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Business isn’t easy – if it were everyone would do it.

Business leader and friend Shane Gunstone, MD of Asmech Systems said that to me when I was about 6 months in and having a wobble. I was working more than full time with 3 young children (3 under 3 at the point of launching), and I was exhausted. He said, keep going – you have what it takes.

Running a business is a different way of working.

When people asked me how many days I worked, I would politely smile and tell them I’m full time and then some would almost give a pity smile. The truth is my full time is on my terms. I don’t miss the children’s milestones, important events, breakfast, tea or bath time. I’m at my laptop every night when they are safe in bed. For me to leave my 3 little cutie pies my ‘why’ needed to be really strong, and the reward needed to be more valuable than just breaking even from childcare costs.

I spent 7 years prior to launching working alongside the fantastic local business community, and I’ve been supported by them and call some of the customers and friends. There is never a day when I don’t look forward to work.

I’m in a completely different headspace than when I first started my business, I believe in myself way more, and I’ve chosen my network to work with. Ask yourself ‘do you dread working alongside a department on a certain project that just doesn’t appreciate outputs and how to make things happen?’ If the answer is – Yes? Then do something about it.

There will always be that awkward and demanding potential customer but put yourself in a position that means you don’t always have to take business from people you don’t want to work with. Yes, that’s right …. You can sack customers! If you use a supply chain and a supplier has informed you they don’t currently have the capacity to fulfil your request – that’s code for ‘you are horrible to work for, and I choose not to work with you.’ Worth taking note as your supply chain is everything!

Which leads me nicely to my ten lessons:

Build Valuable Relationships

You can not put a price on being able to pick up the phone to a supplier, media contact or mentor. Think about how you want people to feel after speaking to you. People will always remember that. And remember it’s not a one-way street – network and always be kind. So when you do find that you need to pull in favours, help or guidance, you’ll find you have a network that empowers and supports your end goal.

Set goals – short and long term and keep reviewing

I remember the night before launching my business, and I couldn’t sleep. I had a high profile role within the Mansfield and Ashfield business community and close connections with local media and public authorities. They were all expecting me back after maternity leave with my twins.

I scheduled 3 different messages to go out that day in case no one noticed my announcement. As soon as I changed my linkedin profile (the night before), I was inundated with messages. My local media contacts were talking to me and congratulating me on the decision to launch my own business.

And then the first Linkedin post went out, and that was it my little business was launched, and I rolled my sleeves up to convert sales and engaged with customers.

My short term goal initially was to get back to work and balance work and home life. It then became apparent that there was a demand for the flexible support I was providing to SME’s in the area. I broadened the services and responded to that demand.

Obviously, COVID19 has impacted on my goals, and I’ve done what any savvy business owner has done during this time, and I’ve adapted. I’ve worked with my customers to adapt and respond. I’ve acknowledged the reality of this economic winter and change it to an opportunity, and I feel more than ever that I’ve set my business and customers up to thrive! Digital marketing and relationship marketing is more important than ever!

There is room for everyone.

Show me an industry that doesn’t have a market leader?

My mentor is the fabulous Katrina Starkie who is the Marketing Director at one of the leading marketing agencies in the area. So what does that show you? Find your audience and where your services are most needed, and you’ll find there is room for everyone.

Invest in the right tools

Does the hubby use that line to help with putting DIY off? They are right! Staying productive is critical when starting a business and when it’s a service – your time is money. Don’t waste time on things that are not going help you hit your goals. Use tools that will help you get there more efficiently.

Get a business coach, mentor, reliable friend….

Someone that will provide you with structured time to talk and hold your ‘feet to the fire’ as my lovely business coach Martin Rigley MBE, MD of Lindhurst Engineering often tells me.

It’s all good and well-setting goals, but if no one is holding you to it, then you will drift off-plan. Starting a business can be isolating, and if you are having a wobble, it helps if you have a network that you can reach out to and use as a soundboard. Have your wobble, dust yourself off and crack on.

