Category: Hire Me

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Programmatic Advertising: Beginners Guide For Tauranga Based Businesses

[Image credit: Searchengineland.com]

What have you heard about Programmatic Advertising so far?

(Perhaps only by book summary from a few weeks ago?)

It seems like awareness is only now starting to grow here in New Zealand.

Some say that NZ is perhaps 3-5 years behind the rest of the world.

It’s time for us to catch up.

In fact, our timing is good, because getting involved now has the benefit of us accessing a much more mature system. The rest of the world has been removing the bugs for us!

I have come to believe that Programmatic Advertising is about to explode in New Zealand, so I’m looking for a handful of Tauranga based businesses that would like my help to get started.

Enquire Now

At the bottom of this page in an enquiry form, but first, let’s answer questions you might be wondering right now.

Q: “What is Programmatic Advertising?”

Continue reading “Programmatic Advertising: Beginners Guide For Tauranga Based Businesses”

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What If You Could Write Faster, Read Faster, Listen Faster, Watch Faster, and Think Faster?

Please don’t abuse the knowledge I’m about to bestow on you.

I don’t want to increase your stress levels.

I don’t want you to cram more in to your life just because you can.

Sometimes it’s important to slow down instead of speed up.

  • Slow down when you are spending time with your family.
  • Slow down when you’re enjoying a sunset or a sunrise.
  • Slow down when you are making an important decision, or pondering the meaning of life.

That said, the benefits of doing things faster are many.

For me, I’ve found that doing things faster is a real time saver.

  • I can put more of the things I enjoy into every day.
  • I can get the boring but necessary bits out of the way faster.
  • I can work through my to-do list faster to make more time for breaks and fun.

So here’s my list of 5 ways to do things faster. Continue reading “What If You Could Write Faster, Read Faster, Listen Faster, Watch Faster, and Think Faster?”

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Is Your Blog Stale? How Not Updating Your Blog Can Damage Your Business

“When I look at your blog I can almost see the tumbleweed rolling through…”

Are visitors to your website thinking that?

If you have a blog section on your website, at some point you thought it was a good idea to get one.

You might call it your “news section” or your “article section”, they are all the same thing.

You were probably told one, or all, of these reasons.

3 Reasons Why Writing New Articles For Your Blog Is Good For Your Business

Continue reading “Is Your Blog Stale? How Not Updating Your Blog Can Damage Your Business”

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Own A Cafe, Restaurant, Bar But Have No Website? Get One Before 2013

If you don’t have a website for your Cafe, Restaurant or Bar, then take some comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

Did you know that only about one third (to one half) of New Zealand’s Cafe’s, Restaurant’s and Bar’s have a website?

The 5 Most Common Objections I Hear From Owners:

When asked why they don’t have a website, owners typically come up with one or more of the following objections.

(Have similar thoughts gone through your head? If so, it’s time to update your thinking.)

1. “I don’t know how, I’m not good with computers”

  • Then learn. Or at least find a family member or staff member to take care of the basics.

2. “Websites cost too much”

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Business Facebook Pages: 6 Simple Tips For Your Business Page on Facebook

Are you just about to set up a Business Page on Facebook?

Or have you set one up already but it’s just not generating business for you?

Then this short list of tips will save you some time and help you generate some results.

#1. Don’t sign up for a new Facebook Personal Profile just for the business

  • You can always tell when people do this because under the business name it says “Add as Friend” instead of just clicking “Like”
  • This introduces strange elements like “Date of Birth” and “Hometown” and “Marriage Status” that just don’t fit. This is because Facebook Personal profiles are for people, not businesses
  • The “Add as Friend” process is odd and cumbersome for your Fans. It creates a barrier that you just don’t need
  • Also, this is a violation of Facebooks Terms of Service that state that everybody on the planet can have one login only and that each personal profile must be a real person not a business.
  • Anyone with a personal Facebook account can set up a business page. If you’re an employee, that’s fine, you won’t be personally identified on the business page, and you can set up additional admins so that when you leave, you can remove your own access and everything still runs smoothly
  • If you’ve made this mistake you can convert your Personal Profile to a Facebook Business Page

#2. Ensure your Cover Photo is the right size

  • Set your cover photo to exactly 851px by 315px
  • If you don’t, then Facebook will do a really bad job of resizing it for you and introduce graininess and “artifacts” around parts of the image (especially any text)

#3. Add a Facebook widget or “Like Box” to your website

  • Don’t be tempted to just add a Facebook icon and link, add a whole widget! Facebook calls it the “Like Box“
  • Set the widget to show 20+ fans (the more the better)
  • The genius of this is that Facebook will automatically show the friends of the person looking at the webpage which will encourage them to “Like” you too. That is “social proof” that makes people think “if my friends have liked these guys, I will too!”
  • Turn off the other junk like a stream of message
  • This is the easiest way to get Facebook followers

#4. Get a Vanity Url as soon as you can

#5. Consider Facebook Advertising/Promotion

  • Consider Facebook text-ad advertising. It’s ability to target specific groups of people in your target market is unmatched on the planet. However, people are on Facebook to socialise, not to click on ads so Click-Through-Rates are poor
  • Consider promoting one or two of your posts using the $5/$10 promotion button. This can expose your messages to a huge audience

#6. Use Polls for creating engaging content

  • Polls work really well for getting people talking about 3 or more choices you set
  • Everybody who votes automatically tells all their friends what they’ve done so the word spreads virally

What do you need to make your Facebook Business Page really work for you?

