Member Blog

Whether traveling to the next holiday destination or away on strictly business, there are numerous different factors to consider when flying both abroad and within the UK in order to better prepare yourself for if things go wrong. Unfortunately, issues such as delays and cancellations to your flight travels are not necessarily a rarity.

Therefore, it’s always best to know the rights you have as an air travel passenger, helping you to make the most out of a bad situation, and to get as much compensation from your flight issues as possible.

The laws surrounding the flight rights of UK citizens are currently under EU law, entitling passengers from the United Kingdom the same rights as all those from within the European Union, and further are fully covered with these laws when either departing from an airport in the EU (regardless of the airline) or arriving at an airport in the EU via a plane that is also EU airline-operated.

If your flight is not covered by the rules and regulations of the EU law, passengers may still have rights to assistance, however, you should always check this before your travels.

With Brexit looming at the end of this month, the current rights for UK passengers (protected under EU laws) are likely to change, however the exact nature of how is unknown. Through this piece, we will be exploring the current rights UK citizens now have whilst flying.

The Length of your Flight

In addition to the conditions stated above regarding when airplane passengers’ rights are covered by EU law, the length of your flight is an important factor that can also have an effect on such rights. Therefore, before departing on your travels it is always best to check the distance of your flight in order to determine what category it falls under, and furthermore what rights you may be entitled to as a passenger. The distance of your flight may be shown in your flight confirmation details. Below is a list detailing the different types of flights categorised by distance:

• Short-haul flights – under the distance of 1,500km.
• Medium-haul flights – between the distance of 1,500km and 3,500km.
• Long-haul flights – over the distance of 3,500km.

Short-haul Flights

As long as this flight is covered by EU law (details mentioned above) you are entitled to all such elements of care and assistance funded by the airline as food, drink, access to communication and if necessary, accommodation.

Other factors you may be entitled to for short-haul flights include those listed below:

Flight Delays and Cancellations

If your flight has been delayed and you have substantial and valid evidence that it was the airline’s fault, you may be able to claim a sum of compensation money

If your flight is cancelled your airline must offer you the following two options to choose from:

• Refund the ticket.
• Offer alternative flight

If less than 14 days’ notice is given by the airline for cancellation, you can claim compensation based on the circumstances of the alternative flight offered.

If your alternative flight arrives at the desired destination more than three hours after the time the original flight was due in passengers can claim €250 equivalent to £215 per person (taking the current exchange rate into account). Companies such as Myflyright can help you understand your rights and claim the necessary compensation.

Medium-haul Flights

As long as covered by the EU laws mentioned previously, all passengers on medium-haul flights are entitled to such offers of care and assistance from the airline as food, drink, means of contact and communication (e.g. phone), and, when necessary, accommodation. In addition to this, other factors you may be entitled to include the following:

Delays and Cancellations

Similar to the short-haul flight policy, if your flight is delayed and you have valid evidence that it was the airline’s fault you may be able to claim for compensation. In addition to this, if a flight has been delayed for more than five hours for departure or more than 3 hours for arrivals, passengers can make compensation claims.

If your flight is cancelled, the airline must also offer passengers the following options to choose from:

• Refund the ticket.
• Offer alternative flight.

When less than 14 days’ notice is given to the passengers for cancellation, compensation can be claimed based on the details of this. If an alternative flight arrives more than three hours after the time that the original flight was due in, passengers can claim €400, around £343 per person (taking the current exchange rate into consideration) in compensation.

Long-haul Flights

As with both the short and medium-haul flights, issues surrounding delays and cancellations with long-haul flights entitles its passengers to such offers of care and assistance mentioned previously.

In addition to this, if a flight is cancelled with under 14 days of notice given, and the option of an alternative flight is taken; passengers can claim up to €600 equal to £515 (at the current exchange rate) in compensation if the new flight comes in over three hours after the original flight schedule.

