Do You Need More Customers?

How About 54% More Leads?

Fast fact:  Practicing inbound marketing results in 54% more leads than outbound marketing, according to HubSpot. But what exactly is inbound marketing, and how does it differ from the way most small businesses market themselves?

If you’ve ever been to one of those networking events where small business owners mingle and make contacts, you’ll probably know this guy: the “pusher.” The pusher shoves his business card in your hand, makes idle small talk that somehow revolves entirely about him, and disappears only when he detects a new victim he can push his card to.

Luckily, this type of event also happens to be the natural habitat of the “puller,” the one who earns your attention by taking an actual interest in your business. She offers tips and advice to overcome your challenges, and volunteers to send you some useful info if you give her your email address.

Those two characters, ladies and gentlemen, are the best examples of outbound marketing and inbound marketing. The first refers to traditional marketing that’s based on pushing and “interrupting” consumers via cold calling, flyers, and emails (as well as billboards and TV/radio spots for big companies). Problem is, studies show that consumers are becoming more and more resilient to that type of marketing: They throw away flyers, ignore mails, and even worse, don’t even see banners anymore, let alone click them.

So what does affect consumers these days? Well, according to a study published last year, 81% of customers go online and read before they make purchases. That’s where inbound marketing comes into play.

Inbound is all about pulling (instead of pushing) current and prospective customers with valuable online content they are already on the lookout for. This content could be text-based like a blog post, or visual like a video or infographic. The basic goals you’ll want to keep in mind are providing quality info to the consumer and finding the right way to connect to your product through that content.

For example, when you think about marketing ideas for restaurants, coupons and print ads usually come to mind. But why not use the best types of content these businesses can offer? For instance, recipes are some of the most popular online attractions, so it’s only natural for a restaurant owner to open a blog with unique recipes—and then use that blog to encourage readers to visit their restaurant. A beauty salon owner, on the other hand, can easily create helpful videos that teach viewers how to create certain hairstyles. That way, when a potential customer searches online for a specific look, they are more likely to discover the video star’s beauty salon—especially if the video is particularly popular.

Of course, if you have a mobile app, inbound marketing is a great way to get people to download it. When consumers read your useful content and then want to stay in touch, it can help to suggest that they download your app to access even more quality content. You can also add content channels like a newsfeed, Facebook, and Instagram to practice inbound marketing within your app.

Now that you understand the value and meaning of inbound marketing, here are eight simple steps you can take to start off on the right foot:

  DEFINE 
As many successful entrepreneurs will tell you, the key to success in life starts with defining what you want to achieve. Answer the following questions:

• “What is my goal? Do I want to raise sales, get more app downloads, or get more reviews?”
• “Who is my target audience? What are their age, gender, and hobbies?”
• “What types of content are they looking for online? What content will bring them actual value?”
• “What sort of content can I provide to offer that information to them? Should I write a guide, shoot a short video, or publish a blog post?”

Have a pen handy? Go ahead and write your answers to all those questions now!

  CREATEOnce you’ve defined your goals, your audience, and the topics they’ll be interested in, you can start producing valuable content! A great way to start is by creating your own blog, as blogs are often considered to be at the heart of inbound marketing. You may want to use WordPress, a free do-it-yourself tool that allows you to create a blog, embed it in your existing website, and even get stats and data about your blog readers. If you don’t feel you have the skills to pull off strong written content, consider alternatives that show your expertise, such as instructional videos and product reviews.

  SHOWIf you choose blogging as a core part of your inbound strategy, keep in mind that too much text could become tiresome for the average consumer. Use interesting and relevant images to spice up your post and make it much more attractive. If you’re a good photographer, you can use images you took yourself, but you can also use free images from sites like Wikimedia Commons (just remember to give credit where needed).

  CONNECTOne of the biggest challenges businesses face is not creating the inbound content itself, but figuring out how to convert readers into paying customers. The key is offering an effective call to action (CTA)—that short sentence that directs your readers to click, sign up, purchase, or otherwise act on the content they’ve just read. To make your CTA successful, keep these two factors in mind:

• Style: Your CTA should be actionable and answer the consumer’s eternal question: “What’s in it for me?” For instance, if you’re writing a product review and your goal is to increase your app downloads, you could end with a message like, “For more professional product reviews that save you time and money, click and download our app,” followed by a hyperlink.

