How can Marketing Fundamentals Ltd Help you?

1. Content Marketing consultancy – We create blog & Social Media Content and implement it for you leaving you to focus on your core business. There are a number of different packages available and we can create a bespoke package too.

2. Video Content – We create video Content to promote your business and for use on YouTube / Vimeo etc.

3. Social Media Consultancy – We devise a Social Media Strategy and implement it for you. Watch a testimonial here

4. Blog Post Writing – We create a number of posts for you and supply to you for you to upload to your site. Thirty posts is a popular number because when you have created thirty blog post traffic to your site increases by up to 30% Source: Social Media Examiner.

5. Blog Mentoring – Regular face to face sessions instructing business owners and entrepreneurs how to blog to promote their business and organisations. Booked as 12 weekly sessions and can be delivered via Skype if distance prevents face to face meetings. Note – There is homework in between each session.

6. Email Copywriting – You’ve built a mailing list but don’t really know what to say to maintain momentum? We can do this for you.

7. Company Workshops – Content Marketing & Social Media 1 day Workshops delivered at your company’s premises. Watch a testimonial here.

8. Online Blogging Course – Learn on Demand by registering for our our Udemy course How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’

9. Book – Buy our ‘How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog’ paperback book from Amazon. There is also a Kindle version available.

10. App – Buy our SME Marketing App on App Store and Android platforms

11. Blog – Read our Marketing Fundamentals Ltd blog.

12. YouTube – Watch Marketing Fundamentals Ltd videos on our You Tube Channel.

13. Twitter   Twitter: TurboCharge Your Twitter Presence Course

We hope you have found this information useful and we look forward to hearing from you. Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post How can Marketing Fundamentals Ltd help you? – 13 ways appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Business Insights – On business vision and purpose…

“My sense of smell is the way I see life.”

“What I am is a shopkeeper…I am a seriously motivated entrepreneur.”

“Never compromise your product, allow undiluted creativity to reign and take your foot off the accelerator for a minute and enjoy the journey.”

“I would consider myself very creative & very canny in business…I want to evolve as a business and do not want to be boxed in.”

” Why did I want to return to the fragrance business? …because it is my passion.”

On team building and building a business…

“Building your team is vital…we gather people with a heart and we stand shoulder to shoulder.”

“Lets build companies where our teams feel safe to follow undiluted creativity.”

On launching a business in a recession…

“In recession it is a great time to build a business because you take risks…you have to have courage.”

On banks supporting small businesses…

“Banks could do so much more…by helping small businesses understand finance not just lending money.”

On luxury products…

“Luxury is not about money. It’s about creating a world that people want to be a part of.”

“Branding is important but repeat purchase is about how does it smell? how does it make me feel?”

On learning from your mistakes…

“We all make mistakes, regardless of who we are, acknowledge them, move on don’t let them distract or dominate you.”

On life’s biggest challenges…

“I was told that I had breast cancer in a very aggressive form and that I had 9 months to live.”

On working with her husband…

“To have your business partner who absolutely covers your back no matter what is great.”

I hope this gives you a flavour of the evening and inspires you.

Do you need help on your entrepreneurial journey? We would be happy to help so feel free to give us a call on +44 (0) 845 226247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com – We look forward to hearing from you.

We hope you have found this information inspirational. We are a leading Marketing Agency in London.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt
Founder & CEO
Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

The post What did entrepreneurs learn from Jo Malone at ESBC? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Market research for new business – 5 Tips

1. Is your target market clearly defined?

Don’t be overwhelmed with infinite possibilities instead dig deep into your potential customer base. Identify your niche. For example, niche market of an IT consultancy firm with expertise in Cloud Computing technology would be SMEs struggling with huge IT operational cost.

Tip: Follow the Pareto Principle also known as the 80/20 rule and stick to your niche.

2. What’s your risk appetite?

Businesses must take risks to generate returns! Risk appetite may have an abstract meaning to most nevertheless any risk taken must be quantifiable. Identify what risks your start-up business is likely to face. And remember, it’s not just the risks you need to identify, but occurrence of their likelihood too. I’ll give an example . Your business is 95% reliant upon social media marketing to generate revenues and there’s a probability that this strategy could fail. You need to quantify the probability of risk occurrence.

