Six Good Reasons to Hire a Business Coach

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Hiring a business coach is not at the top of most company owner’s to do list, but it really should be. This is because the right business coach can make a world of difference to you and your business. A good coach will help you in all sorts of ways. Below I cover just a few of them.

Get you moving

It is human nature to get comfortable and slow down. We have all done it – set up a business, worked like crazy getting it off the ground, and then taken our foot off the pedal. Running a business is hard, so it is all too easy to lose focus and drive.

A good business coach will get you fired up again. They will get you following a plan and monitoring progress, and keep you moving forwards.

Challenge you

There are only so many hours in the day, so once we find something that works and earns us money there is a tendency to stick with that process and just carry on doing it. This can work fine for several years or decades even, but inevitably, things change.

What worked ten years ago is not likely to be as effective today. The market moves on and consumers want something different. If you do not move with the times and search out new opportunities, you will inevitably begin to lose market share.

A good coach challenges you. They help you to recognise that you have gaps in your skill set or that your skills need to be updated. Being challenged is always a good thing. It makes you think and motivates you to take action that you would have not otherwise taken.

Provide support and encouragement

We all need support, and we all need encouragement. A good executive coach will provide both.

They will help you to have a balanced view of your abilities and achievements. Providing you with the support that you need when you feel you are getting nowhere fast. An effective coach will encourage and motivate you to work through tough times and achieve your goals.

Marketing

Regardless of the type of business you run marketing is crucial. It is the only way to grow your business and take it to the next level.

There are several ways to learn how to market yourself, and one of the most effective ways is to do so with the help of an executive coach. The right business coach can help you on many levels including helping you to market yourself and your business more effectively.

Finding a good coach

Whether you need executive coaching in New York, Adelaide or Birmingham you can benefit more from the business relationship by looking for someone that has experience. A coach that is on the same wavelength as you, and has helped other businesses, can help you to progress faster in your career and build your business.

When hiring a business coach take the time to check out their credentials and their previous work. If they have a good track record interview them. This is the surest way to know whether you will get on with each other and form a strong and lasting business relationship.

 

 

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Good copywriting for membership websites

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This month we’re working on two clients both with membership businesses.  They need strong copywriting on both their home page and the landing / squeeze page where the pitch for members is made.

We got out and tried to find some good examples of membership sites where a really compelling landing page lays out the offer and the benefits.

It was surprisingly hard.

I had hoped that Copyblogger would be good – but despite moving much of their content behind an email registration wall, the old landing page is no longer there – maybe they’re so well known that the benefits are no longer needed.

We did find some….

Blogging Concentrated Prime

A subscription service for monthly coaching and education on all aspects of blogging for profit – this page really lays out the details of what a member gets and shows archive material which is also available to each new joiner.  The video welcome is a nice touch.

Blogging Concentrated Prime membership area

Blogging Concentrated Prime membership area

Tom Poland’s 8020 Center

A totally different approach is used by expert business coach, Tom Poland.  He uses a letter form to make a strong offer in the headline and a personal offer – with a guarantee.

Tom Poland's 8020 Center offer

Tom Poland’s 8020 Center offer copywriting

EConsultancy and Digital Marketer

Both offering education services to modern marketers, these sites have a near-identical page layout and copy style.  Interestingly, the DM list of advisory courses look like individual tiles, but they all go to a letter-style long copy landing page from the founder, Ryan Deiss.

Econsultancy landing page copywriting example

Econsultancy landing page copywriting example

Digital Marketer landing page copywriting example

Digital Marketer landing page copywriting example

 

Got any other examples?

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Let’s look at corporate responsibility….

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What does your company do as far as embracing diversity within the work place?

Poly Emp Employment & Advisory Service is a supported employment agency that works with young Poly Emppeople that have learning and intellectual disabilities. We place young people that want to work into mainstream employment. To do this we actively market to work places.

Did you know that 17% of New Zealand’s population have a disability? These people all shop, work, go on holidays and contribute to their community in some way. Unfortunately these people with a disability encounter huge barriers when it comes to finding employment. Creative agencies will all know that when you understand the impact of disability on customers your clients will reach a wider market as all of these customers have family, friends and colleagues.

Poly Emp Employment & Advisory Service has recently placed a client of ours at Y & R NZ Ltd in Auckland. This young man has a learning disability and visual atrophy. This young man is an admin assistant at the business, he does all sorts of basic tasks for example kitchen duties, simple admin duties, setting up meeting rooms, organising client refreshments and collating financial invoices. This is a job that was created for this young man.

How about giving someone a chance at being a contributing member of society by employing them? Contact me anita.walker@manukau.ac.nz at Poly Emp Employment & Advisory Service let’s have a chat.

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Working with the millennial generation

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Rebecca got interviewed on the hugely popular Getting a Grip on Time Podcast with Robyn Pearce last

Getting a Grip Robyn Pearce logo

Getting a Grip Robyn Pearce

week.  The discussion focused on how business owners can adapt to work with the Miliennial generation who are coming into the workforce.

