Some of you may know that I have an interest in older large BMW's. Once they are over 10 years old their value plummets and they are fantastic, super luxury value. Not without issues of course as some repairs can be un-viable.
There has always been debate on the BMW forums about green issues with these cars as yes, they do drink a lot of fuel. But the discussion is much deeper on 'built to last'. Here's a recent post from me on the wider subject:
Although there is a ground swell requirement for longevity. I think it is currently still over ridden by a much larger element of materialism.
Our very materialistic and status driven lifestyles create a burning desire to have the 'latest' even if it's not really 'better'. An iPhone4 is just so last week. Sometimes that 'desire' is to be seen as 'going' green. Wind turbines in back gardens was a classic example just a few years back. A complete waste of time and money but looked good.
In the short to medium outlook I don't see that's going to change without major outside inflences - economy meltdown (even more than the current one) or god forbid, world conflict. Those scenarios rapidly change our focus to more fundamental needs.
As things stand our basic requirements as defined by Maslow's hierarchy of needs are fulfilled sufficiently for us not to worry and our 'needs' are channelled into the 'desire' sectors.
I see the current short term build quality being hidden by a smoke and mirrors exercise to make us feel we are being green by buying products that have more effiecient running costs without consideration to the real energy cost of manufacture, distribution or end of (short) life disposal. It's far more profitable for companies to work this way. It is well documented that the most cost effective method of car ownership is to purchase from new and keep, well maintained, until it's natural and extended end of life.
Big business is no longer owned, run and controlled by individuals who are proud and take responsibility. Todays businesses are run simply to provide profit for investment funds rather than interested and involved shareholders.
I don't have a real answer to this other than to resist for as long as possible. Keep our older cars on the road and enjoy them whilst we can and laugh in the face of those who bought them in their first years of life for massive amounts of money to improve their personal status and threw that money into the hands of the main dealer network when they sold it back in a couple of years.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Riotous Thoughts.....
Lots of talk about disenfranchised kids, no job prospects and increased tuition fees. All used as an excuse for appalling anti-social behaviour against what is really their own community.
Where has it all gone wrong?
My personal perception is that of a change in culture generally to one of 'mine by right' rather than the one I grew up in which was more 'work hard to achieve what you want'.
Our obsession with Celebrity, and apparent Instant Celebrity, has fuelled a desire to go from zero to hero overnight with what appears to be little effort, undermining that core value of hard work.
In reality, most of those 'instant' celebrities - music, theatre, business or sport - have a much different back story. Many of them have worked hard since they were little kids to achieve their current fame. Most have given up much of what would be considered a normal childhood in the pursuit of their goal. They may have had difficult times in their family life and upbringing but it's their strength and goal that has allowed them to overcome adversity and achieve greatness. We need those celebrities to get that message across loud and clear so there can be no misconceptions.
So what of our current crop of looters, arsonists and gangland thugs?
Yes, they have probably had difficult upbringings too. Sadly though, through the last handful of successive generations there has been a steady move to remove the need to work hard to achieve or even survive. It's too easy now to just sit back and let the state provide a mediocre existence . I have heard stories from people I know where it's actually better financially for them to be out of work than in. Where's the incentive in that?
If their family culture is now one of not working, it has to be a strong and committed kid that breaks away and fights through. The possibility that they are concerned over uni tuition fees is remote. That goal was removed from them at an early age.
Add to that our pussy-footing politically correct systems where responsibility seems now to be in everybody else's hands rather than our own and it's no wonder we are in the state we are.
How do I feel about our rioting thugs?
If they choose to go onto the streets with intent to cause chaos, ruin peoples lives, property, homes and businesses then expect to get hurt - or worse. When they are caught, expect to be punished - hard. I hope that any self respecting solicitor out there won't be trying to get them off either. If they do they are no better than the thugs themselves.
I'm sorry, but they have to be taught that, for most of us, if you want something in life you have to work for it, not have it handed to us on a plate. Even if they are out of work, there are still plenty of ways they can make a difference to their community whilst still receiving benefits. Maybe that could help them understand the potential value that they have to others and within themselves. That just might make them employable or give them the courage to start up a business themselves.
Here's hoping....
Where has it all gone wrong?
My personal perception is that of a change in culture generally to one of 'mine by right' rather than the one I grew up in which was more 'work hard to achieve what you want'.
Our obsession with Celebrity, and apparent Instant Celebrity, has fuelled a desire to go from zero to hero overnight with what appears to be little effort, undermining that core value of hard work.
In reality, most of those 'instant' celebrities - music, theatre, business or sport - have a much different back story. Many of them have worked hard since they were little kids to achieve their current fame. Most have given up much of what would be considered a normal childhood in the pursuit of their goal. They may have had difficult times in their family life and upbringing but it's their strength and goal that has allowed them to overcome adversity and achieve greatness. We need those celebrities to get that message across loud and clear so there can be no misconceptions.
So what of our current crop of looters, arsonists and gangland thugs?
Yes, they have probably had difficult upbringings too. Sadly though, through the last handful of successive generations there has been a steady move to remove the need to work hard to achieve or even survive. It's too easy now to just sit back and let the state provide a mediocre existence . I have heard stories from people I know where it's actually better financially for them to be out of work than in. Where's the incentive in that?
If their family culture is now one of not working, it has to be a strong and committed kid that breaks away and fights through. The possibility that they are concerned over uni tuition fees is remote. That goal was removed from them at an early age.
Add to that our pussy-footing politically correct systems where responsibility seems now to be in everybody else's hands rather than our own and it's no wonder we are in the state we are.
How do I feel about our rioting thugs?
If they choose to go onto the streets with intent to cause chaos, ruin peoples lives, property, homes and businesses then expect to get hurt - or worse. When they are caught, expect to be punished - hard. I hope that any self respecting solicitor out there won't be trying to get them off either. If they do they are no better than the thugs themselves.
I'm sorry, but they have to be taught that, for most of us, if you want something in life you have to work for it, not have it handed to us on a plate. Even if they are out of work, there are still plenty of ways they can make a difference to their community whilst still receiving benefits. Maybe that could help them understand the potential value that they have to others and within themselves. That just might make them employable or give them the courage to start up a business themselves.
Here's hoping....
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Are you complacent about your business and your customers?
Are you complacent about your business and your customers?
