Let's Get Interactive

Sibecks Consult, we are new digital marketing agency in Accra.

We recognize the need for effective Social Media Marketing within Ghanaian companies.

We live in a new digital age where most consumers discuss and interact with brands on the internet.

Sibecks Digital Marketing Consult aims to help Ghanaian companies and brands to create more digital awareness by joining with the Social Media Conversation.We aim to show them the light, and for those that already know, help them reach it. Aside from our professional page management and digital communication, we specialize particularly in helping brands grow their Facebook network, and in less than 3 months we can help you reach 10,000 likes on your page.

We manage social media accounts for some of Ghana's biggest brands.

Our clients have seen a rise in social activity of over 800% there are over 4 million Ghanaians on Facebook. Let us help you reach them!

Get interactive now, because we live in a digital economy.

Specialties

Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Pintrest

...your #1 market hub.

Build your self aspect

Feedbacks are very important in our daily activities. If you are working and you don’t get feedback, it is like working in the dark, that no one sees you.

It is always important to improve upon the feedback received from colleagues.

As a Toastmaster, we don't joke with our evaluations and feedback, it is what keeps us going. It adds value to our being. 

When you take the feed backs in good faith, you develop to become a better person. Planning is key to every successful business, before you embark on any presentation, it is always advisable to know your audience.Without knowing your audience it would  be difficult a difficult task to develop an effective speech.

The same way, In marketing you have to know your audience before you can package, target and  position your products and services to the market.

In building your self aspect as an entrepreneur, a businessman and woman, or a professional, you need to understand the acronym N-E-T-W-O-R-K followed by Time management and finally Branding, your reputation.

Networking plays a major role in our lives. The word network means getting together to get ahead with someone, with a group or a mate.The more you talk to people the more you get along with them. The more you prospect, the more you feel at ease with people.

The simple reason why we should learn the art of networking is to make our lives easier, happier, more peaceful and successful.

I want to share some tips about networking that you can easily remember and pass on.

Let’s take the acronym “N-E-T-W-O-R-K,” 

The "N" represent NEVER.

1.   N: Never meet a stranger — it has always been vital to remember we never get a second chance to make a first impression. Always have a smile on your face, a firm handshake and a nice greeting.Also, remember to use the person’s name.Lastly, have a business card with your name and contact information. Because, never know the person you are meeting for the first time. Create a positive first impression. You must be prepared for opportunities at all times. Take time to research about the person you are going to meet, ask about him, his business, his or groups, read about his or her profile, so that you can position yourself strategically. 

The "E" represent ENTHUSIASM

2.   E: Enthusiasm — We need to be enthused in helping others to remember us better and to become more interested in us, than showing eagerness to learn about them.

An import trait about enthusiasm is to be a great listener. Do not be selfish, allow for open conversation. Be willing to listen, be empathetic and be willing to offer assistance.

The "T" represent THINKING

3.   T: Thinking — we need to think before we speak. Without it, we must always fail. Listening comes with thinking. We need to be careful on what we say.

The "W" represent WORK

4.   W: Work — There is nothing that beats a strong faith than work ethics. When we think of learning how to network as an integral part of our personal and professional success, this means we need to work on learning our communication and networking skills. Our values needs to be well communicated, that is what would make us stay afloat.

The "O" represent OPTIMISTIC and OUTLOOK

5.   O:  (OPTIMISTIC and OUTLOOK)  it relates to success in networking. Be Optimistic to get on well with others. Optimism goes hand in hand with enthusiasm, and outlook is how we look at things. I believe happiness is a choice, and so is our outlook in life.The best networking is done by those who look out for others, not just for themselves. People will remember your generosity. It is true that givers get.

The "R" represents REAL and RESPOND

6.   R:  (REAL and RESPOND)  the first word that comes to mind is “real.” If we want to be truly successful and great at networking, we must be real in our feeling and empathy toward others. We can fool some people some of the time, but we can’t fool all people all the time. When we are real, this means we are also really concerned about helping others. People are attracted to real people, and the cream always rises to the top. Also, as it relates to the letter “R,” I think of the word “respond.” When we make others No. 1, they will respond in kind. Second to survival, man’s greatest need is recognition, and a great network recognizes others.

