In the Nic-Nac studio located in Bangalow, NSW; she feels very fortunate to work mostly school-hours, in an industry which keeps her inspired and challenged, yet able to be there for her family.  For Kylie, the opportunity to be actively involved in her daughter’s life, care for her husband; and work in a business that she is passionate about – is a wondrous life.  Sometimes challenging, but always worthwhile!  Kylie has determination to succeed in abundance, despite the daily challenges she faces.

In business it is easy to alternate in waves of optimism and pessimism when national and overseas media negatively impacts consumer sentiment. Consumer sentiment affects our sales cycles and we’re such herd animals, we tend to contract these moods from one another through our networking.  Australia has been the most resilient country amidst global economic uncertainty and we are the envy of other developed countries outside of our shores – so why are we not more positive?

This brings me back to Kylie as an example of accepting things as are they are; and determined to succeed because she sees no other option that will build a secure future for her family.

Kylie does many things that all small businesses should be doing to drive growth in the current retail environment.  She:

• Uses data and customer insight to reach customers effectively
• Competes in the digital world and continues to develop her expertise in online marketing
• Works hard at creating a good online experience for customers
• Is vigilant about her customer service standards and delivery
• Is testing and trying new marketing approaches to educate herself and gauge impact
• Understands that despite negative hype, that there is underlying demand for her products
• Competes on value and service

Nic-Nac is an inspiring story of determination founded in love – for Kylie, family comes first, appreciating the moments, and realising that “there is always, always, always something to be thankful for.”

You can find Kylie’s range of products to make life easier for new parent’s at nic-nac.com.au and join her growing community on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nicnacnappywrap

About the Author:  Teresa Bassham is a Marketing Coach and owner of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing; inspiring and educating small and medium business to think, create, engage and optimise their authentic marketing effort. She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coaches customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshops on 5th & 6th March, 2012; or request distance coaching online –please contact me.  While you are visiting my website – subscribe for weekly updates on all topics related to marketing.

For daily Authentic Marketing updates visit and “like” my facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing

While the movies message is fictional, successful authentic marketing is about engaging customers through their hearts and minds to enable the formation of deep, meaningful and long term connections.  It’s a way of doing business that aligns your products and services  with what customers want.  As a result, your authentic “brand marketing” messages will be successful longer term.

An authentic approach to marketing requires that you think deeply about your customers; understand their information and communication needs; consider the scenarios in which they’re likely to purchase your service or product; and how they interact with your informational content.

When constructing your authentic brand marketing message, you need to carefully research your target customers.  These customers today have taken control of social media and are placing greater demand on you to engage them in a one-on-one marketing conversation.  Give your ideal target customer a fictional name and visualise who they are. When you are writing your marketing messages, picture that person and write directly to them.  If you have products or services that appeal to different customer groups, simply create different customer profiles.

Today, businesses must understand and optimise every interaction with customers in a way that establishes positive, emotional responses to form meaningful relationships with your brand and message.  Over time, these customers will become your best marketing advocates and promoters.

Taking a authentic marketing approach, developing insights into your customers’ needs and wants, and understanding what motivates them requires effort and investment.  Figuring out what you stand for and the core authentic message you present to your target market as a brand is easier said than done, but is easier with the help of a Marketing Coach.

I’ve attached links to two of these clever and entertaining commercials below and I hope you enjoy them.

It costs $3.5 million to air a 30 second commercial plus production costs. Supporting each commercial are both the sponsor and advertising agency marketing teams to make sure there is a sales return on this investment. Although the scale of spending is incomprehensible to businesses like yours and mine, these sponsors have the same promotional objectives, to maintain and attract customers to their services and products.

