by Carolyn | May 23, 2017 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy, Small Business Strategy, Uncategorized
It’s a cornerstone of any business – the website. It can attract prospects, generate leads, build credibility, and even make sales on your behalf! Yet there are still those businesses out there that consider their website a waste of money and not worthy of...
by Carolyn | May 2, 2017 | Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media
What’s your favourite snack? Choosing just one can be hard because there are so many options to choose from. (If I had to pick only one, it would be spicy shrimp chips.) Snacks are great because you can eat them quickly and it satisfies a craving or hunger. I’m...
by Carolyn | Feb 28, 2017 | Entrepreneur
Blogs are a great way to glean information and insight into topics – for free. So when you find a source that gives helpful advice and critical thought mixed with industry insight you want to bookmark that page and schedule some time to check it out each week. I try...
by Carolyn | Feb 21, 2017 | Analytics, Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
This is a common and complicated question that I get asked a lot. And to be honest it’s different for each client. However, the guidelines are always the same. Base your budget on a percentage of your revenue It’s common to use anywhere from 3-10% on marketing...
by Carolyn | Feb 14, 2017 | Entrepreneur, Workplace
It makes my pulse race and I get a surge of adrenaline when I’m doing it well. It has held my passion for over 15 years with no signs of losing interest. And I keep learning new things so I’m never bored! I’m passionate about what I do and I hope it’s a long and happy...
by Carolyn | Feb 7, 2017 | Marketing Strategy, Small Business Strategy
At a certain stage of growth, you will need to look at how you are doing your business – what are the processes involved and can they be more efficient to bring better growth or revenue to your business. Establishing your processes for the first time and identifying...
by Carolyn | Jan 31, 2017 | Marketing Strategy, Workplace
Investing in staff seems to be a dying practice for organizations. As an employee’s time at a company becomes shorter and shorter (compared to previous generations) I can understand that companies are reluctant to invest in development. Instead I see a lot of other...
by Carolyn | Jan 17, 2017 | Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media
Creating and running an event can be an insane amount of work but the planning is only half the job. The biggest and most stressful part is the promotion. Getting the seats filled or tickets sold will make or break the event so a certain priority needs to be placed on...
by Carolyn | Jan 10, 2017 | Entrepreneur
Keeping a good level of motivation throughout your day and week can make a big difference in your productivity. But how do you maintain that high level of motivation? I’ve rounded up three tips that you can apply straight away to help you keep that motivation high all...
by Carolyn | Jan 3, 2017 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
It’s like a finger puzzle – as you start to panic, the act of pulling and jerking only tightens the grip of the thing you’re trying to get out of. I’m talking about a failed marketing campaign. The panic you can feel as the end comes near (and you’re not where you...
by Carolyn | Dec 27, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
Now is the time to start setting your goals and resolutions for next year. I don’t know about you, but I usually fall flat on my resolutions by about March. However, when my resolutions are connected to goals I usually do much better at them. Here are a few you may...
by Carolyn | Dec 20, 2016 | Marketing Strategy, Outbound Marketing
As a marketing consultant I pay special attention to the ads running around the winter holiday season. Sometimes the ones I like also resonate with others, but I pay special attention to when they don’t because that’s where I learn. Below are my picks of...
by Carolyn | Dec 13, 2016 | Content Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Outbound Marketing
It’s not a generational thing, it’s an epidemic across all ages! Self-promoting ads and posts can be seen across the internet and social sites, expanding as the audience grows. Not all are on the same level of ‘bad’, but most could do better. What am I talking about?...
by Carolyn | Dec 6, 2016 | Entrepreneur
Barring those start-ups that experience explosive growth in the first six months, most successful businesses take time to grow. They are built around the founders and ground floor staff that put the time and passion in to make it successful. Across industry though...
by Carolyn | Nov 29, 2016 | Social Media
Getting your small business active on social media is no small feat and should be taken seriously as a marketing channel. There is an absurd amount of information available on the internet about social media, what to do, and how to do it. It can be overwhelming to a...
by Carolyn | Nov 15, 2016 | Marketing Strategy
Are you a loyal consumer? Do your favourite shops reward you for consistently shopping with them?I have a loyalty card from the local coffee shop because I go there a lot for my morning coffee so I get my card stamped for every coffee purchase I make. The use of this...
by Carolyn | Oct 18, 2016 | Content Marketing, Outbound Marketing
Any marketer will tell you that building a list of interested prospects is a benefit. Marketing to a list of currently interested prospects or a ‘warm’ list can save money on marketing efforts, have a higher conversion rate, and have a faster sales cycle. Cultivating...
by Carolyn | Oct 11, 2016 | Inbound Marketing, Outbound Marketing
Online marketing can offer a plethora of benefits to your brand recognition, website traffic and even sales. It can attract prospects to your website or specific landing pages where they are encouraged (or enticed) to fill in a form and complete a desired action e.g....
by Carolyn | Oct 4, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Inbound Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Uncategorized
Crafting a value proposition statement (VPS) is a key part of defining your small business. In a nutshell, it’s a clear statement of what you do, how it benefits, for whom you do it, and what makes you unique. Without it your business offering may not be clear to your...
by Carolyn | Sep 20, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
You work hard. You deliver excellence. Your clients are happy. Your business grows. Providing proof at your skill levels and expertise can be difficult, but, prospects often require assurance to secure their business. Proving your excellence can be done in a variety...
