Are you using mobile technology to market your business?

If not, reconsider – because up to 44% of your competitors may well be.
Right now.

Adobe have released the findings from their Scene 7 2011 survey, entitled “Digital Marketing in the Next Decade”.  1,941 businesses around the world were asked to pinpoint the tactics they currently deploy – or plan to deploy – in a number of areas including web analyitics, digital advertising, mobile, and social media.

Web analytics, social media and online merchandising are currently the most widely used tactics, while the development of mobile applications is among the most widely planned for 2011 and beyond. This is the first time, since 2007 when the survey began, that mobile has topped the list of planned deployments and is most likely a commercial response to the massive growth in the use of smart phones over the past year and a half.

Of course, mobile isn’t just about straight-up, personalised advertising. Of the top six most-effective features for improving customer experience, four were found to be related to mobile. Social media marketing fanatics have been raving for years about the importance of integrating online marketing strategy with offline and in-store promotions. With mobile, this couldn’t be any easier.

If you haven’t already, you should consider some of these strategies:

• Providing downloadable, bar-coded coupons
• Allowing customers to check inventory stock through an app
• Inviting customers to get information by scanning an item’s barcode on their phone
• Product comparisons on mobile devices
• Or, the old fun-favorite: location-based social networking. IE. Foursquare!

International marketing tactics are adapting at a furious rate to meet their audiences on new technological platforms. Where will this ‘digital revolution’ take us next, I wonder?

And where will you take your business with mobile?

Devin Anderson is a Digital Marketing Consultant at our talented branding-expertise affiliate, The Brand Factory.

LinkedIn Groups: South African Business Network in Sydney

• Subject: You are what you negotiate!

• July Meeting (Monday 25th July 2011) – First meeting of FY12!

It has been said that you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate! Come along and hear international speaker Mark Bernberg and learn how to engage and activate your 5 senses … and a practical hands on session as well for all who want to participate!!!!

This will be an event to remember! An inspirational presenter, great lucky draw prizes, 100 seconds of Fame and informal networking – bring your fellow Saffers and some friends and enjoy a fun filled evening combining business, recreation and networking! The theme of the evening is “Engage your senses to create innovative change in your business”.

Venue: Level 47, MLC Centre, 19 Martin Place, Sydney
Time: 5:30pm for 6pm (Monday 25th July 2011)

Please confirm your attendance (and number of people attending with you) by not later than Monday 25 July 2011 10am for venue and catering arrangements.

Please use our online booking & payments system (save time, no need to pay on arrival, $20 payment in advance, $25/$30 at the door) http://www.trybooking.com/QFA  and RSVP via LinkedIn Events. http://events.linkedin.com/South-African-Business-Network-Sydney/pub/724125 or email Gary (gfoweraker@hotmail.com)

We Have Been Nominated for the 2011 Sydney Business Awards!

Win $1,500 in cash – by voting for the Cavalletti Communications team.

Vote & Win at http://bit.ly/jbmoe4, or simply SMS “Words” to 0447 447 070.

Thank you for your support,

Daniela
daniela@cavacom.biz

Use our Networking Tips to Increase Your Visibility, Credibility – and Profitability.

Work Your Networking Muscles – And They Will Get You Work in Return

Our Networking Tips:

1. Arrive early – and leave late
2. Work the room – spot the connectors, open groups and “lost” people. Don’t barge into closed groups deep in conversation
3. Sit next to or talk to someone you don’t know
4. Bring a lot of business cards, and any marketing materials. If you think you are taking enough, take 20% more
5. Act like the host and not the guest – welcome new people, be warm and open
6. Book a meeting at your meeting, if you get the opportunity
7. Listen – givers do gain, hard sellers that talk only about themselves are perceived as rude and pushy
8. Have focus and an objective – what are you networking for?
   
9. Be visible, build trust – and reap the rewards. Trust takes time to develop: network regularily
   
10. Follow up, Follow Up, Follow Up after your networking event

These networking tips are of course not all there is to successful, profitable and fun networking. But with practice these first steps will get you a long way in establishing a good network and building trust – essential to getting referrals, making lasting connections and growing your business.

Best of Luck and Success,
Daniela

daniela@cavacom.biz
www.cavacom.biz
We Take Care of All Your Business Writing

10 Top Tips for Delivering a Power Presentation

An excerpt from Never Get a “Real” Job by Scott Gerber,
as published by the BNI Network

Nothing is worse than a long, drawn-out meeting that feels like a trip to the dentist. The last place you want to find yourself is leading a snooze fest or a presentation that has people checking their watches every other minute. To be an effective salesperson, it’s important to master your presentation skills and learn to engage your audience effectively with highly targeted information that gets results in the shortest period of time.

