One of Quintas’ key offerings is our advisory services.   Over the years we have gained extensive experience, as we deal with a variety of business types. 

We are regularly asked to give advice to clients on how they can improve their current marketing efforts, communicate better with their existing clients as well as how they can attract new customers.   

Here are just a few simple tips:

Your company website:  Think of your website as your companies shop window and your hardest working employee, who else will be working for you 24/7!

• Ensure you create a website for your business that is easy to navigate i.e. that with just a few clicks the user can find what they are looking for with ease.   
• Ensure your website is optimised.  This should be done first day by your web designer, with your input, but it is important to continue to optimise the content so that it will rank highly on google searches thereby making sure your website is found.
• It is extremely important to update your website regularly i.e. run special offers for your customers and or update your news sections with items that will be of interest to your customers;  this will not only keep your site relevant but again it will also assist with its google ranking.
• Keep an eye on your google analytics.  This will give you some key statistics on where your website traffic is coming from and what pages are most popular.  With these insights you can manage your site effectively.
• Run a google ads campaign.  These are very easy to create and you have full control on the amount that is spent on any given campaign.  Google ads are a great way to generate traffic to your website.

Social Media:  It is of the utmost importance to get active on social media platforms.   There are various to choose from but for a start it is probably best to choose one or two which you feel are most suited to your business type.  Here is a rundown on some of the most popular:

• LinkedIn – this is a great platform for individuals for their own professional profile but is also a great tool for businesses.  Dedicated business pages can be created which is a great way to showcase your business and build brand awareness.   You can reinforce your message by sponsoring updates to specific target audiences and you can measure the campaigns performance via the analytics.   It is suggested that it is best to do posts 2 – 4 times per week.
• Facebook – It is very easy to create a facebook page for your business and it is a great platform for sharing all types of online content including event details and adverts.   It is most definitely worth considering advertising or paying to promote your company page on facebook.  Inspire conversations with your post and shares and be sure to ask questions. It’s a good idea to track the success of your content by date and time to hone in on the best times for engaging your audience.  It is best to upload posts 1-2 times daily.  
• Twitter – Twitter has become very popular over the last number of years. Relevance, personality and brevity are the keys to making your voice heard.   A tool such as Buffer – www.bufferapp.com lets you stockpile and schedule content in advance so you can post around the clock, which helps grow your followers.  It is best to post multiple times per day.
  • Other platforms available include:
    • Instagram: best used for lifestyle, food, fashion, personalities and luxury brands
    • Google+:  best for brands already on the other major social networks and B2B networks
    • YouTube: best for brands with video content and ads, anyone giving explanations or sharing expertise
    • Pinterest: best for fashion, food, design, travel and diy sectors
    • Yelp and or Foursquare: best for B2C companies i.e. stores, restaurants, travel and tourism sector

Share your news!  If you or your firm have had any successes and newsworthy updates it is well worth drafting a press release and spreading the word to your local & national media contacts.  Newspapers need content so they are usually more than happy to publish any item  that is newsworthy – 80% of newspaper content is generated from press releases.

Newsletters are also a great way to share your news items.   Newsletter software systems such as MailChimp and Newsweaver are great tools to help you create a professional template for your updates.  If you put the work in to create a database of contacts and issue regular updates you’ll be sure to be at the forefront of your existing and target customers minds when they are deciding on where to purchase products/avail of a service.

Get networking: Good old fashioned networking is still the best way to grow your business.  People do business with people.  It is all about making connections and building mutually beneficial relationships.   

To get started it is well worth joining your local chamber of commerce or business network, they will organise regular networking events which will be attended by likeminded business people from your area.   

You should also consider hosting an event such as a product launch, information seminar or a more informal coffee morning.  Importantly get yourself and your team out there and let people know you are open for business!