The "K" represent KINDNESS and KNOWING

7.   K: (KINDNESS and KNOWING)  I can think of a few words that are significant along the lines of networking. First, you should demonstrate KINDNESS when you’re building relationships and networking with others. Smile and make eye contact. Again, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Keep the focus on the other person. Don’t brag about yourself during the entire conversation. Give the other person plenty of opportunities to share his or her story and insight. Right up there with kindness is the word “knowing.” Know as much as you can ahead of time. If you’re going to an event, know who will be at the event and what companies they’re with.The more you know about a person, the better you can communicate and network. Also, the more you know, the farther you’ll go.”

What time is it ? it is said that, anytime we have an appointment. We need to get there before time. Time management abilities counts in business. That is why in other jurisdiction, they say time is money. Because if you are paid according to time, then you would obey and respect time.

 Your Time Management Abilities Counts: 

Do not procrastinate to network; Networking is the key in achieving success.There is no greater waste of time than regret. You might be sitting with somebody for very long time in a plane and would not bother to initiate a meaningful conversation.If you want to manage your time better, the first step as suggested by Time Management Consultant Alan Lakein, is to ask yourself this question: “Exactly what are my goals?”

Good time management involves an awareness that today is all we ever have to work with. The past is irretrievably gone; the future is only a concept. Everything that is accomplished in the world is the result of someone’s realization that today is the only time to act.

If it seems rather elementary to you, be assured that the vast majority of your fellow human beings seldom fully grasp that self-evident truth. 

Thomas Carlyle put it this way: “ our main task is not to see what lies dimly perceived in the future, but to do the thing which lies immediately at hand”

John Ruskin had the word “Today” carved into a small marble block that he kept on his desk as a constant reminder to “Do it now”.

But my favorite quotation is this one by an anonymous philosopher: He said

Yesterday is a cancelled check,

Tomorrow is a promissory note,

Today is ready cash. Use it.

Upon all the time-saving techniques ever developed, perhaps the most effective of all is the frequent use of the word “No”.

In a whole, when you have the time, speak about your brand, and you business, because you are the number one marketer of your business.

YOUR BRAND IS YOUR REPUTATION

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business.

Be it: small, large, retail, B2B, B2C and the like,

An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in an increasingly competitive market environment. What exactly does "branding" mean, and how does it affect you and your business?

Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services. Your brand is derived from Who you are, who you want to be, Who people perceive you to be.

The foundation of your brand is your logo, your website, your digital presence, media presence, your packaging and promotional materials. Does it reflect the image of your business?

All of the aforementioned should integrate in your logo, in other to communicate your brand.

Brand Strategy & Equity

• Your brand strategy is to ask yourself, how, what, where, when and to whom you plan to communicate and deliver on your brand messages.
• Where you advertise should be part of your brand strategy.
•  Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy
• Your target business audience,
• And what you communicate visually and verbally are all part of your brand strategy tool.

Strategic branding leads you to a strong brand equity. This means, the added value  to your company's products or services, allows you to charge more for your brand than any identical, unbranded product.The added value is intrinsic to the brand equity which frequently comes in the form of perceived quality of an emotional attachment.

Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:

·         What is your company's mission?

·         What are the benefits and features of your products or services?

·         What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?

·         What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?

Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your current and prospective customers. And don't rely on what you think they think. Know  what they think.

Once you've defined your brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

• Get a great logo. Place it everywhere
• Write down your brand message. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
•  Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business,how you answer your phones, what  your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, etc
•  Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporate it into the visual imagery of all materials, online and offline. Ask if your brand friendly?
• Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
• Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don't need to be fancy, just be consistent.
•   Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you or refer you to someone else if you don't deliver on your brand promise.
•  Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

REMEMBER:

·         Networking

·         Time Management Abilities.

·         Branding – Your Reputation

....to be continued

sibecks09@gmail.com

.....YOUR BRAND IS YOU

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business.

Be it: small, large, a  retail shop, B2B or B2C and the like,

An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in an increasingly competitive market environment,

But what exactly does "branding" mean, and how does it affect you and your business? Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer.

It tells them what they can expect from you, your product and services.

Your brand is derived from the following: 

• Who you are,
•  who you want to be and  finally,
• Who people perceive you to be.

The foundation of your brand is,

• Your logo.
• Your website ,
•  Your digital and media presence
• Your networking and process approach
• Your packaging, promotional, and marketing materials
• Does your brand reflects the image of your business.

All of the aforementioned should integrate in your logo, in other to communicate your brand. For instance Sibecks-Actualising progressive business ideas.