Or has Sandra Cowley, Commercial Director at Futures and my dear friend told me when I was wobbling about starting this business ‘put your big girl pants on and move on!’ You wouldn’t believe how many times I tell myself that whenever I’m having an imposter syndrome moment. Seriously – it helps – try it!

You can’t put a price on being able to pick up the phone to your mentor and Katrina telling you – you are right! You know your onions keep moving forward! It saves you time and time is precious!

Consider your product and service portfolio carefully.

Will I be offering the same services in my year two that I did in year one – no? Will be rate card be the same – no?

Don’t fall in the mindset that passive income is the only way to make money and value your services because if you don’t – who will?

There is no foolproof formula.

Just the one that works for your business model and for your audience within your timeline. And your measures of success may not be the same as everyone else’s.

Be kind to yourself

No one is perfect! Stepping out of your comfort zone isn’t easy and I’ve been told ‘I’m so brave’ – I didn’t know how to take that when I first heard it. But I get it now. Running a business is brutal. Mistakes will be made and the difference when it’s your business – it costs you! There is no one to hide behind, and you are 100% exposed. The rewards are way greater the work is way harder; the mindset is stronger.

I’m more resilience than 12 months ago. It’s a process but acknowledge and work with it.

Don’t be everything to everyone.

What can you outsource? What good are you to anyone if you are working on every element of the business all the time? I’ve got a close network of partners that I work with to help with the overspill of work. Value your time and productivity.

Rejection is just redirection

If you let failure control you it will affect your success. Have I won every proposal I’ve been lined up for? No. Have I really wanted that business? At the time, yes! Did I shut shop and throw my dummy out the pram? No! I put on my big girl pants (told you I use that phrase a lot now), and I looked for the next opportunity and continued to believe that businesses will see my growth and it will lead us to the same path when the timing is right.

Remember that setbacks and missteps are part of the process, and it’s developing the resilience to embrace that process that will ensure your eventual success. Assess, evaluate, keep learning, and keep going. You got this.

Take Advantage of Local Business Support.

If you are thinking about starting up here is a list of companies that are there to help you, fund you, and support you:

D2N2 they have funding opportunities and hosting some great webinars to develop your business.

Invest in Ashfield and Mansfield I got a business start up grant for £1,000 – you can too. It can cover your marketing and website cost. I can help you through the process – just contact me.

Open4Business – you can browse funding pots available for businesses and start-ups in Mansfield and Ashfield.

Get yourself out there and network :

Mansfield and Ashfield 2020

East Midlands Chamber

If you are thinking about starting a business, now is the time! Good Luck!

If you need help with your startup marketing plan, logo design, website, media connections, PR support then give me a shout!

If you are looking to reduce or reallocate your marketing costs a good one to start with is your content marketing. Many organisation are already using content marketing as their primary sales tool as they can see similar or better results when compared to traditional marketing (that costs a whole lot more).

So why is content marketing that important?

A well-written content brings value to your audience and customers. Value-added to your audience creates a call to action giving, you the opportunity to convert a sale.

But creating ideas and relevant content is easier said than done right?

If you are wondering where to start with your content marketing strategy, then I’ve put together a free content mapping guide to help get you started and stay ahead of the competition.

This free content mapping template and guide includes:

• Help in creating your buyer personas to get more insight into your audience
• Determine the information needs for the customer journey to make an action
• Map content to your buyer personas and their lifecycle styles.
• Use the content map to plan to create content that will create an action (in other words, create sales!!)

Every piece of content you create for your business should be an answer to a question of your audience. But an oversight by many businesses is not understanding their audience (buyer personas) and the different kinds of people that form your audience. And, as they travel along their customer journey, in each buying stage their questions will change.

This free download template I have created will help you distinguish the multiple personas and their lifecycle stages so you can start adding structure to your content marketing and start getting better results and closer to your business goals.