Tip: If the probability is even 2%, then the business is far from survival in its first year. Re-design the strategy.

3. Are you ready for competition?

Unless you are creating your own blue ocean, you must be ready to face fierce competition. A good strategy would be a customer-centric approach, as is a clear focus on solving your customers’ problems with the products/services you introduce.

Tip: Interacting with your customers on social media networks can build long-lasting relationships.

4. Are you adding any value with your start-up?

You may have heard this cliché million times before, but it’s true that the key to successful business is ‘thinking like your customer’. Identify at least 3 compelling reasons to purchase your own product. Identify the ‘value’ that only you are offering.

Remember…“It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference” –Tom Brokaw

Tip: Think in terms of higher service levels, unique products, lower prices, product information, free delivery, extended warranty period etc.

5. Have you started building your brand yet?

Even before your start-up is launched, your brand should be existent. I am not referring here to a developed brand like Google or eBay, but a brand that you could see in its infancy. If you are thinking isn’t that too early, then re-think! Brand gives your business a personality that invites customers’ emotions and loyalty. Of course your start-up needs a personality to out-shine competitors, fast.Also read how to brand your business?

Tip: Purchase domain name, design your logo, chose and synchronise colour scheme of your website, product packaging, twitter and facebook pages etc.

Would you like help structuring your market research? We would be happy to help you so give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com – We look forward to hearing from you.

We hope you find this information useful.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team
This guest post for the Marketing Fundamentals Team was written by Afsheen Jafry

The post Entrepreneurs – What Research Should you do Before Launching Your Start-up? 5 tips appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

It will not have escaped your attention that the focus always seems to be on using social media to market your business. This focus, some would say obsession, means that some ‘old school’ marketing techniques that are still effective are being overlooked. I think it is time that business owners and entrepreneurs, particularly those that have locality based marketing strategies reconsider the use of vehicle graphics.

Vehicle Graphics

Here are 5 reasons why I think vehicle graphics should be an essential part of your marketing mix:

1. Reach

According to a recent 3M study, there is an audience reach of up to 3,000 people every hour if your vehicle is out and about on busy roads. With a reach that great, can you risk not having your vehicle branded to communicate who you are and what you do?

2. Non Stop Marketing

Even when your car or van is parked on the street, and you’re tucked up in bed after a busy day, it’s still out there, getting noticed. It’s a 24/7 marketing tool that quite literally can help drive your business forward.

3. Variety is the Spice of Life

The product range for vehicle graphics is vast. From just a simple branding operation through to full vehicle wraps, which means there’s a solution for every type of business –whether you’re a one-man-band or have a whole fleet of haulage lorries.

4. Look at the Bigger Picture

Applying graphics to your company vehicle should be seen as a long-term investment and not a quick fix. If you compare the price of vehicle wrapping to billboard advertising you’ll soon see it won’t take you long to get better value for your money.

5. Imagination has no Limits

Once you have defined your budget, the only limitation to your options when considering a vehicle wrap is your imagination. There’s no doubt about it that striking graphics attract attention and generate discussions. Make people stop and stare at your company details rather than those of your competitors.

We all know you have to spend money to make money, (it’s a sad but true fact of life) but I think it’s about time people wised up and started investing in marketing campaigns that actually make a difference to your brand awareness as well as generating leads and I am confident that vehicle graphics are up there with the best of them.

Would you like to consider vehicle graphics for your business? Please contact us here.

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

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How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog
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This guest post for the Marketing Fundamentals Team was written by Sally Hubble-Button

The post Entrepreneurs – Are Vehicle Graphics Still an Important Part of the Marketing mix? appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Marketing Tactics – Top 10

1. Blog regularly

Consistency is just as important as the quality of content. Make a commitment to write a post on a regular basis. Weekly or twice weekly is great but monthly is not often enough.

2. Trade mark your name

Once you begin to build your brand name protect it with a trade mark. This post will be useful to you.

https://www.marketingfundamentals.com/2011/09/19/sme-owners-10-things-you-should-know-about-a-trade-mark-for-your-business/

3. Upgrade your URL

Our initial website was for a .org.uk address but as the business grew we upgraded to .com – We appreciate that this is not as easy with a very competitive or popular URL but it will be worth it.

