »
Let the content do the marketing
Content marketing is probably something you have heard of but perhaps you’re not really sure where to start. You know it’s supposed to drive sales but surely the ads you put in the local paper and on various websites do that,Read more »
Micro-moments - just how do you do that?
The amount of people wanting the answer to ‘how do you do that’ is growing, with searches using the term ‘how to’ on YouTube increasing 70 percent year on year.
When your customers and prospects look for answers, they will often turn to a device for the answer.Read more »How do your business systems and processes impact others?
Many jobs provide absolutely no contact at all with the people that benefit from the work; some medical professionals provide critical diagnoses without ever meeting the patient.
In Israel, a group of radiologists evaluated nearly 100 CT scans without ever seeing the patients.Read more »Learning the art of referral business
Much like cold calling, asking for referrals can seem daunting. However unlike cold calling, referral business usually comes off the back of having done a good job for someone, so you’re already on the front foot. The first step is asking for the referral.Read more »
Has the sharing economy touched your business?
An emerging trend is both disrupting and creating business. It’s the sharing economy, sometimes referred to as collaborative consumption. Put simply, it gives people the option to hire access where before they could only buy a product.
What’s new, you say? Rental business is well established. However,Read more »Networking - what's your elevator pitch?
Do you look forward to networking events or would you rather tidy your sock drawer? For some people networking is a lot of fun while for others it’s an ordeal. Yet it’s a given that networking helps you put your business out there and keeps you in touch with leads and new ideas.Read more »
Efficiency gains - tried and true tips
When it comes to working efficiently, everyone has some idea of what works for them and what could work better. As a business owner, you can get stuck and find yourself working harder than anyone else, for longer hours,Read more »
Client advisory boards – the final instalment
In this article we conclude our series about the value of a client advisory board (CAB) as a tool to evaluate your business performance. As you finalise the planning for your CAB, bear in mind the core reasons behind your decision to host one and what you hope to achieve by doing so.Read more »
Creating a sustainable company culture
Businesses performing well in the current climate recognise the opportunities that lie within the office walls… your key staff! Developing a healthy business culture will prove a valuable investment, helping you to retain, motivate, and propel key team members and your business.Read more »
A client advisory board – the voice of your customer (part two)
In spring 2012, we outlined how a client advisory board is a tool to evaluate your business performance. In this second article, we cover steps to make your board truly effective.
Planning the event
So you’re taking the plunge to get an honest view of how your clients see your business. It’s important to plan now to ensure that you (and your clients) get the most out of this important meeting. Consider your clients when deciding on a time and date –Read more »Keys to project management success
Every business big or small will undertake projects from time to time. Each project will vary in size and nature, but the keys to success will remain the same.
Objective – before starting any project, it is important to ask the question ‘why’? Why are we doing this? Is it something we need to do? Or perhaps someone told us we need to? Knowing why a project is needed will establish the overall objective and the desired outcome.Read more »A client advisory board - the voice of your customer
Do you know what your customers think about you? And where they want your business to take them?
In part one of a two-part article, we look at a client advisory board as a tool to evaluate your performance.
Customers are assessing your business every time they buy from you,Read more »The power of a great testimonial
Great testimonials will build a prospective customer’s trust and confidence before they buy. A testimonial is much more than a quote about how ‘really great’ your product or service is – a testimonial needs to state effectively how and why something is great,Read more »
How to deal with a dissatisfied customer
A complaint is an opportunity to turn a disgruntled customer into a loyal customer.
Act FAST, don’t stew over the complaint.
Be a good listener and keep your cool.
Be positive in your response, the tone of your voice or correspondence must always remain fair and professional.Read more »Relationship marketing outlined
A commonly held marketing statistic reveals that, on average, businesses spend the majority of their marketing dollar prospecting for new customers rather than nurturing and developing relationships with current customers.
These statistics also tell us that on average it can cost six to seven times more to sell something to a prospect than to sell that same thing to a current customer,Read more »