This can be used for every piece of content you create, albeit for your website, social media, emails, adverts etc.

It’s time to start increasing your sales, retaining your customers and engage customer long term!

Download your free content mapping template for businesses today and please do not hesitate to shout for help and Contact me. We are in this together and one by one we will rebuild our economy.

1) Mindful in your Marketing

Be helpful, understanding and honest during this difficult time. If your planned marketing activities don’t take into account your customers mindset during this time, you may be seen as insensitive. Have you noticed how the major supermarkets have scraped their ‘fluffy, happy Easter campaigns’ for campaigns based around safety? Be brave and do the same! Sticking with your plans because it cost you time and money may cost you more in the long run in brand damage.

Be mindful of peoples new working patterns. Young professionals with families are now tasked with homeschooling duties as well as working. We are 24/7 now so expect late emails and phones.

Look at your brand value proposition – can you offer your customers a different benefit? Is there something that you do that you don’t usually shout about but it’s very relevant today?

2) Prepare content to perform

Now is the time to stay visible and have a presence in front of your clients and prospects.

Do you usually say you don’t have time for social media, blogs or news stories? Now is the time!

Work on creating really good pieces of content that is going perform for you because if you don’t your competitors will be spending this time doing it! Research your keywords, check your website meta descriptions, audit your SEO. Plan your social media messages. Update your brand’s tone of voice – does it reflect your business today or where it was 5 years ago? Are you consistent across all your channels?

3) Communicate

COVID19 is not your fault, so don’t shy away from being open about how it’s changed your business and communicate what you are doing about it. Provide reassurance to your customers – if you are still operating as usual, then be open about what measures you have put in place to do so.

Have you set your workers up at home? Show it! Communicate any operational issues but always offer a solution.

Capture testimonials! How many times have you chased customers that are busy for a testimonial? Now is the time to stay in contact and get customers to reflect and remember the excellent service you provided.

4) Time for improvements!

Look at your user experience and see how you can start to improve your offerings and journey to convert more sales. Start looking at your google analytics and social media engagement. Set KPI’s and start assessing what is working and where you spend budget and time – is it performing? Are you reaching your business goals with your existing marketing strategy and activities?

5) Community.

Now isn’t the time to isolate your business! It’s important to be seen! So ask yourself – What can you do for your supply chain? Who are your partners? Who is in your business network? Are you engaged with the local business community and media platforms?

If your business cannot operate during COVID19 then keep in touch with your community and start talking to the wider network and those that ordinarily help you run your business.

Work together to raise the profile of others and support each other by promoting their news stories.

Martin Rigley MBE, MD of Lindhurst Engineering and local business leader has stated that Economists are saying we will ramp out of this as fast as it descended on us. If this is the case – then I would strongly recommend that you use this time to dominate your industry and be stronger than ever.

My 5 top tips do not cost anything but time and goodness knows we have time during COVID19.

I’ll be giving away free marketing templates that can be downloaded from my website to help companies get started and adapt their marketing strategies. They will help you realign your marketing to reflect this current environment and help plan positive actions that will have an impact when we are out of this v shaped depression.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions or advice via my social media platforms or email: caroline@carolinecoxmarketing.co.uk or call 07736318104 (remember I have 3 kids 4 and under my working hours have changed – I’m adapting to COVID19 too).

Business Hub – Innisdoon Estates

Having been given the opportunity to market these wonderful premises and promote the vision that Emma & Stacey had for Innisdoon. We instantly fell in love with the building and surrounding environment. So much so, that last year we relocated our unique and premium estate agency into a bespoke suite, which our fabulous team and clients love!

Innisdoon offers more than just a wonderful and idyllic location to work from, but more than that, we are a thriving business community of like-minded and empowering entrepreneurs.

We have been delighted to welcome Caroline into the fold and look forward to seeing her growing business flourish.”

