Organic Marketing | Networking South Wales

There are dozens of business networks in South Wales . I help businesses with business strategy and planning (“Business Building”) and I deal with business finance and organisation. Not a shameless plug altogether because my point is that the business planning for growth requires experience and knowledge in networking as a major sub heading under the all embracing term “Marketing”. You need all this in place to get your finance sorted to show you are a functional business ,  by which time you have a plan to put into action, if you have done it properly.

My view is that there is not just one answer to networking. Some networks work best with a business that can be easily pigeon holed by everyone. (Accurately or not – doesn’t matter, you can sort that out later on). Other businesses do not.

So which group is best for you?

To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Associates, please click the link.  Simple really.

What First, What Next?

What to do first, what to do next? Starting your own business is fun, worrying, exciting and full of query. 

Most people start their business with a good idea of what they are going to do. Very often though they have not thought quite how they are actually going do it. Surely everyone will see how valuable a service or how good a product this is? We'll open our doors on the Monday and be flying by the end of the week!

The reality is very different of course. The statistics show that most businesses will fail in the first year and a few more stubborn individuals in the second and third years. Nonsense of course, because those figures include the wacky ones, the lazy ones, and a collection of no-hopers. If you took a measure of the good business ideas that are delivered with real intent, adequate planning, good support and sensible resources for what they are doing, the success rates are very different.

Bob Shepherd Associates will get you there sensibly, quickly, practically and with good practical guidance on what is feasible and what should be scheduled for next year. It will save you loads of time and money, not to mention your overall nervous condition. 

We have many stories, examples and testimonials from others who also think we can do it! 

Fat Bloke On A Plane

Whatever your level of business, what you should do must be proportionate to the rest of your business. If you are a small one man band you may consider a marketing spend of £1000 on something to be a big deal for you. If you are a larger business you may not. 

If you have a turnover of £3m or so a £3000 overdraft "in case of need" is no doubt out of proportion with your needs!

If you are running an online business you should not be struggling with a 12 year old lap top! 

If you have a maintenance and fitting business of some kind you should not be turning up in a 15 year old rusty van! 

If you are running a marketing business you should show a decent website yourself and not make do with an email address at hotmail!

All these are real examples which have come to my notice recently. In each case there is a mixed message delivered (at best) to your customers which raises questions on the strength and credibility of your business. 

The questions raised are either along the lines of "is this business as well established and competent as they say or are they flying a flag to appear more important than they are in some way?"

From the business point of view you can get away with it to some degree appearing to be bigger than you really are by being careful to present a professional looking and competent service. You can hide a local phone number or your location with an 0870 or 0800 number. You can compete against larger firms by taking stage payments. And so on.

But, if you have started a business aimed at gaining larger customer contracts be careful that you do not overload your presentation. It may be better to start with smaller contracts and work up. Some advantages may be that you get paid more often with less chance of a crippling bad debt. Your reputation for good work may spread from the smaller companies more readily and more often than with the one big company. Let's be a bigger fish in a smaller pond and be happy with that for now. 

To use another analogy for all this, if a fat bloke gets on a very small plane and sits on one side you have to accommodate that and compensate in some way. If he gets on a big transport plane no one will worry.   

Bob Shepherd Associates looks at the whole of a business and helps you get the external outsider's view.   

The Cost of Marketing

Marketing Your Business doesn't have to cost a lot. There are ways you can present your service, your product and your existence to the outside world which don't cost a fortune.

Social Media

Most obviously there are a number of social media channels open to you free of charge. The only cost will be your time and effort. But that starts with understanding how to deliver a strategy for your business and the differences in their weighting.

It also involves understanding where your audiences are. For example two businesses  I am helping should appeal for different reasons primarily to young ladies between say 17 and 35. Five minutes observation in any high street coffee shop will tell you that they are very likely to be on smart phones and or tablet computers for what seems like most of the day. Conclude therefore that we need to have a presence there with a mobile friendly web site, good search engine architecture and a good active presence on the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and probably Instagram.  

None of that will be direct marketing but will all build the notion that we are attractive, knowledgeable and fresh with ideas.

Networking in person

Similar principles apply to networking in person. Building a 'profile' in the business community is always valuable and in some cases those people are our potential customers anyway. Again though there are things to know before diving in. Somewhere around 100 networking outlets are available in SE Wales. You can't do them all and some are more suitable for you and your business aspirations than others.

There is a cost to some. Others are less and some are free. Always there is travel to take into account, and your time again.

Articles , press,  blogs and publication

Are you expert in your trade, your field, your area of business? Can you talk about it? In some cases you may be able to deliver talks.  It doesn't follow for some reason that if you can talk about your subject you can write about it, but if you can set out your thoughts and theories on blogs online using one of the platforms that are easy to operate. If you can submit articles to publications, on line or on paper then do so.

Use the discussion forums to hold forth in an entertaining way either in answer or to start a new thread.  'PR' may cost but it needn't be expensive. So called editorial is more effective than plain advertisements. As with anything there are things it is better to know and understand which will improve the quality of your material and therfore its effectiveness.

Talk to your audience

Always bear in mind the attitudes of your audience or no one will read your efforts. There is no harm in telling of your achievements if you do so with a certain humility and are generous to others as well. No one likes boasting but you can be pleased that something in particular has turned out well and others will join in your pleasure. It also waves a flag for your success.

