Introduction: In today's digital age, where images can be easily manipulated and artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing, customers are becoming increasingly aware of the wide gap between reality and what they see in marketing and communications. This growing skepticism has led to a shift in consumer preferences, we now see a rising demand for authenticity and realism. In this blog post, I explore why customers are craving realism and how businesses can respond to this shift in customer/consumer expectations. The Age of Photoshop and AI: For years, the use of Photoshop has allowed marketers to create flawless, idealised images that may often deviate from reality. The advent of AI has further amplified this trend, enabling the generation of hyper-realistic visuals and the manipulation of content with unprecedented ease. It is the digital Botox, fake tan and fillers of the marketing world. While these technologies have undoubtedly expanded creative possibilities, they have also raised concerns about the authenticity and trustworthiness of marketing and communications. The Desire for Authenticity: As customers become more digitally savvy, they are increasingly seeking authentic experiences and connections. In a world almost saturated with heavily edited images and exaggerated claims, customers are growing weary of the polished perfection often presented in advertising. They crave relatability, genuine stories, and real people. Authenticity has emerged as a powerful differentiator, allowing businesses to build trust, foster meaningful relationships, and resonate with their relevant target audience. The Role of Realism in Marketing and Communications: Realism in marketing and communications involves presenting a more accurate representation of products, services, and life experiences. By embracing realism, businesses can create a sense of transparency and credibility, making their messages more trustworthy and relatable. Realistic visuals and narratives provide customers with a genuine understanding of what to expect, fostering a deeper connection with brands. So what are the strategies for embracing realism?: Genuine Visuals: Incorporate realistic images that capture real people, un-retouched models, and authentic moments. Avoid excessive editing or airbrushing that distorts reality. But ... the images still need to be well lit, well shot and thought through! Honest Storytelling: Share genuine stories that reflect real customer experiences or showcase the journey behind your products or services. Avoid embellishment or exaggerated claims. User-Generated Content: Encourage customers to share their own experiences and content, showcasing real-life usage of your products. This not only adds authenticity but also fosters a sense of honesty and community. Transparent Communication: Be honest and open about your offerings, pricing, and any limitations or challenges. This level of transparency builds trust and establishes a long-term relationship with customers. The benefits of realism? By embracing realism, businesses can reap several benefits: Enhanced Trust: Realism in marketing and communications builds trust among customers, leading to stronger brand loyalty. Increased Engagement: Authentic content resonates with audiences, sparking higher engagement rates and fostering meaningful interactions. Differentiation: Realistic portrayals set businesses apart from competitors who rely on heavily manipulated visuals. Long-Term Relationships: Realism fosters a sense of authenticity, encouraging customers to form lasting connections with brands. Conclusion: In a world where technology can create hyper-realistic illusions, customers are increasingly seeking authenticity and realism in marketing and communications. By embracing transparency, genuine visuals, and honest storytelling, businesses can meet this demand, build trust, and establish long-term relationships with their target audience. As we continue to navigate the brave new digital landscape, remember that authenticity remains a powerful tool that can set your business and your brand apart and resonate with customers in profound ways. Hope you found this useful and thanks for reading. Keep it real! Until next time. Andy www.andywhiting.com #theadvanceofAI #ai #aiandthefuture #realisminmarketing #marketingtoday #marketingforsmallbusiness #marketingadvice #marketingtips #themarketingguy #willaitakeovertheworld #shouldweworryaboutai #artificalintelligence #marketingblog

Social media can be a powerful tool for small businesses to connect with potential customers, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. Here are some of the key reasons why using social media can be important for supporting small businesses here in the UK: Cost-effective advertising: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram offer small businesses a cost-effective way to advertise and promote their products or services. Through targeted advertising and sponsored posts, small businesses can reach a wider audience and attract new customers without breaking the bank. Increased visibility: With millions of people using social media every day, small businesses can use these platforms to increase their visibility and reach new customers. By sharing content regularly and engaging with followers, small businesses can build a loyal following and increase their brand awareness. Improved customer engagement: Social