Marketing

Actually I’m not exactly suggesting that you should make your customers cry but the fact you’re reading this demonstrates the power of emotions.

Many believe that marketing is expensive or difficult. It really isn’t.

Avoid being bland.

Make an impact by being memorable.

Develop a strong emotional appeal.

Make people feel something.

That’s all you need to do.

There are many ways to do this, no matter what it is that you need to ‘sell’.

Telling a story or giving a little information that c…

Ask any tourism business what's their most effective, lowest cost marketing method and they'll almost certainly answer 'word of mouth'. It's easy, it's free - and it 'just happens'. Or does it?

Most businesses just hope for word of mouth publicity and recommendations from satisfied customers. They do a good job, and hope word of mouth referrals will follow. Now we have 'word of mouth on steroids', in the form of social media so it's become even more important to impress.

Surprisingly few peopl…

One easy thing you might have forgotten to do…

I get a LOT of emails from tourism businesses. Many small businesses use gmail, hotmail and other email addresses instead of using their domain name (e.g. susan@tourismnetwork.co.uk).

While there’s nothing wrong with doing this, it could be having a small impact on your business. It’s not always obvious which business you’re writing from because the email address doesn’t mention the business name. Quite a lot of non-domain name email addresses get…

If you wanted to kill ants*, would you buy 'Ant Killer' or 'Insect Spray'?

If you wanted to enjoy paddle boarding, would you get lessons from 'Peter the Paddle Boarding Expert' or the 'Outdoor Centre'?

If you wanted to stay somewhere cosy in Masham with an open fire would you google 'cottage in Masham with an open fire' or 'places to stay in Yorkshire'?

If you're a normal human being, your answer to each of those questions will have been the first, the most specific description.

Years ago ev…

If you only have a few seconds to convince someone to stay on your website and decide to visit you, what do you need to do to get results?

1. Build confidence

Consistency is key. You need your potential customers to trust you. Simple things help.

Keep the same fonts, photo style and colours through-out your website.

Now might be a good time to click through all the pages of your website to check there’s nothing on there that’s out of place? Maybe you had to add some Covid-info in a hurry and…

Can I trust you? How do I know that you're trustworthy?

Does it matter? If you're running a business, yes. It really does: you can't build a business without building trust.

Few of us are ready to pay good money for something that we're not certain of, or don't trust. We may seem to happily hand over our cash for goods and services online. In our sub-conscious we're constantly asking ourselves questions.

Is this really as good as it looks?

Is it worth the money?

Is the company genuine? Is it…

Are you thinking about putting up your prices?

Charging the right price is part of running a successful business. You’re in it to make money. Yet so many business owners hesitate to charge realistic prices or to increase their prices. Here are a few tips to help you feel more confident. 

Relax. You’re sensible

First things first. You’re sensible. You’re realistic.

So you’re unlikely to massively hike your prices in one fell swoop. The very fact you’re reading this means you like to consider …