A recent new venture of mine has highlighted that many businesses do just that.
I identified a niche - that Holy Grail of business ideas.
The niche was created when one business, that had gone part way to fulfilling that niche, ceased on the death of the owner. For 12 months I looked at the void that was left and fully expected one of the remaining providers to snap up the opportunity.
But no, they just carried on doing what they've always done, happy with the extra market share that fell into their hands as they were the only alternatives.
Just under a year ago I said 'enough is enough'. If no one else is going to do it, then I will.
So the planning started.
The venture was launched at the back of 2010 and the formula, as I predicted, has proved very successful.
Now at that point, if I was one of the existing businesses, I would have at last woken up to the fact that I needed to re-think my offering by working hard to change, and update so that I could compete at the same level.
The bizarre thing is that they're not! All they are doing is trying to make it difficult for me to continue and, you might not believe this, bullying their current customers into boycotting me (both totally unsuccessful I might add).
What can you learn from this?
Every business MUST avoid sitting back on it's laurels.
It's all too easy to be complacent and believe that the status quo will continue. Reality is that there is always someone looking at your success, trying to work out how they can improve or modify what you do and carve themselves sufficient market share to make a decent profit.
You MUST constantly look at ways to improve your product or service to retain your customers.
Businesses either decline or grow. They very rarely stand still for long.
A recent new venture of mine has highlighted that many businesses do just that.
I identified a niche - that Holy Grail of business ideas.
The niche was created when one business, that had gone part way to fulfilling that niche, ceased on the death of the owner. For 12 months I looked at the void that was left and fully expected one of the remaining providers to snap up the opportunity.
But no, they just carried on doing what they've always done, happy with the extra market share that fell into their hands as they were the only alternatives.
Just under a year ago I said 'enough is enough'. If no one else is going to do it, then I will.
So the planning started.
The venture was launched at the back of 2010 and the formula, as I predicted, has proved very successful.
Now at that point, if I was one of the existing businesses, I would have at last woken up to the fact that I needed to re-think my offering by working hard to change, and update so that I could compete at the same level.
The bizarre thing is that they're not! All they are doing is trying to make it difficult for me to continue and, you might not believe this, bullying their current customers into boycotting me (both totally unsuccessful I might add).
What can you learn from this?
Every business MUST avoid sitting back on it's laurels.
It's all too easy to be complacent and believe that the status quo will continue. Reality is that there is always someone looking at your success, trying to work out how they can improve or modify what you do and carve themselves sufficient market share to make a decent profit.
You MUST constantly look at ways to improve your product or service to retain your customers.
Businesses either decline or grow. They very rarely stand still for long.
Friday, January 14, 2011
We live in an age of instant response. If we want something, we want it NOW - not next week.
We live in an age of instant response. If we want something, we want it NOW - not next week.
My work with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) over the last 15 years has taught me the importance of a fast response to enquiries to ensure that prospects turn into customers.
I'm the first to hold up my hands and say that I don't always do it right, but I try my best!
I remember, back in 2000, listening to a presentation by one of the key global specialist in CRM. She described how mystery shopping was one of the roles they undertook on behalf of major corporate clients and laid out some of the results.
Now remember that this was in 2000 when the use of the Internet was substantially lower than it is now.
Her company ran an exercise responding to advertising that actively encouraged potential customers to contact them via their website by really making a big thing of their web address.
Back then the results were pretty appalling, with plenty of no-replies or replies that took more than 7 days. Both of which would have probably driven the potential customer to seek out an alternative supplier.
Things changed dramatically in the following 10 years and the value of web enquiries and an understanding of the need for rapid response has been understood. The value has even filtered down to micro businesses with a poor response being a rarity now.
10 years on and new ways of attracting customer response has emerged with the likes of Social Networking.
Many businesses, large and small, have clearly identified the potential provided by access to the communities created within networks like FaceBook and Twitter.
They have been building their pages and creating content, all of which generates interest and possibly enquiries too.
So if you, as a potential customer, read interesting stuff on FaceBook and would like to talk more about it, what would you do?
Would you go and find their website and fill in a contact form, call them or email them direct?
Or would you send them a FaceBook Message?
It's the last option that I took recently with a major business in Norwich - simply because it was so convenient within FaceBook at the time.
Did I get a response? Well, 2 weeks on and I still haven't heard from them and I've moved on.
10 years on and we haven't really progressed, it's just that the problem lays in a different contact area - oh dear....
If you actively market your business through social networking do you have a solid response mechanism to react quickly before you loose a sale?
My work with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) over the last 15 years has taught me the importance of a fast response to enquiries to ensure that prospects turn into customers.
I'm the first to hold up my hands and say that I don't always do it right, but I try my best!
I remember, back in 2000, listening to a presentation by one of the key global specialist in CRM. She described how mystery shopping was one of the roles they undertook on behalf of major corporate clients and laid out some of the results.
Now remember that this was in 2000 when the use of the Internet was substantially lower than it is now.
Her company ran an exercise responding to advertising that actively encouraged potential customers to contact them via their website by really making a big thing of their web address.
Back then the results were pretty appalling, with plenty of no-replies or replies that took more than 7 days. Both of which would have probably driven the potential customer to seek out an alternative supplier.
Things changed dramatically in the following 10 years and the value of web enquiries and an understanding of the need for rapid response has been understood. The value has even filtered down to micro businesses with a poor response being a rarity now.
10 years on and new ways of attracting customer response has emerged with the likes of Social Networking.
Many businesses, large and small, have clearly identified the potential provided by access to the communities created within networks like FaceBook and Twitter.
They have been building their pages and creating content, all of which generates interest and possibly enquiries too.
So if you, as a potential customer, read interesting stuff on FaceBook and would like to talk more about it, what would you do?
Would you go and find their website and fill in a contact form, call them or email them direct?
Or would you send them a FaceBook Message?
It's the last option that I took recently with a major business in Norwich - simply because it was so convenient within FaceBook at the time.
Did I get a response? Well, 2 weeks on and I still haven't heard from them and I've moved on.
10 years on and we haven't really progressed, it's just that the problem lays in a different contact area - oh dear....
If you actively market your business through social networking do you have a solid response mechanism to react quickly before you loose a sale?
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Has Google changed the way it ranks websites?
There has been an email going around the last few days scaremongering that Google has radically changed it's natural listing ranking format by including 'Google Places Pages'.