by Carolyn | Sep 13, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
Most people that reach out to WindWater Marketing for help don’t know what they want. They only know what they want to achieve – that’s fair. However, the biggest response I get in our initial conversation is their opinion on what they DON’T want to do (number one on...
by Carolyn | Sep 6, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
I think as adults we all understand the logic of chipping away at our goals to achieve them over time – it is said to make large goals more approachable or achievable. But I think we skim past the part where consistency is pointed out as the key. We all want difficult...
by Carolyn | Mar 15, 2016 | Content Marketing
The surge of ‘big data’ over the past five years or so has lead to an overwhelming amount of information being sent to people and teams who were not necessarily skilled in reading, analyzing or presenting this data in an effective way. The result has been an explosion...
by Carolyn | Mar 8, 2016 | Marketing Strategy
It’s a big mistake to think that your product or service is for everyone. Every small business should have a target audience. However, defining your audience or customer doesn’t mean that you won’t (or can’t) sell to people outside of that circle. And as a small...
by Carolyn | Mar 1, 2016 | Inbound Marketing, Outbound Marketing
Calls-To-Actions (like the above title) or CTAs are of the upmost importance in marketing. Suggesting or telling a viewer, reader, audience member what to do next can strongly influence their actions. However, it’s surprising how many websites or pieces of collateral...
by Carolyn | Feb 16, 2016 | Content Marketing, Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
For those new businesses out there wondering if the age of blogging is over….if they should really put in the effort to post blogs on their website…. I’m here to tell you that you should absolutely be blogging. No question. However, the answer isn’t always as simple...
by Carolyn | Feb 9, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
Though the use of the term “funnel” is a bit outdated when it comes to discussing leads and sales, I think it still has use for small businesses and entrepreneurs. By focusing on a “funnel” you are better able to set up a basic lead generating process that can be...
by Carolyn | Feb 2, 2016 | Marketing Strategy, Value Proposition
Competitive intelligence is the action of defining, gathering, analyzing, and distributing intelligence about products, customers, competitors, and any aspect of the environment needed to support executives and managers making strategic decisions for an...
by Carolyn | Jan 26, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
PR or Public Relations is often the last thing that a small business thinks of to grow their business. However, the addition of PR into a marketing plan can add a variety of benefits: Inbound link to your website: SEO is tricky business and an inbound link from a...
by Carolyn | Jan 19, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
If you were warned and handed a faster path to success, would you take it? Here are 9 common small business marketing pitfalls that small businesses and entrepreneurs have encountered – you can learn from and avoid these simple errors. Short term thinking. Planning...
by Carolyn | Jan 12, 2016 | Entrepreneur, Marketing Strategy
For small businesses that are just beginning to look at marketing it can be scary to add something a bit unpredictable into the mix. As a result, it is tempting to run a ‘trial’ marketing campaign to test its impact or success. After all, it’s a logical next step,...
by Carolyn | Jan 5, 2016 | Entrepreneur
Often the introduction of a new year brings about both planning ahead as well as looking back to assess and take stock. And although these two seem to be conflicting, I think we all know how complimentary they really are. For me, I use a short series of questions to...
by Carolyn | Dec 22, 2015 | Marketing Strategy
The holidays offer an excellent opportunity to reach out with well wishes to prospects and clients alike. And although it can sometimes seem like a drain for small business and entrepreneurs, if done well, it can lead to future business by staying top of mind and...
by Carolyn | Dec 15, 2015 | Marketing Strategy
Marketing is a broad field in business and it can encompass a lot of things: branding, lead generation, content marketing, (need more). It can be challenging for a new or small business to prioritize their marketing efforts and even more challenging to see a return on...
by Carolyn | Dec 8, 2015 | Social Media
Once your Facebook fan page or company page is set up and running it can make sense to run a campaign or two specifically for those who follow you on Facebook. This provides two obvious benefits: Build your Facebook fans by offering content exclusive to...
by Carolyn | Dec 1, 2015 | Social Media
Setting up your Facebook page requires very little effort. In fact, completing these 5 easy steps is the very minim if your company is to have a Facebook page: Create a custom cover pic (851x315px). If you’re not a graphics person you can use Canva to create a branded...
by Carolyn | Nov 24, 2015 | Social Media
It’s tough building a social media following these days. It’s past the peak in many social sites where your target audience would follow just anyone so now you have to work twice as hard to attract and maintain a following. And this wouldn’t be so bad but many small...
by Carolyn | Nov 17, 2015 | Inbound Marketing, SEO, Social Media
Sharing my information is something I don’t take lightly. As a business owner I find there are several channels where I don’t have much choice if I want to have an online presence. It’s a tradeoff and it’s one that for the most part I’m okay with. However, I find that...
by Carolyn | Nov 10, 2015 | Marketing Strategy
I subscribe to Psychology Today (the magazine), it’s an annual gift from an uncle of mine, and I find the insight into human behavior fascinating! The December 2015 issue showed up at my door and I proceeded to flip through the magazine skimming articles. That’s where...
by Carolyn | Nov 3, 2015 | Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Marketing Strategy, Social Media
Creating content is hard work. Creating good quality content consistently is even harder. But crafting good content is an important part of your inbound marketing and making sure that the same content isn’t being plastered across all platforms is part of an effective...