4. Upgrade your website functionality

There is nothing wrong with starting with a fairly basic first website to keep costs low but as you build traffic and your requirements increase you should upgrade to a platform that offers you greater functionality. WordPress is our favoured option. http://wordpress.org/

5. Embrace social media

Work out which social media channels are most effective for lead generation for your business and don’t just follow the crowd onto every platform available. This video gives a tip that will help you.

6. Embraced video and created a YouTube Channel

People to read but they love to watch as well plus so we created our You Tube Channel of video posts with Marketing tips. It’s here –
http://www.youtube.com/user/MFundamentals?feature=watch

7. Built an app to help our customers & clients

We created an app to help SME business owners and entrepreneurs improve their marketing. You can do the same for your niche – Here’s our app –

http://www.smemarketingapp.com/

8. Used social media to recruit passionate staff

Do you really want to pay recruitment/staffing agency fees? If you are focused you can find and recruit staff through social media.

9. Networked successfully – clients, business partners, staff

A vital part of any business is your ability to generate new leads and potential partners. For most people this means networking effectively – be sure of your objectives for each event you attend.

10. Extended our range of product and services

Think of each one as a revenue stream – the more you have the better your chance of making decent profits. Carefully consider the most cost effective platform to deliver your products and services – it’s online for a healthy bottom line in most cases.

Would you like our help creating or refreshing your marketing strategy? Or implementing one of the tactics listed above? We can certainly help you – give us a call on
+44 845 2264247 or drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

We hope you find this information useful.

Kind regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post Entrepreneurs – 10 marketing tactics from the Marketing Fundamentals playbook that will grow your business appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

There are a lot of businesses proclaiming ‘business as usual’, usually against a backdrop of a competitive marketplace, a tough economic climate, building work or inclement weather; we appreciate that there are benefits to this message of consistency and reassurance. However, if you are trying to grow your business using connected leadership and establish yourself in your niche, ‘business as usual’ is the antithesis of what you need. Below are 5 reasons why business as usual is not good enough.

Business as Usual is Not Good Enough

1. Your Competitors

In our wonderful online and offline world your competitors know what you are doing and can work out your business model exactly. Not only do they know what you did last summer but most probably the whole of last year.

2. Technology

Technological advances are affecting almost every industry and you must allocate resource and most likely money to keep abreast of these changes and to apply them to your business. Those who adapt most successfully will forge ahead. M-commerce or business conducted via smartphones is just one example.

3. Your Staff

Your staff are motivated by more than their salary or pay cheque; although they may not say this directly to you as the business owner really they want to feel they are part of a special company; one that strives to change the nature of its industry by being innovative and forward-thinking.

4. Your Profits

Even if you made great profits last year that is no guarantee that this year will be the same. The path to continued business success is not in repeating what you did last year or resting on your laurels. Believe it or not there will come a point when the smartphone market is saturated with iPhones and even sales of Amazon’s Kindle will have peaked – no doubt by then Apple and Amazon will have introduced new products or pivoted in a new direction.

5. Your Vision

We’ve never read a business plan that stated an intention to have a few years of ‘business as usual’ or ‘more of the same’. If you are committed to your vision for your business you must keep striving to move forward whether that means new products/ services or entering new international markets.

Are you an entrepreneur or business owner trying to avoid ‘business as usual’? We can certainly help you from a marketing perspective.

If you have liked this post you will also like the following posts:

B2B: How Proactive are you With Existing Clients?

B2B Content Marketing Agency London

Marketing Fundamentals Ltd is a B2B Content Marketing Agency in London that creates Content and manages Social Media for Professional Services firms. We hope you find this information useful.

If you would like our help creating and executing a Content Marketing Plan for your business or organisation give us a call on +44 (0) 845 2264 247. You can also email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com

On our YouTube channel you will find marketing advice, business advice & inspiration. Subscribe if you work in Marketing for Professional Services or are a business owner or solo-preneur trying to grow your business. New uploads on Wednesdays.

Best regards,

Mike Pitt

Founder, Marketing Fundamentals Ltd

Follow Mike on Pinterest

Subscribe to

Follow us on LinkedIn

Online courses:

How to TurboCharge Your Business with a Blog
Meet Edgar Social Media Management
TurboCharge Your Twitter Presence
Quora For Business

Follow Mike on Twitter

This is blog post post number 60.