Google Places Pages are what we have know for a long time as Google Business Listings.
They have been a useful long term SEO tactic for local businesses such as trades and B2B suppliers. Not many people had latched on to the fact that Google has, for a long time, shown listings and a small local map with markers when a geographic qualifier was included in the search term.
Like any SEO activity, the 'secret' to success to being shown in that map is relevance. A good description, keywords and choice of categories is more likely to bring a listing higher. Add to that a few reviews and the always important external inbound links to the website from influential sites, and you have a top listing when someone types in 'Plumber Gorleston' for example. The more refined the geographic term - the better chance you have of success.
So is this new?
No not really. All that's happened is that Google have decided to give it a little more relevance than they had done previously.
Any web designer worth his salt would have organised a Google Business Listing for you anyway and encouraged you to get your customers to login and leave a good review. Plus, of course, look for good directories and sites to gain links from. Inbound links are good for your website and your Business Listing too.
Google Places Pages are covered in my email Website Marketing Course which all my clients receive now, once their site is up and running.
So looking at this email, it's more about trying to sell you a link on their directories rather than 'new' news. But a useful reminder of it's importance all the same.
Need help setting up a Google Places Page, or Google Business Listing if you prefer it in old money, then just call or email me.
Google Places Pages are what we have know for a long time as Google Business Listings.
They have been a useful long term SEO tactic for local businesses such as trades and B2B suppliers. Not many people had latched on to the fact that Google has, for a long time, shown listings and a small local map with markers when a geographic qualifier was included in the search term.
Like any SEO activity, the 'secret' to success to being shown in that map is relevance. A good description, keywords and choice of categories is more likely to bring a listing higher. Add to that a few reviews and the always important external inbound links to the website from influential sites, and you have a top listing when someone types in 'Plumber Gorleston' for example. The more refined the geographic term - the better chance you have of success.
So is this new?
No not really. All that's happened is that Google have decided to give it a little more relevance than they had done previously.
Any web designer worth his salt would have organised a Google Business Listing for you anyway and encouraged you to get your customers to login and leave a good review. Plus, of course, look for good directories and sites to gain links from. Inbound links are good for your website and your Business Listing too.
Google Places Pages are covered in my email Website Marketing Course which all my clients receive now, once their site is up and running.
So looking at this email, it's more about trying to sell you a link on their directories rather than 'new' news. But a useful reminder of it's importance all the same.
Need help setting up a Google Places Page, or Google Business Listing if you prefer it in old money, then just call or email me.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Be Careful With Your Web Content
One of my FaceBook friends re-posted this article today (you can click past the popup advert).
It's important that everyone with a website should read it and follow the results as they unfold.
Creating content for your website MUST be from you and your business, not pinched from someone else's site. That's an infringement of copyright. The Internet is NOT in a copyright free bubble and writers have as much ownership over their words (and images) as if they were in a printed publication.
That doesn't mean to say you can never use others text and articles.
There are plenty of resources where writers are happy for you to use their work provided that you credit them accordingly and include any web links that they ask for.
Try this one for example http://www.ezinearticles.com/
And for images http://www.istockphoto.com/
So there is no excuse.
The other side of this is that you must protect your own work online by ensuring that it clearly says the content of your web site or blog is your copyright. That way you have at least a fighting chance of protecting it.
It's important that everyone with a website should read it and follow the results as they unfold.
Creating content for your website MUST be from you and your business, not pinched from someone else's site. That's an infringement of copyright. The Internet is NOT in a copyright free bubble and writers have as much ownership over their words (and images) as if they were in a printed publication.
That doesn't mean to say you can never use others text and articles.
There are plenty of resources where writers are happy for you to use their work provided that you credit them accordingly and include any web links that they ask for.
Try this one for example http://www.ezinearticles.com/
And for images http://www.istockphoto.com/
So there is no excuse.
The other side of this is that you must protect your own work online by ensuring that it clearly says the content of your web site or blog is your copyright. That way you have at least a fighting chance of protecting it.
What makes some people so obnoxious?
The bloke in front of me in the gastro pub queue that we go to most weeks, to meet up with our daughter, came back and moaned that his wine was short measured. It was one of those multi size glasses with lines to show 125ml and 175ml.
He didn't do it politely, he was positively aggressive.
It was pointed out to him that it was small wine (125ml) and that's what he'd been charged for but he started to accuse the barman of giving him a drink not listed on the wall mounted drinks menu (in fact it was shown on there).
I felt I couldn't just stand back and see the barman, who has always been pleasant and helpful to me, be treated in this way. I suggested that, as the drink wasn't short measured and neither had he been over charged, he shouldn't worry about it.
Then it was my turn to get the verbal abuse. I was told it had nothing to do with me and maintained that the staff were unhelpful and useless.
I pointed out that I go there most weeks and the staff are great. He reckons he goes there every week too.
But he's not any more apparently, because they've banned him and his family.
It's amazing the difference in attitude you see and receive depending upon your own towards them isn't it.
He didn't do it politely, he was positively aggressive.
It was pointed out to him that it was small wine (125ml) and that's what he'd been charged for but he started to accuse the barman of giving him a drink not listed on the wall mounted drinks menu (in fact it was shown on there).
I felt I couldn't just stand back and see the barman, who has always been pleasant and helpful to me, be treated in this way. I suggested that, as the drink wasn't short measured and neither had he been over charged, he shouldn't worry about it.
Then it was my turn to get the verbal abuse. I was told it had nothing to do with me and maintained that the staff were unhelpful and useless.
I pointed out that I go there most weeks and the staff are great. He reckons he goes there every week too.
But he's not any more apparently, because they've banned him and his family.
It's amazing the difference in attitude you see and receive depending upon your own towards them isn't it.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Is your product or service 'One Size Fits All' ?
A meeting with a sizable Norfolk based business during the week reminded me of an analogy I have used in the past when running sales and marketing workshops.
Making your product or service appeal to a much wider audience can be a challenge for many, and even seem unnecessary to others.
Niche is king and specialising can be the route to fame and fortune.
But does making that product 'one size fits all' mean you are missing out on extra buyers and profit?
Think for a moment about a flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK.
It's simply an aeroplane that takes it's passengers quickly and efficiently between the two points in order to achieve something beyond the flight itself.
