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.

If you make and keep one New Year’s Resolution for your business it should be to make 2012 the year you really get stuck into social media. I have waxed lyrical in previous blogs about the benefits to small businesses - it is low cost although does require the time resource. Unfortunately time is a scarce commodity for most small business owners and directors, so despite its potential I know it can be a struggle to find the time to fit it in.

So I thought I would put together some tips and strategies to help you fit social media into your day. I cannot add an extra couple of hours to your day, but I may give you a couple of ideas that can help.

In December 2010 I wrote a blog called ‘2011 Marketing New Year’s Resolutions’ - not sure where that year has gone, but here we are again first day back in work in 2012 and looking to make changes to the way we run our lives and our businesses. Looking back at last year’s blog, the resolutions still stand, so please check it out, but I have added some more.

In challenging times, when so many things in the wider economic environment seem out of our control, the one thing you do have control over is your marketing.

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.

One of the biggest impacts social media has had on how businesses market themselves is not about low cost routes to market or the ability to ‘engage’ (I hate that word) with your audience, I believe it is the shift is emphasis from pushing out controlled sales messages to sharing knowledge and expertise.

But for many business owners this does not sit comfortably.

I have had conversations with business owners who do not want to publish case studies in case there competitors see them (not that most of us don’t have a very good idea of who our competitors are working with anyway). I also come across the argument about the giving away of knowledge for free, especially for service companies where their knowledge is usually attached with a fee or charge.

So what is the happy medium? What are the arguments for being more open with the sharing of your knowledge be it through blogs, forums or free guides or white papers?

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?

There can be no doubt that the recent and sudden freeze has caused massive disruption to the lives and work of people across the UK, and especially in Scotland, the North and East of England. I am reminded of my ill fated comment of a couple of weeks ago that ‘we don’t get snow on the coast in Lincolnshire, last year was just a fluke’ when the next day about 15 inches fell and we have been snowed in for about a week!

So what about the impact on businesses, more specifically on marketing your business?

You’ve got yourself a website. You’ve had a dabble on Facebook and an ex colleagues keeps asking you to join their LinkedIn network and every celebrity seems obsessed with tweeting. As a business owner social media, as it is collectively known, may be on your radar but for many what to do with it is still a mystery.

On the positive side it is cheap. Compared to traditional media such as press, radio, and direct mail it is as cheap as chips. In fact it’s free so that should bring it to the top of the marketing agenda. But on the other hand, it seems to be full of people with too much spare time on their hands and not enough going on in their lives. Does the world really need to know that it is ‘three more sleeps till the weekend’ or that they are just about to eat a bacon sarnie?

The problem with Social Media is that it has grown exceptionally fast, yet unlike traditional media which had a clear purpose – to promote brands or get a response and sell stuff, the role of social media is fuzzy and mixed in with non commercial uses. In fact its very label, social media, seems to devalue it for businesses.

Working with small and medium sized business who are facing challenging times and increased competition I often hear the view that they need to be price competitive. This usually means price cutting, discounting and squeezing margins. As one of the cornerstone’s of marketing, pricing can be one of your most powerful marketing tools and it is possible to appear both competitive and still protect your margin.