Our consultants are sometimes asked for advice on the career progression opportunities available in our region in comparison to those in London. As professional recruitment consultants for the eastern region, we have extensive experience of the region’s recruitment market and the employment trends in the area. Here are just some of the reasons why we believe our region provides not only excellent career progression opportunities but also fantastic places to work.

THE OPPORTUNITIES

Our region is home to a diverse range of businesses. Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk are home to everything from large, national and international companies through to thriving SMEs, family-owned businesses and innovative start-ups. There are award-winning businesses and organisations listed in the Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For within sectors including Energy, Digital and Technology, Financial Services, Life Sciences, Food and Agriculture, Tourism and Advanced Manufacturing. This business diversity provides a wealth of exciting challenges and opportunities for our candidates and these companies are looking to recruit talented people at all levels who will help to shape and grow the business. In our last financial year, we supported 2,340 candidates in the region to find their next professional role and we are currently recruiting for nearly 400 different professional job roles, many of which are exclusive vacancies not advertised elsewhere.

THE BENEFITS

Choosing to work in the East of England can enhance your career progression, rather than hold it back in any way. Typically, larger organisations in the UK’s major cities are more likely to offer roles with very specific and narrow set of responsibilities. Whereas the diversity of business size and sectors in our region means we see more organisations providing employees with the chance to gain a more rounded experience, take on more responsibility, and the opportunity to develop new skills as the business grows. Like many organisations in our region, such as our strategic partners which include Birketts LLP and Grant Thornton, we are passionate about developing the region’s talent pipeline. There are numerous opportunities for people to gain additional support to progress their careers including our Women’s Leadership Programme, Board Ready Talent Scheme, Finance Leadership Programme and HR Development Programme.

THE EMPLOYERS

Working with clients across the Eastern region, our consultants have seen an increase in organisations developing their workplace cultures. Through our Best Employers Eastern Region initiative and sponsorship of local Best Employer awards, we support and promote employers across the region who are committed to creating positive working environments which bring out the best in their people. One of the priorities we look for when judging these awards and accreditations is the organisation’s talent strategy and its approach to learning and development and supporting employees to progress. 

THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION

The larger size of the market means it is inevitable that some businesses in London will be able to offer higher salary packages, but when travel and cost of living are in consideration, the net gain is not always positive. Salaries in the eastern region are competitive and should be considered alongside the considerably lower cost of living. The latest statistics from our free salary comparison tool www.comparemysalary.co.uk shows that the average salaries in our region range from £24,500 for office support roles through to £42,500 for Technology roles. We have also seen an increasing trend in organisations in our region offering more attractive benefit packages. Considering people spend the majority of their waking hours at work, additional lifestyle benefits such as extra annual leave, flexible working and wellbeing initiatives can all make a big difference to day-to-day life as well as people’s own engagement levels and motivation to progress. Compare My Salary shows that the top benefits available to employees in our region include flexible working, additional annual leave and company paid training, alongside benefits which impact on the overall remuneration package such as health insurance, life insurance and free car parking.

Contact us for more information about current job vacancies and career progression opportunities in our region.

If you want somebody to invest in your new company, a professional high-quality pitch deck is a must. 

You only have minutes to gain their attention, in a highly competitive market too. 

James Church of Robot Mascot has great experience in creating pitch decks that work, as they understand the investor mindset. 

Find out his top tips in this informative podcast: https://businessgrowthclub.net/podcasts

There’s no hiding the truth. SEO takes time. As much as it would be great to leap from the third page of Google to the first overnight, there’s no amount of wizardry that can make this happen. Instead, it requires a little patience and a lot of hard work to climb up the rankings.

The reason it takes time is that you need to prove to Google that you’re an authority and your site gives users what they want. This means building a technically impressive site that’s easy to use and full of helpful content. 

You’ll also need to establish links from trusted and relevant sites in your industry. These links effectively serve as respected organisations calling out to Google and saying ‘hey, look at these guys, they really know what they’re talking about!’. Once Google has listened to this shout, you should notice that you begin to creep up the rankings.   