For some it's an essential to their job and the important part is the work at the destination. For others it could be the first part of a very special holiday. It could even be an trip to visit a relative in ill health at an inconvenient time financially.
But they will all travel on the same 'plane, on the same route and to the same destination.
Some of those people will want to make the flight part of the experience and really enjoy it, others will need to relax as much as possible to be fresh for the challenges on arrival, some will need to manage the trip as cheaply as possible.
The mainstream airlines deal with this extremely well by dividing up that metal tube into First, Business and Cattle Class. Each section has it's own level of service, comfort and added value with a price tag to match - but it's still just a flight between the two points.
Understanding your customers is the key.
You probably feel that the vast majority of your customers fit into the 'cattle class' bracket and you may well be right. The airlines allocate more seats to that category than to the others. But they still realise that there is value, and profit, in providing the higher levels too.
Think about your own product and customers. How could you offer a First and Business class variation? Or conversely, if that's where your products are now, how could you offer a budget version - maybe under a different brand so that you don't devalue your current status?
What would that include? What would you need to charge? What would you have to do in your marketing and sales to ensure that those likely, and in a financial position, to take up the offer could see the benefits and value.
And remember that, if you are going up a level, those benefits will not be the ground level result of getting from A to B. They are more likely to be about status, dreams, lifestyle and goals. You need to tap into them.
If you need inspiration visit the website for Bentley cars. That site doesn't sell cars. It's sells the feeling of pride and pleasure you will have from owning one. Then go to Kia cars and see the difference!
If you need help working out how best to sell your products, just ask.
Making your product or service appeal to a much wider audience can be a challenge for many, and even seem unnecessary to others.
Niche is king and specialising can be the route to fame and fortune.
But does making that product 'one size fits all' mean you are missing out on extra buyers and profit?
Think for a moment about a flight from London Heathrow to New York JFK.
It's simply an aeroplane that takes it's passengers quickly and efficiently between the two points in order to achieve something beyond the flight itself.
For some it's an essential to their job and the important part is the work at the destination. For others it could be the first part of a very special holiday. It could even be an trip to visit a relative in ill health at an inconvenient time financially.
But they will all travel on the same 'plane, on the same route and to the same destination.
Some of those people will want to make the flight part of the experience and really enjoy it, others will need to relax as much as possible to be fresh for the challenges on arrival, some will need to manage the trip as cheaply as possible.
The mainstream airlines deal with this extremely well by dividing up that metal tube into First, Business and Cattle Class. Each section has it's own level of service, comfort and added value with a price tag to match - but it's still just a flight between the two points.
Understanding your customers is the key.
You probably feel that the vast majority of your customers fit into the 'cattle class' bracket and you may well be right. The airlines allocate more seats to that category than to the others. But they still realise that there is value, and profit, in providing the higher levels too.
Think about your own product and customers. How could you offer a First and Business class variation? Or conversely, if that's where your products are now, how could you offer a budget version - maybe under a different brand so that you don't devalue your current status?
What would that include? What would you need to charge? What would you have to do in your marketing and sales to ensure that those likely, and in a financial position, to take up the offer could see the benefits and value.
And remember that, if you are going up a level, those benefits will not be the ground level result of getting from A to B. They are more likely to be about status, dreams, lifestyle and goals. You need to tap into them.
If you need inspiration visit the website for Bentley cars. That site doesn't sell cars. It's sells the feeling of pride and pleasure you will have from owning one. Then go to Kia cars and see the difference!
If you need help working out how best to sell your products, just ask.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Get yourself found on Google - but differently!
Here's a damn good reason why you should have a clear sign on your business premises.
I have used a local computer parts reseller in Great Yarmouth recently and they were very helpful and friendly.
Looking for an external USB sound card for my laptop to improve the sound quality, I thought I would give them a call to see if they had what I needed to avoid a longer trip into Norwich.
But I couldn't remember their business name or, although I could drive you there, their address either.
A search on the 'net didn't throw them up instantly so I took a trip down Google Streets to see if I could work out at least the road name.
Didn't need to! Their sign was showing clearly on the end of the building. Job done and they got the phone call - not one of their competitors in the town.
How many of us have visited a shop or office in real life and then can't remember it's name later? However you can clearly remember where it is.
If you work from home you may not want to do that, but it seems like a really good idea to me otherwise.
I have used a local computer parts reseller in Great Yarmouth recently and they were very helpful and friendly.
Looking for an external USB sound card for my laptop to improve the sound quality, I thought I would give them a call to see if they had what I needed to avoid a longer trip into Norwich.
But I couldn't remember their business name or, although I could drive you there, their address either.
A search on the 'net didn't throw them up instantly so I took a trip down Google Streets to see if I could work out at least the road name.
Didn't need to! Their sign was showing clearly on the end of the building. Job done and they got the phone call - not one of their competitors in the town.
How many of us have visited a shop or office in real life and then can't remember it's name later? However you can clearly remember where it is.
If you work from home you may not want to do that, but it seems like a really good idea to me otherwise.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Am I to be the next James Bond?
Am I to be the next James Bond?
A deviation from my normal business based blogs today - but interesting.
We all dream but most are forgotten within moments of waking. The vivid one I had last night hasn't gone away (perhaps it was one from the film 'Inception').
I'm sitting in the doorway of an aircraft. A bit like the large sliding door of a rescue helicopter but at 10,000 feet and at aircraft speeds. I have a camera in my hands and I'm taking photographs of the ground. It has a spy feel about it, as though I shouldn't have been doing it.
I'm harnessed so that I wouldn't fall out but feel I'm slipping through. I'm not too worried though as I have a parachute on my back.
I don't remember the next 'scene', which is a shame as I would have liked to experienced it, because I must have slipped out of the harness and parachuted down to the ground.
So here I am looking across a very 'Eastern Block' village/small town with a couple of old weather beaten workers toiling in the fields. I approached them and tried to converse in English and then French (my only other foreign language of sorts) but they don't understand and their accent is definitely Eastern European/Russian.
I feel apprehensive. I'm watching carefully for signs of 'The KGB' perhaps?
I have obviously acquired a Babel Fish in my ear (a device used in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy that enables you to understand any language) as I'm now conversing freely with the farmers.
They seem pleased to see me and invite me to meet the Town Mayor where I'm treated a bit like a hero.
