Georgina Walsh Business Coaching

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Are You Marketing Like a Peacock or a Peahen?

Posted by May 13th, 2015

Peacock 1Peacock 3To add to our animal mix here we have some unfortunate peacocks and peahens – unfortunate in that when they popped their little heads out of their eggs they found themselves in the soggy Irish climate rather than the lush vegetation of India or Sri Lanka. However we have had them here for years and they are thriving, so it can’t be all bad.

As Spring marches on the peacocks are busy, busy showing off their tails and looking for a wife. Pictured is one particular chap I walk past each day and it made me think about marketing like a peacock.

With limited marketing budgets many small business owners don’t always push themselves out there as much as they should. How are you doing with your marketing – more peacock or more peahen?

Are You Marketing like a Peacock?
• He is consistent. He has chosen his spot, outside the wood shed and there he parades each and every day, come rain or shine
• He makes a statement, look at his tail, he is gorgeous, he is letting the girls know that he is the very best option
• He doesn’t give up…..even when a gust of wind catches his tail and sails him away from his patch, he turns round and gets back on duty
• He is loud; have you heard the peacock’s cry? It certainly cuts through the air
• He is proud….as a peacock

Or are You Marketing Like a Peahen?
• She is there, but she is in the background
• She is muted both in terms of colour and voice
• She doesn’t stand out, you hardly notice her next to the peacock
• She seems more apologetic than proud

What can you do from today to be more loud and proud in your marketing?

What Season Are You?

Posted by September 4th, 2014

spring

If your business was a season, what season would it be? Or, in terms of your own personal brand at work, if you were a season what season would you be?

For example, my business brand would be Spring – full of promise, green shoots, new ideas and growth.

Is yours Spring too?
Or Summer; balmy, relaxing and offering escapism?
Or Autumn; cosy, wrapped-up warmth and comforting?
Or Winter; fresh, crisp and invigorating?

What season best sums up your brand and what words and phrases can you bring to your communications or your personal actions to reflect this?

We all know that making money is serious business. Branding and marketing are meant to be the fun bits of running your business.  Doing light-hearted exercises such as the one above can help your business or personal brand by defining the ‘brand personality’.

This helps inform the tone and feel of your brand, a key aspect in designing logos, your website, your promotional material and even down to what clothes you wear.

The classic Brand Personality question is ‘If your brand was a person, what kind of person would it be?’

But stretch your thinking and also think about other things such as the type of car (more Mercedes than Porche?), a particular celebrity, an animal or holiday destination (Rivieria, Las Vegas, Bali?) that you feel reflects your brand in some way.

You can use these to collect 10 to 12 great descriptive words to further help your brand come alive; it’s easy to lose sight of your brand personality, and it can get diluted in the day-to-day hurly burly.

So, relax, ask yourself some of the questions above and make sure you have a radiant, unique and attractive brand personality that really shines through.

What is Your Why?

Posted by April 11th, 2014

Why

 “The internet is a very big room and you need to have a clear brand to be able to make any noise in it at all.” This is a phrase I heard the other day. Are you able to shout loudly and be heard in that big room?

 A clear brand is so vital for entrepreneurs to get the success they want, but it’s sometimes hard to know where to start.

 Many small businesses try to differentiate their brand and shout loudly by being clear on What they do and How they do it.  But the real secret to building a clear and successful brand is firstly understanding exactly Why the business does what it does. 

 This often starts with why YOU do what you do.  What is your Why?

 We all have different motivations and whilst you will want to earn money and have a good lifestyle, there is very likely more to your Why than that. 

So what is your Why?  You may already be clear on your why – if so, is it part of your brand story? Does it come across in your communications and enhance and differentiate your brand?  How do you take it through to your what and how?

If you’re not clear on your why – you need to be.  It is one of the key foundations of determining your brand and thereby increasing your profits.  

Your why, will be something that means a lot to you and may well relate to formative experiences in your childhood or when you were growing up.  Work through the following questions to explore your why:

  • What are you really passionate about?
  • What are your key principles?
  • What principles and key passions do you bring into your business?
  • Why did you start your business? 
  • What sort of success do you want…. and why do you want it?
  • How do you feel you make a difference / could make a difference?

Now pull your thoughts together:

  • What is your Why around your family and / or lifestyle
  • What is your Why around your business?
  • How can you bring more of your Why into your marketing messages?

How FAB are You?

Posted by February 9th, 2014

gold-medal-10011486I suspect you and your business are pretty fab, but here are some pointers to help you make your business even more fab!

There are many facets of creating a strong brand which in turns helps you to deliver strong sales. My favourite part is the FAB part. As you may know, in branding terms FAB stands for Features and Benefits.

Thinking through what your Features And Benefits are can often help your small business and brand take a big leap forward. (more…)

Feeling Competitive?

Posted by February 2nd, 2014

competition-concept-10050789
“In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” Coco Chanel

When you started your business you quite correctly, looked at the competition.

But as time goes by, do you keep looking to see what is going on out there, and ensure you are standing out from the crowd?

Try to do a market or competition audit once a year (twice a year would be even better); it will naturally lead you to think about your offering and your brand.  This will help keep you ahead of the curve.

I suggest you try to find a spare hour or so in the next week (easier said than done, you cry!) and work through the following 5 steps, I guarantee it will give you some great inspiration and ideas. (more…)

How To Get Customers Knocking at Your Door

Posted by December 8th, 2013

knocking

 As business owners we, of course, love customers to come to us via a referral.

 As customers, we all trust word of mouth recommendations when making a purchase.

 So with these points in mind, I’m often surprised when small business owners don’t have a referral process or system to help bring keen and eager customers to their door.  To make referrals work for you, like any other part of your business you need a system (a simple one, but a system nonetheless). 

Just the briefest of reminders of why referrals are so very marvellous:

 They cut down on marketing costs

  • You get good quality leads who are often ready to buy
  • Growth feeds growth; with your ever increasing band of brand ambassadors out there singing your praises (more…)

Are you Guilty of Compare and Despair?

Posted by October 20th, 2013

bigstock-Many-team-members-walk-on-gear-32703845

 

I’ve spoken to at least 3 clients this week who have compared themselves to their competitors, and felt deflated as a result.

A syndrome otherwise known as Compare and Despair.

A syndrome which is very common amongst small business owners.

I always ask clients not to Compare and Despair, but rather to Compare and Prepare.

Negative comparisons often lead to inactivity; which starts you moving backwards, “Look at what they are doing, they are so much better than me, why should I bother?” (more…)

Is Cinderella the key to Creating a Great Brand for Your Small Business?

Posted by September 22nd, 2013

Did you know that Cinderella is one of the most well-known stories around the world?  It comes in hundreds of forms and guises, but it is not always the same Cinderella.  The main thrust of the story is however similar; a poorly treated girl who wins the heart of a rich and powerful man. 

Cinderella

How can Cinderella help you create a brilliant brand for your business?

Cinderella helps us see the power of archetypes. These are hard wired into all of us, into our psyches. Carl Jung, the psychologist, saw them as collectively inherited data that we all carry with us.  For example we all carry within us an idea of a ‘mother’ archetype or an ‘evil’ archetype. How many teenage girls have an anguished ‘Cinderella’ moment when they feel hard done by, and wish that their Prince Charming would come and find them and whisk them away from it all?

(more…)