• Position: Your CTA should be placed in a logical place within your content. For example, let’s take a health food shop owner who set out to increase orders through his website. He decides to write a post about the best types of food for energy throughout the day, including relevant products from his shop. At the end of the post, after reviewing the products, it’s only natural for him to close with, “For all the products listed here and many more that’ll give you an energy boost, click here.”

  SPREAD
Now that you’ve created your content, your major mission is to spread it to your customers.Remember your social media channels? Now is the perfect time to post your content on Facebook and Twitter. Not only will you reach your fans directly, but you’ll also supply them with valuable information they long for, the stuff social media marketing gold is made off. Make sure to ask your fans to share the content posted in your updates and tweets.

Got a newsletter or a mailing list? Take this opportunity to grab your customers’ interest by offering them useful content in their inboxes!

  NURTUREInbound marketing is a lot like parenting: It takes time, care, and learning from mistakes to make the best of it. Just like a parent wouldn’t expect their child to start running in their first month, you shouldn’t expect to see significant results immediately. Sure, some of the customers will click your CTA, but most customers will come, read, and go—and that’s OK. Inbound marketing is about creating long-term relationships. Even if they haven’t bought your product on their first visit, if they now know you supply quality content, ultimately they will be more inclined to read your next piece. Provide useful content, and you are bound to see the results on your platform’s statistics page.

  PERSISTInstead of getting discouraged if the statistics say certain types of content do not click with your customers, take it as a learning experience and continue to experiment. Choose a different topic, place the images in another location, or make subtle changes in the CTA. In the end, you’ll find the perfect formula that suits your clients.

  COMBINEInbound marketing is an amazing tool, but that doesn’t mean you should rely solely on it. Instead, combine outbound and inbound techniques to create a killer strategy that customers won’t be able to resist. For instance, send an email with a free how-to blog post and a promotional discount to help drive sales. The key is to always offer actual value and then top it off with a tempting promotion.

If the past couple of years are any indication (and I think they are), inbound is only going to become a more powerful force in online marketing—increasing profits, boosting app downloads, and creating customer relationships. For those businesses still living in the outbound-dominated past, now is the time to start using inbound techniques to better reach customers.

What are your inbound marketing tips? Share them—or any questions—in the comments below

Small Business Failure Post GFC

Ever notice how some small businesses seem to thrive under just about any economic conditions, while others constantly struggle and miss opportunities that come their way?

 In part, in might be the type of business, the location, or financial backing.

 But the most successful business owners display some clear patterns and habits.

When struggling entreprenauers were analyzed there were some findings that occurred regularly , there was a period or point in time when a decision was made or not made early enough that started a rapid spiral down in both motivation and more importantly resouces. Trying to make money in business is hard enough, never mind havng to take a large portion of profit out to pay off previous liabilities.

You see profit is the blood flow over every business, not enough and certain areas start starving for resources and ultimately hinder future performance.

Now most people would consider a business failure to be the cause of a misguided enthusiasm coupled with a poorly researched and planned idea. Interstingly, the data does not confirm this, in fact quite the opposite.
Yes, there are many people who have a dream to buy or own a business. Now who wouldn't want that, you're your own person, no one to answer to, you are top dog in the workplace and you'll need a wheelbarrow every Saturday to get all that moolah into the sagging boot of your car.

However, whilst it is correct that the majority of new start up ventures will never gain traction and will swindle down to nothing or the business owner just accepts his fate and takes his medicine, usually a bankruptcy, and a fight to keep hold of that family property you assured everyone would be fine.

No business failure is nice and no real entrepreneur will go through life without there fair share of failure and most who make it the top of the hill can tell the war stories they encountered on the way, as we all know it is tough, emotionally you are up and down like a yoyo and i'm yet to meet a small business owner who hasn't spent at least the occasional evening laying in bed with tired eyes but a head running around like a dog in the butchers shop. Things like "how can i pay that supplier tomorrow, I hope he comes after lunch etc.

Of course for every 8-9 failures , these are usually an result of 1 or  combination of 3 things.

1) WOW Factor - Geez, we thought it would popular but wow. Right time, right product, right place.

2) Deep Pockets,  Now if you can afford to pay the shop rent for a year or so even if no one walked in the door well that turns the tables, it becomes not so much as struggling to get a business to a critical mass point it is more on making sure you do not do anything to harm what is coming or will come in time.