Caroline identified the new offices as the perfect location for her business and clients telling us “I have been delighted with the engagement, support and successful I have received since launching my own business earlier in the year.

I knew the business was growing quicker than expected and I wanted to ensure that if I were to relocate I would need to find the right location not only for me but my clients too.

The Innisdoon Estate offers the perfect solution, it is a beautiful building set in very tranquil and calming grounds. The location is central to most of my current clients allowing me to visit them but also giving me the reassurance that I have a great premises available for them to visit me if needed too.”

Business Leaders Supporting Business Growth
Local leading business owners Emma McLaughlin and Stacey Croshaw of Innisdoon Estates Limited took over the building in 2017 with the vision to house their growing recruitment company, Fresh Start Recruitment (UK) Ltd but also to provide a fully serviced facility to cater for local entrepreneurs.

Owners Emma and Stacey commented: “We’re truly thrilled to welcome Caroline to Innisdoon and we are so pleased that we are able to offer her premises for her business to develop and flourish. We have a wonderful business relationship with all tenants and between us all we have developed a great culture of sharing ideas and opportunities. We look forward to a great working relationship with Caroline also.’’

With a variety of clients from different industries including manufacturing, health & fitness, fashion and construction – Caroline is looking forward to what the next 6 months will bring for Caroline Cox Marketing Innovation and all of her clients.

 

 

Marketing began in the 1950s

Over the years marketing has evolved from print media to TV to the internet and so on. Modern marketing has become increasingly important to fine-tuning how a business sells a product to consumers to optimise success.

Modern day marketing gives so many platforms to carrying out campaigns – but where do you start?

Here are several types of marketing that are relevant today:

• Internet marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Blog Marketing
• Social media Marketing
• Print marketing
• Search engine marketing
• Video marketing

Where you invest your time and money depends entirely on where your customers spend their time. Your market research will determine which types of marketing and which mix of tools within each type is best for building your brand.

The 4 P’s of Marketing

An important tool that helps businesses understand how marketing interacts with each stage of the business – is The 4 P’s of Marketing:

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

Implementing the 4 P’s within the business will help businesses understand the demand for their product, competitor research will discover the best price points, and analysis will offer suggestions on how and where to sell. Promotion is when your marketing team will create increase awareness and interest in your product and ultimately, lead to more sales.

Marketing intersects all areas of a business

So you see, Marketing is not as clear cut as a simple definition. Marketing intersects all areas of a business, so it’s important to understand how to use marketing to increase your business’s efficiency and success.

When was the last time you revisited your marketing strategy and implemented your marketing plan? Are you using the modern day marketing mix correctly or just using tools such as social media, SEO, email marketing, PPC campaigns because you know you need to but unsure what your strategy is and what results they are delivering?

Contact me and ask about my marketing audit and marketing calendar plan to help you reach your potential and maximise your sales.

“What was the trigger point?”

I’ve spent the last 6 years supporting the local business community in quite a unique role. It’s given me variety and opportunities beyond any corporate position. I’ve had the flexibility and support to fulfil projects that has made long term positive changes to the surrounding local districts.

The company is limited but technically it is not actually owned by anyone its governed by local business leaders bringing together a mixed bag of skills from finance, legal to education. I’ve always said 2020 is like a precious diamond that I’ve had the joy of looking after and making sure it continues to shine and indeed – out shine the rest! Until it was time to pass it over to the next team to look after it. And there was no way that diamond would get damaged or dulled on my watch!

I’m proud to move forward and onwards with my own business leaving 2020 with a business model that makes profit, a network of patrons and media bodies that support the message and the vision and a strategy in place that meets the needs of the business community.

“Passionate about inspiring the next generation”

I’ve provided hundreds of businesses with unique opportunities to meet new connections and build their networks. Alongside business partnerships there was also education partnerships formed that gave business leaders the opportunity to nurture the future workforce via the award winning scheme developed with two other leading business ladies called the ‘Career Champions’. We developed bespoke evidence based programs that proved the positive impact the scheme had on the young people involved – inspiring them to reach their potential and showing them pathways to a bright future.