media allows small businesses to engage directly with their customers and build relationships with them. By responding to comments and messages in a timely manner, small businesses can show that they value their customers and are committed to providing excellent service. Access to customer insights: Social media platforms offer small businesses valuable insights into their customers' behaviour and preferences. By tracking likes, shares, and comments, small businesses can better understand what their customers are looking for and tailor their marketing and sales strategies accordingly. Increased sales: By using social media to promote products or services, small businesses can increase their sales and revenue. Social media platforms offer a range of tools to drive sales, such as 'Shop Now' buttons and links to e-commerce websites. In conclusion, social media can be a vital tool for small businesses in the UK to connect with customers, increase brand awareness, and drive sales. By using social media effectively, small businesses can compete with larger companies and thrive in today's digital marketplace. I hope that this was helpful. Please leave your comments below and ping me a message if there are any small biz marketing questions you'd like me to cover in future blogs. Thanks for reading. Andy Andy Whiting Brand & Marketing Consultant www.andywhiting.com

The first recorded filmed content clip (according to the Guinness Book of Records) was a 2 second clip of content called ‘Roundhay Garden scene’ dated as 1888 (take a look here). Since then, billions-upon-billions of hours of content have been filmed on cameras, in Film/TV studios around the world, then later home cine cameras and of course on VHS, DVD, Mini-disk and more recently digitally on our smart phones. In fact, think of all the 20th and 21st century's most memorable moments and we all have filmed moments emblazoned on our minds, from the assassination of JFK, up to the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, or even in the world of advertising, we have iconic moments like the festive Coca-Cola Trucks rolling into town, all the way up to date with the Go Compare or We Buy Any Car adverts! So, it makes sense that the coming together of simple ways to shoot and edit content yourself combined WITH the broadcast social media platforms to share it, and suddenly we have the marketers/small business owners dream way to advertise. (Sort of! - which I will come on to). First to the technology: It is said, we now have more technical capability and capacity in a single mobile phone than the kit that took the Apollo mission to the moon. Crucial within that evolution of our mobile phones, the camera and video technology has undergone a revolution, enabling us to shoot, edit and share near cinema quality footage from our handset to the world in just a tap of the screen. Not only are our phones sophisticated recording devices, but the editing apps and tools (that used to take up whole buildings in Soho in my early marketing career!) are now available on your handset to use yourself; editing and adding music, graphics etc with ease. Second the broadcast channels: Broadcast media was once solely the preserve of big budget advertising and marketing campaigns. However as filmed content has evolved with tech, so have the platforms to broadcast it, with apps like Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, You Tube etc, which are all hungry to devour your content. With the sudden arrival and rise of Tik Tok (a more video-based platform), the other platforms have rapidly adapted their algorithms to seek out and promote the very best filmed/video content ... and in the process have made millionaires out of some of the ‘influencers’ and ‘content creators’ they have given rise to. If you are like me, we often find ourselves lost in a wormhole of clip scrolling; ‘sharks swim round paddle-boarders’, ‘singing dogs’, or ‘wedding dances that went wrong’ and suddenly you’ve wasted the 30 mins you should have been writing your next blog! So, it makes sense that filmed content should not only be the preserve of the viral fun stuff, but a useful tool to communicate and promote your business too. Now … This is where the difficulty lies: You’ve mastered the technicalities of filming and editing on your phone. You’ve spent hours trawling through how to format, upload and #tag each clip. But … what the heck should you film and how long should it be, and should you be in it? Having come from a 20+ years career in broadcast marketing for the likes of Nickelodeon, MTV and ITV, I’m lucky enough to have been crafting my skill set in this field for many years. But I’m also needing to adapt, evolve and improve my knowledge with the rapidly changing landscape too. So here are my (current) #toptips for shooting and using filmed content to promote your business, product or even just share some nice social fun content. 1. Keep it short and engaging - Attention spans are incredibly fickle now, so keep your clips short and sweet - 30” 60” and 90” clips get the most engagement on social media. 