But all the time I'm watching over my shoulder for the arrival of the KGB who will know my real purpose for being here and I fear what they will do to me.
A bell rings and I feel anxious.
Blasted alarm.
Do you think I will see part two tonight? I really hope so. It was just getting exciting.
I've no doubt that those of you into dreams will tell me what that's all about but, whatever it means, I enjoyed it!
By the way, I am available for bit parts and walk ons if anyone is in the film industry. But I do draw the line at walking out of the sea in Speedos.
http://www.roygough.co.uk/
A deviation from my normal business based blogs today - but interesting.
We all dream but most are forgotten within moments of waking. The vivid one I had last night hasn't gone away (perhaps it was one from the film 'Inception').
I'm sitting in the doorway of an aircraft. A bit like the large sliding door of a rescue helicopter but at 10,000 feet and at aircraft speeds. I have a camera in my hands and I'm taking photographs of the ground. It has a spy feel about it, as though I shouldn't have been doing it.
I'm harnessed so that I wouldn't fall out but feel I'm slipping through. I'm not too worried though as I have a parachute on my back.
I don't remember the next 'scene', which is a shame as I would have liked to experienced it, because I must have slipped out of the harness and parachuted down to the ground.
So here I am looking across a very 'Eastern Block' village/small town with a couple of old weather beaten workers toiling in the fields. I approached them and tried to converse in English and then French (my only other foreign language of sorts) but they don't understand and their accent is definitely Eastern European/Russian.
I feel apprehensive. I'm watching carefully for signs of 'The KGB' perhaps?
I have obviously acquired a Babel Fish in my ear (a device used in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy that enables you to understand any language) as I'm now conversing freely with the farmers.
They seem pleased to see me and invite me to meet the Town Mayor where I'm treated a bit like a hero.
But all the time I'm watching over my shoulder for the arrival of the KGB who will know my real purpose for being here and I fear what they will do to me.
A bell rings and I feel anxious.
Blasted alarm.
Do you think I will see part two tonight? I really hope so. It was just getting exciting.
I've no doubt that those of you into dreams will tell me what that's all about but, whatever it means, I enjoyed it!
By the way, I am available for bit parts and walk ons if anyone is in the film industry. But I do draw the line at walking out of the sea in Speedos.
http://www.roygough.co.uk/
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Reflecting on a life of change
As I work my way through my 60th year (blimey that's scary) I reflect on the changes I've seen in that time. Has this last half century and a bit seen the greatest change in the way the human race lives and works?
When I think back to my very early years, and starting at infants school as it was known then, I was part of a family that had a car and telephone - not because we were rich - simply because my father worked as a local representative for one of the Fleet Street newspaper publishers. They were the tools provided as essentials for his job. Amongst my contemporaries, those luxuries were very few indeed
Our holidays consisted of visits to relatives back in London or in Eastbourne where my Grand Parents lived. You might find this difficult to believe but, in order for us to use the car for our holiday, my Dad had to work some of the time whilst we were away to secure it's use!
I can remember one of my class mates holding us all in awe with his tales of a rare holiday to Brussels to visit the Worlds Fair. He was the only person I can recall ever having a holiday beyond the South East of England.
Dad's area that he covered included across to the Fens, Wisbech and March. That meant staying away from home for several days and neither Mum nor I had any real idea where he was or when he would be home.
The World beyond Norfolk seemed a very long way away and I didn't really know much about what it looked like, other than from books, until we bought our first television in the later part of the 50's.
I used to read the Eagle comic every week and wonder at the marvels of communication and travel that it depicted and assumed that they really were impossible, certainly in my life time.
How wrong I was.
We think nothing of travelling all the way around the world and feel deprived if we are out of contact with our friends and family, were ever they are, for even a few hours.
Have we seen the greatest ever change in humanity and it's environment?
It certainly feels like it.
Has it been for the good?
The jury is still out on that one, but my feeling, when I look back to those naive and relaxed years, is that maybe there have been as many downsides as there have been benefits.
Let's hope the next generations manage to harness the power we have at our finger tips and use it for the good of us all rather than for just selfish means.
When I think back to my very early years, and starting at infants school as it was known then, I was part of a family that had a car and telephone - not because we were rich - simply because my father worked as a local representative for one of the Fleet Street newspaper publishers. They were the tools provided as essentials for his job. Amongst my contemporaries, those luxuries were very few indeed
Our holidays consisted of visits to relatives back in London or in Eastbourne where my Grand Parents lived. You might find this difficult to believe but, in order for us to use the car for our holiday, my Dad had to work some of the time whilst we were away to secure it's use!
I can remember one of my class mates holding us all in awe with his tales of a rare holiday to Brussels to visit the Worlds Fair. He was the only person I can recall ever having a holiday beyond the South East of England.
Dad's area that he covered included across to the Fens, Wisbech and March. That meant staying away from home for several days and neither Mum nor I had any real idea where he was or when he would be home.
The World beyond Norfolk seemed a very long way away and I didn't really know much about what it looked like, other than from books, until we bought our first television in the later part of the 50's.
I used to read the Eagle comic every week and wonder at the marvels of communication and travel that it depicted and assumed that they really were impossible, certainly in my life time.
How wrong I was.
We think nothing of travelling all the way around the world and feel deprived if we are out of contact with our friends and family, were ever they are, for even a few hours.
Have we seen the greatest ever change in humanity and it's environment?
It certainly feels like it.
Has it been for the good?
The jury is still out on that one, but my feeling, when I look back to those naive and relaxed years, is that maybe there have been as many downsides as there have been benefits.
Let's hope the next generations manage to harness the power we have at our finger tips and use it for the good of us all rather than for just selfish means.
Friday, August 13, 2010
I feel jealous.
Why? Because I spoke to a lady today who knows she is to be made redundant after many years in the public sector and is planning to start her own business when that happens in a few months.
But why should I feel jealous about that?
Most of us in business work on the 'just in time' model.
Sometimes we come up with new ideas, products or directions and they need to be actioned NOW. Maybe because financially we need to, or perhaps it's a small window of opportunity that someone else will fill if we don't act right away.
That means we have little time to make really good preparations and build the confidence building collateral our prospects might look for to justify calling us. So we wing it!
Wouldn't it be nice, just sometimes, to have the luxury of time.
But why should I feel jealous about that?
Most of us in business work on the 'just in time' model.