The post Entrepreneurs – 5 Reasons why ‘Business as Usual’ is not Good Enough appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Once you have identified the need you intend to fulfil with your business and established how you can do this with a low cost base the ‘to do’ lists and action points come thick and fast and it can be difficult to maintain focus and keep track of your priorities. Here’s a ‘must do’ checklist from a marketing perspective.

1. It’s all in a name – The name you choose for your company and your website is crucial. Not just for business cards and logos but also for search results and brand building. Wise entrepreneurs trademark their company name from the outset.

2. Online for the bottom line – Most businesses that fail within the first 3 years of trading do so because of a lack of funds. You must find a way to deliver your products or services via ecommerce. The quicker you can get revenue coming in the greater your chances of survival.

3. Sustainable Unique Selling Proposition (USP) – How are you different from your competitors? If you have found a niche with no apparent competitors how will you maintain your predominance when new entrants come to the market? The reality is that most companies are ‘Me too’ businesses but there are opportunities to differentiate yourself from the competition if you look hard enough.

4. Corporate culture – Even though you are starting off small think big and have a vision of what your company will represent. The better you are at articulating this the more successful you will be in recruiting the right staff, business partners and most importantly – attracting customers.

5. Products and Services – If you are truly intending to stand out your product /service offering must be different too. What do your competitors offer? How can you differentiate yourself?

The diligent among you will have already written a detailed marketing plan and that is the right approach but you must be prepared to make adjustments as your sector or niche and competitors respond to your offering.

Food for thought? There are plenty more checklists, marketing tips and action points in the SME Marketing App

Alternatively you could drop us an email via mail@marketingfundamentals.com or give us a call on +44 845 2264247

We hope you find this information useful.

Kind regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post SME Owners – About to start a new business? 5 marketing actions points you must do now appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.

Cash Flow Management – 25 Ways to Boost Your Cash Flow

Money In

1. Invoice at the earliest opportunity.

2. Change your payment terms – reduce period of payment of your invoices from 30 days to 14 days.

3. Utilizing corporate tax software put money allocated for corporation tax and VAT into a high interest & instant access account.

4. Offer a discount for fast payment – 1 or 2% would be enough.

5. Increase prices on low margin goods or services.

6. Sell off under used assets and receive a cash injection – old computers, outdated mobile phones etc.

Financial Control

7. Monitor stock closely and only order what you need – don’t have funds tied up in stock that isn’t selling quickly.

8. Structure your debt properly and secure the lowest interest rate possible on all of it.

9. Credit check new customers before beginning work for them.

10. Chase late payments automatically using software or set up a regular process; email, phone call and then written letter etc.

11. Use a debt collection agency when the debt is overdue – use with caution.

12. Review your debts regularly and set cash collection targets for yourself/your credit control team and pre-chase invoices just before they are due.

13. Lease rather than buy when appropriate.

14. Set credit limits for customers and stick to them.

15. Diversify your client base – spread debt across a number of clients and industries.

16. If your PAYE/NIC comes to less than £1,500 a month then you can arrange to pay quarterly rather than monthly.

17. Payment of bills generally by BACS gives you more control of when transactions go through your bank account compared to cheques.

Money Out

18. Change your payment terms – extend the payment period of your supplier invoices from 30 to 45 days .

19. Don’t pay all your bills the moment you are notified of them. If you are VAT registered consider moving to completing your VAT returns online. This gives between 7-10 extra days to pay and it speeds up refunds.

20. Barter for goods and services and pay for them ‘in kind’.

21. Use a company credit card’s interest free credit period to enhance your cashflow.

22. Set up payment plans rather than pay off all outstanding amounts – agree them with your suppliers.

23. Purchase essential equipment and services online – it will be cheaper.

24. Depending on your industry consider running a second shift/night shift rather than moving to bigger premises.

25. Start paying PAYE/NIC electronically through BACS. This allows you until the 22nd of the month or quarter to pay it, rather than the 19th.

We hope you find this information useful.

Kind regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

The post SME Owners – 25 ways to boost your cashflow appeared first on Marketing Fundamentals.