Realise Business has made a significant difference to the capacity of many Parramatta businesses, with advice on targeted marketing campaigns, high-yielding social media strategies and effective branding. We catch up with various businesses that worked with our team and learn how they have been building their capabilities for the future.
Westmead Foot Clinic owner Amelia Fryc is a convert to the Realise Business approach to business after working with advisor Sue Walsh on upgrading the foot clinic’s branding, marketing and social media content.
“From creating our website to helping me develop a business logo, I am so grateful for Sue’s ongoing support and marketing guidance,” says Amelia.
Their collaboration began in 2019 when the podiatry business was relocated due to PLR construction. At that time, the business had no website or logo, and a dated Facebook page, so Sue Walsh stepped in to ensure they created a good website and achieved brand consistency. She also helped Amelia become familiar with the technology that enables the business to continue to grow.
Fast forward to 2022 and the outcome has been very positive for this 5 Star business, which has a strong base of repeat clients. Westmead Foot Clinic has achieved a significant presence in the local area. They receive many requests via social media and usually reach their booking capacity. The Ashley Lane based clinic now also provides home visits for elderly and immobile clients in the Parramatta area.
Advisor Sue has been pleased with the clinic’s team’s effort. They follow the social media plan she equipped them with to build the Westmead Foot Clinic brand and showcase their products in the future. “The clinic has started to gain valuable Google reviews which allow other potential customers to research and find out more about the quality of the service they provide,” says Sue.
The business owner appreciates the Realise Business contribution. For Amelia, the RB team’s enthusiasm is a memorable quality. “I love how excited Sue is when she shares her wealth of knowledge on how to help promote and market my business,” says Amelia.
Bandna Devi, the owner of Indian Beauty Lounge in Hassall Street, pays tribute to the great job the Realise Business team did in working “quickly and effectively” with her beauty industry business to boost its website traffic.
The business had already begun its digital marketing when advisor Sue Walsh came on board. Sue conducted a review to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses. She found that the social media content and reels were good, but the website lacked Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and did not provide a very good user experience.
The Realise Business team worked with the business owner to revamp the website and include SEO keywords and analytics to track website traffic and conversion.
To boost the presence of the Beauty Lounge during key periods like Diwali and Christmas. Sue helped the owner by providing a range of hashtags for Instagram.
With refreshed content and a more effective website, this beauty business has been thriving and is busier than ever particularly over Diwali. Indian Beauty Lounge expects to be very busy right up until the New Year and beyond.
The owner has seen the benefits of the review process which was able to zero in on analytics. “I’m glad I decided to work with Realise Business,” says Bandna. “I really appreciate all the help and efforts.”
Wok Asian Recipe in Church Street is a longstanding North Parramatta restaurant. However, even 30 years’ experience of owning the business was not enough during the recent quiet periods, so the owners contacted Realise Business for new approaches. Advisor Sue Walsh set about giving the owners a fresh digital marketing skillset.
“Sue has been very helpful,” says owner Landy Ouyang. Together they worked on a digital plan to communicate that North Parramatta is open for business and to showcase the authentic food and excellent customer service of Wok Asian Recipe. Sue created the Facebook and Instagram from scratch for Landy’s business, setting up a regular post regime using Meta Business Suite and developing other social media content to promote the restaurant.
Sue has also been helping to expand the business presence in other ways. They are working on a QR code to display in the restaurant for Google reviews. The existing website is being strengthened by adding more content and boosting SEO keywords. To build up a useful content library, they have worked on taking more photos of the restaurant’s delicious Asian food, which includes favourites such as King Prawns – From the Wok.
Wok Asian Recipe now has its own page on atparramatta.com to promote the business.
Sue comments, “It is fairly early days, but the client is very happy that there is now marketing in place, with a lot more to come in the next few months. We meet every couple of weeks to discuss how easy it is to manage and add content to her social media pages.”
In their meet-ups Sue has demonstrated all the steps involved in digital marketing, from guiding the owner through the process of opening and optimising Facebook and Instagram to creating the atparramatta.com listing. Sue has been laying the groundwork for self-sufficiency and the owner really appreciates this. “Sue has shown me how to build my own capabilities to manage social media in the future,” says Landy.
Revitalising popular local hair salon Klassik Hair, through marketing and business advice, has been a project for the Realise Business team since 2021 and the business owner Alain El-Khoury, is happy with the results. “The team has been doing a great job with it,” reports Alain.
The Realise Business team reviewed the marketing of Klassik Hair, which is located in Station Road Dundas. After years of disruption through parking changes, construction work and the pandemic it was important to raise the profile of the business to boost trade. Advisor Sue Walsh began implementing a new website and providing ongoing support with social media postings and Google reviews.