Sometimes we come up with new ideas, products or directions and they need to be actioned NOW. Maybe because financially we need to, or perhaps it's a small window of opportunity that someone else will fill if we don't act right away.
That means we have little time to make really good preparations and build the confidence building collateral our prospects might look for to justify calling us. So we wing it!
Wouldn't it be nice, just sometimes, to have the luxury of time.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Do you do cold calling?
The quality (or lack of it) of cold calls I seem to be receiving lately is upsetting.
Nobody really likes to receive cold calls I'm sure, so is it not vitally important to excel in that call to make sure you get the result you are looking to achieve?
I had yet another Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) company call me this afternoon.
Without introduction to who they were, they proudly told me that my website wasn't ranking a particular keyword phrase and presumably would have gone on to tell me that they could get it to number one in the Google list within a week.
They obviously hadn't done their homework as the phrase is one of the most competitive on the internet and I have only one sub-page deep in my website targeting it. So the chances of that being sustainably achievable in a short time scale without resorting illegal methods that could potentially get me removed from the index completely - are zero.
Not only that, but they had based their statement simply on the fact that I have, as a short term test at the moment, a Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaign running that targets the phrase.
They didn't ask me what my business goals and plans were and how that keyphrase fitted in with them, nor had they looked at my website to understand what I was really about.
You might get a good idea of how that call ended today. I should have offered to mentor their sales staff perhaps, but I didn't get their company name and when I called 1471 the number had been withheld, surprise, surprise!
I'm occasionally asked to run call campaigns on behalf of my clients, often targeting very high powered individuals within global industries who have an even shorter fuse than me! But I get through and get the job done because I take the time to research and find out what they are up to and what they really need.
Every business needs to do some cold calling at some point and if it's going to be successful it needs care and thought to get good results.
http://www.roygough.co.uk/
Nobody really likes to receive cold calls I'm sure, so is it not vitally important to excel in that call to make sure you get the result you are looking to achieve?
I had yet another Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) company call me this afternoon.
Without introduction to who they were, they proudly told me that my website wasn't ranking a particular keyword phrase and presumably would have gone on to tell me that they could get it to number one in the Google list within a week.
They obviously hadn't done their homework as the phrase is one of the most competitive on the internet and I have only one sub-page deep in my website targeting it. So the chances of that being sustainably achievable in a short time scale without resorting illegal methods that could potentially get me removed from the index completely - are zero.
Not only that, but they had based their statement simply on the fact that I have, as a short term test at the moment, a Pay Per Click (PPC) Campaign running that targets the phrase.
They didn't ask me what my business goals and plans were and how that keyphrase fitted in with them, nor had they looked at my website to understand what I was really about.
You might get a good idea of how that call ended today. I should have offered to mentor their sales staff perhaps, but I didn't get their company name and when I called 1471 the number had been withheld, surprise, surprise!
I'm occasionally asked to run call campaigns on behalf of my clients, often targeting very high powered individuals within global industries who have an even shorter fuse than me! But I get through and get the job done because I take the time to research and find out what they are up to and what they really need.
Every business needs to do some cold calling at some point and if it's going to be successful it needs care and thought to get good results.
http://www.roygough.co.uk/
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Don't make it difficult for your website visitors
Tolerance levels are low. Patience is short. Not accepting that in our prospects can ruin the chances of a sale.
This morning I found a great system to help people with their web marketing. Really impressed with it, I searched around the site to see if there was an affiliate program for me to recommend it onto my contacts and clients.
Then I encountered - 'The Form'
It was lengthy and had a fair splattering of agreements that I had to agree to, which I had expected when money is involved. But, each time I tried to complete the process, it threw up messages saying that something was missing.
OK, that's reasonably normal, but what I hadn't noticed was a message in small type at the top pointing out something else I'd missed in addition to the main error it had highlighted. Not only that, but each time I had to re-accept all the agreements by ticking a bunch of boxes again.
After five attempts to say I was getting exasperated would be an understatement and just about to ditch the whole thing. It's a good job it was a damn good product otherwise I would have been long gone! I do wonder how many potential affiliates they lose?
It strikes me that they hadn't asked someone outside of the business to fill in the form as a test. If they had, it surely would have come to light.
Do you have a form or your site? Have you really looked at the messages that appear if something goes wrong? What about the page that they get taken to once completed? Is it clear what will happen next? Is it clear that the process has been successful?
Website visitors COST MONEY to attract - don't throw that money away.
If you need help or advice on your website marketing contact me via my website here:
http://www.roygough.co.uk/
This morning I found a great system to help people with their web marketing. Really impressed with it, I searched around the site to see if there was an affiliate program for me to recommend it onto my contacts and clients.
Then I encountered - 'The Form'
It was lengthy and had a fair splattering of agreements that I had to agree to, which I had expected when money is involved. But, each time I tried to complete the process, it threw up messages saying that something was missing.
OK, that's reasonably normal, but what I hadn't noticed was a message in small type at the top pointing out something else I'd missed in addition to the main error it had highlighted. Not only that, but each time I had to re-accept all the agreements by ticking a bunch of boxes again.
After five attempts to say I was getting exasperated would be an understatement and just about to ditch the whole thing. It's a good job it was a damn good product otherwise I would have been long gone! I do wonder how many potential affiliates they lose?
It strikes me that they hadn't asked someone outside of the business to fill in the form as a test. If they had, it surely would have come to light.
Do you have a form or your site? Have you really looked at the messages that appear if something goes wrong? What about the page that they get taken to once completed? Is it clear what will happen next? Is it clear that the process has been successful?
Website visitors COST MONEY to attract - don't throw that money away.
If you need help or advice on your website marketing contact me via my website here:
http://www.roygough.co.uk/
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Don't switch off
A client of mine called me today and we were chatting about how his business was doing. He'd been struggling to get enough work in for his family team over the past year. Times have been tough in the building sector.
He told me that he and his wife had been out for a meal a few weeks ago and the locally owned gastro pub they chose was looking a little tired but the food was fantastic.
Remembering what I'd taught him - never miss a business opportunity - he took a note of the owners details and contacted him later to show him their portfolio.
It hasn't got him the pub job - yet - but it did get him a three month contract to do a major project in one of the family homes.
Turns out that the pub is one of three they own in the area and, if all goes well with the current job, he'll be well positioned to take on the renovation work that's planned for them.