2. Plan it - Think about the moment you want to film and share. Consider what angle and what part of it will be fascinating for people to see. 3. Be authentic - Yes you may have styled your living room to within an inch of perfection in your last post, but sometimes we want to see behind the curtain and get a sense of your real world in a fun and informal manner. Back stage or behind the scenes tours all help us see beyond the polished external facing business and ‘How to’ guides have built millions of followers for influencers like @mrshinchhome , who now has extended her household brand into places like Tesco in a way that franchise brands did on the back of big TV shows in the past. 4. Use the tools - Each platform has ‘Reels’ tools built in. The more you use their creator tools the more their platforms will reward you with being shared online. Things like animated graphics, multiple clips, music, voiceovers and icons can all be edited into your film directly from the relevant app. 5. Be accessible - All the platforms are keen to ensure content is accessible to all. Use Alt Tags and add Closed Captions (CC = subtitles) to your voiced reels. Not only does this help people navigate your content who may have sight or hearing impairment, but it will also enable content to be consumed with the volume off when you are on the bus (or at work - I won’t tell the boss!). 6. Create links - The clips tend to be short, so use tools, comments and text to direct your viewer to more info on your website and share the reels to your stories, website and other platforms so people can find it. 7. Be experimental - If you feel inspired and are having fun with your video content, it will come across and people will want to engage and watch it. But sometimes one reel will work better than another, keep experimenting and trying different things. Don’t be discouraged if one clip gets less traction, the next one probably will. 8. Review it - Use your analytics and relevant social media dashboard to understand what is working and what needs a rethink! And finally … If your filmed content needs to be slicker and more professional than more disposable social media content, or it is an on-going social media strategy you need, it is worth talking to the professionals and getting some help. That could be me, for some of your social content or companies like my great friends and collaborators B2: Videography who produce filmed content for all manner of commercial industries. If this is something you are interested in, please get in touch. As ever I hope this has been useful and thanks for reading. See you next time! Andy info@andywhiting.com www.andywhiting.com #videocontent #createvideocontent #creatingvideocontent #engagingvideo #engagingvideos #importanceofvideo #videosforsocialmediamarketing #videoforsocialmediamarketing, #makeasocialmediavideo #makingvideosforsocialmedia #videocontentideas #creatingvideoforsocialmedia #themarketingguy #socialmediamarketing

“Hello mate, I’m Topsy from Innovations Fitness, I hear you’re the guy to chat to about marketing locally!” was how the phone call started. It was the week before Christmas 2021 and as most companies were winding down for the festive break, Topsy (AKA George Turner, the Founder and Lead Instructor of the business) had an eye on the coming New Year and the important, annual ‘New Year, New You, New Start’ fitness period of January. “I’ve got great classes. A great team and very loyal client base, BUT I want to freshen things up for 2022 and get my business out there!” was the essence of the marketing brief. With just days to go before the January window of opportunity for his business, it was full steam ahead to review and audit his existing branding, website, social media and client communications. Fast! One very chilly morning in January, I attended my first Boot Camp session to see first-hand a class in action and take a bank of new photography and footage for his social media channels. I was slightly in awe of the dedicated individuals who’d got out of bed on a freezing January morning … to exercise in the park! I came away feeling really inspired by Topsy and his method of motivating and supporting his Boot Camp’ers at the session and could clearly see how he’d built a legion of happy Boot Camp clients. We quickly rolled out the new photography and a temporary set of newly branded social media content panels and banners. But I felt the existing logo, whilst a lovely illustrative piece of art, was far too intricate for his business. It was hard to read properly and was not representative of the modern and vibrant business I saw THAT morning in the park. Thankfully Topsy was more than happy to take my advice and guidance, so we embarked not only on a new website build but a complete rebrand, which would impact every corner of his business from his social media channels to the shirts and apparel the team wear. I devised the rebrand creative brief and quickly knew that there was one person I needed on the project, my long-time collaborator, Graphic Designer, and all-round design genius Ali, of Ali Schillemore Graphic Design. Over to Ali tell you about the next part … “It's always great to collaborate with Andy on projects because he provides me with such thorough creative briefs from his brand audit and brand identity work with each client. And this brief was no different! He told me the client wanted to refresh and modernise the brand, but Andy was keen to keep some connection/reference to the old logo design, which they had built their success with. I reworked the wings opening out from the shield, they added an organic element to work with the strong geometric shapes within the icon. The finished logo acknowledges the military history of its