Marketing advice from real MDs…
It’s all well and good taking advice from a marketing expert, but what about your peers? Small business owners and managing directors are often, rightly, sceptical about acting on what they hear from a consultant. So, we thought we’d ask some successful MDs we know a quick question…
What one piece of marketing advice would you give a small business owner looking to step up their new business efforts?
Peter Gradwell, MD of small business ISP and VoIP provider, Gradwell, whose business goes from strength to strength and secured over £1m funding in the midst of a downturn, kept his advice short and sweet:
“Just concentrate on telling the story about why your great product solves a real problem.”
See also: Gradwell marketing transformation video interview
Karen Dunne-Squire, MD of Sales Outsourcing Specialists, went for real practicalities with her top tip:
“Have a strong brand and reinforce it everywhere… the visual image that you create for your business with logo, name, strap line, quality of marketing collateral etc. goes a huge way to the opinion that people form of you.”
Richard Moorfoot, MD of Fable Trading Ltd the UK’s Distributor of Trollbeads, takes his advice right back to the thinking:
“Working hard on the wrong strategy will get you nowhere. Plan and plan again what you want to achieve, choose the right partners to help you deliver and provide sufficient resource / finance to give it a chance.”
See also: Creating an online community for Trollbeads
These three managing directors have successful businesses that have not just survived, but thrived, in these tough times. So, it’s advice worth listening to.
Published on 1 June 2012