But Why Do I Need to Be at The Top of Google?

Getting as far up the first page of Google is anything from a vanity project. Indeed, research has revealed that the first result for any given Google search will receive 32.5% of traffic whilst second place will get 17.6% and third will take 11.4%.

When it comes to searches concerning the products and services your business provides, you’re naturally going to want to take the lion’s share of the traffic.         

What Will I Need to Do?

The first thing you’ll need to do is make sure that your site is technically sound and setup correctly. You’ll need to ensure that each page is properly titled, the content is laid out with the approved heading structure, and you’re not overdoing it with your keywords. You’ll also want to make sure the site loads nice and quickly.  

Once you’ve got these foundations firmly in place, it’s time to set about building links and getting the right people to point to your site.

This process is something of an art form in itself and you’ll need to be certain that the sites you’re approaching are worth getting a link from. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself how relevant the site you want a link from is and if its users will benefit from being directed to your site.

A good digital agency will be able to identify the true value of a link to your site and provide recommendations about the best ones to chase up.

How Long Will I Have to Wait for Results?

The time it will take for your site to reach the sweet spots will depend a lot on your industry. If you’re selling running shoes, for example, there will be a lot more competition than if you’re selling used xylophones. There’s no need to fear if you are selling running shoes, however, as there are still ways to speed things up. Creating engaging content, acquiring powerful links, and tightening up your site pages will all signal to Google that you’re an active and valuable resource for users.

Do You Have Any Proof of all This?

At Nu Image, we’ve been fortunate to work with some fantastic local businesses for many years. In the case of Norfolk Broads Direct and Broads Tours, we’ve been managing their SEO for over six years. During this time, we’ve enjoyed some impressive gains.   

Back in 2013, Norfolk Broads Direct attracted just over 50,000 users. Last year, it cleared well over 220,000 users. Over this period of time we’ve also seen organic traffic increase by over 1160%. In terms of sales, this led to a 69% rise in online bookings.

This certainly goes a long way towards illustrating the greater pay-offs that SEO delivers as time goes on.      

A key benefit of managing these SEO campaigns for a number of years is that we’ve collected a lot of data in that time. An awful lot of data, to be precise. From keyword performance to user behaviour, we’ve been able to monitor every aspect of the way the business operates online.  

This data has allowed us to better understand how users arrive at the site, what they do once they get there, and most importantly, how they like to place bookings.

Armed with this information, we’ve been able to optimise the sites and make them as profitable as possible. This is what we now do on a daily basis to continue directing new customers to the site.

How Can Your Agency Help Me?

We make no apologies for being huge SEO nerds at Nu Image. Obviously, our success hinges entirely on the success of our clients. Not until they’re rising up the rankings are we able to celebrate.       

Keeping up to date with the industry at large, we pride ourselves on adapting our strategies every time that Google decides to move the goal posts. Ultimately, this allows our clients to focus on the day to day running of their business whilst we make sure that new customers can find them online.  

If you or your business is looking to improve your SEO, get in touch with us today to find out how we can help.

We are delighted to be working with new price comparison website, Proper Finance. Following the success of our work with Choose Wisely, we were so pleased to be approached by the team at Proper Finance who are looking to compete in the competitive online loans and insurance space alongside players such as GoCompare, MoneySupermarket and Compare The Market. 

The Long Tail Approach

Offering our speciality of SEO, we proposed the idea to Proper Finance that the most competitive keywords are unlikely to be obtained within the first few months of working together, such as car insurance, personal loans and credit cards. Therefore, we presented the idea of the ‘long tail keyword’ approach whereby you target less competitive keywords with only a few monthly searches. However, if you start ranking for lots of these terms, you are able to successfully accumulate 3k, 5k or 10k visitors per month, within the first year. 

Beyond this, you take this traffic and build it up, sending following up emails to customers and creating a relationship with them – and before you know it, you are a recognised brand and competing well in the market.