The steps to maintaining and attracting customers are the same:

• Having and working to an Authentic Marketing Plan
• Authentic Marketing and Branding messages
• Customer Insight – knowing who and where your ideal customers connect to media
• Knowing what your customers appreciate about you, your services and products
• Authentically and creatively engaging with your customers across all media
• Well planned and executed customer attraction and retention actions
• Measuring success and effort

Enjoy the commercials …

Volkswagen – 2012 Game Day commercial

Doritos – This commercial is also showing how integrated mobile phone technology has become in product promotion and purchase.

I’d love to hear your thoughts? Please feel free to leave a comment or question below.

About the author: Teresa Bassham is the principle of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing, and is passionate about educating small and medium business professionals to create their authentic marketing message, attract more ideal customers and create a marketing plan to achieve success in 2012.  She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coach customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshops on 20^th & 21^st Feburary, 2012 or request distance coaching online –please contact me.  And while your visiting my website – for weekly updates on all topics related marketing – subscribe to my newsletter.

For daily Authentic Marketing updates visit and “like” my facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing

An authentic picture will be more valuable than the words you say!

Not that long ago, only actors, models, and really important people had professional photos of themselves taken.  The internet has provided the need for personal visibility and the desire to connect an authentic face with a name, meaning that professional photographers will be a booming business this year!  Our customers now expect to see a photo alongside our blog posts and on our social network profile but not just any photo, one that captures the “essence of you”.

I am always bemused when “faceless” people tell me that they want to be anonymous on their LinkedIn profile, because I know that less people will connect to them, so I ask – why bother?  People are less inclined to believe website content claims if the contributor’s photo is missing, especially with a bio.  Yet many people are still reluctant to show their face and others perhaps haven’t invested in high-quality photos.  What does this mean for you?

If you haven’t already done it, get professional headshots and upload them to your web based content and profiles (remember to name the images with your name so they appear in a Google search).  Take photos in different clothes and poses because your photo will appear in many places, from your Google and LinkedIn profiles to your Website or your Facebook page. You don’t want someone doing a Google image search to see 10 copies of the same photo of you.  As the old saying goes, first impressions last.  Make sure your headshots are of high quality and express your authentic brand and message.

Authentic Publishing!

Blogs and websites have allowed more people to self-publish articles and content.  Newspaper and magazine editors are no longer the gatekeepers to the information we read.  Book publishing is heading the same way.  Admittedly, there is still credibility that comes with being published by a big name publishing house, but increasing readers are not caring as much about this.  As part of this irreversible trend, Amazon sold more e-books in 2011 than books made from trees, making it even easier for you to publish.  What does this mean for you?

If you have been thinking about writing an e-book, there’s no better time than now to do it.  Numerous services are available to support all steps of the book-development and distribution process.  An e-book is one of the best tools for demonstrating thought leadership and supporting your authentic branding.

Endorsements and recommendations!

You’re only as good as the collective feedback of your customers. Virtually every new social network allows you to request and showcase reviews. LinkedIn (the first to have that feature) calls them recommendations.  BranchOut calls them endorsements.  Regardless, such reviews are becoming increasingly important to those who are making decisions about you and your business.  What does this mean for you?

Ask for feedback, get testimonials, recommendations, and endorsements. Make those testimonials visible on your various social media pages and your website. Potential customers will be doubtful of those businesses without any external recommendations.  Importantly, customers who evaluate your performance will have tons of opportunities to share their experiences online, so always make sure you deliver on your authentic brand message.

Telling your authentic story!

I always see positive results in engagement that telling your own authentic story has; and I encourage you to actually write your story.  Envisioning your authentic story as part of the process of defining your authentic brand; and writing this down has a way creating a self-fulfilling prophesy.  Reading your story over, reminds you of the brand impressions and impacts you want to make, and you will tailor your service behaviour and communications to continuously build those brand impressions.  What this means for you?

In 2012, you will need to address how to tell your business and brand story in social media platforms, in a genuine, authentic, and real way.  If you can achieve this, you are more likely to create an authentic connection and engagement with your customers and make a positive impact on your business.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about Authentic Branding? Please feel free to leave a comment or question below.