3) The Grafter, these are the people who personally I really admire, not so much as they're the hardest workers, infact that flies in face ove basic management principle, My admiration is based on their tenacity to not give up and if that means working 20 hours a day to break even then so be it, to these people failure is not an option.

The area I want to discuss, is those small businesses that found growth, albeit at a steady consist level, they had operated for for between 2-3 years and began to become a brand rather than just a restaurant or shop.. This could be the couple who took over a restaurant, built it to a sustainable level and even started to leverage by expansion.

This is the point where I think that a lot of potential gold mines die a unfulfilled death, now lets go back to the start, the couple obviously had some skills and obviously people wanted what they were offering. So whst goes wrong.

Well with leverage, every up side has a down side so and just like the sharemarket, the more leveraged you with debt to asset ratios then the more vulnerable to market fluctuations. Cashfow id king in business so if you're not paying bills on time, never mind bein profitable your on a long hising to nothing.

1) Firtstly, without enoogh cash flow the only survival mode is contraction. If a business cant pay for the things it uses to operate on time, then how can you increase that risk by doubling order volumes. and attempt to increase revenue, improve margins and focus on eliminating areas that could e detrimental


other business owners make many of the same mistakes that are often avoidable, especially when it comes to growing a business. Part of the problem is short-term thinking – chasing the latest shiny advertising object that happens to pass by, for example. Or spending too much time seeking new customers and not enough taking care of the ones you have.
Solid, long-term growth starts with what I call “inside-out” thinking – doing the things inside your business that you can control, and paying less attention to the outside things you can’t control.
Here are 10 such “inside out” secrets for successful growth.
 1. Change how you think about growth
Consider growth a constant – not something you switch on or off depending on conditions. For example, many business owners reduce offerings at the first sign of an economic storm, or overspend when the outlook seems rosy. But a steady-as-she-goes approach makes for long term success.
2. Check your ego; seek out sound advice
You know your business inside and out, but that doesn’t make you an expert at running every part of it. Smart business owners know what they don’t know. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and then take it.
3. Remember your first fans
Many entrepreneurs seem to forget who helped them get started. If you have investors, keep them apprised of what’s going on. Good communication is critical.  A good investor group can provide mentoring and other resources, so keep them involved.
4. Share your knowledge
In today’s social media driven world, success and influence are in the hands of those who share ideas and information. So when you’ve found a great tool or solution, or gained insight, tweet it, blog about it, author an article, post it to Facebook.
5. Hire help to watch your money
Lack of strong accounting and finance can be the only thing keeping you from reaching your financial goals. Find well qualified people who share your vision and then step back and take their advice.
6. Know when to persevere
Stick to your mission. Many would-be success stories end prematurely because they give up when challenges mount. Don’t let hurdles stop you. Arm yourself with market knowledge and an expert team and push through.
7. But recognize when to change direction
Still, there are times you may need to change direction or call it day, and having the courage to do so can be liberating. You may end up with a clearer picture of what will or won’t work.
8. Keep cash on hand
One of the biggest mistakes growing businesses make is to run out of cash. While the sun is still shining on your business or before your financial picture has a chance to turn sour, meet with lenders and/or landlords proactively to see if there are opportunities to restructure debt, payment terms, etc. Having cash on hand is critical for staying afloat and continuing to grow.
9. Get more when you have more
Don’t wait until cash balances get low to secure more funding. The best time to get more is when you don’t need it. Securing a line of credit while you still have money in the bank gives you the ability to negotiate a larger line and better terms. It also gives you the ability to make payroll during slow times and to have access to cash as needed. In addition, it gives you an opportunity to develop a business relationship with a bank.
10. Sell when you get the chance
Many business owners miss, or worse – pass up – incredible chances to sell their company because they are not prepared to adequately evaluate the opportunity. Know where you stand in the marketplace at all times. That includes what your potential is, and what it will take to reach your potential.  That way, when opportunity knocks, you’ll know

For Advice on How to Improve Sales & Increase Profits Click Here

Rates and The Election

The Effects of the Upcoming Election on Interest Rates

Prime Minister Julia Gillard caught both the financial and political community by surprise by calling for elections on 14 September 2013. 

Many analysts believe that the reason underlying her announcement is the increased criticism her minority Labor government faces about their abandonment of the pledge to deliver a budget surplus in 2013. 