How We Go About This

We have started the campaign for Proper Finance by adding hundreds of relevant landing pages for very niche subjects including reliable lenders, trustworthy loan companies and high acceptance loans – where there are notably less searches, less competition but enough interest to generate visitors and a positive return. Similarly, we have been working on variations of keywords such as bad credit, compare, no fees, no guarantor etc – to really capture the most searches possible.

In addition, we have created SEO pages for keywords that are in the middle of the competition such as low cost loans and unsecured loans.

The implementation of the landing pages includes adding h2 headings to create a good structure and using internal links to link to other pages on the site – something that is good for use and what Google loves.

We have made some very good progress in the first 3 months, and have already ranked over 30 keywords on page one, allbeit it very niche. We expect the full results to manifest within 6-12 months and this should see us on page 1 for hundreds of niche keywords, with low competition, but high click-through-rate and conversion.

A dream business team will comprise a well-balanced group of people who complement each other, challenge each other and bring out the best in each other. They will work efficiently together and be equipped and supported to achieve business objectives and results.

If you are recruiting for a new candidate to join an existing team, whether it is to replace someone or to increase the team’s size and resources, consider how they will fit with the team as well as in the role itself. One person can have a significant impact on the dynamics of a team. If they fit well, bringing complementary contributions, skill sets and approaches, they can help the team to work even more effectively. If they don’t fit, it can throw the entire balance and reduce engagement and efficiency across the whole team.

Considering the overall cultural fit of a new recruit is a great starting point to achieving team fit. With a clear employer brand featured across your recruitment materials and touch points, you should attract applicants who are inspired by and share the vision and values of your organisation. How can you then take this one step further and look to identify a good fit for a specific team?  

Identify your current team’s personalities

Before bringing anyone new into a team, take the time to understand the current personalities within the group. This could be through spending direct time with them, psychometric profiling, or a combination of both. The aim is to find out more about each team member as an individual. As well as looking at their skills and experience, look at how they work, how they interact, what their aspirations are and what they are motivated by. This will give you a better understanding not only of what additional skills or experience you need to find, but also what soft skills and working styles would fit and complement. This often doesn’t mean finding people who are all similar. Your team may currently be made up of highly creative workers for example but without the balance of people who are more detail focussed and organisation orientated.

Review current team roles

Before advertising a new position, review the current team’s responsibilities, performance and development opportunities. Is there an opening to increase engagement levels by offering an existing high-calibre member of the team the chance to progress or move into a different role? Bringing in a new recruit without consideration of this could potentially result in the disengagement of existing team members. They may feel they have been overlooked for the role the new employee would be filling. This reduces the chances of everyone working together as the dream team you are looking to build and the probability of the newest team member being able to fit in well. If you are replacing someone, are there any learnings to be considered first? If they were a great team fit, why was this? If not, what didn’t work so well?

Identifying team fit

Considering the first two areas should help you to build a more complete picture of what you need to find to achieve a good team fit. This is where our expert consultants can add real value to your recruitment process and help you to identify these desired traits. We work with our clients to provide competency-based interviewing techniques which focus not only on gathering evidence of required skills and experience, but also other competencies such as behaviours and personal qualities. Our complimentary services also include psychometric and personality profiling. There are many different types of assessment tests available, but generally, they will be used to measure how candidates differ in their motivation, values, priorities and opinions. This will help you to understand how they are likely to respond to different tasks and situations, their favoured working style and how they will interact with fellow workers. These tests can be especially useful if you have already used some form of profiling tool with your existing employees, as you will be able to see how potential candidates could fit and strengthen your existing team. Our consultants can also sit in on interviews, bringing an additional perspective on how the candidate would fit within the team dynamic.

And with team fit in mind, look for ways to involve team members within the interview process. This could be a social occasion with some or all, depending on numbers, of the candidate’s prospective peers. Or you could invite one or two of the team members to be on the interview panel. This will help you to see first-hand how candidates interact with their potential colleagues. It also gives the candidate their own chance to assess how they think they would fit with the team. Giving the other team members a say in the recruitment decision will also help them to feel more invested in their newest team member and encouraged to help them to fit in from the outset. 

