by Peter Crocker

A recent experience reminded me just how many businesses make it unnecessarily difficult to be found by their prospects. In a world that’s increasingly obsessed with Google ranking, let’s not overlook the basics of self promotion.

I’m in the market for an automatic driveway gate. But with hundreds of options online, I decided to take an old-fashioned walk around the block to see some gates in action. While I had found some good options on the internet, it was hard to tell exactly what I was getting.

After about 10 minutes of walking I’d found three gates that were just what I wanted. They were the right size, colour and design. I thought, “Job done”. I’ll get the name and number of the suppliers, give them a call, get a couple of quotes and I’ll be all set.
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by Peter Crocker

So your customer rings and says, “I need something fast, cheap and cheerful, nothing fancy. Could you have a quick look?” Don’t believe it. This is false economy and the result can be less than satisfying for all involved.

Having done quite a few of these small ‘favour’ type jobs over the years, I can tell you that often they cause the biggest headaches.

Quickies are often identified by language such as: “throw something together”, “mock something up”, “just give us your top-line thoughts”, “take a quick squiz”, “while you’re here”, or, “don’t spend much time on it!”

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