December's coming fast, and if you're like many business owners in New Zealand, you're already feeling it. Changing stock orders, finalising team rosters, staying on top of bills – and somewhere in that mess, you know you should be doing something with your marketing.

Here's the thing: you don't need a massive campaign. You just need to be present, helpful, and easy to find when your customers are making decisions. Here are five things you can knock out quickly – each takes less than 30 minutes.

"Most marketers treat SEO like a traffic tool. They get the clicks, but the brand still doesn't stick. Here's what I see happening: Marketers chase clicks but forget about recognition. You get the visit, but not the return customer. If people can't remember you, they won't come back. If Google doesn't see signals of your brand's authority, you'll lose visibility in search.”

- Neil Patel, Founder Ubersuggest

Are you okay?

 This is possibly one of the most powerful questions you can ever ask. Whether it's an underperforming employee, a stressed customer or a stroppy teenager, this question, asked with the right tone can disarm a difficult situation, uncover a hidden problem or create a window of opportunity.  

Me and the ladies enjoy our weekly aqua dance classes but it’s the business signage on the wall that really gets my attention.

LLMs like Chat GPT are able to generate human-like responses without having a clue what the words mean or sound like. Because the models don’t have access to experiences, context or emotions like humans, they have to rely on converting language into numbers and probability scores.

I’m not going to lie, for some time I’ve found LinkedIn a bit boring. It’s also not the first time I’ve said that (see my other blogs).

But last month, I had a change of heart after chatting with my sister in-law.

Here’s what I learned:

The beginning of 2024 was a shocker for the earthmoving business that I run with my husband.

You can only lead when you know where you are now and where you are going. Then it’s a matter of deciding how you are going to get there.

Imagine a small café, "Brewed Awakenings," that has been experiencing a decline in customer satisfaction and sales. Customers frequently complain about long wait times, inconsistent beverage quality, and poor service. The café owner is concerned and wants to turn things around but is unsure where to start.

I’m well passed that stage of life (but do talk to me about coffee, HRT, books and dogs and you are onto a winner!). One of the quickest ways to improve your communications is to apply the Rule of Relevancy…

I don’t know a single person who is a fan of cold calling (and I know quite a few people who work in sales). The reason for this is it sucks. And while it works, It makes you feel uncomfortable and awkward. And that’s why I like this video from Phil M Jones, international speaker, trainer and author of Exactly What To Say.

Let’s be honest - a lot of the stuff served up on LinkedIn is pretty dry. Not only is it dry, it’s self-serving. “Here I am drinking a coffee with X person at Y conference.” There are very few posts that seem genuine, new and useful. I think it boils down to three challenges: tone, relevancy and attention spans.