Remain flexible and fair

While the team and cultural fit are worth exploring for all the reasons mentioned, it is still only one element to creating an overall recruitment campaign which shows real consideration for all involved and a commitment to achieving a successful result. The information gathered should always be considered as part of a wider picture and never be the only focus. Follow a fair and inclusive recruitment process and be considerate of not letting conscious or unconscious bias get in the way of making a great hiring decision. The best teams are usually made up of a variety of different people who all bring a range of different experiences, perspectives and skill sets to the table. They also naturally evolve and change over time.

Children at Monks Close in Bircham Newton will now be able to enjoy a new play area installed by Freebridge Community Housing’s Placeshaping Team.

Following some consultation work with the residents of Monks Close about how the neighbourhood could be improved, the Placeshaping Team were contacted by a number of parents living on the Close with concerns about the lack of activities available to their children.

So, working with the residents, the Placeshaping Team have now overseen the design and installation of a new play area – and a refurbishment of the some of the old existing play equipment.

One of the residents who has been heavily involved with the drive to get the work completed at Monks Close is Charlotte Beck, “I’m really pleased how Freebridge’s Placeshaping Team has worked together with me and other residents on Monks Close to provide this great new play area for the local kids. Although Monks Close is a great place to live we’re a long way from Hunstanton or King’s Lynn where most opportunities for children are based.”

Robert Clarke, Head of Housing at Freebridge, said “Monks Close is located in a very rural location, and amenities for the local children are limited. Freebridge’s vision is to support a better West Norfolk, which means that as well as providing good quality housing we need to support, where we can, efforts to improve the neighbourhoods our tenants live in. It’s been great to see the local people working with the Placeshaping team on this project, and now the new play area is finished we look forward to it being used by the local children for many years to come!”

It’s not a legal requirement to operate a colour coded cleaning regime but a plethora of legislation and guidelines leaves you with a responsibility to protect your staff, customers and anyone visiting your business. So, if you task your cleaner to clean all areas of your premises, including kitchens and washrooms armed with a single J-cloth and a mop, you could find yourself in deep water, and not necessarily clean water!

Joking aside, when the British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) first began to develop a universal colour code which would be recommended for use for the cleaning industry in the late 1990s, it was the start of an industry revolution to minimise contamination and prevent the spread of infection. In 2006, the UK applied new food and hygiene legislation, and as good practice, the Food Standards Agency suggested that separate cleaning equipment such as cloths, sponges and mops, should be used in areas where ready-to-eat foods are stored, handled and prepared. COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) legislation demands risk assessment and prevention or control of exposure to harmful microorganisms in the workplace. Colour coding cleaning equipment is an auditable way of demonstrating that you do this.

Colour coded cleaning is the process of designating colours to cleaning equipment in specific areas of a building, reducing the spread of germs and increasing hygiene. Primarily designed for use in high risk industries and trades, such as catering, hospitality and healthcare (which has its own strict requirements), it is now recognised that every premises presents a risk and that is why Monthind always adopts and applies a colour code for its cleaning equipment.

Many cleaning colour codes use four colours: red for washrooms and toilets, blue for general areas, green for kitchens, and yellow for clinical/lab. We use five and have added pink for cleaning toilets and urinals. Every item of cleaning equipment including mops, buckets, brushes, cloths and gloves are coloured to make them easily identifiable and every cleaning operative’s training includes the system’s management. Printed instructions are clearly visible in relevant areas if anyone ever needs to check, and supervisors are eagle-eyed when it comes to spotting a green mop heading in the direction of the toilets!

We welcome any initiative that ensures our cleaning contributes to the safety and wellbeing of your stakeholders and embrace colour-coded cleaning for its simplistic effectiveness to ensure your business remains compliant with Health and Safety requirement and a pleasant environment for you, your staff and your customers to work and do business.