When Treasurer Wayne Swan initially presented the 2013 budget in July 2012, it included a forecast of $1.5 billion. In October, he announced the surplus would only be $1 billion. 

Unfortunately, this trend has continued and the now a $10 billion deficit is forecast for 2013.


While Paul Bloxham of HBSC Australia sees this is a significant improvement over the 2012 deficit of $44 billion, those in the opposition parties have not been as generous in their assessment.

How Labor Got It Wrong

Much of the Labor budget depends upon generating revenue from taxes on the mining industry. As China's economy has begun to cool somewhat, the demand for raw materials has dropped, especially for iron ore. As a result, investors are pulling back from the mining industry, which was spurred by announcements by Rio Pinto and BHP Billiton of their plans to slow expansion and cut jobs. This slowdown in the mining industry has revealed the flaws in Labor's scheme to rely on taxes from the mining industry.

Both Parties have lost the electorates trust in the past

The Liberal Alternative

The opposition Liberal party advocates for cuts in government spending to close the budget deficit in a manner similar to the austerity schemes of the governments in Europe and the UK.
Given that the Australian economic growth has slowed to about 3 per cent and unemployment as risen to 5.5 per cent, which is the highest it has been in the past three years, the wisdom of government spending cuts has been brought into question. 

In October 2012, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Olivier Blanchard, discussed his observation that the austerity measures enacted in the European Union have done more harm than good by choking  economic recoveries by withdrawing the lifeblood of government stimulus spending that makes up for reduced consumer demand.

RBA Interest Rate Trends

The Reserve Bank of Australia's interest reduction cycle seems to support the viewpoint that the Australian economy needs some stimulus in order to stimulate continued economic growth.
With its 0.25-point cut of interest rates to 2 per cent in December 2012, the rates have reached lows not seen since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

While the global economy has shown some optimistic signs of late, Westpac's Bill Evens does not think they are sufficient to support growth in demand.

Bottom Line: Interest Rates and the Elections

The forecasts from analysts for the election and interest rates are as different as the parties themselves.

Norma Martin Whetton, an interest rate strategist, thinks that a lengthy election campaign will put a damper on consumer confidence.

Normally interest rate drops favour the incumbent, but if the RBA drops interest rates as a result of the slow growth and high unemployment, the advantage goes to the opposition.

ANZ's Andrew Salter thinks that the call for early elections suggests a change in government, and this will affect the interests rates as business investment planners make their assessments of how austerity measures will affect the overall economy.

Overall, investors can expect to see broad swings in interest rates during the next several months in reaction to the developments in the election campaigns

" China's latest announcement just pricked Australia's property bubble.

News for the Australian Property Market raises concerns as China announces a new energy conserving policy that will cut demand of coal dramatically after 2015.

Speaking about the Chinese Government Energy Conservation plan Mr Jiang Kejun, as spokesperson for the Chinese Government told the media ''Coal consumption will peak below 4 billion tonnes,'' by 2015.

Over last 12 years demand for coal from china has increased 2.4 billion tonnes, or 163 per cent, the news from China makes it clear that future demand will a return to much more moderate levels.

Commenting on the news, Mr Antonio Santolo, CEO of The Property Advocacy Group of Australia and founder of the popular free advocacy website mypropertycoach.com.au states “that this news will send shock waves throughout our mining regions” indicating a lot of smaller players and start up  projects will struggle to find demand for their product at a price that will make it viable to dig the stuff out of the ground” Santolo further explains how there is already strong evidence of a more balanced property market in the regions, “the money was made in these areas over the last 5 or so years, the people that had the foresight or the luck to hold property at that time done very well, however like any Real Estate purchase the profit is in the buying, so everyone that saw the rise and jumped on the band wagon most likely brought at prices that were not fundamentally sustainable. This is going to leave a lot of people in financial stress if markets start returning to the more sustainable areas”

Santolo predicts a large decrease in demand for long term Rental accommodation with a shift to portable accommodation in regional areas over the next 2 -5 years with miners looking for a flexible workforce, Santolo explains “When guys like Gerry Harvey are getting involved in temporary mining accommodation units there is a reason why, They obviously feel the money is to be made in supplying the accommodation as a business and are not relying on the local market to dictate prices”

Santolo recommends anyone who is holding property as an investment in these areas needs to speak to an independent advisor now, “like any problem, tackling it head on will make the outcome a lot better that sticking your head in the sand”

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