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The latest posts…
10 things a digital marketing apprentice can do for your business
Do you have a long list of digital marketing tasks that could do with some focused attention? Picking this up when you have time just doesn’t work. Google juice, social followers, community engagement, etc. all thrive with consistency. There are key technical skills needed to do this stuff. This is why adding a digital marketing apprentice can give you such a boost. In this post Rachael Wheatley looks at 10 deeply practical tasks a digital marketing apprentice could do for your business.
What is a marketing strategy and strategist?
If you’re feeling the frustration of breaking through from 7-figure to 8-figure turnover, without also breaking your business, true marketing strategy might be the missing link. This post explores what a marketing strategist is, the questions they need to ask, and the sequence in which they need to ask them.
How to shift the perception of marketing in your organisation
How do your colleagues see marketing? Do they see it as strategic? Central to everything in the business and firmly at the core of operations?
Or is marketing a peripheral ‘nice-to-have?’ A non-essential activity that you invest in only when times are good?
#WatertightWednesday Write-ups
What is a marketing strategy and strategist?
< Back to the Blog One of the key things we work on with clients is anchoring marketing activity into the business strategy. To do this, we often have to unpick the ideas people have about what a marketing strategy is, and the role of a strategist in doing it. We...
How to shift the perception of marketing in your organisation
< Back to the Blog How do your colleagues perceive marketing? Roundtable discussion (56 minutes)How do your colleagues see marketing? Do they see it as strategic? Central to everything in the business and firmly at the core of operations? Or is marketing a...
Building a Marketing Team
What is a marketing strategy and strategist?
< Back to the Blog One of the key things we work on with clients is anchoring marketing activity into the business strategy. To do this, we often have to unpick the ideas people have about what a marketing strategy is, and the role of a strategist in doing it. We...
How to shift the perception of marketing in your organisation
< Back to the Blog How do your colleagues perceive marketing? Roundtable discussion (56 minutes)How do your colleagues see marketing? Do they see it as strategic? Central to everything in the business and firmly at the core of operations? Or is marketing a...
How do your colleagues see marketing?
< Back to the Blog If you are a marketer in a scaling business, the first audience you should be characterising is your colleagues. How they perceive marketing has a direct impact on how effective you can be in your role. Let's take a look at how they might see it,...
Posts by Framework
Flow Foundations
10 things a digital marketing apprentice can do for your business
< Back to the Blog A marketing doer can be a key role for a business wanting to build its marketing capabilities. For them to thrive, however, you as their line manager need to be clear about what you'd like them to do and achieve. Here's a flavour for the benefits...
What is a marketing strategy and strategist?
< Back to the Blog One of the key things we work on with clients is anchoring marketing activity into the business strategy. To do this, we often have to unpick the ideas people have about what a marketing strategy is, and the role of a strategist in doing it. We...
Does your business have a common language?
< Back to the Blog Even a seemingly simple question - such as 'what is the purpose of marketing for your business?' - will often elicit many and varied responses within an organisation. Without having a common definition, and alignment on what marketing is, does...
Touchpoint Leaks™
Marketing, sales and service – who does what, when?
< Back to the Blog In various forms, I get asked the difference between sales and marketing almost weekly. Underlying this question is the oft cited discontent between the disciplines, and a desire to get them working more harmoniously together. In answering this...
Do you have the tools to match your skills?
< Back to the Blog This post is also available over on our PodBlogWhen helping clients assess themselves to create a Touchpoint Leak Traffic Light Report, we often find that people rate themselves highly based on having someone in their team who is good at a...
How Inside Travel Group got their marketing stars aligned
← Back to Case Studies Inside Travel Group engaged Watertight Marketing to undertake a Marketing Team Alignment, Benchmark and Plan, and then have gone on to apply the results“The Watertight Marketing Team Alignment and Benchmark did two powerful jobs for us...
Logic Sandwich
The storage company that made room for new marketing ideas
← Back to Case Studies George Spence took a Practitioner Guided approach to working through the Chapter Companion Courses on the Watertight Webschool, and then retained the services of a Certified Practitioner to maintain the momentum. Client: George...
You can’t logic someone out of love
< Back to the Blog How many people do you think will be getting a Valentine card this year, who don't really deserve it? Looking beyond a person's failings could be said to be the very definition of love. And, this is one of the reasons why – as a business – having...
Does your content deserve a visual?
One my favourite books is ‘Information is Beautiful' by David McCandless. He powerfully demonstrates how the way you present information has a direct correlation to how much people engage with it. Whilst this isn’t a new idea, the content...