About the author: Teresa Bassham is the principle of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing, and is passionate about educating small and medium business professionals to create their authentic marketing message, attract more ideal customers and create a marketing plan to achieve success in 2012.  She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coach customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshops on 20^th & 21^st Feburary, 2012 or request distance coaching online – please contact me.

For more regular Authentic Marketing updates visit and “like” my facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing

Have a clear purpose.  Think about why you want to use social media for your business and state that clearly in your tag line and general page information. This means when potential customers come across your business page, they are clear that you have something to offer them.  This clear purpose also helps to give you guidance for the criteria of content that you post.  But … don’t treat all social networks the same because each has a different approach and audience.  As a general rule of thumb:

• Facebook is like being at a party of your friend, with their friends;
• LinkedIn is like being at a business networking event;
• Twitter is like a magazine front page – short bylines to entice you to read more; and
• A blog is like business conference.

Build your online brand. Establish a strong brand online so when people browse your social media business pages, they will get an immediate sense of your business offer. In other words, don’t try to cover everything that is topical; keep your posts and sharing closely aligned to what is relevant to your brand. Figure out what business niche you want to occupy and build your brand around that.  Want to know more about defining a niche market, download a free guide here?

Set guidelines for your use of personal and professional. It’s ok to overlap personal and professional in social media today, especially for a services business because our person and professional lives entwine significantly, but it’s important to demonstrate difference that leverages and enhances your brand. You should ensure that whatever personal elements you blend into your business profile supports your business goals and doesn’t damage the perception of your business brand.

Create content that others can forward, share, repost, and retweet. The core of your strategy should be creating meaningful, interesting content that potential customers will want to read and share.

Use your common sense. Think before you post, put yourself in your customers shoes – what will they think about this. This also applies to your personal profile, if your business pages are linked.  As an example, the personal profile of a wellness practitioner needs to fit the image that may be expected by your potential fans and customers – unfair perhaps but true. When you are your business, you are your business all the time, especially in online media.

Don’t neglect replies. Social media’s big difference from traditional broadcast media is just that: it’s not about one-way broadcasting – it’s about discussion and engagement. Connecting on an engaged level to make your brand feel personal and relate-able is what the social media audience is looking for.

Don’t claim to be an expert. In Australia, small poppy syndrome dictates that there’s nothing more off putting than someone who boasts about themselves.  Instead, be humble and demonstrate your expertise with that very authentic knowledge and insight that only you can share.

I’d love to hear your thought’s? Please feel free to leave a comment or question below.

About the author: Teresa Bassham is the principle of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing, and is passionate about educating small and medium business professionals to create their authentic marketing message, attract more ideal customers and create a marketing plan to achieve success in 2012.  She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coach customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshops on 20^th & 21^st Feburary, 2012 or request distance coaching online – please contact me.

For more regular Authentic Marketing updates visit and “like” my facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing

Here is my research into what will be important in social media in the next 12 months.

Time to consolidate social media activities

The social media landscape will become more crowded in 2012. What this means is you need to consolidate your time and effort and be present where it matters to your business.

The major four players: Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter have made massive changes in their battle for your attention and usage.  If you haven’t been using these services and collecting data on your results, it’s time to address this and start.  Data drives good marketing decisions.

Use multimedia in social networks to increase customer engagement

In Australia there is increasing penetration on social media platforms using picture applications like Instagram that facilitates the key to social networking – building relationships and connections; and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes.

There are many more video and picture applications that will add sparkle to platforms like Facebook, making multimedia use easier and more comfortable for many. With rapid improvements in technology, the camera on your smartphone is almost as good as your actual camera and a picture (or video) will speak louder than 140 Twitter words.

Purpose and strategic focus needs to replace experimentation

2011 was the year for playing and experimenting with social media platforms to understand and to measure what works.  I believe that 2012 will be the year most SME business’ will start to embrace social media marketing as part of their holistic marketing mix toolkit and using it more strategically as a business driver for growth.

