images/bannerimages/Blog-Banner.jpg 
Marketing Eye Blog Articles
On the weekend I was chatting to a person about business as I do from time to time. As they told the story of their journey as an entrepreneur, I listened intently.
When they had finished, I paused.
They had reached a certain level, but couldn't quite make it to the next stage. In this case, ambition was greater than their ability to deliver upon their goals. The business person couldn't quite figure out what was holding them back.
But I could.
When they had finished, I paused.
They had reached a certain level, but couldn't quite make it to the next stage. In this case, ambition was greater than their ability to deliver upon their goals. The business person couldn't quite figure out what was holding them back.
But I could.
Published in Small Business Marketing
Today I read an article that Ashton Kutcher shared on Facebook "8 Fears and Insecurities Everyone Has".
What resonated with Ashton was:
No. 1 I'm not good enough
No. 2 My work isn't good enough
No. 6 I'm afraid of failing/disappointing
No. 7 If people knew the real me, they wouldn't like me
Interesting. It's got me thinking. What are my fears and insecurities?
We all have fears and insecurities - it's human nature after all. As a woman in her early 40's that is single with a fast growth business, I possibly have more fears than insecurities.
After a bit of soul searching, this is what I came up with:
What resonated with Ashton was:
No. 1 I'm not good enough
No. 2 My work isn't good enough
No. 6 I'm afraid of failing/disappointing
No. 7 If people knew the real me, they wouldn't like me
Interesting. It's got me thinking. What are my fears and insecurities?
We all have fears and insecurities - it's human nature after all. As a woman in her early 40's that is single with a fast growth business, I possibly have more fears than insecurities.
After a bit of soul searching, this is what I came up with:
Published in Mellissah Smith
I have an ear for piano, yet I decided to play the guitar. I can pick up any melody on the piano and start banging the keys and music miraculously fills the air. With the guitar on the other hand, I can play when sheet music is put in front of me. I can learn to play songs, but I can’t play by ear.
I guess that is something to do with the way my brain is wired. I am not the front man, rock star I thought I could be when I first had guitar lessons. I’m more the guy who sits behind the piano, fully integrated into the sounds being made and lost in the full force of the music.
I guess that is something to do with the way my brain is wired. I am not the front man, rock star I thought I could be when I first had guitar lessons. I’m more the guy who sits behind the piano, fully integrated into the sounds being made and lost in the full force of the music.
Published in Marketing
Bill Hambrecht, chairman of WR Hambrecht & Co once said, “You don’t want any buyer to feel like he’s been foolish or cheated. So they all get the same price.”
I came across this quote recently and it resonated with me, more so than any number of great quotes I have read in my time putting motivational magazines together.
I came across this quote recently and it resonated with me, more so than any number of great quotes I have read in my time putting motivational magazines together.
Published in Marketing
The rise of robotics is nothing new; everyone from scientists to futurists and the man in the street has been talking about it for decades. We’ve been watching TV robots since the 1950s, wondering when these filmic predictions would come to fruition. We’ve been reading Isaac Asimov books since 1939 pondering whether robotics will one day usurp humanity to become the dominant being.
Of course we are a long way from robots taking over the world and disobeying Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Of course we are a long way from robots taking over the world and disobeying Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics:
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Published in Marketing
Oscar nominated film Whiplash got me thinking about how far people are willing to go to get the best out of themselves and others.
Is your best good enough or do you strive for better, for more or even to be the best? How far can you actually push yourself and others?
Is your best good enough or do you strive for better, for more or even to be the best? How far can you actually push yourself and others?
Published in Management
The Seattle Seahawks are doing something right. This NFL team, owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, has a marketing strategy that has proved to be incredibly successful – here’s why.
When it comes to marketing, it is imperative to create a community around your brand. Whatever your brand stands for, you must run with it and create a following of dedicated customers along the way.
When it comes to marketing, it is imperative to create a community around your brand. Whatever your brand stands for, you must run with it and create a following of dedicated customers along the way.
Published in Marketing
Motivation secrets that help you become a better goal setter
Jan 07, 2015 Written by Marketing Eye Atlanta
"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it." - Michaelangelo
Goals. Not the kind kicked by America's best field goal exponent. More the type set by entrepreneurs, businesses, fitness fanatics and anyone who wants to get the most from life. I’ve edited a lot of pieces about goal setting in the last two months. It’s that time of year. Of those, however, who are taking advice about setting their goals, many fail to stick them.
Goals. Not the kind kicked by America's best field goal exponent. More the type set by entrepreneurs, businesses, fitness fanatics and anyone who wants to get the most from life. I’ve edited a lot of pieces about goal setting in the last two months. It’s that time of year. Of those, however, who are taking advice about setting their goals, many fail to stick them.
Published in Culture
Getting ready for the artic freeze with a 12 degree chill expected tomorrow, I am gladly sitting in my warm office in Atlanta.
The team is fired up for the start of the new year. At this time of year, many people rethink where they sit in this world; life, work, health. I for one, have been doing a lot of that lately.
As I embark on the next phase of our global expansion, I am left with some thoughts on the people I employ and those who would best suit our company going forward.
The team is fired up for the start of the new year. At this time of year, many people rethink where they sit in this world; life, work, health. I for one, have been doing a lot of that lately.
