Australians love beer – it’s an easy selling point. Which is why betting company Punters Paradise decided to market their company with their own brew.
The effort wasn’t a marketing tactic, per se, but instead a thank you to major advertisers and business contacts. But there’s no mistaking it made a huge impact – the company ranked 17th on the Smart50 list with $1 million in revenue.
Being seen as an expert is one thing, but positioning your business as a place where people go to speak is something else entirely.
Software company EnableHR created its own conference this year, and invited more than 60 people from across the country to hear talks from experts on a range of topics within the industry.
“The atmosphere was inspiring and set the partners to drive greater sales and success through the client network for 2013,” says founder Richard Breden.
“‘Enable2014’ is planned for February 2014 with expressions of interest numbering well over 100.”
Sometimes the classic methods are the best.
The financial industry is saturated with businesses, and standing out can be tough. But by specifically targeting certain markets with AdWords and SEO, Elliott Insurance Brokers has been able to track its return on investment – and as founder John Elliott reminds business owners, it’s often the most accurate statistics you can track when it comes to marketing.
“Yes it’s a boring answer and it’s not a big swanky marketing strategy that hasn’t been done before, but the fact is, it is our most successful marketing effort since we started five years ago and it is one of the contributing factors to our business more than doubling in size over 12 months.”
Social media is a fantastic use of marketing, but so many businesses don’t actually know how to maximise their returns.
But Exactus Homes co-founder Ralph Brewer didn’t bother thinking about numbers at the beginning. Instead, he did what you’re supposed to do on social media – form relationships.
“The first initiative was to get involved on design blogs,” he says. “Not as a corporate/branding exercise, but as a real person providing real advice.”
The initiative has worked well – giving advice to a potential customer on social media has led to a deal worth over $300,000, and Brewer says in total the company can attribute $408,000 worth of work to social media, with nearly another $500,000 in the planning process.
Industry associations can sometimes be hit and miss, but software group Astute Payroll took on a winner with their punts on recruitment groups. Founder Nicholas Beames says the business “covered” their magazines and publications with advertising.
It’s a traditional strategy, and it’s not necessarily quirky or different, but it works – and it gets your business in front of the people who need to see it.
“The result has been spectacular with an increase in enquires of over 300%. Given we convert seven out of 10 enquires, the financial benefit has been enormous,” says Beames.
“In addition, it has been great to support the community that supports us.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