The Time Triangle
Get luckier… do more marketing
Have you ever noticed how when you ask people how they landed a big client, they’ll often say it was just luck that they were in the right place, at the right time. Ok, so sometimes luck plays a part… but you can be a whole lot luckier if you know where...
Why marketing is a load of old twaddle
Ok, that's the polite version of the headline. Feel free to make an internal translation on that last word. Because that's what people do all the time. What you say isn't always what people hear. They interpret your words with their own...
Why you should treat your customers like adult cats
I do love to take the opportunity to get a photo of my cat, Dylan, into a presentation. But, there is a serious point to make. A point that any cat 'owner' can relate to. <~ And, there's the thing, you never really 'own' a cat. Now, if...
Influencer Icecream
Should you be saying ‘No’ to new business?
< Back to the Blog This post is also available over on our PodBlogDoing the wrong kind of work is so damaging, I've included it as one of the Four Foundation Foundations in Watertight Marketing. Which means that learning when, and how, to say no to a potential new...
Is their team on your team?
This is the fourth in a series of posts looking at The Watertight Marketing Framework. Today, we’re looking at your audiences, i.e. who do you need to talk to. Buying decisions, particularly high-value or complex ones, are not made in...
What is Watertight Marketing?
All this week I'll be introducing the Watertight Marketing Framework - giving you the headlines on the key concepts explored in Part Two of the the book. Understanding how real people really buy things is central to getting your business onto...
Profit Purpose Matrix
How do you find clients that sustain you energetically and financially?
< Back to the BlogThis post is also available over on our PodBlogFor many of our clients, it's not necessarily that they need more clients, it's that they need more of the right clients. And, in many more cases, once this has been clearly defined and a strategy put...
What are sustainable sales results?
We talk about marketing that underpins sustainable sales results. So, let's explore exactly what we mean by that, and why it's so important to get to a point where your sales really do meet these criteria. There are three ways in which sales need to be sustainable if...
8 signs that you need to get more strategic about marketing
< Back to the Blog This post is also available over on our PodBlogMany MDs and CEOs of ambitious growing businesses have told me, in a moment of candour, that they're not 100% sure they know enough about marketing to make sound decisions about it. If you suspect...
Posts by Touchpoint Leak™
The Touchpoint Leaks™ framework is introduced in Chapter 2 of the Watertight Marketing book. You can use this to create a Touchpoint Leak™ Traffic Light Report to find your focus Leak. Then please use Part Three of the book, and these posts to #tweakyourleaks
"The Touchpoint Leak™ Assessment is the best tool I have ever seen in helping someone organise their marketing priorities while taking in the whole picture. I’m going to be recommending it to all my customers - it’s a must."
Leak 1: Forgotten Customers
3 tips for customer retention marketing that any small business can achieve
< Back to the Blog Welcoming your new customers on board is a critical factor in the overall success of your small business marketing, and indeed of your business sustainability. Customer retention is often as important a marketing task as customer acquisition.As...
Leak 2: Poor On-Boarding
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Leak 3: No Emotional Connection
What do your visuals say about you?
I've just come off a coaching call with a client, we're working on stemming Leak #3: No emotional connection and we got to talking about their visuals. There are two areas I ask clients to look at when considering their company's visual identity - the concept and the...
How to bring some personality to your blog
This is the third in a series of five blogs on blogging this week. A business blog is one of the simplest ways of overcoming Leak #7 (Information Overload) of the Thirteen Touchpoint Leaks. It acts as invitation information and a stepping stone between...
Leak 4: No Gateway
Is your content formatted for how your customers’ brains are wired?
< Back to the Blog Yesterday, I zoomed in on the power of visual content in your mix of materials. Today, I want to zoom back out to give you a way of planning a mix of content in different formats to ensure that you grab the attention of people who might be...
The only 5 things you should be doing in social media
< Back to the Blog Social media marketing can seem like a bit of a minefield. It can also seem like there’s a dizzying amount to learn before you can even get started. But, it really breaks down into four activities and one core skill – which are common across...
How to incorporate a Gateway Product to win more business
Getting from general awareness to a new paying customer is a stepped journey in most business settings. Indeed, for many it’s a delicate dance akin to an intricate Quickstep. One of the most important stepping stones is the one that sees a...
Leak 5: No Critical Approval
How to overcome the third party veto in a complex sale
< Back to the Blog Following a strategy workshop that I ran with Watertight Marketing Certified Practitioner, Joshua Morse, there was some disagreement. Going through the Touchpoint Leak™ Assessment, Joshua rated – Leak 5: No Critical Approval – as Red, whilst the...