founder, the companies sporting/fitness credentials, as well as where the company has come from, but it brings it up to date, it is flexible and adaptable, making it future proof for many successful years to come. The logo is adaptable and can appear in various colour variants of blue, orange and white and the wings and shield can appear together or as independent icons.” Thanks Ali for that! Now, what about brand colour choice? The existing colour palette (seen above in pic1) of the branding was predominantly navy blue and a beige/fawn colour which felt quite flat and bland. So, I asked Ali if we could inject a pop of bright orange to compliment the deep blue. This would feel more energetic, vibrant, sporty, and more importantly it would stand out better as a fitness brand. If you want to check-out my thoughts on colour psychology within business branding, my previous blog has some thoughts on this, read it HERE. Fast forward a few months, lots of visits back to Boot Camp in Emsworth Park (without actually putting my trainers on or lifting a kettle bell 🤣) and here we are with our new branding, new website and some rather lovely new branded sportswear too! It takes a lot of conviction to entrust your entire business and branding to someone and Topsy has become a great friend through the process. His is commitment to follow my lead and guidance has made the project such a joy to work on and I am really pleased and proud of the end result. Getting your branding (or rebranding) right is a process of laying the solid foundations and structure of your business. Once these are in place everything else sits more organically around your messaging, customer communications and marketing. A rebrand also re-energises a business across both the staff within it and its customer base, as long as it it done appropriately. I hope you all like where we have landed with this one! If you’re in the Emsworth area, Boot Camp classes take place Monday-Saturday and you can find out more and enjoy his shiny new website that I built for him here … www.innovationsfitness.co.uk If you’re looking to refresh your brand (or build it from scratch) or maybe you just need some general marketing advice and support, please do drop me a line for a chat. Thanks for reading. Andy www.andywhiting.com email: info@andywhiting.com

Here is is ... My 2021 Top Ten of marketing tips and ideas for small businesses. I hope you find them useful ... #10: Listen to your customers/clients. It sounds like a simple bit of advice and it should be, but is often overlooked. An example ... you’re a baker and you pride yourself on the loaves of bread you’ve sold for the past five years. Sales are steady and have plateaued at an OK level. If you haven’t updated your customer research and asked for their feedback you might not know they actually want sourdough bread or gluten-free too. And maybe even some cakes in addition which they will be willing to spend more on. Sometimes it’s hard to see the wood for the trees when you’re running a small biz, so ask around, do trial sampling’s of new products/services and ask for comments on what they’d like to see and buy. I’ve conducted quite a few customer research projects over the years and more often than not, it confirms and solidifies what you think and feel already and you can strengthen your plans accordingly. But sometimes there are real nuggets of feedback that spark a great new product or service you didn’t ever think of. When asked most people like to give their opinion, don’t be afraid to ask ... and most importantly listen! #9: Make a plan ‘Failure to plan is to plan to fail’ so the saying goes and it’s pretty true for small businesses! Having a plan or business strategy is essential if you want your business to grow and prosper. In big business, these strategies and plans are huge and set out way into the future. They are tweaked all the time to adapt to the changing landscape in which a business exists. On a small business level a good place to start is with the question 'Where do you want to be in five/ten years from now?'. The answer could be “Double in size and profit” or “Maintain as we are” or even “Sell up and retire to a villa in Spain on the profits”. They’re all appropriate answers, but once you’ve asked the question you can start to plan the route and answer the ‘How will we get there?’ question. As the past twelve months has taught us, plans need to be able to flex when required, but it’s good to have one in the first place. #8: Brand Identity Investing in your brand identity from the start is important and as I’ve said in previous SMALL BIZ BLOG posts on branding, it isn’t just about a jazzy logo. Though it includes that. Your brand identity permeates through everything; your vehicles, your website and social media, your staff clothing, the manner in which they (and you) serve or assist your customers. Ultimately your overall identity forms opinions with how your customers perceive your business and that can make or break you. Doing all of the thinking around this at the start/now will save you so many hassles and headaches at a later date. You’ll be surprised how many times I’ve been told that someone’s logo, brand name and branding was rushed cos the sign-writer needed something or hashed together by their nephew/niece cos they did OK in GCSE art. It’s a big decision so get professional help and do it right. #7 Demonstrate your expertise