  • Do you need help with the initial set up of each your Facebook Business Page?
  • Do you need someone who can provide you with advice, strategy, techniques, know-how, shortcuts, tips and tricks on how to use various social media platforms to generate results for your business?
  • Do you need training so you can control it all yourself so you don’t need to pay anyone to do it for you?

I know some people who can help with this, so let me know if you’d like to talk to them.

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Customer Survey Package

I’m about to show you that with your next customer survey, it is possible to generate satisfaction rather than just measure satisfaction.

Let’s consider the customer’s perspective first.

Do any of the following 3 scenario’s sound familiar?

1. Imagine you have just started dinner and the phone rings…

You pick up and it’s someone asking you to partake in a market research survey.

Do you leap at the chance?

2. Imagine you are out and about and get asked to fill in a satisfaction survey…

You get half way through, does it suddenly occur to you how pointless the questions are?

Maybe it occurs to you “surely they will get so little usable information back they really shouldn’t have bothered!”

3. Imagine you get emailed a link to a survey with a free prize at the end…

So you start it, expecting it to take 2 or 3 minutes, but it turns into a 25 minute marathon, so you rush blindly through the rest of the answers just to qualify for the prize.

And then you get to the end and you realise it’s not a free prize, it’s the chance to win a free prize, so you get angry because you’ve wasted your time for no reward.

And just as bad, you’ve provided them with a useless response anyway because you didn’t even read most of the questions.

Sound familiar? (I’m looking at you Subway).

There are 2 major problems with Customer Survey’s these days:

  1. The customers experience is horrible. Most survey’s are boring and feel pointless
  2. The whole point of them is to provide actionable information to aid business decisions, right? Well, they they fail dismally at that

Well, I have good news for you, there is a better way.

There is a way to generate satisfaction with a survey rather than just measuring satisfaction.

  • Do you want to know more about what turns on your customers?
  • Do you want to explore opportunities to grow your customer base, or sell more to your existing customers?
  • Do you want to identify defects in your service that you can fix immediately?
  • Do you want to be customer-led and pro-active rather than fall behind your competitors?
  • Do you want to take action from the results rather than just file them on a shelf somewhere to get dusty?
  • Do you want to craft questions that won’t bore your clients to tears?
  • Do you want to ask only the most important questions because you know people will get bored if there are more than 10?
  • Do you want to motivate your customers to provide you with full answers rather than tick-the-box responses?
  • Do you want to communicate to your customers that you really care about their responses?

If you answered “Yes” to these questions, then this is for you.

This Customer Survey Package Is Not For You If…

If you already have a good feeling for what your results will be and just want the data to back up your hunch, walk away now.

I have zero tolerance for that crap.

I’ll strip back your questions to the bare basics and give your customers every chance to answer in the way they want to rather than how you or your boss wants them to answer.

This way you’ll actually get results you can take action on, rather than ones that can immediately start to accumulate dust on a shelf somewhere.

Do you need to pretty much copy the questions from previous years so you can show statistical improvement?

Too bad. I don’t care about the past. I just care about how your customers today can help you adapt to the customers in your future.

So leave your past behind and let’s tap into your customers minds and future-proof your business today.

Q: “How Much Does it Cost?”

  • $1800.00
  • No hosting fees

Q: “What’s involved?”

We will start with a short meeting. I will ask you questions such as:

  • What do you want to achieve?
  • What action will you take if the results show x, or y?
  • What questions do you think we should ask?
  • How will you invite customers to fill it in? (eg by email invitation, hyperlink on your website, or advertising)
  • What incentive will you provide for them to fill it in? What’s in it for them? (“Out of the goodness of their heart” will only get you so far)

Geeky Technical Stuff

  • I use open source software. My favourite is Lime Survey (check out the demo) or Google Forms or Survey Monkey
  • If your website is on an Apache server running php and MySQL, I can host the survey on one of your sub-domains eg http://survey.yourwebsite.co.nz
  • Otherwise, I will host the survey on one of my subdomains eg http://yoursurvey.marketingfirst.co.nz, or we could purchase a new domain for your survey if you are really serious

Want to Find Out More?

