I love it when I see a creative idea when traveling. I’ve just spent a couple of weeks in Holland, where millions of cyclists can be seen around the place. The majority of school kids bike to school and many adults bike to work as well. It’s the main mode of transportation in the Netherlands. Everyone bikes!

One of the problems that occurs when children cycle to school is that they tend to drop litter. Here's a solution to the problem: a "blikvanger" or "can catcher". On routes used by a lot of children to get to school you find these litter bins for cyclists to throw their litter into without stopping. They love it, as it’s fun throwing things into it!

These “can catchers” can also be found in nature reserves, shopping malls, sports facilities, outdoor concerts etc.

Apart from being a fun and creative way to solve the litter problem, it also creates awareness of how much litter would otherwise end up on the side of the road and other areas.

Now, you see more and more of these “can catchers” around the place, it’s great! And what a creative way to solve this problem!

This is a great time of year to have a critical look at your most important marketing tool: your website!
Set aside half a day to do this, and keep the following trends in mind:

Simple design: rather than having a site with a lot of elements on a page, keep the design simple and responsive (this means it can be easily viewed on mobile devices too).
Simple design is more user-friendly and pleasant to look at!
Tip: review your website design, and simplify where possible.

More visuals, less text: I don’t know about you, but when I look at a website, an image says more than 1,000 words! Rather than explaining something in a lot of words, why not shoot a little video and show your customers? They help with your conversion too! Large images, videos and slideshows are ‘in’.
Tip: is it time to update your visuals? Add a few videos? Go through your site and see what needs to be updated. Also check what text you can cut out. In other words, 'declutter your site'!

Stick to 1 topic per page (if you can): if you can stick to one topic per page, it’s easier for people to find the information they want, rather than have too much information on one page. Search engines like this too!!
Tip: split your content into individual topic pages and group similar pages under one drop-down header/

Fresh and clear content: rather than have pages and pages of text, try to say it in fewer words, but keep it fresh! Update your content regularly. And yes, once again: Google loves fresh and original content! Sure, if you want to go more in-depth, have a link to a page on your site with more detailed information about a certain topic!
Tip: over time, you have probably added a lot of info on your site. Review your content and rewrite where necessary.

Give people an opportunity to subscribe to news updates and send your customers some information that is of value to them regularly (this can be weekly, monthly or quarterly – depending on the type of business.
Tip: do make this part of your marketing habit (like I do with this weekly marketing tip!

Add share buttons so people can share the content you display (like on the right of this message) on your website either through social media or email.

Scrolling sites: I must admit I’m not a huge fan myself, but you see more and more scrolling sites nowadays. By clicking on links, the site scrolls down to the applicable section lower on the page.

Till next week! Marijke
- See more at: http://www.marketingwhizz.com/weekly-marketing-tip/7-website-design-trends-you-wont-want-to-miss#sthash.dH32N9oH.dpuf

I love Seth Godin’s quote: “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers!”.  Have a think about this quote for a minute… “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers!”.

To me this means identifying specific types of customer groups (niches) and developing a product or service for their needs. This is called niche marketing and is extremely effective. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, focus on the specific needs of a particular type of customer and the specific products or services you can offer them.

This can create more customers as people tend to search for very specific information that suits their needs rather than search for general information. If you provide this information, they will find you!

Going through the process below to identify your niche(s) can be very beneficial to attract targeted customers.

1.       So, have a think who some of your best customers are – I mean, the ones that LOVE your product, are happy to pay the price you ask and tell lots of other people.  Can you group them? Write this down.

2.       Once you’ve identified these customer groups (or niches), have a think how you can target more of them. What do these people have in common? Do they use similar search words online to find your type of product? Do they read similar blogs or publications?  Write this next to each customer group.

3.       Why does each of these customer groups chose to come to you? What sets you apart from your competitors? Once you know this, you can use this to appeal to them and to attract more customers.

4.       For each group, write down ways to get more of them. Also write down the information they need to make the decision to buy your product or service, including the keywords they would use to find you online. The more specific, the better.

5.       Put together a plan to market to your niche(s)! Voila, you’re away with niche marketing!

Till next week, Marijke