The new website they are developing will enhance their booking system and have an even stronger SEO.
To enhance their social media content, they now take more photos of customers’ hair. Sue elaborates, “We are developing posts and reels that showcase their range of hair colouring and styling before and after – there is nothing better than hair transformation to grab attention on their digital channels but also showing that they are able to cut, colour and style hair for any age to promote the versatility of the business.” Regular social media postings are now also planned in advance.
The Realise Business team also helped with advice on some general business issues, such as advertising for new staff and sub-leasing a room at the back of the salon for a complementary business such as beauty to add to the customers experience and provide an additional income stream for the business.
After working with Realise Business the hair salon is in a much better position. The instore QR code linked to their Google review page has successfully obtained many 5-star reviews from satisfied customers. In the past month alone Klassik Hair gained 60 new 5-star reviews. Customers enjoy their many service options including the ‘semi-permanent colour with cut and blow-dry’. They are now listed on the atparramatta.com site, which attracts many visitors to the area to research retail options.
Sue says, “The work we are currently doing is setting the foundations so that the Facebook and Instagram pages are working well. I am now working with the business owners to show them how to post, what to post and how frequently, and also teach them how to do reels which work well for hairdressing salons.”
The overall goal is to provide the business with the tools to progress. In the future, says Sue, “I will do some video tutorials with step-by-step instructions so that they are becoming more independent and understand on Meta Business Suite that they can post in advance for both platforms, rather than doing individual posts.”
Alain rates highly “the caring and high-quality professional work” which the Realise Business team have provided. “This is a lot more than I was expecting,” says Alain. “I do appreciate it a lot.”
Jackson’s Café in Church Street, North Parramatta, has been working with Realise Business for more than a year. Owner Paul Stephens says, “The time I have spent with the Realise Business team has proven to be invaluable. What has appealed to me the most was the unbelievable time and effort they have put into our business.”
When the advisory began Jackson’s café had no digital presence, so there was plenty of scope. Realise Business Advisors worked with Paul to create the website to display their menu options and “showcase the café owners who are a huge part of the brand,” says Sue. They worked on promoting to the local area through social media. To build a relationship with the many local coffee drinkers in the area, social media posts focus on quality food, North Parramatta and the brand.
The results have been promising, with Jackson’s Café now ranking on Google maps for ‘Coffee North Parramatta.’ During the past year, more local customers have come to know their North Parramatta location, and that they do a wide range of daily snacks and meals.
Sue comments, “This is a local café that services a lot of the office workers, so it is very much about building local relationships and this is being reflected in the social media posts. They have achieved more awareness in the local area.”
Owner Paul reflects on his experience, “I can honestly say that it is a real pleasure working with the Realise Business team”
Michaels Hair & Beauty in Church Street, North Parramatta, was seeking to increase awareness of the business in the local area with a marketing and social media campaign.
The Realise Business team has been working with owner Michael since 2019, and is familiar with the journey of this resilient business during the difficult periods of light rail construction and the pandemic. Owner Michael comments, “Realise Business are always there for help and business support.” He adds, “They really know their stuff and are always prompt and very professional.”
Realise Business helped the owner develop social media posts and reels that showcase the salon’s colour expertise using before and after images. Sue comments “these are a great way to promote this area of the business and encourage other customers to come to the salon for colour transformations.” Once in the salon, customers experience the excellent customer service and other range of services on offer, such as the deep conditioning treatment, and are more likely to become regulars.
Sue is now assisting with researching and developing hashtags for Instagram and reel creations to promote the business. She describes the next stage as, “Taking the client through step-by-step so he understands this is a great way to promote his business ongoing.”
Realise Business also played an important role in providing feedback for the new website under construction. Sue explains, “I am working with Michael to ensure the website provides an accurate story and a good customer experience and showcases the three areas of the business in a positive manner – hair, nails and beauty.” She will ensure there is SEO added to the CMS. Sue adds, “I am taking the client through each step as we progress, so he understands the purpose of the website in the future.”
One of the key outcomes for the salon has been that it is now listed on the atparramatta.com website.
“Realise Business advisors have been a valuable asset to my business along the way, and supported me with my social media,” says Michael. “Their ongoing advice, support and encouragement to keep my business alive through the light rail works has been invaluable.”
The many local businesses featured in our newsletter over the past four years have shown a remarkable determination to keep moving forward and have taken on board the practical advice and creative solutions offered by Realise Business. Our team hopes that by showcasing their stories the newsletter has been invaluable to a whole range of businesses. Our role in educating, building capability, and assisting business owners to make good decisions will continue with the Realise Business advisory service still available in 2023.
To book an advisory session get in touch.
