Popular Advice

My biggest and hardest to follow rule it start small, validate ideas and experiment. All of these come from the Agile Marketing philosophy. Feeling creative and working on a huge project is something marketers really love, but it's not a sensible thing to do.  I've talked more about this in an article on Agile Marketing  

Creating any solid community is about creating a culture and environment that people want to be involved in. Getting people inspired to support and be involved and most importantly be active.People want to be heard, be in a place they trust those around, be safe and gain value from the community. Maybe have a look at a community that you are involved in and see why you stay in this community and what you get out of it.

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated :-)

I use a company in China who are very good and great value. wishpacking.com. My contact is Mr Woodwei.

Cinema advertising can be most effective for developing andmaintaining local awareness. If your business is easily accessible to individuals who attend the screen/s you advertise on.

Cinema awareness campaigns are essentially a long game and continuity is therefore important. Most people won’t remember a single ad but will eventually become familiar with your brand and offer after multiple trips to the cinema.

Prior to committing to a cinema campaign it is always worthwhile to visit the screen look at the patrons – are they really your target audience? Check out who is currently advertising and call them all to see if they will be renewing their subscription and what level/value of business they are able to associate with their cinema advertising.

Sure. The choice of media usually depends on a few different factors and can be unique to each business.On the upside, you have a captive audience (assuming they arrive while the ads are on), they can't flick channels etc. It's also good for location based businesses that are nearby a cinema. (A meal afterwards etc) Or good for targeting certain groups of people who watch certain kinds of films if you are able to do that.On the downside, people aren't usually in buying mode right before a film and have likely forgotten about your ad 2 hours later when they walk out. Like pretty much ALL media and placement, it really depends on what your brand is and what you're trying to achieve.

More background required please, Tiffany. What is your current strategy for attracting new business? Which tactics have been successful and which less so?

Hi Phil, I've thought hard about this one as I manage a web hosting co.s Partner Program :)This is what I have discovered by talking to our existing and prospective partners, in no particular order.Peace of mind. They want their client websites to be looked after, issues resolved quickly and good communicationSecurity and performance. Taken care of at server level so there is less to do with the platform (eg. hosting).Expert, local support. This is a key one: to be able to jump on a call and speak to someone local who can address their issue, looking at their specific problem, and not just given them a canned response.Based in Australia. For performance, compliance and better support.Quite a few of our partners are looking to earn via referrals or reselling our services, as well as getting leads off us.Hope this helps.Lawrence 

I currently don't use any VA services myself, but if I were to start I'd be looking for the following:

• Good communicator
• Cheerful / Pleasant personality and demeanor
• Reliable
• Detail oriented for capturing notes and meeting schedules
• Knowledgeable about my business so they sound integrated not phony

The main issue with doing business in Asia is the lack of "Rule of Law". It's a bit wild west. There are of course exceptions to this, but short term gain is the main focus. It is seasonal thinking. This was a shock to me at first, as business academics like Hofstede propose long term thinking as dominant in Asian cultures. My observations and discussions with other operators is that this is the opposite, that many will sacrifice long term gain for a quick buck.

To do business one needs a trusted agent based on location. China is big. To check that the shipment is the right quality. They have a range of quality levels. One really needs due diligence at all times.

Contracts are only effective against the foreigner, they mean little to Chinese and Vietnamese. Relationships, or more importantly consequences of bad behaviour are more important. Without a fair judiciary system, the law is not really an option.

Of course there are so many opportunities in Asia and China. As Western Countries have been crippled by austerity measures, reducing consumer spending it's really the best place for business. It's exciting too. Just the other day I met the Viet Kieu mention by Obama in his speech. He has sold his business in Silicon Valley to start one in Vietnam. Most markets are immature and crave a more sophisticated approach. Currently the trend is to move manufacturing out of China to Vietnam, due to costs. Samsung just build their largest factory, Microsoft is doing the same. With all the trade agreements (FTA-EU, TPP, AEC) and growth of the middle class, the ASEAN area shows more promise.

For Australians, no one knows business in China more than Justin Richardson (https://cn.linkedin.com/in/justinrichardsonchina). He has been there for 18 years and speaks fluent Mandarin. Someone I have know since the 90s. I also follow Winston as he have some honest videos on living in Shenzhen. Like this one https://youtu.be/FXXQnyWRSSg

I am based in Northern Vietnam and regularly visit China.