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Creators of Game Change enterprise manual and training for business owners, directors and managers. FREE download of Game Change Book at http://www.businessthink.co.uk

Paperback can be purchased on Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1326600133

Net proceeds of book sales are donated to The Prince's Trust.

Interesting week this week. I seem to have spent most of it helping businesses understand problems they knew existed, bu...
22/05/2026

Interesting week this week. I seem to have spent most of it helping businesses understand problems they knew existed, but couldn’t fully explain.

One business had seen offline sales continue growing while online sales had fallen. They knew something wasn’t right, but couldn’t understand why online performance was moving in the opposite direction to the physical business.

After reviewing the analytics, customer behaviour and wider marketing activity properly, the underlying causes became much clearer and we were able to identify three relatively straightforward actions to help improve online performance moving forward.

I’ve also started a new project migrating a customer from Wix to Shopify. Not because anything was critically “wrong” with the existing website, but because the setup had gradually become harder to manage over time and was beginning to create limitations around usability, consistency and search visibility.

Another project this week involved working with a business in the USA where sections of the website had unintentionally become blocked from indexing in Google. They knew visibility had dropped, but couldn’t identify what was actually causing the issue until we investigated it properly.

Different businesses, different sectors, even different countries (!), but a surprisingly similar pattern underneath it all.

Most businesses are not short of ideas or activity anymore.

More often, the challenge is understanding what is actually happening beneath the surface, what matters, and what to focus on next.

That seems to be becoming a more valuable part of marketing work than ever.

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend everyone. - Elliot

New article: “Is Your Ecommerce Website Becoming Harder To Manage?”As ecommerce websites grow, platforms like WooCommerc...
16/05/2026

New article: “Is Your Ecommerce Website Becoming Harder To Manage?”

As ecommerce websites grow, platforms like WooCommerce, Wix or Squarespace can sometimes become more difficult to manage over time.
This new page explores why many businesses eventually move to Shopify, especially when they want a simpler and more scalable setup.

Some common reasons include:

• Website updates becoming increasingly time-consuming
• Plugin conflicts and ongoing maintenance
• Difficulty managing products and content
• Concerns around performance and usability
• Wanting a simpler long-term platform
• Clearer integration with marketing activity and ecommerce reporting

If you’ve been questioning whether your current setup is still right for your business, the full article may be useful.

Link to full text: https://businessthinkdigital.co.uk/pages/woocommerce-to-shopify-migration

An important part of my work over the past twenty five years has involved delivering workshops, seminars and public spea...
13/05/2026

An important part of my work over the past twenty five years has involved delivering workshops, seminars and public speaking sessions for businesses, associations and member organisations.

This upcoming session with Design-Nation and the Barbican Creative Hub on June 11th is focused on helping creatives understand digital marketing and digital tools in a more practical and manageable way.

I’ve also lectured at university level, and what I’ve consistently found is that people rarely need “more marketing”.

Usually they need:

– clearer structure
– confidence using digital tools
– a better understanding of what actually matters
– and a more realistic view of how websites, SEO, email, LinkedIn and AI fit together

Alongside bespoke sessions, I now also have a series of standalone workshops available online and in-person, including:

– Building a Winning Website That Sells
– SEO
– Email Marketing
– LinkedIn Marketing
– Getting the Most Out of AI for Marketing
– Running a Life Led Business

The feedback from these sessions has always been the part I value most.
“Elliot has helped to demystify SEO and LinkedIn for the groups of designer-makers that I work with, allowing them to make significant progress with their marketing activities.” - Hayley Banks, Design-Nation

“The feedback received from those businesses was always first class. I have no hesitation in recommending.” - Colin Bettison, Plymouth City Council

“Elliot and Business Think are the first business consultants we have ever worked with to get the value of the arts and the social impact.” - Carol Carey, Somerset Art Works

The platforms and terminology may keep changing, but the need for practical, grounded digital guidance seems greater now than ever.

If you work with a member organisation, association or professional group and are looking for practical digital workshops delivered online or in-person, feel free to get in touch.

Over the past week, I’ve had several businesses contact me about their “AI visibility score”. Usually this involved bein...
09/05/2026

Over the past week, I’ve had several businesses contact me about their “AI visibility score”. Usually this involved being given a percentage rating, alongside recommendations like:

– add FAQs
– implement schema
– improve structured data

All sensible things to do, and to be fair, things that have been part of good SEO practice for years.

But it did make me wonder whether businesses are starting to focus too much on cosmetic “AI scores”, rather than understanding what is actually limiting their visibility online.

The reality is that no amount of FAQs or schema can guarantee visibility in AI search tools or platforms like ChatGPT.

