A few years ago, a business owner, we’ll call him John, came to see me. He was desperate and needed my help. Up to then, he had a good running tourism business which he had grown nicely over the years. He had a steady stream of customers and he wasn’t too worried as it all seemed to happen quite easily.

Suddenly – shock, horror! - John’s business dropped by 40%. What happened?

Well, his biggest supplier of customers stopped using him. And as he received over 40% of his business through this supplier, he suddenly had a big problem. This supplier decided to start competing with them. John had never looked at his distribution strategically, i.e. analyse where his bookings were coming from and how he could work smarter. It was time he did.

Distributing your product more strategically could include the following;

• Ensure you have spread your risk. If you have one very large supplier, like John had, you can see that this poses a big risk to your business. So, have a look at how you can increase your business from a range of distribution channels.
• With the rapid rise of OTA’s (online travel agencies) and their market share of your bookings, it’s important to also focus also on getting more direct bookings. A great way to do this is through keeping in touch with existing customers.
• Set clear goals of where you want your business to come from, through what distribution channels and decide what you need to do to achieve these goals.

Oh, and John is ok. He managed to get his business back on track again through strategic distribution planning and runs a successful tourism business.

Till next week, Marijke

We are now well into February and chances are that if you started setting a few goals or resolutions at the start of the year, you are already lacking the motivation to stick with them. Whether it be actioning your marketing plan, updating your website & social media, getting more exercise, or just planning to do more fun things, once you’re back into your daily grind of urgent and important activities, it’s easy to lose motivation to focus on a new and exciting goal.

So, here are some ways to get motivated and achieve a new goal. And wow, how great would that feel!

1. Being passionate about what you want to achieve really helps! Visualise the end result and how it will make you feel. Write down why you want to achieve this goal; your motivations.
   
2. Start with ONE goal. If you try to do too much at once, you are unlikely to keep motivated to do it all. Do write down all the things you want to achieve though, and then pick one to start with.
   
3. Then, decide how long it will take to achieve this goal, for example two months. What do you need to do each day to achieve your goal in these two months? Start small! Write it on a notice board or pin it to your notice board so you see it all the time.
4. Develop the habit to work on your goal every day. If you miss a day, get back on track as soon as you can. I love the quote: ‘Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.’
5. And last but not least (I find this extremely powerful and important): surround yourself with positive people. Tell them about your goal and keep them in the loop of how you’re progressing. They will support you along the way! (Also: it’s much more fun sharing your success with others!) And be kind to yourself :)!

So, what is your ONE goal going to be for the next few months?

Till next week, Marijke

1. Create a Marketing habit! Set aside a set time each week to work on your marketing & business goals. If you do this, it becomes a habit and you will actually get the things done that you plan to do!  
2. Keep up to date with your marketing! I read 2 marketing or business books a month and I attend conferences, workshops, read online newsletters etc. I don’t remember it all, but I do pick up the things that are useful to my business. And I find it motivational and it inspires me to implement new ideas!
   Do check out the Marketing for Success Programme, you’ll love it!
3. Create a video for your website! Video is a great way to increase the conversion to sales!
4. Keep in touch! Keep in touch with your customers by sending them an update every month or quarter (keep it brief and ensure it relates to them!) Note: do personalise the message!
   
5. Get to know your customers better! Where do they hear about you, what do they want, what do they like, what social media do they use, what could be improved? Plan to survey them regularly. Then create products or experiences that suit your customers!
6. Work with complementary businesses! Develop a package or jointly market your products.
7. Make a list of topics to use in social media & newsletters – then, when you do so, you don’t have to come up with new things all the time! Examples: great photos of customers experiencing your product/service, something funny, something interesting, a link to a video, tips, special deals etc.
8. Communicate your USP’s! Why do your customers choose you over your competition? Your unique selling points, the things that set you apart from others accounts for 50% of your sales. So, do communicate these clearly on your website and promotional material!
9. Make it easy for people to book or buy your product! Whether through online booking, 0800 numbers, distribution through a range of channels. For example if you’re in tourism I mean through your own website, 3rd party websites, booking centres, wholesalers etc. The wider your distribution, the easier it will be for people to find you!
10. Focus on the quality of your service and whole customer experience! The better the service and experience, the better your reviews and word of mouth. Hire enthusiastic staff and train them well!

Do you need help planning your marketing and get support along the way? Do you want to learn new marketing skills and work with like-minded businesses? Then join the 11-month Marketing for Success Programme  starting in April. Click here for more info & testimonials!

Till next week, Marijke

For the first 8 months of this year, I got this really great thing going. It was a habit I developed that worked really well for my business. Every first hour of the day (between 7.30 and 8.30). It’s the ‘working on my business’ hour and I loved it! It 's my hour of generating ideas, reading, developing new marketing programmes etc.

Then I got off track. Yes, even though I teach people planning skills, I’m only human :)!

I got off track because I was in the final few months of building my house. Something that was a huge challenge and took much more time than I anticipated. But I did it and I moved in 2 weeks ago.

There is still quite a bit to do (landscaping - see picture above!, sorting through stuff, de-cluttering etc), but I am writing this from my lovely new office!

So my hour in the morning of working on my business (instead of just in it) just didn’t happen as there was so much else going on.

Once something is a habit, it’s easy to stick to it. But when you change your routine and your environment, your habits and routines often change too.

While I was walking my dog Jessi this morning, I decided to get back on track. Just get back into the habit again. It will take a week or too, but I know I will love it.

So, just do it. Commit to it and do it. I know it’ll feel great!
(I have it written down in my diary too, every day!)

Till next week!

Check out the new SMARTRAINING programmes starting early 2016: the 12 months Marketing for Success Programme and the new Advanced Marketing for Success Programme.

I love reading books, blogs and listening to audio books (as I walk my dog or do chores around the house). I enjoy learning as it motivates me and inspires me to do new things!

Another way to get inspiration is to listen to Ted Talks. Even better, make it a habit and listen to one Ted Talk a day (I have just started doing this!) They are only about 15-20 minutes each and you can choose between millions of interesting topics. Instead of watching some mindless TV show, why not listen to something interesting?

Today I listened to the one above on making hard choices - We all face these - whether in our business or personal lives!

So, check out www.ted.com and get inspired! Oh, and you can also download a Ted App on your smart phone. Just go to your app store and search Ted Talks!