Brand Strategy & Equity,

In brand strategy and equity, certain things counts:

• Your brand strategy is to ask yourself, how, what, where, when and to whom you plan to communicate and deliver on your brand messages.
•  Where you want to advertise should be part of your brand strategy.
• Your distribution, and brand communication channels should also be part of your brand strategy
• Your target business audience and market space
•   Finally, what you communicate whether visually or verbally should all be part of your brand strategy.

Consistently, strategic branding leads you to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company's products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command.

The most obvious example of this is SIBECKS consult. Because it has built powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product and customers will pay that higher price.

The added value is intrinsic to the brand equity which frequently comes in the form of perceived quality of an emotional attachment.

Your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable.

It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:

1. What is your company's mission?
2.  What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
3. What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
4.  What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?

Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your current and prospective customers. And don't rely on what you think, they think. Know what they think. Thus the first step of the brand journey.

Because defining your brand and developing a brand strategy can be complex, consider leveraging the expertise of SIBECKS consult for small-business advisory services.

Once you've defined your brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

1. Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.
2. Write down your brand message. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
3.  Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business, how you answer your phone calls, text messages, as well as what you, and your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, and everything.
4.  Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and offline. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal.
5.  Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
6. Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.
7. Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.
8. Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

  Contact us for your brand activation

Watch your time.....

There is no greater waste of time than regret.

If you want to manage your time better, the first step as suggested by Time Management Consultant Alan Lakein, is to ask yourself this question: “Exactly what are my goals?”

Take a blank sheet of paper. List your personal lifetime goals. Now, analyze your lists. 

They probably include more things than your reasonably can expect to do, so assign priorities.

Besides being specific, goals should be attainable and authentic, in other words, things you really want and are willing to work for.

Good time management involves an awareness that today is all we ever have to work with. The past is irretrievably gone; the future is only a concept. Everything that is accomplished in the world is the result of someone’s realization that today is the only time to act.

If it seems rather elementary to you, be assured that the vast majority of your fellow human beings seldom fully grasp that self-evident truth.

Thomas Carlyle put it this way: “ our main task is not to see what lies dimly perceived in the future, but to do the thing which lies immediately at hand”

John Ruskin had the word “Today” carved into a small marble block that he kept on his desk as a constant reminder to “Do it now”.

But my favorite quotation is this one by an anonymous philosopher:

Yesterday is a cancelled check,

Tomorrow is a promissory note,

Today is ready cash. Use it.

Upon all the time-saving techniques ever developed, perhaps the most effective of all is frequent use of the word “No”

………….to be continued

Simon Cobbina

Digital Marketing Strategist & Entrepreneur
sibecks09@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/sibecks09/

Leading the Ship - Leadership

No matter what direction you tilt the compass, it would always point to the north, when at its restful stage. Without a direction, it would be difficult to locate your destination.

At any given time, the arrows on a compass always point to a direction, but it takes the captain and the team in a ship to read the directions to the destination. As a leader, you must have a destination of where you are leading your team.

In our day to day activities, we often come across and hear words such as Leadership. What does leadership mean to you? What comes to mind? wait a minute. What is it to you?

Leadership means different things to different people around the word. It can also mean different things in different situations. For example, it could relate to community leadership, religious leadership, and leadership of a campaign group.

According to the idea of transformational leadership, an effective leader is a person who does the following:

• Creates an inspiring vision of the future
• Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision
• Manages delivery of the vision
• Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision

Therefore, leadership is proactive in solving problems, looking ahead and not being satisfied with things as they are. To create a vision, leaders focus on an organization's strengths by using the following tools:

• Porter's Five Forces
• PEST Analysis
• USP Analysis
• Core Competence and 
• SWOT Analysis

Leaders think about how their industry is likely to evolve and how their competitors are likely to behave. Our visions as leaders can be tested with appropriate market research and by assessing key risks using techniques such as scenario analysis. Persistently, leaders must innovate to shape their businesses, communities, families with strategies to succeed.

I am always happy to share my thoughts whenever the opportunity beckons. I am sharing this piece with you because I find it of great importance to share. I have a firm belief that as I continue to share and exhibit my intellectual prowess, it edifies me and whoever takes the time to read for knowledge.

We must first consider ourselves as leaders before we can lead a team, captain a ship or even a football team, steer the affairs of the family as head or lead a community activity.