Use advanced analytics to predict and plan

Many last year will have been using your pages social media metrics to understand return on your effort.  The good news is that 2012 will see social media analytics companies releasing simplified SaaS (software as a service) tools for smaller business and brands to perform similar, less complex analytical functions previously only available to larger business. These tools will tell the story of what happened, why it happened, and importantly; to model and predict the future.  People who commit to learning the new and most effective social intelligence tools as they are introduced will create a significant competitive advantage.

Pay attention to the convergence of social and mobile

I covered the growth of mobile and tablet use in Australian Trends in Digital Media in 2012.  Increasingly, a significant amount of the online activity that customers previously conducted through a computer and traditional web browser is now being done through a smartphone or tablet.

This means you need to address how your core marketing initiatives are viewed on the mobile web. Specifically, it needs to be easy for a potential customer on a mobile device to both access your content and to action that content in a social manner i.e., “Like”, share, or subscribe to it.

In 2012, it will be important to think first about optimising your existing website and social media pages for mobile; and second, think about the unique attributes of the mobile user experience, e.g. geolocation, that you can incorporate into your overall marketing strategy.

For success in social media marketing in 2012, two main things remain as important as last year:

• Creating authentic and remarkable content - You still need to be unique and authentic to gain attention in this increasingly crowded communications environment to effectively reach those ideal customers.
• Be consistent - You can’t just create authentic and remarkable content a few times a year; you need to create a schedule for yourself to deliver authentic content on a consistent and regular basis.

If you fail to do both of these things, someone else will gain your ideal customers’ attention.

How do you see your social media marketing evolving in 2012?  Please share your questions and comments below.

About the author: Teresa Bassham is the principle of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing, and is passionate about educating small and medium business professionals to create their authentic marketing message, attract more ideal customers and create a marketing plan to achieve success in 2012.  She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coach customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshops on 20^th & 21^st Feb, 2012 or request distance coaching online – please contact us.

For more regular Authentic Marketing updates visit and “like” my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing

As you read further, you may find the choices available a little daunting because as our population continues to grow slowly and age, the choices available across the channels of media will keep exploding.  This presents both a huge conundrum and an opportunity for businesses with limited promotional budgets.  Which communication channel will give you the best reach to your target audience, with the greatest return on your investment?

Here are some technology growth facts that will affect your media choices (note: by the time you read this they will change):

• Australia has the World’s second highest level of penetration of smartphones
• Mobile internet browsing increased 29% in 2009 and 52% in 2010
• There are 22 million mobile phones for a population of 22 million
• The tablet or iPad is the fastest adopted technology in history
• There are 700+ radio stations with 5.6% digital listening, and free stations will increase as digital radio penetration increases
• There are 200+ TV channels vs 5 channels 15 years ago
• Facebook in Australia has 10 million+ users
• 80+% of our population uses the internet

The most important trend is Australia has gone from lagging in smartphone and mobile internet use, to being a global leader with the second highest penetration of smartphone usage, according to Google. The number of people accessing the internet on their phone went past 50% in 2011 and with social media technology driving adoption of smartphones – the number of people with internet on their phone is expected to top 70% in 2012.

Interesting for bricks and mortar shops, it is how these customers are behaving on their mobile internet which is important; with 40% using search daily, scanning for the business’ website, reading product and service reviews and locating the business on google places.

What this means for you even if you are a offline or online shop: if your website is not mobile compatible and your business location is not registered on google places, then you are going to be missed!

Recent stats show Facebook users topped 10 million in Australia in 2011. Facebook will continue to remain a powerful tool for B2C brands, but just as we are looking for the return on investment this year, customers on Facebook are also increasingly looking at what’s in it for them.