Creative Agency Secrets has an intern programme and so Rebecca has had a lot of experience learning about different expectations, working skills and job satisfaction.

Listen to Getting a Grip on Time Do More with Less – a Win-Win way of working with the millennial generation.

Unless you are living in a cocoon, you’ll probably have young people somewhere in your world. You might be a parent, grandparent, an employer or you work with one or more.  Or you are a Millennial yourself – born in the last decade of the 20th century.

Do Millennials really see themselves as the ‘entitled’ generation or is their way of approaching work a result of the world they find themselves in? Rebecca Caroe of Creative Agency Secrets believes it’s the latter. For example, did you know that 37% of people under 30 are self-employed, many because they can’t find work or don’t want to do the work on offer?  She has a policy of hiring young inexperienced marketing graduates as interns and training them up to begin full-time work (if that’s their choice). She sees this as a form of social entrepreneurship – a form of giving back and/or paying it forward.

Rebecca shares an abundance of practical strategies for young ones preparing for or seeking their first jobs, the employers considering hiring them and even for the institutions who teach them.

You’ll learn:

  • What do employers need to look for
  • How to motivate the young ones
  • How to treat them with fairness
  • How to work with them in flexible and effective ways
  • What Millennials can do to prepare for work opportunities

If we can have sufficient flexibility to tap into the initiative and creativity of this generation of digital natives we have a fabulous opportunity to enhance our companies and our lives, let alone support the people who will one day be running our world.

 

 

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Can Staff Destroy your Brand using Social Media

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We had a great event with MyHR this morning to answer this question for business owners.

Clue – the answer is “yes”!

The longer answer is that it will probably only be a total destruction if you do not have clear policies in place or if your company has something to hide and is not clearly communicating to customers, staff, stakeholders and shareholders.

The slide decks by Rebecca Caroe and Jason Ennor are below.

Watch the video on the Creative Agency Secrets YouTube Channel.

Any questions – please get in touch.  We are happy to offer a free 20 minute phone chat to prospective clients.

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Marketing and HR combine

Marketing and HR Can Now Join Forces Thanks to Tech

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More and more businesses are beginning to see the benefit in strengthening the connection between their

Marketing and HR combine

Marketing and HR combine
Photo credit: Actionhrm.com

marketing and human resources departments. When technology is used in combining the resources of HR and marketing, it can certainly have a positive impact on both departments. Technology ensures that everyone in the same company has access to the same information, which can make it easier to build brand loyalty. Trust in a company is increased when potential customers see a genuine commitment in its personnel.

Consumers desire products that they can perceive as being aligned with their own self-image or that fit in with an idealistic lifestyle. The same emotional needs and motivations apply to employees too, especially those who identify themselves with a particular culture or set of values.

Technology is used in marketing to build brand loyalty through strategies that bring in better results. When marketing strategies are combined with HR, the result is greater employee loyalty through higher expectations and more engagement with the brand.

When marketing and HR join forces, thanks to tech, the value of the brand is enhanced from a customer’s point of view and this has an obvious impact on sales.

Technology allows HR teams to focus on strategic tasks

HR software systems allow close analysis of employee performance. This means that an employee’s future prospects depend less on having the right skills and formal qualifications and more on their level of engagement with company values and branding.

HR can carry out analysis of job candidates in the same way that the marketing department identifies and targets potential customers. This effectively rules out anyone being employed that are likely start complaining. If the wrong sort of people are hired, the potential is always there that they will do harm to the brand by using social networks or suchlike to voice their complaints.

When HR can focus on recruiting people who want a more meaningful career, company employees stay loyal to the brand and act as ambassadors. They post positive messages about their job and show pride in what they do.

Together marketing and HR can build better strategies

The same type of analytical data that is used by HR to identify the potential of an employee can be applied in marketing to assess the relevant aspects of a potential consumer.

Tracking software used in HR gives all employees access to their own data. The marketing department can use feedback from individual employees in combination with analytics to see exactly how well their strategies are working in real terms. The team can then make decisions about refinements that will increase sales through better marketing strategies in future.

Greater benefits for business

Before the digital age, a marketing department was primarily concerned with working to a budget, and its main focus was on products and consumer demands. HR was not involved in any of those aspects and was only concerned with company employees. In the modern world employees expect to be treated more like consumers and the functions of these two departments should become more closely linked through technology. As a result there will be some obvious improvements in both departments.

Marketing departments develop strategies that match the company’s values. They establish a brand and reinforce the company mission. The same sort of technology used in marketing can help HR to recruit sales staff that have a similar philosophy. With the input of data from HR and the marketing department, the workforce is better prepared to get the right message across to potential customers.