In your opinion, what are some of the attitudes or attributes of a leader? The point is if you don't step forward to lead, who would lead? If there is a problem in your family, community, or country and you don't organize one or two people with like minds to solve it, it would in the long run become an albatross. In life, nobody will solve your problems, unless you do it by yourself. 

The onus lies on all of us to take the opportunity of leadership. That is the only way we can make the difference, the change and the transformation.

In my view , the following ten (10) qualities must be looked out for in a leader:

• Positivity - Looking at the favorable way
• Purpose - Place to lead
• Empathy - Walk a mile in the other person's shoes
• Humility - Better team than yourself
• Will - Wanting to get there, somehow, someway.
• Relentless - Your positive tone, message, vision, values and expectation.
• Persistence - The bar can always be raised
• Curiosity - You don't know everything
• Trust - Sacred bond between you and your team
• Love - Love to lead your team and not be afraid.

 To be continued.....

Simon Cobbina

Digital Marketing Strategist & Entrepreneur
sibecks09@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/sibecks09/

Speak Up

Every day, we are all looking for positive opportunities.

Opportunities for growth in business, personal growth, carving a niche, leveraging, building a network, advocating for change, seeking for information to reform and transform. According to Warren Buffet, the one skill you must learn is public speaking.

In my observation, research and practice, you flourish when you develop the art of public speaking. It makes you grow beyond leaps and bounds.

Mastering the art of public speaking is the single greatest skill to boost your career as a small business owner. Enhancing your public speaking skill could go a long way towards building communication with your customers, partners and prospective investors.

According to TED curator Chris Anderson, public speaking matters more than ever. In his book TED Talk, Anderson writes “As a leader or an advocate, public speaking is the key to unlocking empathy, stirring excitement, sharing knowledge, insights, and promoting a shared dream”

Look within to see where you fall short.

Ask for help, my doors are wide open to show you the way.

Simon Cobbina

Digital Marketing Strategist & Entrepreneur
sibecks09@gmail.com

To Innovate or Face Extinction In Business

The Concept of Business and Technology

“He that will not apply new remedies must accept new evils: for time is the greatest innovator”……Francis Bacon

“The business of life is to go forward”….Samuel Johnson

Peter Drucker once said that " the business enterprise has two and only two basic functions: Marketing and Innovation. According to him, marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are cost"

Innovation comes like burning sensations, when you are yearning to do something differently; introducing something new. Some new idea, a method or device or finding solution to a problem; togetherness brings unity or conformity. When you loosen the broom to its individual sticks, it defeats its unity of purpose.

Team creativity calls for a special form of innovation.Organizations are team, and to continually improve existing products, and developing new products and services requires what I called team creativity. 

Research has shown that organizations which practices team creativity will survive and prosper. Those who do not will probably decline and disappear.

The process of innovation begins with the creation, invention and discovery with a focus upon the conception of the idea. Note, that innovation covers the whole process whereby the new idea is brought into productive use. Eventually, innovation takes us into the realms of supply chain, organizations, money, buildings, management and production.

In this contemporary times, we cannot do away with technology, because technology is in our DNA, whether you accept it or not. It is a fact! 

Technology plays a key role in the Supply Chain. Innovation may take place at the design level, in the kind of supply chain to be adopted, or at the process level deciding how parts of the designed supply chain can be implemented. Technology may offer opportunities for either or both to be addressed, and supply chains are changing as a result of technology adoption, though perhaps not fast enough in some countries, where over-regulation and an unsupported infrastructure hinder rather than help.

The Supply chain is the sequence of processes and activities involved in the complete manufacturing and distribution cycle. This could include everything from product design through materials and component ordering through manufacturing and assembly and onto warehousing and distribution until the finished product is in the possession of the final owner, the customer as well as the consumer.

The Business Landscape

Most manufacturing companies are well aware of the changes that are taking place in the business environment. These include increasing globalization, savage price competition, increased customer demand for enhanced quality and reliability, etc.

At the same time, there are changes in technology which are enabling new forms of working and trading. E-commerce is the obvious example.

Such changes mean that manufacturing organizations need to re-appraise everything they do if they are to remain competitive. They need to manage all aspects of the supply chain to improve customer service levels and to reduce cost.

The nature of the supply chain and the priorities to be met varies from industry to industry and from product to product. The supply chain for a stable, high-volume product should be engineered to be highly efficient, exploiting economies of scale:

Just in Time, strategic inventory, etc. That for a low-volume highly customizable product should be engineered to be highly responsive.

