I was listening to Tom Anderson on Radio One this morning (for those of you wondering - yes I am slightly older than their target listener profile!) and he was talking about setting up MySpace. Two things struck me: one) just how quickly they went from start-up to multi-million dollar sales tag; and two) - how it wasn’t a new or unique idea. They just took something that existed and made it better. Is that cheating or good business sense? What is best: a new idea or a better version of an old one?

The natural starting point of many entrepreneurs is to look for the ultimate new business idea. But that’s hard and I believe only a few come around every decade. So why not start thinking like Tom - what bothers you about life? Why does a particular company or product get you vexed? This is the starting point - once you have a problem you can find a solution. And it will be a solution that makes your life and lots of other peoples’ lives muchh easier. The business will surely follow.

Proper market research is important when starting a business or launching a new product. This may be hard to accept but you don’t always know best and friends and family often tell you what you want to hear. This means you need to go deeper and wider and ask more questions to more people.

But beware; what people say isn’t always what they will do. Especially when it’s on a subject where they give the right answer rather than the true answer.

Read the rest of this entry »

With so many stories of an recession there seems to be a definite feeling of impending doom. Actually things are slowing down but harder times can also be an opportunity for small businesses.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been working with a number of new business start-ups recently and found it increasingly difficult. It’s not the things you’d expect; the business concept, the company strategy and the marketing plan were all worked through and completed successfully. It’s getting the company name and the domain name to match (and make sense) that has been tricky. So this makes me wonder; which comes first - the name or the domain?

Read the rest of this entry »

Has there been a time that you’ve lived to regret doing business with someone? It seems a common occurrence for many people I have spoken to over the last few months. There are two really bad customers that you need to learn to spot. And if you see them, run like crazy in the other direction. If you don’t they’ll drag you down.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hertfordshire based accountancy firm QF Solutions selected The Marketing Helpdesk to run their recently announced PPC campaign.  The results? Within 24 hours of the campaign going live they received their first qualified lead.  How much did this cost them? Less than 40 pence.  That is the power of online advertising - it is not just for the big players with deep pockets - if done correctly there is plenty of scope for small businesses as well. 

Refurbishment specialists BriteFox have chosen The Marketing Helpdesk to design a new website.  It will showcase Britefox’s innovative interior design solutions and feature an interactive online cost calculator.  This will allow the sales team to automate an outline quotation - giving potential customers an immediate response to their enquiry.  Based just moments from the TMH headquarters we are looking forward to doing a great job for this established local business.

Maidenhead’s Project Support Services have retained The Marketing Helpdesk to produce a new company brochure.  Having worked with some on the UK’s biggest High Street retailers PSS required marketing collateral that reflected the previous work they had undertaken.  The creative team at The Marketing Helpdesk have got underway on this exciting project.  A new corporate website is also in the pipeline - so watch this space. 

One of the worlds largest market research companies AC Nielsen selected The Marketing Helpdesk to run a series of training sessions for the Vietnam based marketing team.  The training covered various elements of campaign design, advert formatting and keyword selection.  Pay per click advertising is a relatively new technique in Vietnam and the series of sessions really got the team off to a flying start. The initial campaign focused on specific areas of consumer decision making and will be run alongside a number of events being held in Asia throughout February and March.

Leading UK hair extension supplier Tasha Jacks has selected The Marketing Helpdesk to redevelop their corporate website.  Selling to some of the UK’s top hair stylists it is critical that the site projects a contemporary look and feel.  In an industry where image is everything the creative team at The Marketing Helpdesk will relish the opportunity of working with one of the industry leaders.