Customers (on the whole) are looking to you to solve a problem or a need; their garden is a mess and it needs tidying up, the tree in the front is too large and looks unsafe, they’ve got no idea what to cook for dinner tonight, or they want a new bathroom fitted. In each of these examples (provided they’ve found you, see #5!) you will have the opportunity to show them the answer and how adept you are at solving their problem or need. Case studies and testimonials on your website, before and after photo galleries and short films that showcase your skills are all really useful tools to do this. #6: Get your website sorted! Disclaimer ... most of my client work comes from web design work, so of course I’m going to say this. But it’s surprising to me how many businesses have no website, or a very dated one that is not reflective of the current business branding and offer. Your website is STILL the main shop window to your business. I say STILL, as many clients feel that social media does the job of a website. It absolutely does not and you’re missing out on building your wider digital footprint on search engines etc by not having one and updating it. Get me to build it, or someone else, or even buy the domain and build a contact/holding page yourself ... but do get your website sorted, please! #5: Get found Once you’ve decided on your brand identity, created a logo and shiny new website you’ll need to help customers find you. Word of mouth and recommendation is still one of the most powerful ways in which small businesses operate. Most of my client work comes from recommendation by friends, relatives and previous clients. So doing a good job and asking people to recommend you is important to keep business ticking over and growing. And Reviews really help, which I'll come to in Part 2 of my countdown next week. Social media is also an incredibly powerful way to connect people back to your products or services. Through regular posts, photos, stories and content you can form an on-going relationship and communication with your customers. Advertising on social media is also a cost efficient way of getting your message and website in front of large, targeted groups of people in a particular location. #4 “Review” “Review” “Review” As I mentioned in ‘#5 Get Found’ word of mouth and positive reviews about your business are like gold dust. This has become particularly relevant on the back of sites like Trip Advisor, Facebook Reviews, Trust Pilot, Checkatrade and more recently Google Reviews. Google Reviews are particularly important as these make a significant impact on your search-ability and Google rankings. So seek them out and encourage them with clients/customers as much as you can. And whilst we’re talking about reviews, let's address the elephant in the room, the BAD review. My advice if this ever happens (and if you have a high customer turnover it probably will at some point) ... Read it, walk away from the keyboard and mull it over for a few hours, don’t rush off an emotional, angry or knee-jerk reply! Take time to investigate any points raised within your team and whilst you may disagree, think about if they make any salient points you could take on-board and improve from. Then, craft a reply that is polite, professionally addresses any points raised and thanks them for taking the time to share their feedback. Even if you actually think they’re a total £&%#!!!, try not to get emotional and NEVER start a defensive war of words as it will not look good in the long run and be visible online FOREVER! #3 Password Fail! Seems ridiculous that passwords could feature so high in my Small Biz countdown but one of the major issues I find with so many clients is lost account log ins, missing passwords and accounts set up to lost email addresses. Is this you too? I’ve seen countless social media accounts duplicated, triplicated etc etc, as no one can remember or refresh the log in info. It’s frustrating for you and can be very confusing to customers when there are 32 different Instagram pages for ‘Flossies Flowers’ and potentially could lose you customers as messages to dormant accounts never reach you. Note down each account, the user name you create, the password and the email account you set it up with. Which leads me nicely on to #2 ... #2 Use it or Lose it In the rush and excitement to start a new business venture, many clients buy their domain name and set up social media pages on every platform possible; Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn ... the list goes on and on. But then the reality of posting content to each platform, correctly tagging it etc starts to sink in and you get super-busy with your business, so marketing and social media become a bit of a chore. And eventually the content splutters, slows and stops. Social media is a time consuming marathon, but get it right and it can pay huge rewards to your marketing strategy and bottom line. My best advice is to focus on doing one or two (appropriate*) social media platforms really well and ditch the rest if you won’t be updating them. Unloved and untended social pages can make your business look tired, lacklustre and out of date. *What are the appropriate social media channel/s for your business? I’ll look at this in a future blog I think. But do some research on which platforms are most used by your target customers by age, location and the type of content you will want to showcase. #1 Put yourself in the picture My number one point for small businesses and one everyone (including me!) feels a little uncomfortable about is ... 