In Type 1 manufacturing, characterized as make and sell. The manufacturer determines efficient manufacturing parameters to build, using long production runs, to create an inventory from which wholesalers and retailers are supplied. The emphasis is on structured planning and scheduling.

 The alternative, type 2 manufacturing, is to sense and respond, where the manufacturer must have detailed information on current, actual demand so that products can be built to order, or to an aggregate of orders.

The rate of change in supply chain management is evidenced by the fact that the major traditional proponents of type 1 manufacturing, the car industry, are increasingly moving towards type 2. Many of the processes and characteristics of type 1 manufacturing stem from the early moves towards mass, flow production within the auto industry. The make and sell philosophy is nowhere better typified than by the phrase "any colour you like, as long as it's black". Now car makers get detailed information from their dealers on the actual models that customers have ordered, and tailor their manufacturing schedules accordingly.

Innovation in the Supply Chain

Supply chain management and innovation is much more important, and more difficult, for type 2 manufacturing. Synchronization between the various players in the action is critical and supply chain management is aimed at creating a supply chain network which integrates information and action across organizational boundaries. In the auto industry example, the information from many dealers must be part of the manufacturer’s decision-making process and this information must be collected and aggregated quickly if it is to be of any use.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) allows fast, secure communication across such boundaries but it has been adopted by only the largest manufacturers and supplier’s means to communicate. It seems to have been regarded as being expensive and unfriendly.

Other communication routes are the Extranet, a web-based information service also operating coherently and securely across a number of organizations and the integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

Many organizations, especially large retail groups, have been experimenting with, and piloting, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to track the movement of goods. In most cases, such tagging is at the pallet level but as the tags get cheaper, we can foresee the use of tags at the item level, especially on high value items.

For example, in mid-2006, Northern Foods, which is a major supplier to Marks & Spencer, is tagging its supplies. Marks & Spencer, like a number of the larger supermarket chains, has insisted on its suppliers using RFID, and now - since it has over 100 food suppliers it is the country's leading user of RFID tags with currently about 60% of the pallets that pass through its food distribution centre’s being tagged. .

It claims significantly better control of its supply chain but also suggests that its suppliers are themselves benefiting. Northern Foods confirms this as it sees the information that the tagging provides driving improvements in a range of business processes.

A modern supply chain network might include a mixture of classic manufacturing software packages together with a web-based catalogue, an e-commerce transaction and payment system and so on.

Examples of innovative approaches to parts of the supply chain include:

§ Mass customization: The buyer in a retail store perhaps chooses his or her individual form of the product. The 'system' aggregates such individual orders and schedules picking, assembly or production as appropriate.

§ Online bidding: This is a new model of procurement in which a manufacturer sends a specification and drawing to a number of potential suppliers, perhaps worldwide, and then holds multiple bidding rounds until a mutually agreed price is reached within the parameters of the bidding process. The UK government used this process in March 2000 to auction licenses for the next generation of mobile phone services.

§ Shared distribution linked back to production: The use of a shared warehouse to supply a number of retailers is common. However, the technology now allows the data acquired at the warehouse as shipments are made to retailers to be aggregated and used to generate automatic replenishment orders to the manufacturer.

Some of the changes that are possible may be encouraged or delayed by the infrastructure, including transport links but also government policy, regulation, legislation, etc. Governments have their part to play in encouraging and supporting supply chain innovation. In a global economy, elements of the supply chain can often be moved elsewhere.

In the UK, there is a serious debate, for example, on the influence of joining or not joining the Euro Zone, and the implications of the decision for manufacturing organizations. The jury is still out as to whether the Euro would trigger supply chain re-configuration or whether its adoption is basically a financial and political event.

Now, in my opinion, with the Brexit, Britain can have a more negotiating power and a wider market to operate without many restrictions, depending on their negotiations with other countries outside the euro zone.

In brief

Supply chain innovation is essential if manufacturing organizations are to remain competitive.

An efficient supply chain network can provide:

§ an ability to source globally

§ online, real-time information networked around the organization and perhaps wider giving full supply chain visibility

§ information management across, rather than only within, organizational boundaries

§ an ability to offer 'local' products globally

§ improved customer response times

§ lower inventories

§ Shorter time to market for new products.

To stay alive, is to innovate continuously.

To be continued……………

  

Simon Cobbina
Digital Marketing Strategist & Entrepreneur
sibecks09@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/sibecks09/