What can small businesses learn from the Olympic Athletes?

What can small businesses learn from the Olympic Athletes?

Like many people in Great Britain, I have gone from a vague interest in the Olympics to being fascinated by sports which I hadn’t even heard of ten days ago! We have all been moved by the determination, hard work and courage of the athletes, regardless of whether they won a medal or not. Let’s remember that competing in the Olympics is an achievement in itself. But as small businesses, it seems there is a huge lesson to be learnt from these athletes. Here are a few ideas: Get a great support team So many of the athletes have thanked
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Win a Marketing Workshop

Here is a great opportunity to win a place on one of Derby Quad’s marketing and communication workshops. They are giving away places to five lucky winners, each worth between £85 and £149. The topics include: – Social media strategy – Communicate with Confidence – Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway – Google – how to achieve that No 1 spot – Finding your Marketing Voice (that’s me!)   Find out more about the workshops here To enter simply email the correct answer to the following question: Q: Who was QUAD’s first patron? a) John Tams b) John Hurt
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DNCC Member Offer

Get 2 marketing mentoring sessions for just £150!  If you know that you need to do some marketing, but don’t know where to start, you have tried a few marketing activities but they just aren’t working, or you are a new business, and need someone you can learn the basics from first, then two Marketing Mentoring sessions will be just the thing to get you off on the right foot. An outside, independent view point helps to give a different perspective, new approaches, and a clear focus on the actions needed to improve your business. This is just what you
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Promote your business Online

Join us for an informal workshop and learn how to promote your business online through an effective website and focused marketing strategy. Bring your laptops and questions and get real world advice! Thursday 5th July, 6pm – 8pm Cafe Piano, 1 Westgate, Southwell, Notts NG25 0JN – Getting your marketing strategy right – What you need to know before getting a new website – Domain names, hosting, CMS, blogs and ecommerce – what does it all mean? – How to drive traffic to your website – Search engine optimisation basics Hosted by Beryl Pettitt, director of Ridgeway Marketing and Nick Hayward,
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Social Media Mayhem

Watch the Social Media Mayhem video on Facebook here Naomi Johnson, social media specialist, and Beryl Pettitt are running  a Social Media and Marketing Workshop on the 10th July at the CORE Conference Centre near Retford. This really is a not to be missed opportunity for small and large businesses and sole traders alike – viral social media and marketing is one of the best ways to stay in contact with your customers and business associates, share your updates, run competitions and attract new business.  Did you know that most Facebook users have on average 100+ friends – what better way
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Spring Clean Your Marketing

Spring Clean Your Marketing

  If like me you have been inspired by the spring sunshine to have a big de-clutter and spring clean at home, you will know what a therapeutic process it is! Once all those annoying jobs and clutter are gone, you feel inspired to make a fresh start – and the same goes for your marketing. So how do you go about spring cleaning your marketing? Here are some ideas:   1.       Review your marketing materials If it is a while since you created your website and business card, you will probably find that they are in need of an
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The Unique Selling Proposition

The Unique Selling Proposition

As small businesses, we find ourselves in increasingly competitive markets, and it is essential that we have a clearly defined Unique Selling Proposition, or USP as it is often called, and that we are communicating this effectively. So what is a Unique Selling Proposition? It must be something that makes you stand out from your competitors – something which is unique to you, and differentiates your business.  It needs to answer the question “Why should I choose you?” How can you work this out? You need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes – so often we love what we
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Wow – we are Jacqueline Gold #WOW winners!

Wow – we are Jacqueline Gold #WOW winners!

Every Wednesday, Jacqueline Gold (Chief Executive of Knickerbox and Ann Summers) invites female business owners to tweet her their business and she chooses her favourite three to become #WOW (Women on Wednesday) winners. Beryl was chosen on the 28th December 2011, and Jacqueline Gold said ‘An inspirational lady who clearly works hard to earn the respect of her clients. Well done!’ This was a wonderful end to 2011 – it is a great feeling to be recognised for what you do by somebody as influential as Jacqueline Gold, so we are displaying our badge with pride! Of course, it also
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Marketing Tips from Santa!

Marketing Tips from Santa!

It is the time of year for making New Year’s Resolutions, so here are some ideas for Marketing Resolutions, and who better to look to for inspiration than Santa? So why is Santa so effective at marketing himself? 1. Consistent branding No matter how many different pictures you see of Santa – he always wears that red outfit with a white trim and white beard. While you don’t need to wear the same clothes all the time, do make sure you use the same style, colours and logos on all your marketing – it makes you easy to identify, and
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Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

The first thing we all do when we set up a business is spend money – business cards, websites, leaflets, advertising … But there is so much you could do for free! The truth is that most of us spend too much money, but not enough time on marketing!! So what should you spend your time doing? Here are some ideas…. 1. Tell people what you do Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But you’d be surprised how often I find it is quite difficult to understand what a company does, particularly if it is offering a service, and also what makes
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