🥁 You. You are the owner, founder and face of your business. Your skills, expertise and experience have made your business start up and grow. Your customers need to see and experience your business through your eyes. Put yourself (and your team) on your website, into your social media posts and narrate your communications from your own point of view ... this is one of the brilliant things that small businesses can do much more effectively over big faceless businesses. But how? Showcase team pics, film/narrate short product reviews, recommendations, tastings & recipes, 'how to' tips, a day in the life pics, fun moments, work in action shots ... these all help build the personal and human side of your business. Keep it fun but remain relatively professional, if your Gran wouldn’t be happy to see or read it, don’t post it! That’s my round up of Top Ten Tips for 2021. I’ve really enjoyed pulling these together and clarifying my own thoughts and ideas in the process, so I hope you’ve found some useful nuggets amongst it all. Do drop me a line if you need some help with your branding, marketing and website, I'd love to hear from you. Until next time and as always thanks for reading! Andy info@andywhiting.com www.andywhiting.com #marketingtips #marketingadvice #branding #marketing #websites #webdesign #smallbusinesstips #startupUK

It was 2014. I had just got married in a no-expense-spared wedding and honeymoon. We had a gargantuan mortgage to pay each month on our apartment in central London, but we knew we could afford it as we’d both worked hard to rise the career ranks and earn a pretty good monthly wage. Investing in our mortgage and apartment was to be our ‘get out of London’ escape plan, as part of our five-year plan to move to the coast and get a dog. But that was all far away in the future. Then, one Friday in August 2014 … An important looking white envelope slides across the meeting room table towards me. “I’m afraid I need to share some news with you Andy. As you know we’ve been making a number of structural changes and cost savings within the business and your role has been identified as one for possible redundancy.” Like a moment in a movie the room felt like it spun 360 around me and I felt a sudden compulsion to get out of the room immediately. I listened briefly then made my excuses and left the room. When I walked into work that morning, I had no idea that it would be my last day of work for this organisation. I immediately requested leave, to take stock and consider things as the consultation process unfolded. As part of the consultation process, I was asked to put forward a justification to try and retain my role and avoid redundancy. In my mind, this was essentially asking me to beg to keep my job with a new management team that I felt had already made their decisions. I felt that if ‘they’ (the business) couldn’t see the value in my work, then my work would be better placed elsewhere. So, at my first official consultation meeting I asked for the process to be fast-tracked and the redundancy package to be presented to me. A swift, sharp conclusion for all concerned and a little pot of money in the bank for me to consider my future with. With time away from the daily grind of the 9 to 5, I had enforced time to think about things. Did I really want another job in London, commuting on a packed tube train, paying more mortgage payments and longing for the day when I could sell up, move out and get a nice garden and a dog? Together my partner and I decided it was time to go for it. Time to sell up and take a considered leap of faith into a new life and home on the UK south coast. This is, of course the condensed story that took almost 12 months to unfold whilst we debated and eventually put our apartment on the market and waited for a buyer. In July 2015, almost a year later, we found ourselves waving off the removals van and driving out of London with excitement and trepidation and a new short term rental home as our only commitment in life The next few months were exciting on a personal front as we found our new home and purchased it. We got a Miniature Schnauzer Puppy and started to make many new friends and adjust to our new coastal/village life. The picture in our heads was starting to become a reality. But the ominous presence of my career (or lack of it) loomed large. I still needed to work, but I wanted a better work/life balance, and I wanted a job that would fulfil me (at least) as much as my other roles had done. The redundancy had really knocked my professional confidence and the clock was ticking on my remaining redundancy finances. After many months of searching the job sites and half-heartedly applying for a few jobs that I instinctively knew I wouldn’t enjoy, I saw a job ad for a marketing role at our lovely local gastro pub. They were looking for a marketing graduate type role. When I chatted to the General Manager, he said “You are far too over-qualified for what we are seeking!” but he had the vision to change the role slightly and we agreed to find a way to make it work as a semi-consultancy based role, just a few hours each week. This gave me the opportunity to apply my marketing skills in a whole new industry and regain my confidence. The remaining free days each week enabled me to