Integr8 Group Blog

Leveraging Online Marketplaces - Q&A
By Ryan Murtagh, Neto eCommerce on 11 January 2012 Comments
Neto There are many questions to consider when looking to market and sell your products online, Ryan Murtagh answers some of the questions he is most frequently asked:

1. Why should retailers consider selling through online marketplaces?
 
Online marketplaces can be a cost effective avenue for doing business for both traditional and online retailers. For traditional retailers marketplaces offer a low cost of entry into the online space allowing them to test a markets response to their offering with limited risk or capital investment. Marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon also offer mass market exposure for a relatively low cost and measurable ROI, allowing smaller players to compete on the same playing field as larger more recognised brands.&nbs ... continue reading


Seven Marketing Mandatory’s
By Rebecca Wilson, Stretch Marketing on 19 December 2011 Comments
Every day we go to work wanting to do our jobs, technically competent, appropriately staffed and capable of delivering.   But the world is speeding up, changing and challenging the way we are doing business.  I know it. You know it.
No matter how much some want to deny it, people are communicating differently, thinking more selfishly and expecting more.  Clients don’t just want a technically capable service provider anymore, they want a professional service that stays at the cusp.  They  want to be the centre of your universe.  And why shouldn’t they… they are your Clients.
All those delivering services in 2012 will be faced with a series of opportunities… keep doing things the way we always have and hope for the best; or understand what our markets require from our services firms as their pos ... continue reading


This is more than a Cyclical Downturn!
By Jason Titman, 4SME on 13 December 2011 Comments

4smeThe tectonic plates of global commerce are shifting!  What our global economy is now experiencing is more than just the cyclical effects of the GFC.  For sometime now the Chinda (China and India) effect has been shifting the forces of competitive advantage from the more developed continents such as North America and Europe to China and India.  These economic forces of National competitive advantage are also favouring other developing economies such as Brazil, Russia and South East Asia.

Australia is well placed to benefit from much of this shift however the important thing to remember is that your business needs to be ready to capitalize on this fundamental shift.  While this trend will gather momentum over the next 30 to 40 years the pace of the shift is now gaining momentum.  The failure of many Nations to ... continue reading


SHOW ME THE MONEY! SHOW -- ME -- THE -- MONEY!
By Jacqui Cotterill – Recruitment Manager, Watts Next on 17 November 2011 Comments
You meet them, something flutters inside you and you know they are the one; there is a connection and you’re sold. Yes! You have found your new employee! You call and let them know you’re interested and would like a permanent commitment. They say yes and you are ecstatic! It’s a great feeling when you have found the perfect person to fill that gap and the timely recruitment process is over.

And then you get the call: ‘I have been counter offered’. Suddenly, you don’t feel so great. How do you handle this? Do you throw money at them? Do you say no because they are just trying to up the offer? Or do you cry because you can’t afford what they are asking?
You need to ask yourself these questions:
1. Why did they want to leave their current job?
2. How much did they ask ... continue reading


Stop trying to Benchmark Australia with the rest of the World!
By Jason Titman, 4SME on 27 October 2011 Comments

4SMEBy many comparisons to the rest of the World, Australia is doing quite well and the rest of the World is basically stuffed in a financial sense!

Maybe this is because we are lucky or because we have exercised some independent thinking along the way?  I would be keen to receive some thoughts from others on this assertion.  I am however frustrated at the constant references by Journalists, Politicians, Bureaucrats and minority groups about the need for  Australia to adopt policies that are benchmarked against the US or Europe.  For sure, there are some things that these Countries do better than Australia but a lot of their social policies have sent these Countries broke!

Another example is the ACTU is claiming (AFR 30 Sept) that the Australian taxation system on Corporate Australia should be benchmarked ... continue reading


Accounting in the Cloud
By Roxanne De Jager, Consolid8 on 27 October 2011 Comments
Consolid8Recently featured in the article “Cloud Accounting”: In the Black Magazine, Tanya Titman was asked what she thought about the shift in using traditional PC based accounting software to Cloud Accounting software.  We already know that we no longer have to waste time manually entering bank data into accounting software because there are bank feeds that automate up to 90% of the transactions but have you thought about moving to a cloud based accounting software package?

Instead of buying and installing software on your PC, you login to your online hosted file, giving you flexibility in not only how and where you work but how your accountant accesses your information. 
Live data is the most important advantage – backing up and sending your file to your accountant eff ... continue reading


Are you Really Online?
By Rebecca Wilson, Stretch Marketing on 27 October 2011 Comments
Stretch MarketingIn traditional business the Internet, eCommunications and the Social Media Revolution have changed the way you do business forever, even though you might not accept it yet.