If you already have customers then talk to them without being pushy. Send them newsletters perhaps or some form of news delivery that shows appreciation of them. In the bad old days that meant a bottle of wine at Christmas plus a diary they mostly did not want.  Things have evolved since then. Imagination is rewarded nowadays.

If you are adventurous shout about that. Charitable activity is always applauded and the publicity is there for the taking.

Never be pushy, trying 'too hard' It is not appreciated and can be derided, which is not what you want.  Your Market is what is out there, your marketing is what you do about it. BobShepherd Associates will help you build your business by looking at what you are doing within your resources of finance, time, skills to get the best out of the potential you have. 

Networking Not Working?

For small businesses it is essential and compulsory to get your name out there! There are a number of ways of doing this of course but to make an obvious point - if no one knows you are there you can have the best ideas/service/expertise in the world and no one will see it.

The truth is that the networking meetings you may have thought I was referring to initially are a part of a web of marketing initiatives you can set up. The point is very much that they should all work together.

Presuming that your small business depends on the personality of one or two people for new business then the presentation to the outside world should take advantage of some obvious outlets available to you.

Each one supports and is supported by its neighbour. The marketing web includes a web site.  80 thousand businesses in Wales have no web site I saw recently. These days anyone under the age of let's say, 50 and quite a few over that age will search for things on line. I rest that case.

Moreover if your business intends to catch a younger demographic - then a mobile site is an essential addendum. 20% of searches are now done from mobiles rather than PCs. 

Back that up with references in a chatty way on Twitter and personal facebook. In a more business like way on a Business Facebook page and in a more serious way on LinkedIn.  Also include some longer pieces on blog sites. Now make those refer to some of the others and you are building a net. Have a nice leaflet to hawk around, prepare some quick answers to questions like 'What do you do?'  and you are ready for networking events.

The business message 

The link is a consistency of message. That doesn't mean bang on about the same things incessantly. It also doesn't mean grab someone by the throat until they agree to buy from you. It is all far more subtle than this.

It all has to fit and be part of your brand, your presence and indeed your personality on line. So too does all your communication. Have a nice email heading. Have a nice badge with your name on it for those events. Have a banner to put up. Work up a bit of a talk to make yourself memorable then deliver it. Make a few points on discussion forums.

Once established this all becomes part of your business personality. You will get to the stage when you can mix and match and adapt to what is going on around you.   The result? People will know you, like you and trust you to work for them or to recommend you. You have arrived!

But don't stop at that point. You have to keep up the presence out there. Oh, and you need to find time to do some of that work you have said you are good at....

Bob Shepherd Associates at http://www.bobshepherdassociates.co.uk/marketing.html  builds up businesses by helping you take a practical view of what you have, what you can do, and how it all can fit together. For a monthly sum that won't break the budget (there's another topic to consider) you will save so much time money and effort in developing your business, or perhaps setting up your business, that the investment will repay itself over and over. If you are in SE Wales or nearby, ask for an initial meeting at no charge to explore the possibilities and open the door to a new level of business.  

The World Moves On

Barclays bank reports the results of research which indicates the Recession has spawned more new businesses than ever before. That is not difficult to imagine. Anyone with initiative who perhaps could not get another job easily (the media has had tales of job applications being over subscribed by several hundred ) who has had a good idea has thought, ‘Maybe now’s the time to have a go.’

The research people all missed that one. For years the status of the UK entrepreneurial spirit has been lamented for its lack of enthusiasm. In particular the Welsh contribution to owner business has apparently suffered from long term historical precedent where the large heavy industries were the natural path. Those large scale employers have left in a sulk. Time has passed and the traditional track has grown over, as have the slag heaps.

Recession is the mother of entrepreneurialism it would appear. Anyone with a bit of an idea can make something of it perhaps. It is hard work, and stressful if you are thinking you need a certain minimum amount each week or month to feed your troops and keep the roof over their heads. However it is a different stress because it is yours alone. That is good generally.

Forget the regular wage. Forget the regular hours. In the first years you can probably forget the family holiday. Our great grandfathers would have scoffed at that hardship. What you can look forward to is personal development. You will do things you never thought you would, never thought you could, or would ever entertain.

As a consultant dealing with Business development I am often surprised at the things some people find they can do and other people find difficult. It is very interesting. Someone who has never had to do what they would call ‘public speaking’ might need to do a business presentation, with slides and timings and leaflets. Some have a go and make a total hash of it. Some are natural deliverers. Some see it, some can’t.

Some people are very comfortable on the phone and have the knack of gaining business. Others have no idea. I came across an answerphone message that was unbelievably incompetent. Unbelievable, not because it was incompetent, but because the business owner obviously thought it would do.

There are many of these subtleties. An outside view from an experienced consultant can help you past many of these pit falls. When ( if!) you do your sums in the first place, allow a place in the budget for advice and help. It will pay you back many times over. View the free services with reservation. They will take you some of the way, but you do get what you pay for. Pay nothing and you will not get much.

Tread carefully and with forethought. That much is the same now as it ever was. Let Bob Shepherd Associates guide you and share your new pathway.