build my own brand and business vision, to pick up some additional client work as my understanding of the marketing and branding needs locally became clearer. Six years on, I have grown a marketing and brand consultancy business that has built more that 30 business websites and provided marketing and social media support for even more small businesses. And I can say, probably for the first time in my career, that I am truly happy and really enjoy helping all my clients grow their businesses, as mine grows alongside them. So what have these past few years taught me on the journey from employment, through redundancy and on to being a business owner myself? · Sometimes bad news and difficult times are the kick up the bottom that you need to make the change you’ve been avoiding. Try and find the positive aspects and embrace the change to turn it into an opportunity. · You can’t do it all or know it all when you start a business, find and work with people and suppliers who are experts at what they do, whether it is a great accountant, a marketing person, a web or graphic designer or even chat to other small business owners for advice and guidance, you’ll be surprised how happy most will be to help you. · You’re going to spend a lot of time at your desk, invest in a good chair and a decent screen for your laptop or you’ll be getting neck and back ache … trust me I learnt this the painful way! · There’s no time like the present … If you have a small business idea or dream, get on with it. OK, I had the financial backing of my redundancy money and partner to help me through the first few lean years, but even if you start your business in your free time and let it grow from there you are heading in the right direction. · Be fearless, you are not going to know how to do it until you do it, and then, if like me, you’ll wish you took the leap of faith much sooner. Go for it! Good luck and feel free to drop me a line if you need any help with your marketing, branding, web design or just want to chat through your small biz idea. My next Small Biz Blog will be looking at the top 10 mistakes that small businesses make with their branding and marketing, so watch this space for that one in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading, see you next time! Andy www.andywhiting.com

The past 12 months for many business owners has been a roller-coaster ride of fear, anticipation and confusion. And at AWHQ I have been riding that coaster too, constantly worrying that economic conditions and concerns will ultimately filter down to my clients and eventually to me too. For some sectors it has absolutely been the case, and I have tried to work with those clients to support them, help them cut-back and provide a service, or moth-ball everything to keep them going through unbelievably tough conditions. For other sectors it has been business as usual, albeit under extraordinary new ways of working. And for some lucky ones, it has been a period of growth as our habits and lockdown requirements have forced a seismic change in daily routine and behaviour, bringing a wealth of opportunity and new business, particularly in the areas of technology, online retail and home renovation and refurbishment. My own client base has altered dramatically in the past 12 months, but I continue to work with passionate and exciting small businesses who all have the same drive and ambition to be the best they can be. I am thrilled to add four new clients to my 2021 line up of existing clients, they are: We're already working on a number of new website, branding and marketing projects together and I look forward to sharing more with you soon, watch this space. If you need support with your website, branding and/or marketing activity, please do get in touch. Let's hope we are all emerging from this Covid-19 pandemic and can resume some (new) form of life again soon. Stay safe folks! www.andywhiting.com info@andywhiting.com

The most common mistake I come across when working with small business clients is that they don’t spend enough time on defining and building their brand. And when I say ‘brand’ I don’t just mean a nice logo. Your brand is much more than a logo or the colours you use on your website. It is about the PROMISE you make to your customer. Your brand helps signify the quality, value and experience of your product or service. For example, let’s look at a weekly food shop ... If I say that I’m going to Lidl for my weekly shop, you will instantly know that price is paramount to me. The store layout may be a bit higgledy-piggledy and customer service less attentive, but you’d expect great value. Whereas if I go to Waitrose I’ll pay a premium for my weekly shop in comparison, but the store layout, customer service, quality and range of produce is second to none. This knowledge of each store is based on the brand offer, values and promise they have created for their customers. Of course this is now a raging debate in the world of grocery shopping. Lidl and Aldi have forced the likes of Waitrose, M&S etc to really examine the needs of a more price conscious shopper, by introducing their lower cost/value ranges too. Brands like most things in life can’t stand still, so they continually need to evolve based on the economic, social and technological times they are faced with. So how do you want your business brand to be perceived? Are you the cheapest in your area, the fastest to offer your service, or maybe your view is that quality and workmanship takes time, patience and deserves to charge a more premium price? Are there other things that set you apart from your competitors, for example are you a champion of environmental issues whilst delivering your product or service? In marketing we often use the seven P’s of the marketing mix as a strategic tool to help position a business  ... Price - What is the cost and value of your product in relation to your competitors? It’s not always suitable to be the cheapest. Do you provide offers or a loyalty scheme discount?  