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Anniversary marketing campaign ideas

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Linda Horton from Bermuda makes amazing Bermudan Black Rum Cakes and is planning a 30th

Horton’s Bermudan Black Rum Cake

Anniversary Marketing event.  Here’s what we recommended

  • Create a special cake (unique box, big plus small cake in one box, different sizes, multi-buy)
  • Use your database of past customers and create a mailing campaign
  • Create a landing page on your website “30th Anniversary” – on the page talk about the history of the company and tell them there will be a contest every week during July and you’re planing a special cake edition.  As each email gets sent out, edit the page to include more and more information

Send messages as follows

  • 1 month in advance (1 June) telling them to expect something special at the anniversary.
  • 2 weeks later tell them what it will be and say you’re taking advance orders at a special discounted price for 1 week only.  [This is useful because you then know the volume you need to bake.]
  • 1 week after – send an email saying you will raise the price to the normal price on the website in 1 day [this will drive more sales].
  • On 1 July start the contest on Facebook and also run it on the website.  Include a simple entry form so you get their email addresses.
  • On 8 July announce the winner of the first week on Facebook and the website page.  Also email every person who entered and did not win offering them a special price on a cake and encouraging them to enter again.
  • Repeat each week till the end of July.
If you want to boost contest entries you can do Facebook advertising to send people to your landing page.
I am really looking forward to the cake Linda’s sending over for the team… morning coffee will never be the same again!

 

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Email Campaign Case Study: Space Saver Rowing Systems

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Email campaigns are one of our specialties. One campaign we ran recently with Space Saver Rowing Systems launched their product, Wraptor Balance, exposed to a core group of potential customers.

Step 1: initial context

campaign 1Our first email blast was designed as an introduction to the product.

It had a simple design and asked all the major questions to illustrate how having this product can solve issues the customer has with beginner rowers.

Following the opening paragraph was a list of ways the product solved the issue. This, accompanied by specifications, images and  customer quotes, gave the product a well-rounded and positive image.

The email ends with a firm call to action dominating the bottom of the email – a risk-free trial of the product – as well as a warm farewell from the client.

Topping it off, we used a post script.  P.S. statements are one of the most-read statements in emails! They firmly guided readers to the product landing page and reminded them to act on the call to action.

As you can see, the results were solid with a 40% open rate and 10% click through rate. The success however, came in reply emails requesting trials which lead to sales for our client:

campaign 2

Step 2: follow up

campaign 2

One of the greatest assets to a successful campaign is the follow up email. Not only does it feel personal, it also allowed a specific offer to be made for a no-risk trial of the product.

The analytics show a smaller number clicking through, but the client got trial requests and sold product off the campaign so it more than paid for itself.

campaign 2

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My internship at Creative Agency Secrets – by Amanda Wikström

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Amanda WikströmMy name is Amanda Wikström and I’m a marketing student from Sweden. I have had the pleasure to work with Rebecca and the Creative Agency Secrets team for the last two and a half months. My internship has been a part of my education to get “real” marketing experience and the opportunity to test my knowledge in real life.

I feel that I have learned a lot, more the last few months at CAS than during the past three years in the University!  The University has taught me the theory of marketing and economics but here at Creative Agency Secrets I have had the opportunity to experience how a marketing agency is working in real life.

What I have learnt at Creative Agency Secrets

  • Blogging – I have been written my own blog about my internship. But the major blogging experience have I earned by coordinate clients blog calendars, I have written, researched, read, scheduled and planned for upcoming blog posts. I have learned how to create interesting content and how to use SEO to get it noticed by readers.
  • Social media – I have learned the importance with keeping up with social media and how and when to publish posts. I have also learned the theory behind the social media and how you can coordinate and connect your different social media channels with each other.
  • Google Analytics – I have learned how keeping track of your analytics can increase your business and help you develop new opportunities for the future. By tracking the traffic on your website you can take advantage of your market situation and change your behaviour on the website to suit your customers’ needs.
  • Client meetings – I have handled clients of my own, which has been scary, but at the same time very fun and educating. I have learned how important it is to always plan and be prepared for meetings. To get the opportunity to handle the clients by myself has giving me a lot more confidence and I have enjoyed it a lot.
  • New Marketing tools – I have been introduced to a bunch of great marketing tools that I have started to learn more about. I have learned how to set up accounts for clients and how to run them. The major marketing tools I used were WordPress, Mailchimp, FeedBlitz, Google Analytics and Teamwork to name a few.
  • The Importance of Researching – I have got experience and knowledge on how to research effectively and the importance of always be up to date on the latest research.
  • Website development – I have been introduced to different website CMSs and learned the basics about how to run them, upload content and link between different pages. As well as use SEO to get the website noticed.
  • Email marketing – I have learned the basics with e-mail marketing, what to think about when writing and sending e-mails to customers, how to set up accounts and create email templates.
  • Graphic design – From my colleague Theo Martin I have learned the basics of editing photos and text that can be used in blogs and on social media.

A Big Thanks!

I want to thank all the wonderful people in the Creative Agency Secret team  whom I had have the pleasure to meet. But I’ll like to send a special thanks to Rebecca who has been a great teacher/mentor and a huge inspiration!

Now I’m going back to Sweden for my graduation and hopefully find a marketing job that is as interesting and fun as this experience has been. I’ll wish the team at Creative Agency Secrets and the BizDojo all the best of luck in the future, lovely to meet you all!

Cheers,

Amanda Wikström

 

 

 

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