Kinetic Marketing and Design - Grimsby Graphic Design, Advertising and Marketing

VAT, we all have to pay it and if you are a business (whether you are VAT registered or not) you have to pay VAT from your suppliers if they are VAT registered. One area that many business owners may not be aware of is that some parts of their marketing does not attract VAT.

These are certain print items that you will be using to promote your business and sometimes print companies send incorrect invoices and charge VAT on zero-rated items which is a cost you could do without incurring.

What is and what isn’t VATable can seem a bit complicated and not always logical –so I thought I would create this handy list (this isn’t an exhaustive list however, so if in doubt contact HMRC!)

So here goes.

Having worked with SME businesses for the last 4 years, one of the most satisfying aspects is the immediate and tangible impact the marketing decisions can have on their business.

One of the frustrating aspects, however, is the fact that often good ideas can lose momentum and opportunities be missed because there is no ‘marketing infrastructure’ in place. Or to put it bluntly, with marketing an add-on to someone’s role (often the business owner) they often lack the time and know how to fully implement and capitalise on the marketing that they could be doing.

With Halloween fast approaching and all sense deserting us as we decide that severed fingers and dodgy fancy dress outfits are appropriate purchases, it got me thinking about what is the most scary social media platform.

The answer definitely has to be Twitter. It is one of the most talked about yet least understood social media platforms I come across when talking to businesses. And, because of that, it can seems to be an alien place full of its own language and connected to crazy things such as the disgrace of football players or the incitement of civil unrest. For many it feels like a dangerous place and not one that is appropriate for them, especially in the B2B market.

So I thought it best to address these fears with tips about how to use Twitter for your business and, like all good ghost stories, with the lights on it is never so spine tingling as first appears.

The marketing material you use in your business can make or break your business. In some cases it’s the first impression a potential customer or client will have of you and it will either make them feel confident in using your services or turn them away and seek out your competitors.

I see it time and again with companies approaching us for a revamp of their logo, websites, brochures, flyers etc. Often they’ve had it done quickly when starting up with very little thought about it, in some cases just going for the cheapest and seemingly easiest option and letting the printers / magazines / sign companies they've approached do the design work or even worse have knocked up something themselves or using online templates. At the time it may feel like it is another box ticked but then 12 months down the line realise they need a better image.

I've put together a few questions that I hope will help any new start up business or indeed any business that is looking to update or change their image.

If you are like me you will have noticed the increasing momentum and prevalence of those funny black and white squares. They are popping up on business cards, ads, posters and banners and last week even a featured on radio 4’s You and Yours (so they must becoming mainstream).

QR (or Quick Response) codes originated in Japan and were used in manufacturing to tag parts so that they could be machine read. In effect they are like bar codes, but unlike the traditional bar codes we all know, they can hold far more data. By using a smart phone you ‘take a picture’ of the code (using a QR reader which is easily downloaded) and the information embedded in the code is revealed.

It hasn’t been until the spread of smart phones into the population, however, that QR codes as a marketing tool has really started to take off – after you need people to be able to read them!

We may be technically out of recession but for many businesses, times are still tight and with squeezes in both consumer and public sector, it is often the B2B businesses that are stuck in the middle, beings squeezed from both sides.

So what can businesses to business organisations do to make the most of their marketing in these testing times?

Recession, credit crunch, economic downturn - call it what you will there are few small businesses that have not been affected in some way or another.

In tight times the need to cut costs can often result in reduced marketing spend, especially in light of cash flow concerns but when times are tough it is even more important to keep promoting your business.

Now you may be thinking ‘well of course she would say that, marketing is what she sells’ but if you consider what is actually happening in a recession, you see why it is so important to keep up the momentum of your promotions.

1. 1)  Your customers (people or businesses) have less money to spend
2. 2)  They are looking to make more careful purchasing decisions
3. 3)  You will need to demonstrate how your product or service provides real value and is a better choice than your competitors.
4. 4)  You need to stay ‘front of mind’ so that when customers are looking to purchase, they come to your business.

Sounds like a job for marketing.

So if we accept that marketing is something all businesses need to do to survive, then what can be done when cash is in short supply?