Product - What is the quality and what does it look and feel like to use your product or service? Do you offer follow up or on-going support or maintenance? Place - Where do your customers buy your product or access your services? Promotion - How do your customers know about your business? How do they find you to begin with? People - Are you a one-person business or do you have a team? How do you or your team represent your business to customers? How do you train them to be ‘on brand’? Process - What do customers need to do when using your product or service, how do they interact and how do you evaluate their experience? Physical Evidence - What is it like to visit your store, premises, website or handle your products? What is your customer experience like? When I work with clients, whether it’s on a new website, a new logo or an entire marketing strategy, my initial task is to get under the skin of the brand, understand the brand PROMISE and devise a branding and marketing solution that is appropriate for them. For me, a brand that I’ve encountered that has really nailed this is Apple. From the moment you visit their website, walk into an Apple store or unwrap your newly purchased device at home you know what you are getting … and will happily pay premium for the experience. And with regular new models being released they keep us coming back for more. What brands have you encountered that have really embraced and succeeded (or failed!?) at this approach, I’d love to hear your thoughts? Look out for my next BLOG ... it is all about my experience of starting up my own business and starting over after redundancy a few years ago. Thanks for reading. www.andywhiting.com Brand & Marketing Consultant

How does colour make you feel ... bright and sunny, gloomy and depressed? We all react to colour, whether consciously or subconsciously. To give it its correct term 'colour psychology’ is something that has been studied in depth. In fact, over the years, experts studying the science of colour have determined how colour effects our moods and therefore shape our values. This is how we have ended up with such a wide range of paint colours and colour mixing stations at the local DIY superstore. But determining the colour of your living room wall is one thing; determining the brand colours for your logo, website, business signage, branded clothing and business vehicles is quite another. And it is an expensive mistake if you get it wrong! One of the most prominent examples of colour psychology and colour emotion at work is with political parties. In the UK the colour of the right is BLUE (dependable, strong, trusted, traditional, steady), the colour of the left is RED (vibrant, exciting, bold, youthful, energetic) and the centre-ground Liberal Democrats YELLOW (warm, optimistic, clear, innovative, enthusiastic). Now, whether you agree with those as attributes for any of those political parties is your own decision, but it is a great example of 'colour branding = values’ at work. So how does it work for small and medium sized businesses? Often clients will come to me with a hastily created logo that they needed to send to someone when they first started out. Their van vinyl-wrap guy needed it, or the social media page needed a logo and it is rushed out with little thought about how the logo might be needed in the years ahead and what that logo really says to customers viewing it. When starting the design process for a website and branding, I have an in-depth conversation with my clients to create a design brief. This brief acts as the foundations for building a brand that will serve them well for many years ahead. The primary question is 'How do I want my clients/customers to feel about my business; excited, trusting, confident, calm, happy, natural, reliable?' The answer might be all of those things, but the more you can narrow down these thoughts to one or two primary feelings it will help steer you. Of course the industry and purpose of business also plays an important role in colour choice, for example a bright red logo for a lawn mowing and turf care company probably wouldn’t be the best choice! If you are a company involved in the renewable energy sector you would probably want to veer towards green and yellow to reinforce your connections to nature and innovation. Taking a look at the colour emotion wheel, where does your business sit? Does it match the values that you hope to convey to your customers or clients? Did you nail it with your start up branding or did you have a branding disaster? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences of developing your businesses branding. If you are just starting up your business venture and need some help or looking to review your branding, website or marketing strategy I’d love to have a chat. Thanks for reading! www.andywhiting.com