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When I started MAXX on 8 September 1995 I wanted to create my version of a ‘virtual’ business. Working out of my 10 by 8 ft study, my vision was to control an organisation made up of freelancers and contracted staff, using just my wits, a landline, mobile phone and fax machine. 

Little did I know that in 2020, 25 years later, that is how MAXX (and many other businesses) are currently working. The major effect of Covid-19 has been to compel successful companies to work virtually. But enough about that…let me tell you how it all started.

Every day we hear more news about the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the UK’s businesses and economy, and it hasn't exactly made for easy listening. You will no doubt have already spent the last few months trying to navigate your business through the crisis and now, it comes as no surprise, the UK has moved into a recession. Despite all of this one thing remains the same and that is the importance of keeping your marketing going in some form or another. 

Now is the time to plan how to strategically market through this period and MAXX is here to help.

It’s been an interesting few months in the MAXX digital team!

Already busy with new work, the developers have been preparing four new sites for launch. This is normally a hectic time as deadlines approach and final testing and tweaking takes place. However add lockdown to this scenario and life got a little bit interesting.

One of the good things that has come out of our current experience is a strengthening of our sense of ‘community’. Many businesses, whilst struggling with their own challenges are still keen to explore ways to support a society that is suffering. Equally, charities and voluntary organisations have been struggling worldwide with a crisis in funding due to lockdown restrictions limiting fundraising events, plus the economic slowdown.

What's the biggest problem facing your business?

Well if you're like 79% of UK businesses we're guessing it's attracting new customers. 

And given the current situation, securing your pipeline is only getting tougher. According to research from Tech Nation, the biggest problem impacting scaling tech companies right now is sales, cited by 83% of companies. 

But building a strong pipeline with 3x coverage becomes a lot simpler when you take a 2-pronged attack that establishes mechanisms for creating both inbound and outbound leads.

You can have the greatest website ever, but not much good if nobody sees it.

Also you could have hundreds of people seeing your website but none of them are your buyers.

So the aim is to get the right people in the right place.

Google is notoriously secretive about its algorithms and continually changes them to provide us with the most relevant results, and if you believe its critics, to generate the most revenue!

"The outbreak is bringing back the 'social' aspects of social media."

This is just one for the conclusions to come from GlobalWebIndex (GWI), based on the extensive research it has performed on attitudes and buying habits worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Your website SHOULD showcase your business in the best light, and yet so often it's doing you a disservice, and on occasion damaging everything you've worked so hard to build. In this blog we explore how simple tweaks to your website’s responsiveness, user experience and call-to-actions can boost its performance dramatically...

Take a look at your website.

Go on. Open up a browser. Navigate to your website. Take a long hard look…

What an amazing organisation this is! Purley Park Trust supports adults with learning disabilities and works to deliver unrivaled standards of care both at its purpose-built care homes, set in beautiful countryside surroundings in Purley on Thames, and through supported living and day care services. 

Throughout these past few weeks, I’ve heard some really interesting points of view on marketing (or not) in this challenging climate, from webinars I’ve joined and articles I’ve read.  The overriding message seems to be that now, when things may be a little quieter, is the perfect time to invest in your brand and strengthen your marketing materials in preparation for when you need to start competing again.