Sometimes being in the right place at the right time can get you work.
But, if you 'switch off' when you are out socially, you might not realise that you're in the right place, at the right time, right now!
Terry Rees and his family owned property maintenance and repair business is based just outside Norwich.
http://www.propertymaintenanceandrepair.co.uk/
He told me that he and his wife had been out for a meal a few weeks ago and the locally owned gastro pub they chose was looking a little tired but the food was fantastic.
Remembering what I'd taught him - never miss a business opportunity - he took a note of the owners details and contacted him later to show him their portfolio.
It hasn't got him the pub job - yet - but it did get him a three month contract to do a major project in one of the family homes.
Turns out that the pub is one of three they own in the area and, if all goes well with the current job, he'll be well positioned to take on the renovation work that's planned for them.
Sometimes being in the right place at the right time can get you work.
But, if you 'switch off' when you are out socially, you might not realise that you're in the right place, at the right time, right now!
Terry Rees and his family owned property maintenance and repair business is based just outside Norwich.
http://www.propertymaintenanceandrepair.co.uk/
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Why is CRM important to your business?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is critical to all businesses. Why?
Here's the answer in just 4 sentences:
> Turning prospects into customers doesn't happen just by accident
> Attracting your target prospect into a potential customer is demanding
> Losing a prospect to your competition is annoying
> Losing a customer to your competition is devastating
Working with a good CRM software makes selling and repeat selling a whole lot easier. It helps make sure that those prospects and customers don't get swallowed up by your competition.
Need some CRM software? This new product could be the answer for you even if you use an Apple Mac.
Limited special offer available now.
Here's the answer in just 4 sentences:
> Turning prospects into customers doesn't happen just by accident
> Attracting your target prospect into a potential customer is demanding
> Losing a prospect to your competition is annoying
> Losing a customer to your competition is devastating
Working with a good CRM software makes selling and repeat selling a whole lot easier. It helps make sure that those prospects and customers don't get swallowed up by your competition.
Need some CRM software? This new product could be the answer for you even if you use an Apple Mac.
Limited special offer available now.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Some real website crackers!
I always love to see websites that make you scream in horror!
In these days of templates and easy to use web generators you can't really believe that stuff like this is still around.
Anyway enjoy these www's - (woeful web wonders)
http://msy.com.au/
http://www.frnz.de/
http://www.dokimos.org/ajff/
http://home.comcast.net/~computerphysicians/
http://www.arngren.net/
http://www.cwol.com/
Ohh, The bucket's over there in the corner by the way.
If you want to make sure your customers feel comfortable and happy when they visit your website contact me at Alloy CRM and I'll help you sort it out.
In these days of templates and easy to use web generators you can't really believe that stuff like this is still around.
Anyway enjoy these www's - (woeful web wonders)
http://msy.com.au/
http://www.frnz.de/
http://www.dokimos.org/ajff/
http://home.comcast.net/~computerphysicians/
http://www.arngren.net/
http://www.cwol.com/
Ohh, The bucket's over there in the corner by the way.
If you want to make sure your customers feel comfortable and happy when they visit your website contact me at Alloy CRM and I'll help you sort it out.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Thanks is always appreciated isn't it?
Those of you who know me well also know that I really get a kick out of helping others and, like most people, I feel good if someone thanks me for it too.
Working in business networking circles it's just part of life that you would sincerely thank someone for giving them a referral, great advice or some old fashioned help. I wouldn't even dream of doing anything else and most of the business people I know work in the same way.
It's a shame everyone doesn't think like that.
Here's three situations that have arisen over the last six months. I'm sure you won't have been guilty of these but it's easy to let them pass by without realising the effect on the other party.
> I changed my car towards the end of last year and it had previously been fitted with a bluetooth mobile phone device that tapped into the radio. When I changed my mobile phone in February I just couldn't get it link despite internet searches and re-reading the manual.
The next day I saw a van in the traffic queue next to me advertising the system fitted to my car, so I jotted down the phone number. I called them and spoke to a guy out on a job. He was obviously busy but within just a minute or two was able to tell me how to fix it. I thanked him, apologised for disturbing him and told him how appreciative I was.
I was delighted when the fix worked and I'm connected up now. So I found them on the web and sent them a message telling them how helpful their man had been and how grateful I was. In return I offered to find a way of promoting his business within my networking contacts with no charge simply to repay their kindness.
And the result? Nothing, zilch, zero. Not even a 'Sorry we're out' message. My positive feelings towards that business have all but drained away now.
> I have an offline spam filtering system that sends me a message each morning with a list of, and a link to, all of the trapped emails from the previous day. Most of it is of course rubbish but one came through early in the week that looked like it was genuine but was markered as having a virus.
Now this is important to know if you are the sender as you don't want to be either sending out a mail with a virus in it or having most of your mails binned before it reaches the recipient. So I took the trouble to investigate the mail without jeopardising my own security and sent all the details to the sender (a genuine company with a good product to sell). There were some other issues with the email that would potentially stop it working for them and offered some sound advice to overcome them.
And the result? Nothing, zilch, zero. Not even a 'Sorry we're out' message.
The third example I'm not going to go into detail as it involves me helping a member of my extended family who I helped with a business opportunity. Don't really see or speak that often, but I was happy to help and use my contacts to make things happen.
And the result? Nothing, zilch, zero. Not even a 'Thanks for helping' message.
It doesn't take much to maintain contact and you never know what it might lead to.
Working in business networking circles it's just part of life that you would sincerely thank someone for giving them a referral, great advice or some old fashioned help. I wouldn't even dream of doing anything else and most of the business people I know work in the same way.
It's a shame everyone doesn't think like that.
Here's three situations that have arisen over the last six months. I'm sure you won't have been guilty of these but it's easy to let them pass by without realising the effect on the other party.
> I changed my car towards the end of last year and it had previously been fitted with a bluetooth mobile phone device that tapped into the radio. When I changed my mobile phone in February I just couldn't get it link despite internet searches and re-reading the manual.
The next day I saw a van in the traffic queue next to me advertising the system fitted to my car, so I jotted down the phone number. I called them and spoke to a guy out on a job. He was obviously busy but within just a minute or two was able to tell me how to fix it. I thanked him, apologised for disturbing him and told him how appreciative I was.