For find out more about our cleaning services and for a no-obligation quotation, please call 01206 215300.

Much has been written about all kinds of business related planning – from operational planning to planning for growth – but most owners of small businesses fail to make any plans for the one event that is inevitable and will happen to every single business. 

As a result of not planning for this event business owners lose a large part of their wealth and, sadly, most of them do not even realise it. 

The event, of course, is the eventual passing of the reins, the change in ownership of the business. Every business, if it’s not to die, eventually passes to new owners. There is no alternative. The new owners might be ones who’ve bought the business, or they might be the children of the business owner who inherited the business on his death. In either case, a lot of value and tax breaks (!) are lost if the event wasn’t planned sufficiently in advance.

Why Is Planning Important?

Let’s look briefly at, for example, the sale of a business.

When a business is sold, it’s a one-off opportunity for the business owner/s to benefit from a significant financial reward by releasing value built in the business. However, the value a business has at the point of sale is dependent, contrary to popular opinion, on not just the profit (or turnover!). In fact, less than 50% of value that a good business possesses at the point of sale comes from the financials. The remainder comes from the owner having put in place, years ago, attributes that may appear relatively minor and insignificant but which have an oversized influence on value / price!

We have recent examples of a business that was under offer for +£500K but which failed due diligence because the contract under which it had signed clients over the years contained a minor legal flaw (which didn’t impact operations, but impacted sale of the business). A certain term in the contract severely restricted any acquirer’s options with respect transferring clients; the business ended up selling for less than £200K. Had that been spotted a few years ago, and corrected, it would have been worth +£300K to the owners! Another business had failed to keep the right records – records that are not legally required but which buyers invariably demand – and this costed it over 30% of its value. 

Similarly, using the “wrong” stock keeping software, not having a shareholder agreement and a myriad of other factors that do not impede the normal running of the business, can become major sticking points through the sale process thus preventing shareholders from getting full value. And without proper tax planning, again years in advance, many tax breaks can be lost! This includes the coveted Entrepreneurs Relief – a tax break that covers capital gains on the sale of a business.

Conclusion 

Business owners often believe that when the time comes for them to move on they can put the business up for sale and successfully cash out at a good price. What they fail to appreciate is that if they do not plan for this event years in advance they are unlikely to be able to realise anywhere near full value for the business. And if a sale is forced, perhaps as a result of the owner’s ill health, or death, it’s usually the case that the business sells for little more than the value of stock! Value in the intangible assets such as goodwill, trademarks, licences and approvals and much else …is often simply lost.

It’s worth all business owners treating a business exit like they would a last will and testament. The exit will eventually happen, and the owner’s preparation, or lack of it, will determine the price the business fetches.

Where can business owners get early advice on maximising the likely value of the business at the point of sale? If it’s a business that has a large property element – freehold of shops, pubs, leisure centres, any other commercial property, there are specialist commercial real estate agents who are able to advise. For broader advice on exit planning it may be worth finding the right business broker as many provide growth advisory and exit planning assistance. One can find the right broker at this has a directory. 

Best wishes for maximum value to your own exit whenever that happens.

Our local (and great) university here in Norwich, is the University of East Anglia or UEA. It has a history of funding new innovation, helping small businesses raise capital to bring their innovative ideas to market.

Their offer is comprehensive.  This includes funding loans which typically are issued over three years with an attractive interest rate. Certainly below the commercial norm.  These loans can be on a convertible basis, meaning they can be converted to equity later.  They will also consider taking an equity stake in the company.  Above all they offer first class advice, and have access to all the UEA has to offer too!

They will help in any way they can. You don’t need to have any connection to the University either so get in touch!