What this means for you: In 2012, you will need to address how to present your business and brand in social media platforms, in a genuine, authentic, and real way.  If you can achieve this, you are more likely to create an authentic connection with your customers and make a real impact on your business.

Ready to drive economic growth through media in 2012?  I would love to hear what you are planning?

About the author: Teresa Bassham is the principle of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing, and is passionate about educating small and medium business professionals to create their authentic marketing message, attract more ideal customers and create a marketing plan to achieve success in 2012.  She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coach customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshops on 24^th & 25^th Jan, 2012 or request distance coaching online – please contact us.

For more regular Authentic Marketing updates visit and “like” my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing

Overwhelmingly all these talented and unique business customers (and I know they won’t mind sharing this with you) had the same marketing problems and I want to share their number 1 problem.

The commonest mistake made by SME’s is having insufficient knowledge of their ideal customer’s attitudes and behaviours.  All had difficultly answering the questions “who do you sell to” and how are your marketing strategies aligned to your customer profile?

I have covered the subject of Market Intelligence or Marketing Research or both…. in a previous blog but it’s worth recapping the importance.

Market intelligence is an activity that existing businesses, whatever their size, should engage in to answer the questions of: “who”, “what”, “how much”, “where”, and “when” your customer buys your products and services. What market intelligence cannot tell you is what your customers are really thinking or “why” your potential customers would buy from you; this is when you do need to do some customer market research. If you are just starting a business, then customer and market research is essential to identify this information, because you cannot craft your authentic offer and message, without your ideal customer in mind.

The expanding multimedia digital and online market environment makes it even more important to understand your customer, where they hang out – both off and online; and the behaviours and attitudes that make them ideally suited to your product or service.  It may be a lucky 1% who has something so unique that word of mouth goes viral over social media platforms and customers beat a path to your door; for the 99% of the rest of us – it takes clarity, focus, hard work and a marketing plan to achieve success.

Ready to know thy customer better in 2012? I’d love to hear your thoughts?

About the author: Teresa Bassham is the principle of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing, and is passionate about educating small and medium business professionals to create their authentic marketing message, attract more ideal customers and have a marketing plan to achieve success in 2012.  She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coach customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshops on 24^th & 25^th Jan, 2012 or request distance coaching online – please contact us.

For more regular Authentic Marketing updates visit and like my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing

Desk research is a term used by market researchers to mean literally, research conducted from your desk, using your computer and the internet; and is information that costs next to nothing except for time and perhaps square eyes.  Importantly it can easily be carried out by the do-it-yourself market researcher.

Gaining this valuable insight into your potential customers needs, and generally researching the marketplace in which your business operates ensures that your marketing goals; identifying ideal customer profiles and setting your price and product/service mix; through to deciding your promotional activities, will result in attracting the most customers possible.

To help you do your own online customer or market research, below are some tips for using Google advanced search techniques, to make your research more fruitful:

Use the exact word match

A strategy of searching with a relevant set of words would be the first step to locate the information that you seek.  When typing in the search word string, use double quotations to enclose the phrase so that for example, “wellness industry customer demographics” will only deliver references to those four words in that combination.  Without the quotation marks references, most search engines look for each of the four words separately and would deliver hundreds of thousands of irrelevant references to wellness, industry, customer, and to demographics.

Use wildcard* to control the proximity of results

You can use the wildcard (asterisk) to let Google replace it with any word that would normally fit in this phrase. For example: wellness industry customer demographics* returns results such as wellness industry trends; the future of health and wellness; and a health and wellness sample marketing plan.

Use synonym character ~ to broaden the search topic

If you are not sure exactly how broad you want to search for information, but say you think you need anything related to purchasing decisions for a target group of customers. In this case you will need to use ~ character to force Google to include more synonyms in the search results.  For example using (~wellness customer purchasing decisions) will return any related content, ranging from “influencing decisions” to “consumer buying journey”.

