Long gone are the days when serviced offices were confined to start-ups and freelancers. Some of the biggest corporations in the world are flocking to shared office space, seeking out flexible office arrangements in trendy, conveniently-located environments.
Topics: business, location, branding, productivity, office space, serviced offices
Did you know that global temperatures are rising at an alarming rate, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record coming after 2001? Or that Arctic sea ice has shrunk by 3.5-4.1% every decade since 1979? With one of the strongest recorded hurricanes in history recently hitting the Atlantic, it’s unsurprising that climate change is one of the most important topics this century.
Topics: News, management, SME, business, branding
First and foremost – Happy Yorkshire Day from everyone at Carrwood Park! We’ve been celebrating our favourite county on earth for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until back in 1975 when Yorkshire was rewarded with its own national day.
The importance of a good company culture is sometimes undervalued. A strong culture can help a business run smoothly, effectively and positively. Companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft are renowned for their great culture. And there’s a lot that we can learn from these companies.
Topics: News, management, business, branding
As a business, it can often be difficult to establish credibility. But, brand credibility is an essential part of the process of bringing in new customers. Many marketing experts note it as one of the main psychological factors that can trigger the buying impulse of consumers.
Did you know that in 2015, consumers were set to spend an average £1,174 shopping online, a 9.6 percent rise on 2014? A study conducted by RetailMeNot, the parent company of Vouchercodes.co.uk, observed that British online retailers will experience a 16.2 percent year-on-year sales spike in 2015 to reach a staggering £52.3 billion. With more and more of us reaching to the geographically boundary-free world of the internet to do our shopping, read reviews, read the news, book flights, watch television, download music, chat to friends, conduct business, and the myriad of other tasks you can carry out conveniently and leisurely online, it stands to reason that every business needs a website, right? Not necessarily.
In the final part of this series we will ask do you even need a website? It sounds controversial but in our last article about consistency across the web we listed a host of channels that any business seeking success is likely to need setting up and populating. That takes time - a lot more time that you think. So before you rush to add your website to the to do list it’s good to take a moment and ask do you really need one?
It sounds shocking doesn’t it? and depending on your industry it might be a non-starter, but more and more often I’m sitting down with SME’s, who think their websites are doing well and bringing in new business, but when I look at the analytics it tells a different story.
‘What? you mean they are not reading the lengthy pages of copy and images that I have painstakingly prepared’ No, sorry.
Topics: branding
In this series of blog posts, we have discovered the impact of branding, and how to create your brand on a budget, now we turn our attention to the importance of brand consistency online. By now we have begun to understand more about the importance of brand and how identity is much more than just your business logo. This is especially relevant as we start to think about online brand presence and how this can enhance your brand reputation.
As you start to create your online campaigns, social media activity, content for your website and blogs this exposes you to a massive online audience. You are beginning to build and develop multichannel content and your customers are with you at every stage of that online journey. So getting this right is absolutely crucial not only to your online success, but your business as a whole.
Brand consistency is everything. Like I’ve said numerous times, it's looking beyond the logo and delivering a consistently positive experience of your business to all of your audiences through a consistent look, feel and tone. Remember, your brand is like telling a story. It needs to be compelling and tell your customers who you are, what you do and informing them about what they can expect from your products and services. So making sure this storytelling is consistent at every stage, across every channel is vital when it comes to branding online.
Topics: branding
If you’re a small business, a freelancer, or any type of business on a tight budget, the terms ‘brand marketing’ and ‘brand building’ might fill you with fear that they will cost you the earth. Consequently, you’re reluctant to go full steam ahead with a brand development venture. The good news is that branding might not be as expensive as you might think.
From exploiting the unique branding capabilities of social media platforms, many of which are free, to using videos as marketing tools, which are an incredibly low budget way to effectively build brand awareness, there is a number of ways businesses on a tight monetary leash, can create a brand designed to do what a brand should do - make an impression, stand out and ultimately sell.
In the last blog we looked at the importance of branding, the impact that style and colours can have on consumer choice and how branding is much more than just a logo.
In this post I’m going to demonstrate how creating your brand doesn’t have to cost the earth.
Topics: branding
Branding is a word commonly referred to by advertisers and marketeers, but what does it actually mean?
Well, quite a lot as it turns out. As a business your brand is your most powerful tool, it's your identity, a representation of who you are and how you connect with your customers. Branding in Business goes way beyond just a logo, it’s your business culture and something which is reflected across all touchpoints - how you communicate with your customers, how you speak online and even the colours and symbols you use in your brand architecture - your logo.
The use of colour and design are a crucial part of creating an effective and cohesive brand identity. It allows you to showcase meaning and message without the use of words and once established it can also offer instantaneous recognition for your customers, with the potential for driving brand loyalty.