How many people have an opinion?
I blogged on Monday about how your business builds up its Commercial Karma through the way it conducts itself with every person it encounters. I often use this phrase, and people seem to like it, but perhaps don't take it as seriously as they could. I'd...
Leak 6: No Proof
Why are referred customers worth more?
You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again... referrals are the very best way to win new customers. Referred customers are cheaper to win. They convert more quickly. And, they spend more. In my book, Watertight Marketing, referrals comes...
Leak 7: Information Overload
Business blogs – the good, the great and the gratuitous
All this week, I’ll be blogging about blogging – sharing tips, hints and musings on how to make a blog the hub of your new business operation. A business blog is one of the simplest ways of overcoming Leak #7 (Information Overload) of the Thirteen...
Six internal business benefits of blogging
All this week, I'll be blogging about blogging - sharing tips, hints and musings on how to make a blog the hub of your new business operation. A business blog is one of the simplest ways of overcoming Leak #7 (Information Overload) of the Thirteen...
Leak 8: How (format)
Does your content deserve a visual?
One my favourite books is ‘Information is Beautiful' by David McCandless. He powerfully demonstrates how the way you present information has a direct correlation to how much people engage with it. Whilst this isn’t a new idea, the content...
Leak 9: Where (channel)
Understanding the Awareness Equation
I’m often found telling businesses that they’ll never find a marketing silver bullet, or a magic formula to sales success. But, there’s one exception, and that’s The Awareness Equation. Applying it to your marketing is extremely powerful. It is the secret...
Leak 10: When (timing)
Is your content formatted for how your customers’ brains are wired?
< Back to the Blog Yesterday, I zoomed in on the power of visual content in your mix of materials. Today, I want to zoom back out to give you a way of planning a mix of content in different formats to ensure that you grab the attention of people who might be...
The only 5 things you should be doing in social media
< Back to the Blog Social media marketing can seem like a bit of a minefield. It can also seem like there’s a dizzying amount to learn before you can even get started. But, it really breaks down into four activities and one core skill – which are common across...
Get luckier… do more marketing
Have you ever noticed how when you ask people how they landed a big client, they’ll often say it was just luck that they were in the right place, at the right time. Ok, so sometimes luck plays a part… but you can be a whole lot luckier if you know where...
Leak 11: Who (Influencers)
How to overcome the third party veto in a complex sale
< Back to the Blog Following a strategy workshop that I ran with Watertight Marketing Certified Practitioner, Joshua Morse, there was some disagreement. Going through the Touchpoint Leak™ Assessment, Joshua rated – Leak 5: No Critical Approval – as Red, whilst the...
How many people have an opinion?
I blogged on Monday about how your business builds up its Commercial Karma through the way it conducts itself with every person it encounters. I often use this phrase, and people seem to like it, but perhaps don't take it as seriously as they could. I'd...
Leak 12: What
The 3 Cs of What you do – clarity, consistency and context
At a recent client workshop we worked on a key issue that people knew of them, but for something they now only do a little of. The mental filing in the collective minds of the market was out of date. Certified Practitioner, Peter Baynes, joined...
How to make your company name and strap line work hard for your business
There are lots of ways to name a business, or a product. And, the addition of a strap line can take the name a little further. From nonsensical words, like Google, to highly descriptive names, like Compare the Market - there are just so many...
Should you be saying ‘No’ to new business?
< Back to the Blog This post is also available over on our PodBlogDoing the wrong kind of work is so damaging, I've included it as one of the Four Foundation Foundations in Watertight Marketing. Which means that learning when, and how, to say no to a potential new...
Leak 13: No Emotional Impact
Three ways to pay (not what you think!)
< Back to the Blog I'm not talking about PayPal or invoices here, I'm talking about what people exchange with you in return for value at different stages of a buying decision. If you can crack this, your marketing will almost always deliver for you. As someone goes...
Is your content formatted for how your customers’ brains are wired?
< Back to the Blog Yesterday, I zoomed in on the power of visual content in your mix of materials. Today, I want to zoom back out to give you a way of planning a mix of content in different formats to ensure that you grab the attention of people who might be...
The only 5 things you should be doing in social media
< Back to the Blog Social media marketing can seem like a bit of a minefield. It can also seem like there’s a dizzying amount to learn before you can even get started. But, it really breaks down into four activities and one core skill – which are common across...