In the professional marketplace you now have the opportunity to present your firm and yourself for exactly how competent, experienced and connected you are, way before you are able to stand in front of someone, and long before you have the opportunity to close a sale.  When someone refers you to a lead, the first thing that person will do is Google or LinkedIn search you, and judge you.  Are you ready?
People can judge you by your ability to present yourself online, as individuals and as a company.  This is increasingly important to the business development process for professionals in a search oriented marketp ... continue reading


Social Media is Akin to Exercise....
By Meredith Collins, Video Social Marketing on 28 September 2011 Comments
Video Social MarketingWorking in social media can be an exciting business – although I can appreciate why many business owners find it an overwhelming marketing option. 

Social media evolves and develops daily – and as a professional immersed in the industry, it is a full time job to stay on top of and understand those daily changes – and that’s without even having spoken to a client or managed their social sites.

Some people would view this ever changing medium as “exciting” and an “opportunity” to stay ahead and be flexible and nimble in business.
In amongst all that “exciting opportunity” , let me share my consultancy and clients’ experience with you - most business people don’t feel like the myriad of changes in social media are an opportunity, they usually feel like i ... continue reading


Modern awards and your employees
By Carly Green, HR Manager , Watts Next on 13 September 2011 Comments

Do you know what modern award governs the conditions of employment for your employees?

On 1 January 2010 the federal government introduced the modern awards outlining the new industry or occupation-based minimum employment standards that apply in addition to the National Employment Standards. As a business, transitional arrangements were provided to assist in phasing in the new pay rates, however the conditions and requirements of the award took effect immediately.

If you are unsure or don’t know what I’m talking about make sure you invest the time to find out (or ask us). The modern award and corresponding classification based on the employees skill level and duties dictate what minimum pay and conditions apply to the employee’s engagement with your business.  Getting these two things right can mean the difference between the paying your employees the right or wrong rate, ensuring your employees are taking their required ... continue reading


The convergence of IT and Telephony…
By Paul Keenan, IT Noosa on 6 September 2011 Comments
Is the delivery of IT and Telephony services converging?  These two key components of any business have traditionally been supplied from multiple sources, for me the answer is Yes!  Communications and IT are consolidating, this may be driven to some extent by new products and services, but from what I am seeing on the ground, the real reason is the customer demanding a single (or as few as possible) source for technology and related services.

Over the last few years I have noted an increase in the frequency at which my clients have sought advice on Telephony and other technological parts of their businesses, photocopiers and security surveillance for example.  Telephony and Communications though, is where my advice has been sought more often than not.  Over the coming years, businesses of all sizes will seek out consolidated sourcing of their IT and Telephony/Communications.  There are tremendous benefits to businesses wh ... continue reading


Getting Low Cost PR Buzz in a New World
By Rebecca Wilson, Stretch Marketing on 6 September 2011 Comments

So many businesses and brands are constantly trying to attract media and social media buzz, what is the smartest ways for Internet brands to get heard above the noise? And where are the risks?

You don’t always have to spend big bucks to get heard online, because the new tools of PR – direct online communications and social media aren’t about spend, they are about interaction, conversation and connection.  It is different now than it was 3, 5, 10 and 15 years ago in PR.  This is the new world. 

The mainstream media as we know it, radio, tv, papers and magazines used to be the only way to communicate with large groups of people at a time to sell a story, grow a business and promote a product or service.  When I trained in PR more than 15 years ago, we were trained in writing for the media, so ... continue reading


RBA Small Business Representatives?
By Jason Titman, 4SME on 26 August 2011 Comments
4SMEA few months ago I wrote an integr8 blog questioning the RBA’s approach towards their desperate attempt to get rates back to the so called ‘parity’ level of 5%. Well they got their rate to 4.5% and now it looks like it might be on the way back down after all! At the time most major media publications and the RBA were talking up rates, yet there were a few of us in the economy (probably the majority of SME’s) that just could not see why there was such a desperation to lift interest rates so quickly.

Well, for better or worse, I am pleased to say that the mood of the RBA seems to be tending towards some future loosening of monetary policy. However, the question arises, how did they get it so wrong?

Well, as a specialist in the SME space through 4SME, I believe it is because the RBA was out of touch with the how th ... continue reading


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