    Your Name: *

    Your Email: *

    Your Phone: *

    Your Website:

    http://

    Message:

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    Market Research Package

    • Do you have your eye on a target market and want to find out what those customers want?
    • Do you want to find out more about the competition (if any) in that space?
    • Do you want to evaluate the risk and determine your chance of success?

    Then consider this Market Research Package.

    Q: “Is this Market Research Package For Me?”

    • Are you thinking about launching a new product or service a little bit outside of your domain?
    • Is the growth curve flat in your industry and you know you need to innovate now to survive/thrive?
    • Thinking of buying out an existing business and want to know what you’re really in for in that market?

    If you answered “Yes” to these questions, then this package is for you.

    Q: “How Much Does it Cost?”

    • $3600.00

    Q: “What’s involved?”

    We would start with a short meeting. I will ask you questions such as:

    • What core competencies are you bringing that make you think you’ll succeed?
    • What drives you?
    • Why are you changing the status quo?
    • Who’s on the team?
    • What human resources do we have?
    • What missing skills do we need to find?
    • What does success look like?
    • Where do you want the business to be in 12 months/24 months from now?

    Want to Find Out More?

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    Small Business Website: Do It Yourself For Only $141.50

    If you don’t have a website for your small business, then take some comfort in the fact that you are not alone.

    Did you know that only about one third (to one half) of New Zealand businesses have a website?

    The 5 Most Common Objections I Hear From Owners:

    When asked why they don’t have a website, owners typically come up with one or more of the following objections.

    (Have similar thoughts gone through your head? If so, it’s time to update your thinking.)

    1. “I don’t know how, I’m not good with computers”

    • Then learn. Or at least find a family member or staff member to take care of the basics.

    2. “Websites cost too much”

    • Wrong. They can cost as little as $141.50+gst/year. I’ll tell you how in a moment.

    3. “I don’t think I’ll get a return on the investment”

    • Wrong. A simple website is the best return on investment you can get. It beats all other advertising options. And the payback gets better and better the longer you’ve got a website

    4. “That’s not how customers choose a business”

    • Wrong. It may not be how you choose a business but it is the way that hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders do it. Plus more every day

    5. “I’m too busy, I don’t have time to keep it updated”

    • Keep the content simple. Don’t do anything fancy. Delegate to family or staff.

    The 4 Best Reasons To Have An Official Website:

    Ask owners who do have a website why they do, you might hear things like…

    1. “Our website is the official place where I own and control the content”

    • That’s right. No longer are you at the mercy of business directories like Finda who display your brand however they like

    2. “Our website is the official place where the public can be confident and trust the info because they know we wrote it”

    • That’s right. Otherwise you are annoying potential customers by forcing them to use a business directory like Finda that has missing, incomplete or just plain wrong details. Wouldn’t it be better if they went to your official website instead?

    3. “We noticed that the public are increasingly using the internet at home, at work and even on their phones wherever they are, to choose a business”

    • That’s right. Having your own website means you get to appear in search results and get a chance at being chosen. Isn’t that better than no chance at all?

    4. “We’d prefer to have an upset customer contact us via our website rather than complain publicly on Facebook or a business directory”

    • That’s right. Not having an official website effectively forces upset customers to vent their frustration on platforms like Facebook where you have zero control and you won’t hear about the complaint until it’s too late to fix it, or never hear about it at all.

    What You Should Do Next:

    If you are a small business owner and you don’t have a website yet, here’s the 5 steps you should take next:

    The 5 Simple Steps To Take If You Want An Official Website

    1. Go to 1stdomains.co.nz and purchase your website address for $21.50+gst/year

    • Get a .co.nz (not a .net, or .net.nz or anything else!)
    • Set the DNS settings to ns1.ramsu.co.nz and ns2.ramsu.co.nz

    2. Go to the website hosting company Ramsu.co.nz and purchase hosting for $120+gst/year

    • Type in the domain name you purchased
    • Create a database using the admin panel and write down the username and password

    3. The next day, go to WordPress.org and download the latest version of their free website building software

    • WordPress is high quality Content Management System that is easy to use. If you get stuck, any problem can be solved with a Google search
    • Follow the set up instructions written on WordPress.org called “the famous 5 minute install”

    4. Login for the first time and start writing content

    • Keep it simple. No fancy stuff. Just the basics that prospective customers want to know
    • Phone number + address + Google Map + your products and services + testimonials. That’s it.
    • If you check your email once a week, don’t you dare put your email address on your website

    5. Register your new website address with Finda.co.nz (and a few other free business directories too)

    • This just gives Google a kick to announce that your website is up and running

    Still Too Hard?

    Then ask a family member or staff member to help.

    They teach this stuff in primary school now, so find a 10 year old and get on with it.