Articles

The world has changed, and it is just a little out of whack. We're living in a time when teenagers are excelling in Second Life but flunking in their first, Maslow's Needs Hierarchy has been flipped on its head and football players have become metrosexuals. Since 2000, the Chinese have embraced capitalism, Muammar Gaddafi is now a respected member of the international community and Big Brother is finally off air. Computer power doubles every 18 to 24 months, farmers speed-date on national television, we tell one minute bedtime stories to our children, and even instant gratification today seems too slow. (I want my cheeseburger, now!) And then, well, then there's Gen Y... Tech-savvy, ambitious, international in outlook and with a sense of entitlement that would have made 18th Century British aristocrats cringe. So how can employers tame the 'silver-spoon' generation?

Retrenchment is no longer a dirty word. Whether we like it or not, retrenchment is something many people may have to face at some stage of their careers. Here are some constructive tips to help you cope with retrenchment.

Downturn or not, the growth of any business relies on how well you know your customer and what you do with that information. As the owner/CEO of a business, you have the responsibility to ensure your customers understand what your business offers, and to do that you must understand what it is your customers need - and anticipate that their needs change regularly.

As a new generation of Gordon Gekko's fry under the blowtorch of angry shareholders and world leaders brace themselves for the bill from mass bailouts, it's easy to answer the question, "What is the future of finance?" by simply asking another: "Is there a future for finance?"

How would your business cope with a 20-30 percent drop in turnover? How do business owners deal with the wave of economic uncertainty that's reported on every day in the news, and decide what actions to take to survive and guide their business through (what we all hope will be) the inevitable upturn?

The current market downturn has created uncertainty for many workers. However, while many remain concerned about job security, and others have lost it entirely, there is also a proportion of the workforce that look at the current market and remain calm and focused on securing that next great job opportunity.

So you have distributed your media release, it's attracted some interest from journalists and now a couple of them have called you for an...

It's not called the silver screen for nothing. Improve the return on your marketing investment using these unforgettable classics to find, attract and retain...

Being online levels the playing field. Big or small, everyone has the same chance to attract and convert customers. By following some basic principles, you can receive the same coverage as major players and see your business take off using savvy, affordable marketing techniques.

For these businesses (and their owners) to survive this rapidly changing economic environment intact, they just can't continue to do everything by themselves. To be successful, they need to have an experienced team around them to provide the information, experience and support to meet these growing challenges. This team needs to be able to provide the experienced advice that is needed. They need to know how to handle a difficult economic environment. They need to be flexible. And they need to be affordable for the business.

Here are the top 10 tips to get Out-of-Home Digital (OOHD) media working for your business.

It’s no coincidence that those old-time miners, enduring the elements and living with uncertainty in their quest for gold, have a lot in common...

Tougher trading conditions and increasing costs are common concerns for many small businesses in today’s economic environment, but it doesn’t mean that you need to resign yourself to tighter margins and declining profits. What it does require is for those businesses to take a closer look at the fundamentals of their operations – inputs, outputs and pricing. In challenging times, reassessing and restructuring your pricing strategy is critical and could be the key to unlocking financial relief. If managed well, it can help to shore-up the business, enabling you to reap the rewards when conditions improve.

Reading that your customers are satisfied might give you a warm-fuzzy feeling, but what do you really learn? Katie Harris thinks that to improve...

I’ve been around the communications game for a fair while now and I’ll tell you what gets my goat: email, IM and SMS are...

A brand is made up of key components. Tick off each one and you have the makings of a powerful word of mouth campaign...

Social networking tools, such as Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, are diabolical time-wasters. They suck millions of minutes from tens of thousands of people in...

Henry Ford’s marketing promise has moved on the colour wheel. Every company, product and service, from diapers through to life insurance, has become green.

Published in Australian Anthill Magazine, Dec 2008/Jan 2009 The most successful companies not only continually innovate but they position their innovations within a framework of competitor...

Published in Australian Anthill Magazine, Dec 2008/Jan 2009 You probably cannot remember the last time you awoke to an inbox filled with messages titled, “I...