Whilst I could continue to work under the 2020 umbrella and keep moving it forward and expanding the business membership; the timing is right to focus on promises I made to myself and not fall into a comfort zone of enjoying what I do.

“Time to fulfil my vision”

Whilst working for someone else you are always governed by their vision, limited by their limitation and ideas stop becoming a reality and you become engulfed in the process and not the development.

Now is the time to start and not live with the regret of should of, could of, would of! So from the years of experience in corporate retail, celebrity endorsement, national branding, local networking, event planning, sales, digital marketing, media relations and partnerships projects I’m venturing solo and using my skill set to launch Caroline Cox Marketing Innovation.

“Time for Action”

The future….. is exciting and unknown as it is for any new business start up. But I’m driven, decisive and determined to provide the best possible service to every client and open up a doors of opportunity and business to all my clients whilst building a reputation for providing solutions with an infectious and approachable enthusiasm. All whilst sharing my journey on my new lifestyle blog because every business started with Day One. Can you help this new start up become established and can I help you become more established with my marketing services? Contact me today for a chat, I’d love to help.

Know your customers and understand the problem you are solving for them!

By taking an insight into your customers you will start to understand the emotions and behaviour that motivates your customer to make a decision. Identifying the market needs for your product / service and offer to solve them with your business (brand) story. Create a story that people can understand and connect with. The sto­ry is cen­tral to com­mu­ni­cat­ing your business’s pur­pose.

What makes your brand different, better?

How you position your brand is everything. Look at your biggest competitor and what are you doing to differentiation your brand’s position to the competition? And then ask yourself ‘Is your positioning supporting the brand story and heritage?’ For example your biggest competitor may have a pricing advantage but does not offer the high level of service that you do before and after the transaction. Then you need to highlight this in your storytelling!

How interesting is your story? Can you redefine an experience?

A good brand story is good in part because it has something to say and the brand itself has taken an experience or an industry and turned it on its head. , a good emotional story can make a significant impact on motivating response. When thinking about your brand story think about creating a powerful emotional connection.

Imagery!

How many brands can you recognised without see the business name? People process images thousands of times faster than text. . Research indicates that Images may be superior to words in inducing evaluative responses, communicating emotions and creating memories.

Make it original that people will share and remember.

The brands with the most original, creative, emotional and unique ideas are the ones that stand out, are memorable and create conversations. What is more original than your business story – how did you start the business, who is behind the business, who are the employees? People buy from people – share your journey! Make people think what is behind the business, remember and share!

Know who you are and what you stand for!

Adaptable, personalised digital experiences ensure your brand connects emotionally with customers across all platforms and channels. Creating personalised experiences to ensure that your brand connects emotionally with your consumer, no matter where they are, what device they are using or how they interact with it.

Do Good!

Many of these brands incor­po­rate an ele­ment of social good into their sto­ries – whether that’s giv­ing back to com­mu­ni­ties or fos­ter­ing sus­tain­abil­i­ty or help­ing con­sumers find their best selves. And, again, these goals make for good sto­ries.

Next Steps

I know what you maybe thinking? This storytelling is all good and well but how to you use analytics to emotionally track customer actions and journey? The truth is the customer journey is about understanding how and where to connect in every touch point your customer is interacting with.

It’s not just about collecting data but knowing what to do with it. Go beyond data and dashboards to reveal actionable, emotional insights that influence conversations and tactics.

These are simple steps that all business can use in your marketing process. The storytelling process works and is used by our everyday brands. Yielding positive and meaningful results time after time.

Let me help you stand out from the crowd. If you need help telling your business story lets have a chat over coffee and we can start mapping out your journey and turning your business into a brand that connects with your customers and provides long term customer retention.