1. Be prepared. Always be ready for the people you’re meeting. Never make anyone wait for you.

2. Sell the jockey before the horse. Every sale begins with your first impression. Demeanor matters. Be likeable, down-to-earth, and confident. Attract people with your enthusiasm, energy, and passion.

3. Say it in 30 seconds or less. Get to the point. Your prospects and potential partners have other things to do, so get them to say yes as quickly as possible. The more you say, the more you’re giving people to consider. Make it easy for them: Say what needs to be said, and not a single word more.

4. Fit the pitch to the person. Create the right presentation, not “your” presentation. Do research before any pitch to customize applicable portions and ensure that you have all of the necessary and correct information as it pertains to the person sitting across the table—or on the other side of the Internet.

5. Show, don’t tell. Whenever possible, keep your presentations interactive. Demonstrate your product or service firsthand to show off your results rather than just talk about them.

6. Make it visual. Don’t kill people with excessive text. Keep slides or videos simple and clean. Focus on creating visually appealing presentations using photos, videos, audio, and graphics with minimal body text.

7. The best presentations are conversations. Talk with prospects; never lecture them, put forth mandates, or tout ultimatums. Engage and interact with the people in the room. Always encourage discussion and questions as you go.

8. Speak plainly. You’re speaking to people, not robots. Don’t use jargon or clichés to make your points. Eliminate terms such as these from your vocabulary: innovative or innovate, out of the box, Web 2.0, next generation, original, and world’s greatest. Use the tools on gobbledygook.grader.com to keep your pitches in check and jargon-free.

9. Back up or shut up. You are asking someone else to invest his or her time and money into your product or service. Show them that you deserve it by supporting your expertise with relevant experience and real results. Avoid hypothetical arguments or unsubstantiated claims. If you can’t do or promise something, then find another way to sell your services until you can.

10. Know what you are talking about. Don’t say things to try to look smart or claim anything that sounds too good to be true to close a sale. Less is not only more—it also keeps you out of trouble. Remember, you’re accountable for every word that comes from your company. The smartest thing to do when you don’t know something is to admit that you don’t know—then figure it out within 24 hours and get back to the individual with an answer.

An excerpt from Never Get a “Real” Job by Scott Gerber,
as published by the BNI Network

Good Marketing Doesn’t Need to Break The Bank

1. Blog – A blog (a shortening of the term “web log”) is an easy-to-use type of website that also offers social and SEO benefits. Blogs are usually a series of more or less regular entries of commentary, news items, and other material such as videos. As most blogs are interactive, you can easily use this medium to interact and engage with your customers, existing and potential.

2. Newsletters & Email Marketing– Email newsletters are great ways to connect directly with prospective customers and stay connected to current customers. Newsletters provide a way to offer useful and targeted information to nurture leads and provide opportunities to find out more on products and services.

3. Media Coverage & Contributed Articles - Word of mouth is priceless for all businesses, especially small businesses. Getting mentioned in the local business media and trade publications can boost awareness, credibility and directly generate new business.

4. Resource Center - One way small businesses are often beating their larger competitors in search and in building authority, is to be more personable and quicker to react. And they are perceived to be a better resource for customers through useful content. Common formats for helpful information about buying, using and related information on products and services can include articles, videos and podcasts.

5. Social Networks & Media – In the way that customers expect a toll free number, website and blog, they’re beginning to expect the brands they buy from to be social. That means having a presence in the social networks that are most relevant to customers. A small amount of time consistently spent on interaction and relationship building can go a long way at developing a community.

6. Events – Networking for small businesses is as old as word of mouth marketing itself. Events are a great way to connect with prospective customers, marketing partners, new employees and influentials in your industry.

Based on an article by Lee Odden
“How Small Business Can Get BIG Online with Content Marketing”

Until soon,
Daniela
+61 (0)415 273 272
daniela@cavacom.biz

*** How do YOU achieve big results with limited resources? ***

Regular readers of my blog have heard me (well, “read me”) talk about passion in the past. A lot, in fact.

Passion – and the excitement of getting right into it, getting my hands dirty, give whatever I do intense focus and the best I’ve got – sits at the core of my personality.

Enthusiasm for and commitment to a person, an event or subject is something I cannot do with less than 100%. Whether I talk about a book I love (as a copywriter, words are my passion, of course), revel in the glow a beautifully shot film can evoke, share my passion for my sports (diving, martial practice and holistic exercise) – or talk about and work in my business.