As I embark on the next phase of our global expansion, I am left with some thoughts on the people I employ and those who would best suit our company going forward.
Published in Marketing
Dallas isn't all cowboy hats, beef and oil tycoons - its one of the world's most innovative cities and after reading an article on bizbeatblog recently where 3 companies from Texas was named in Thomson Reuters' 2014 Top 100 Global Innovators list, I have realized just how innovative Texans are.
Dallas' Texas Instruments Inc, has leveraged the fast moving world of technology, focusing on innovation as the key ingredient to the company's growth.
Last year Texas Instruments launched new technology that sends vibrations from a smartphone to a smart watch when an email comes in. They have also developed a switch-controlled outdoor shower that uses little water and a talking toilet.
Dallas' Texas Instruments Inc, has leveraged the fast moving world of technology, focusing on innovation as the key ingredient to the company's growth.
Last year Texas Instruments launched new technology that sends vibrations from a smartphone to a smart watch when an email comes in. They have also developed a switch-controlled outdoor shower that uses little water and a talking toilet.
Published in Small Business Marketing
There’s a lot to love about New York City.
I have been here many times and each and every time, I fall in love all over again.
New York has been kind to me. The weather, which is reasonably mild for this time of year, has been easy to accommodate with a few layers of clothing. The restaurants new and old have been phenomenal and the people have been friendly. What more can a girl ask at this time of year?
I have been here many times and each and every time, I fall in love all over again.
New York has been kind to me. The weather, which is reasonably mild for this time of year, has been easy to accommodate with a few layers of clothing. The restaurants new and old have been phenomenal and the people have been friendly. What more can a girl ask at this time of year?
Published in Mellissah Smith
Entrepreneurs, managing directors, CEO's, Presidents, CMO's, marketing managers and digital marketing directors are all thinking about how their 2015 marketing strategies are going to be executed - after all it's that time of year.
While most B2B organizations have been fine tuning their marketing strategies for months, other's are only now just scrambling to put one together. At Marketing Eye, December and January is our highest inquiry month predominantly due to so many companies waiting until the last minute to develop their marketing strategies.
It's crazy because by leaving it to the last minute, you are already starting behind the 8-ball and giving your more organized competitors a head start.
Here are some things that you should be thinking about:
While most B2B organizations have been fine tuning their marketing strategies for months, other's are only now just scrambling to put one together. At Marketing Eye, December and January is our highest inquiry month predominantly due to so many companies waiting until the last minute to develop their marketing strategies.
It's crazy because by leaving it to the last minute, you are already starting behind the 8-ball and giving your more organized competitors a head start.
Here are some things that you should be thinking about:
Published in Marketing
December was a short month in the office; only two weeks in length, yet it produced the most sales on record. We surpassed our sales forecast by 62 percent in the first week, and finished off hard with two contracts coming in from Geelong Grammar and Parramatta City Council on the last day in the office.
Internationally, we are in a fast-growth phases and this holiday has been spent working out how we will accomodate the extra sales and at the same time keep moving forward, leveraging our unique positioning.
We now have three inside sales executives in the company, with that set to double by the end of the first quarter next year. This investment has paid dividends as it allows marketing managers to focus on their jobs and not be tied down by talking to prospects that are warm and not hot. They no longer put together the proposals or the contracts, which are all done by our well trained inside sales executives.
Internationally, we are in a fast-growth phases and this holiday has been spent working out how we will accomodate the extra sales and at the same time keep moving forward, leveraging our unique positioning.
We now have three inside sales executives in the company, with that set to double by the end of the first quarter next year. This investment has paid dividends as it allows marketing managers to focus on their jobs and not be tied down by talking to prospects that are warm and not hot. They no longer put together the proposals or the contracts, which are all done by our well trained inside sales executives.
Published in Marketing
It's been 2 full years since Marketing Eye first expanded internationally into the US market. To say I was unprepared for what was to come was an understatement and as much as I thought that I planned, I have constantly realized how many things that I missed in the planning process.
The things I didn't account for often became the biggest hurdles that I had to overcome. You soon realize when you expand internationally how little you really know about a place and the inherent differences that at times can make or break you.
The things I didn't account for often became the biggest hurdles that I had to overcome. You soon realize when you expand internationally how little you really know about a place and the inherent differences that at times can make or break you.
Published in Small Business Marketing
While a sex tape is a good way to get media exposure for some; Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and alike - it's not the right way to get the type of media exposure to escalate your business's chance of being written about.
When I first started doing PR, I used to write a media release and fax it to a media outlet - all with varying results. The headline, like it is today, is worth it's weight in gold, and if you have a strong first paragraph, you may get that call back you have been waiting for.
That was soon followed up with 'pitching' on the telephone and depending on what mood the journalist was in or your ability to 'sell' a story to them, you either walked away with a published article or your press release was thrown in the trash can.
In 1998, the faxing part changed to emailing which was fantastic because it was a much faster and less tedious way of getting a media release out to journalists. It also was a much more environmentally friendly way to operate and allowed for changes to be made to ensure that each email sent out to a journalist was a one-to-one marketing piece rather than an everything to everyone, hit and miss style approach.
Published in Marketing