Filter out repetitious domains

Sometimes no matter what you search for within one topic or niche, you get results from the same domains (for example, the most popular e-news or blog sites). To filter out those domains and force Google to find more detailed and relevant sources, use ["wellness customer purchasing decisions" -site: smartcompany.com] for example.

Broaden your vocabulary

Researchers and report writers may use different words to describe useful customer research content. For example, the topic of customer purchasing decisions can be framed as: buyer decision process; consumer purchase decisions or customers buying process or buying behaviour, for example.

Of course, it is impossible to cover each and every possible choice of words that people may use to describe the information, but playing with various words and phrases will let you see a much broader picture.  To find more of these possible words to search on, all you need to do is to browse and notice all the different variations.

Other useful advanced search options:

Don’t forget the advanced search commands available in Google.  A lot of research or white papers are published as PDF’s;  but you can also search by type of file and find particular file types such as PowerPoint (.ppt), Word (.doc), Excel (.xls); PDF (.pdf) and more.  Look for file type drop box on the Google Advanced Search form.  For more detailed information – search Google Advanced Search Tips.  I would be very interested to know what tips you have learnt and what works best for you?

About: Zenworkz Authentic Marketing has provided these search tips to help you to conduct your own diy customer and market research. However, if you need assistance with any aspect of customer or market research, Zenworkz Online Research provides customised and standard surveys that can capture the data you need to inform decisions about your business. Using the internet and social media, Zenworkz Online Research is: cost and time effective, reduces expense (c.f. face to face and paper surveys).  You don’t even need to have your own website to conduct an online survey, making it very useful to those businesses who trade using social media alone.

If you would like to book a one hour free discussion about your customer or market research needs, please call The Author: Teresa Bassham, Zenworkz Authentic Marketing Coach on 02 6686 8413.

Check out our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing and like for daily updates.

If asking questions is so critical to audience engagement, why aren’t we spending more time and energy on discovering and framing them? It’s probably due to the fact that as a small business we focus on having the “right answer” for our audience, rather than discovering the “right question”; and don’t always understand that discovering the right question is the path to engaging our online community in dialogue and discovery.

It’s actually quite easy to recognize an engaging question when we find one on a social media platform.  These are the questions that invite and challenge us to reflect at a deeper level and often stir up emotions that we feel we must share.

Asking a question as simple as, “What do you think?” or “What can we do that could help?” or “What could make a difference?” can have a startling impact on response rate; and lead to creating new knowledge and insight from the community in your social media network.

The important impact with social media is that an engaging question has the capacity to “travel”, that is to spread beyond where it began into larger online networks of conversation throughout a social media community.  Questions that travel well are often the key to large-scale exposure, awareness, insight and action.

Here’s how to frame questions you might ask your online audience as you begin to explore the art of asking engaging questions:

• What outcome do you want this question to achieve? What sort of conversation, meanings and feelings do you imagine this question will evoke?
• Is the question relevant to the interests of your online community?
• Is this a real question – a question to which you really don’t know the answer?
• Is this question different enough to evoke a new response?
• What assumptions, values or beliefs are underlying the way this question is worded?
• Is this question likely to generate imagination, engagement, creative action and new opportunities?
• Does this question leave room for new questions to be raised as the initial question is explored?

As conversations unfold, important values that people really care about will start to come up – values like personal growth, mutual respect, community contribution and sharing with others.  These responses provide you with valuable insight into your audience’s thinking, allowing you to evolve your questions  and improve your future engagement.

So, I’d love to hear what engaging questions have you had the most response to in your social media community?

About the author: Teresa Bassham is the Coach & Boss Lady of Zenworkz Authentic Marketing, and is passionate about educating small business professionals to create their authentic marketing message and attract their ideal customers.  She runs local workshops in Northern NSW and coach customers online and by phone – if you would like to attend the next scheduled workshop or request distance coaching online – please contact us.

For more regular Authentic Marketing updates visit and like my facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/Zenworkz.Authentic.Marketing