Marketing: Critical for Business Success Marketing is an essential function for any successful business, influencing everything from brand positioning and customer acquisition to sustainable long-term growth. Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) mistakenly view marketing as a discretionary expense rather than a strategic investment. This common misconception often stems from a lack of understanding of…

This article explores the phenomenon of the marketing inbetweener.  This refers to those companies who want to market themselves better but don’t want to invest significantly in the “dark art” that is marketing. Understanding the Marketing “Inbetweener” Phenomenon Many small and medium-sized businesses find themselves in a peculiar position when it comes to marketing. They…

Currently there are around 48,000 franchise businesses in the UK , a number which has doubled in the last 25 years, across 900 franchise brands that now employ over 621,000 people (an increase of 70% in last 10 years).  Franchising is big business.   For good reason too. Banks prefer to lend money to franchises as…

Marketing isn’t difficult.  The problem is that most people overcomplicate it.  It isn’t a dark art.  It is just a really logical way to approach how you  present your business.  Some people build it up to be this really complicated discipline that they don’t understand.  In reality they just have little interest in the process…

Our values are our core beliefs – guidelines for how we live our lives. They help shape our decisions, influence our behaviour, and regulate our actions towards others. Personal values are often intrinsic – we act on them naturally and feel conflicted if our values are compromised. Company values are slightly different. In some cases, values…

There aren’t many businesses that don’t have a website – even if it’s just a basic one-pager. It’s often one of the first marketing tools new companies invest in, and with good reason. After all, most people use the internet regularly – smartphones have allowed us to keep the internet in our pockets. So it…