They have a new initiative called ‘Invest East’. Working with Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. Saffron explains all in this excellent podcast which you can listen to here: Access to funding via UEA 

Find out more about the Invest East programme here Invest East Website

I have a whole range of interesting and informative recordings you can access here:BGC Podcasts

I’m always up for a coffee too, as long as it’s good coffee of course: Contact Neil

Do you want to take your local business online? Maybe you need some help optimizing your site or establishing an online voice. Maybe you want to increase ROI and expand your audience. Either way, your fledgling website is ready for that final push out of the nest. We can help you do that. Read on to discover how you can push for online success in 2019.

Optimization and Accessibility Matter More

If you aren’t optimizing your website’s content to climb the ladder of the search engine result pages (SERPs), chances are you’re falling behind the competition. Nowadays, we know that organic search results will give a higher click-through rate than paid ads. What does that mean? It means people are more likely to click on something that doesn’t say “ad” on the bottom of it, as they trust a website more when it offers information freely rather than trying to make a sale right off the bat.

That also means you need to rank organically and get your page to the top of the SERPs. When your site ranks highly, more people will see it. It becomes accessible instantly, and high accessibility will result in a higher return on investment (ROI) for you. So, how do you rank number one? It isn’t simple or easy to do. Many companies choose to hire out SEO services to professionals, and this is a good idea. However, if that isn’t an option for you, there are a few things you can do.

First, spend time researching keywords to try and rank. Use an SEO tool like SEMrush or Moz to do this. Your best bet is to try and rank for long-tail keywords, which are strings of words. For example, if you have a shoe shop, you could try and rank for the keyword “women’s shoes in (your city),” instead of “shoe shop.” Long-tail keywords work best, but you need a research tool to do it right.

You also need to build content around these keywords. The content needs to be consistent and high quality, as the search engines will know if your articles or blog posts are full of fluff, and they’ll penalize you for it. However, if you build quality content around site-specific long-tail keywords, you’ll soar to the top of the SERPs and increase consumer accessibility.

Giving Consumers Options and Information is Key

So, you’re working on your ranking. Now what? It isn’t enough that potential customers click on your site. They need to stay there. Google tracks how much time a searcher stays on each page of your site, so the longer they stay, the more credible your website becomes. That ensures you won’t have to worry about losing your ranking, but it doesn’t take care of the other issue: how can you become a real resource for your customers?

The answer is simple: by giving them information as well as options. The market will transform this year, and those who wish to lead their companies to success must realize that businesses need change to grow. In 2019, the market will focus on the consumer. And the consumers of today value honesty, integrity and straightforwardness. They do not value smarm or disingenuousness. You’ll get much further by presenting information in an honest and straightforward way than you would by trying to force them down an antiquated sales funnel. And to provide them with information, you must produce content with some length and substance.

According to Forbes, the successful content of this year will be long-form. That means your blog posts and articles need to be over 2,000 words for your customers to consider them a real resource, come back to them time and again as well as share them with friends on social media. They need to be chock-full of valuable information that gives people a reason to keep consulting them. It’s the best way to establish yourself as an authoritative figure – and when you gain the respect of the community, the sales start to increase.

Special Offers, Free Trials & Discounts Make You Stand Out

So, you’re on the right track by producing long-form content, which provides valuable information to your customers, not pressuring them and using organic SEO to help yourself become more visible and accessible to your base. However, chances are your competition has also researched the same things you have. What’s to stop customers from clicking on the next site, deciding to buy from a competitor rather than your business?

Incentives can help you out with that. Provide clickable offers that save your customers money or provide them with the chance to test out your product for free. That makes your credibility soar as almost everyone is more likely to buy a product if they know for sure it’s a good one. So, give them a chance to test it and make sure that it is.

This one can be appropriate for nearly any industry. Gaming, food and drinks and even specific service-based businesses can all benefit from giving a little to get a lot. For example, say you own a restaurant. Why not give someone a discount incentive to come in for a meal? Make a niche discount like a date-night discount of 50 percent, promote it on your website and social media, and customers will flock to take advantage of it. If they like your restaurant and have an enjoyable time there, they’ll keep coming back, regardless of whether they get a discount.