It’s catching

And I find that passion is infectious: I converted a number of girlie girls to try krav maga, a full-on self defence style. Without trying hard I managed to get a better price with a vendor because he saw my passion for my work. And my clients are regularly repeat clients (and that’s the type of client all us entrepreneurs and business owners like best!) because, as one of them put it, I show “passion and care for their business, as if it were my own”.

Passion generates success

I am not telling you all this because I like to blow my own trumpet, but because it took me a little while to distill that passion breeds success. And you do not have to be an extrovert to show passion: quiet enthusiasm and commitment to your interests, work and clients works just as well.

Take a break, get it back!

But even the most enthusiastic person has an off-day every now and then, and finds it hard to muster the passion for what they do and usually love. Be it that you have the ‘flu that’s going around (again!), your kids have turned the house into a right royal mess when you need some quiet time, or you simply need a break from the daily grind. Take it.

Take out some time for yourself to reflect on why you started that fitness programme that you are now neglecting, remind yourself why you took that job, or what motivated you to started your own business. Get your passion back!

How do passion and enthusiasm influence what you do?
How you see the world, your relationships and the work you do?
I look forward to your thoughts.

Until soon,
Daniela

Who are you?  I am passionate about…

Regular readers of my blog have heard me (well, “read me”) talk about passion in the past. A lot, in fact.

Passion – and the excitement of getting right into it, getting my hands dirty, give whatever I do intense focus and the best I’ve got – sits at the core of my personality.

Enthusiasm for and commitment to a person, an event or subject is something I cannot do with less than 100%. Whether I talk about a book I love (as a copywriter, words are my passion, of course), revel in the glow a beautifully shot film can evoke, share my passion for my sports (diving, martial practice and holistic exercise) – or talk about and work in my business.

It’s catching!

And I find that passion is infectious: I converted a number of girlie girls to try krav maga, a full-on self defence style. Without trying hard I managed to get a better price with a vendor because he saw my passion for my work. And my clients are regularly repeat clients (and that’s the type of client all us entrepreneurs and business owners like best!) because, as one of them put it, I show “passion and care for their business, as if it were my own”.

Passion = Success

I am not telling you all this because I like to blow my own trumpet, but because it took me a little while to distill that passion breeds success. And you do not have to be an extrovert to show passion: quiet enthusiasm and commitment to your interests, work and clients works just as well.

Get it back! It’s worked so hard for you.

But even the most enthusiastic person has an off-day every now and then and finds it hard to muster the passion for what they do, and usually love. Be it that you have the ‘flu that’s going around (again!), your kids have turned the house into a right royal mess when you need some quiet time, or you simply need a break from the daily grind. Take it.

Take out some time for yourself to reflect on why you started that fitness programme that you are now neglecting, remind yourself why you took that job, or what motivated you to started your own business. Get your passion back!

Simon Smith from Southern Cross Coaching put it well in his recent blog post on passion and success. He says:

“The first point is that no matter what you do, you can – and people do – lose the passion for it. We forget the whole reason why we’re doing it. We forget what we love about it all. It slips away from us. At some stage, we all need to stop & make time to realise what we do, why we do it, & how much we really do enjoy it, and how much it really means to us – despite what might be some seemingly tough times.

The second point is that passion sells! Passion is contagious. People buy passion. Be it in your business, an interview, at home. And they will often buy your passion & enthusiasm over & above the most polished, unpassionate product or presentation. So, before any important business or sales meeting, before that interview: Stop! Think. Smile. You will make more sales, you will have better client relationships and better clients, you will do better business. And you will be a happier business owner!”

I couldn’t agree more.

How do passion and enthusiasm influence what you do?
How you see the world, your relationships and the work you do?
I look forward to your thoughts.

Until soon,
Daniela

Spinning Your Web: How influential are you online?

Fast Company’s The Influence Project

The Influence Project is open to anyone and everyone. All registered participants will have their picture appear in the November issue of Fast Company as part of an amazing photo spread. The more influence demonstrated by a participant, the bigger their picture will be. Even those with smaller social networks can learn something about their influence by participating.

To learn more, and register your profile, go to http://fcinf.com/v/chou or click here.

Contributors may discover that they are more influential than they think. Influence is not only about having the most friends or followers. It’s about being able to affect the behavior of those you interact with, to get others in your social network to act on a suggestion or recommendation. That’s what The Influence Project will measure.

The competition for 2010’s “Most Influential People” ends August 15 at midnight EST. Fast Company has created a blog dedicated to the project at www.fastcompany.com/influenceproject, where coverage will continue through the publication of Fast Company’s November 2010 issue.