I was delighted when the fix worked and I'm connected up now. So I found them on the web and sent them a message telling them how helpful their man had been and how grateful I was. In return I offered to find a way of promoting his business within my networking contacts with no charge simply to repay their kindness.
And the result? Nothing, zilch, zero. Not even a 'Sorry we're out' message. My positive feelings towards that business have all but drained away now.
> I have an offline spam filtering system that sends me a message each morning with a list of, and a link to, all of the trapped emails from the previous day. Most of it is of course rubbish but one came through early in the week that looked like it was genuine but was markered as having a virus.
Now this is important to know if you are the sender as you don't want to be either sending out a mail with a virus in it or having most of your mails binned before it reaches the recipient. So I took the trouble to investigate the mail without jeopardising my own security and sent all the details to the sender (a genuine company with a good product to sell). There were some other issues with the email that would potentially stop it working for them and offered some sound advice to overcome them.
And the result? Nothing, zilch, zero. Not even a 'Sorry we're out' message.
The third example I'm not going to go into detail as it involves me helping a member of my extended family who I helped with a business opportunity. Don't really see or speak that often, but I was happy to help and use my contacts to make things happen.
And the result? Nothing, zilch, zero. Not even a 'Thanks for helping' message.
It doesn't take much to maintain contact and you never know what it might lead to.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Self Assement Tax a nightmare?
That's certainly how it seems to me!
I've had my forms drop through the door recently and already they're at the bottom of the pile in the hope that they will go away.
Simon Clarke of HWCA , a really business focused accountant, has passed me a useful Tax Guide which takes the mystery out of those Self Assessment Tax Return forms. You can download it here: http://www.alloycrm.com/tax%20guide%202009.pdf
If the very thought of even opening the envelope fills you with dread, or you always have good intentions but inevitably leave it longer than you should, perhaps you could benefit from a free initial consultation with him as he is a proactive, forward thinking business advisor / qualified accountant.
I've had my forms drop through the door recently and already they're at the bottom of the pile in the hope that they will go away.
Simon Clarke of HWCA , a really business focused accountant, has passed me a useful Tax Guide which takes the mystery out of those Self Assessment Tax Return forms. You can download it here: http://www.alloycrm.com/tax%20guide%202009.pdf
If the very thought of even opening the envelope fills you with dread, or you always have good intentions but inevitably leave it longer than you should, perhaps you could benefit from a free initial consultation with him as he is a proactive, forward thinking business advisor / qualified accountant.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
How did you choose your business name?
Choosing a business name always seems an exciting time and loads of ideas run around your head before you finally settle on 'The One'. But there's a few things that you should consider before those ideas run wild.
1. If the business is not going to be a global player, and potentially a household name, then including something that indicates something about what you do can help potential customers decide if they should be calling you or not.
Clever is ok, but if it leaves them mystified, it hasn't really helped the cause. Would Aviva, Corus or Square Giraffe say anything about your business?
If your business is really local I would even consider making it blatantly obvious what you do - Suffolk Management Training or Norfolk Plumbing Repairs.
2. Next on the list is to find out if your chosen name already exists. A search on Companies House and Trade Mark listings will show up whether your new business 'McDonalds Take Away' might get you into deep water with their legal department or simply get you confused with others of a similar name.
3. Finally you need to consider the Internet.
You really do need to have a domain name that matches your business name. Without that people will struggle to find you. If you have got this far and the domain name isn't available then I would go back to step one and start again.
If you are a UK based business then you absolutely need to have the .co.uk version of your business name but I would also buy the .com .net .tv .info and .biz versions too. Just think of the consequences of a competitor setting up in the same business, taking one of those domain suffixes, marketing it like mad and taking half your business. Just allow enough in your budget to buy all of them to be sure.
If we take one of the business name examples above I would also buy the hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions - suffolkmanagementtraining as well as suffolk-management-training. The second version is easier for people to see, understand and remember when it's on your physical advertising.
Hyphens can help too if the words could be mis-read when put together. There are some famous 'howlers' in this department which must have horrified their owners once they realised:-
therapistfinder - 'therapist finder' or could be 'the rapist finder'
expertsexchange - 'experts exchange' or 'expert sex change'
whorepresents - 'who represents' or 'whore presents'
penisland - which is actually 'pen island' apparently
Advertising the hyphenated version of each of those domain names would have saved a great deal of embarrassment!
If you are choosing your business name, then choose it wisely.
Needs some help getting your business up and running? Just call me. Sales & Marketing Strategy with AlloyCRM
1. If the business is not going to be a global player, and potentially a household name, then including something that indicates something about what you do can help potential customers decide if they should be calling you or not.
Clever is ok, but if it leaves them mystified, it hasn't really helped the cause. Would Aviva, Corus or Square Giraffe say anything about your business?
If your business is really local I would even consider making it blatantly obvious what you do - Suffolk Management Training or Norfolk Plumbing Repairs.
2. Next on the list is to find out if your chosen name already exists. A search on Companies House and Trade Mark listings will show up whether your new business 'McDonalds Take Away' might get you into deep water with their legal department or simply get you confused with others of a similar name.
3. Finally you need to consider the Internet.
You really do need to have a domain name that matches your business name. Without that people will struggle to find you. If you have got this far and the domain name isn't available then I would go back to step one and start again.
If you are a UK based business then you absolutely need to have the .co.uk version of your business name but I would also buy the .com .net .tv .info and .biz versions too. Just think of the consequences of a competitor setting up in the same business, taking one of those domain suffixes, marketing it like mad and taking half your business. Just allow enough in your budget to buy all of them to be sure.
If we take one of the business name examples above I would also buy the hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions - suffolkmanagementtraining as well as suffolk-management-training. The second version is easier for people to see, understand and remember when it's on your physical advertising.
Hyphens can help too if the words could be mis-read when put together. There are some famous 'howlers' in this department which must have horrified their owners once they realised:-
therapistfinder - 'therapist finder' or could be 'the rapist finder'
expertsexchange - 'experts exchange' or 'expert sex change'
whorepresents - 'who represents' or 'whore presents'
penisland - which is actually 'pen island' apparently
Advertising the hyphenated version of each of those domain names would have saved a great deal of embarrassment!
If you are choosing your business name, then choose it wisely.
Needs some help getting your business up and running? Just call me. Sales & Marketing Strategy with AlloyCRM
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