The same holds true for services like software development. If you offer plugins or other services, give them away for free for a period of one month. Interested parties will, of course, flock to try out your services. Once they come to understand how good your development services are, they’ll come to rely on them – and be only too happy to make a purchase when their trial period ends.

Forward-thinking iGaming brands can also attract customers with free trials, and bingo is an excellent example of this. Brits love their bingo, so intelligent providers offer them the chance to play bingo online with no deposit. So, it ends up being free play. That way, potential new customers can get the hang of how the game works and discover if they like the site. That offer is especially alluring because it holds the possibility to win some money without making a deposit, ensuring that they pique the potential customers’ interest. It’s the iGaming version of a no-risk free trial.

You should consider the impact something like this could have on your customers and work to integrate it into your marketing strategy. At the end of the day, it builds your credibility to offer something for free, so don’t hesitate to do so.

Establishing Brand Voice and Authority Online

Note that establishing a brand voice and a reputation as an authority takes time and patience. Therefore, you should use your local reputation as much as you can, asking customers in-store to help you out with some online reviews. These, of course, need to be genuine, or they serve no purpose. You may find that many customers are already loyal and are happy to help you out.

Post testimonials from your current clients on your website and social media to strengthen your authority further. Consumers are much more likely to listen to those who have been in the same boat they have, and they trust others more than you because ultimately, you are selling something.  

Each review, testimonial and another piece of content you produce should help you establish your brand voice further as an entity and your authority as a vendor. Your brand should have a definitive personality, and your content needs to reflect that. Radiate a personality that reflects your largest sales demographic and appeals to your customers, and your business will thrive.

Now that you know what to do, you can lay the groundwork for a successful website this year. Follow these tips and tricks to attract more clientele, satisfy your customers every need and make online marketing a breeze in 2019.

Elevating your events with an investment in a custom exhibition stand can be a big step, but that’s exactly what Avani Solutions decided to do ready for their PUB 2019 appearance. Not satisfied with raising the bar on beer quality alone, they wanted to raise the bar on their event marketing too.

‘It was the right time for us to move to a custom design, having already opted in previous years to increase our stand space. We had struggled to put together a coherent stand space with enough visual impact and interactivity, so turned to outside support for the answer.’ – Avani Solutions

With such a passion to showcase their evolving brand and industry-leading services, we knew Avani needed a sleek contemporary space that provided the impact and interaction they were looking for, whilst remaining sensitive to their space and budget. Building on the creative foundations with Ark, we were delighted to be introduced and brought in to offer specialist support. We set about creating a bespoke stand that incorporated high quality graphics, arresting shapes and on-brand interactions, all within a modest 6 x 2 metre footprint.

Working with their energetic blue brand colours accented with subtle, stylish ‘suds’, an already arresting backdrop was enhanced by custom 3D elements. Most notably a large curved light-box which brightly displayed Avani Solution’s hero statement & branding, complemented by a back-lit 3D graphic to the right. The use of circular graphics and icons ensured a cohesive look throughout, which whilst minimalist, delivered considerable impact to capture visitors’ attention.

However, just like a good beer, there’s no point having a flashy glass but pouring a pint with no flavour…and Avani certainly added plenty of that to their stand. Leveraging their full marketing mix and immersing visitors in their imaginative beer heaven or hell interaction, Avani Solutions ensured they were active in getting the most out of their stand and truly raising the bar on their events, knowing that they could focus on their business, while we took care of the rest…

‘The solution provided by Image Display included all the behind-the-scenes administration and logistics, as well as the expertise to design and build a viable and impactful exhibition stand. At no point did we need to worry about the detail as you had it covered. 

The Image team…worked efficiently to make sure everything was in place on time and we’d like to thank them and the rest of the team for an all-round great experience.’ – Avani Solutions

A huge ‘cheers’ to Avani Solutions & Ark for making us part of their event, we can’t wait to raise the bar with them again later this year!

 If you’re considering a step out of the shell scheme, a move away from modular or a fresh start altogether – ask us how we can help you today!