They can help search engines and AI systems understand a website more clearly, and they are absolutely worth implementing properly, but there still isn’t a definitive formula for “AI visibility”.

Most of the fundamentals remain surprisingly familiar:

- clear website structure
- strong content
- technical accessibility
- authority and trust
... and understanding what people are genuinely searching for.

The terminology may be changing quickly, but most of the underlying principles haven’t changed nearly as much as people think.

What seems to matter most at the moment isn’t chasing a percentage score, but understanding where the real barriers to discoverability actually are.

That part of my job hasn’t changed very much at all over the past twenty-five years.

For many years I have asked these same three questions, and no more, when collecting customer feedback. I find that aski...
07/05/2026

For many years I have asked these same three questions, and no more, when collecting customer feedback. I find that asking short, open questions gets a far more meaningful response. Here is a recent reply from Greg and Ginny at Virginias Furniture Hire in Honiton (after I reviewed their marketing and analytics).

1) What did you value most about working with me?

“Elliot has always been concise and thoughtful in his communication, choosing his words carefully so that you feel empowered to arrive at conclusions that suit your needs, rather than simply being told what to do. His extensive knowledge of social media, digital marketing, and business operations provides valuable real-world insight that you can genuinely rely on.”

2) What difference did/will the work make?

“It gave us the opportunity to talk through ideas, provided clear direction, and set out manageable, actionable steps for us to move forward with confidence.”

3) Would you recommend me and why?

“I would absolutely recommend Elliot. When you need advice, or even just someone to bounce ideas off, he is approachable and easy to talk to, and you can rely on receiving honest, non-judgemental feedback. His guidance is consistently backed by solid data and thoughtful assessment, making it much easier to take a clear and confident direction.”

Check out their website https://virginiasfurniturehire.co.uk/ and give them a shout if you’re planning an event. You won’t meet two nicer people in business.

My routine is usually to start work fairly early, but this morning I decided to go for a walk in Bude instead. I really ...
07/05/2026

My routine is usually to start work fairly early, but this morning I decided to go for a walk in Bude instead. I really should do that more often rather than just jumping on the computer straight away.

Thought I’d share some of the walk, as it was so quiet and calm this morning. Really shows how true it is that May by the coast is one of the best times to be in Cornwall.

01/05/2026

I came across this recently and wanted to share it - multi billionaire Warren Buffett explaining what true success really means to him.

Apologies for the picture quality, but the message itself is what matters.

Enjoy the bank holiday and long weekend :)

Attention is limited. Competition is not.Every brand is fighting to be seen, heard, and remembered. And that competition...
01/05/2026

Attention is limited. Competition is not.

Every brand is fighting to be seen, heard, and remembered. And that competition never stops.

Winning is not about shouting louder. It is about being more relevant, more consistent, and more valuable over time.

The real battle is not for clicks. It is for attention that turns into trust.



Marketing in the Age of Data - Quotes from the book ahead of its release.

I’m currently offering advance copies to readers who want early access and the chance to provide feedback.

Interested? Comment “Advance Copy” or message me directly.

Trust drives action.People rarely choose a brand just because they saw it. They choose it because someone they trust rec...
30/04/2026

Trust drives action.

People rarely choose a brand just because they saw it. They choose it because someone they trust recommended it, validated it, or introduced it.

Reach creates awareness. Trust creates decisions.

The strongest marketing does not just speak to people. It earns credibility through others.



Marketing in the Age of Data - Quotes from the book ahead of its release.

I’m currently offering advance copies to readers who want early access and the chance to provide feedback.

Interested? Comment “Advance Copy” or message me directly.

More clicks do not always mean better results.It is easy to focus on traffic numbers and feel like progress is being mad...
29/04/2026

More clicks do not always mean better results.

It is easy to focus on traffic numbers and feel like progress is being made. But if those clicks are not converting, they are not delivering real value.

Profit comes from the right audience taking the right action. Not just from more visitors.

Do not chase vanity metrics. Focus on outcomes that actually grow your business.



Marketing in the Age of Data - Quotes from the book ahead of its release.

I’m currently offering advance copies to readers who want early access and the chance to provide feedback.

Interested? Comment “Advance Copy” or message me directly.

More spend does not always mean better results.Cost effective marketing is not about reaching as many people as possible...
28/04/2026

More spend does not always mean better results.

Cost effective marketing is not about reaching as many people as possible. It is about reaching the right people with the right message at the right time.

Precision beats volume every time.

When your targeting is right, your budget works harder and your results go further.



Marketing in the Age of Data - Quotes from the book ahead of its release.

I’m currently offering advance copies to readers who want early access and the chance to provide feedback.

Interested? Comment “Advance Copy” or message me directly.

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