Happy New Year and welcome back to the office. I hope you’re rested and recharged to tackle 2016 with renewed enthusiasm. Maybe you’re thinking about what changes you can make to ensure 2016 is a success, or at least better than 2015.
The first quarter of the year is the perfect time for focusing on your business plan and setting new goals and objectives. Not just for your business, but also for you, your staff, your customers, and your stakeholders.
Successful entrepreneur, Richard Branson, stands by his words: “If you look after your staff, they’ll look after your customers. It’s that simple.” But what exactly does “looking after” mean? HR does an awful lot to hire, train, and retain the best. But there is more to business success than ‘simply’ looking after staff. Innovation, opportunity and communication, are as essential as the perks.
People like working for and being associated with successful businesses. But if your company, accountant, recruitment firm, and IRD are the only organisations that know your success, you might be limiting your opportunity to grow.
If you really want 2016 to be a milestone year, then look after all those involved with your business, by recognising, appreciating, and communicating with everyone involved with your business – customers, suppliers, stakeholders, associates, as well as your staff.
Improving both your internal and external PR and marketing efforts is known to help raise business profile and provide more opportunity for success.
Here are a few PR and marketing tips that can help make 2016 your milestone year:
- Check all online stats using Google Analytics now and mark areas for improvement. Benchmark progress throughout the year.
- Add fresh, interesting and informative content to your website and social media accounts often.
- Provide free information resources i.e. tips and ebooks for visitors to download via online forms.
- Build your contacts (prospective customers and/or referrers) and encourage more visitors to your website by writing blogs, starting and commenting on relevant discussions, and contributing articles to relevant key media in your target markets.
- Ask your customers if they’re willing to support your marketing with testimonials and case studies.
- Keep in touch. Share your company news and case studies with your staff, customers and stakeholders. If it’s really newsworthy, tell the media too.
- Enter business awards and use your customer testimonials and case studies to highlight your achievements.
- Sponsor an initiative, good cause, and/or an event. And tell others about it.
- Encourage staff to be ambassadors for your company. Provide them opportunities to present at events and conferences, and write articles.
- Be involved with the community. Work with local schools, universities, incubators, community groups, and business development organisations.
- Share your successes and case studies with the media, and add links to any published articles online, in social media and in your newsletters.
- Network at events, or host a networking event. Open your doors and welcome others to learn about your business.
Essentially the more proactive you can be with your marketing and PR, the more opportunity you will create for your business. Onwards and upwards!
