The "Marketing" Category
I spent a day with one of my readers recently who confessed he had wasted thousands of pounds on direct mail. After we had spoken for just 15 minutes it became clear to me that had he put in place a simple marketing plan before embarking on his direct mail programme, he would have saved at least £5,000 and planned a much more targeted and successful campaign.
Let’s get three things clear from the start:
- a marketing plan is not theory
- a marketing plan does not distract you from selling
- a marketing plan is …
Sheffield’s golden girl, Jessica Ennis, did herself and the nation proud yesterday when she scooped the gold medal in the 2012 Olympic heptathlon, winning by a mile. So good was her performance in the 100 metres hurdles that it would have won the gold medal in the individual event in four of the previous five Olympics. Jessica really is an example of a multi-talented sportswoman, not just good at one discipline, but brilliant at several.
That brings me to another famous person, Wayne Hemingway. I attended an event several years …
'OMG, I've got an email from someone I know!!'
Did I hear you say that e-mail marketing has had its day? We’ve galloped to the land of social media and micro-blogging leaving our burgeoning inboxes behind. Fed up being bombarded with all manner of irrelevant, ill targeted and unwanted stuff in our inboxes we’re spending our evenings and early mornings unsubscribing and deleting with a vengeance.
Well, yes you do have a point.
Charmless, pointless and irritating spam e-mail marketing has had its day. The spam e-mail marketers are in …
'...and you're all gonna just love it!'
I would like to share with you a secret of mine. It’s the main reason why my second book leapt to position number one on Amazon on the very day it was launched and why most recently The Ultimate Marketing Summit sold out with a wait list despite there still being 8 weeks to go until the event.
It’s because of ‘pre-marketing’ and, as a marketer I am a huge advocate of it. The best thing about pre-marketing is that it is …
Tip number 1 - arouse interest in your mailing with an unusual gift.
Wahay! the Chartered Institute of Marketing has reported a significant upswing in the use of targeted direct mail in the ‘business to business’ and ‘business to consumer’ sectors. The key word here is ‘targeted’. The days of buying a huge, random list and bombarding it with your messages in the hope that some will stick are over. Instead, if you’re looking to communicate with cold prospects consider a charming, relevant and targeted direct mail …
'Strange, they were here a minute ago.'
In times of austerity you can’t trot out the prospect plan you were following last year in the hope that by repeating it this year you will build your prospect pipeline. Be ruthless. Review, edit and improve.
Get into the mindset of your prospects.
What are they looking for?
- Reduction of risk – they have to know that you’re a credible player that can be trusted to deliver what they need. Your communications, from your website to your printed literature, your blog and …
If there’s one brand that really knows its onions when it comes to branding brilliance, it’s Pret a Manger. I was reflecting on this last week whilst sitting in the Pret outside Vauxhall Station.
Firstly, you’ve got the Pret passion facts – framed images on the wall with quirky little sayings about the attention to detail and the lengths they go to in order to create a fabulous customer experience. Even the napkins have jaunty slogans and the food is presented with labels that combine nutritional information with quite charming copy, …
'Back to Basics - now that's got a good ring to it.'
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of training a group of business people at the British Library in London. It was my very first Ultimate Marketing on a Shoestring workshop. Although it touched on social media and whether the attending businesses should be getting stuck in, or simply exploring it with a considered view, the purpose of the workshop was to ensure that the attendees were focusing on being brilliant at the basics.
What do I mean by this?
The basics …
Listening to Marc Bolland, I said. BOLLAND!
I was listening to Marc Bolland, Chief Executive of M&S a couple of days ago explaining the reasons behind M&S’s sales growth. Apparently, M&S shoppers are trading up – moving to the next price point on a wide range of goods. But what I really took away from Marc’s explanation was a fantastic quote which inspired me to write this blog.
He said… “if you want to buy once, you have to buy well.” And boy did that get me thinking. Because we all like a …
'So, tell me just a little bit more about your buying habits .... and nobody gets hurt!
Why You Must Get up Close to the Heart Beat of Your Prospects…
A few days ago I found myself in a motor home park in Eastbourne, interviewing motor home owners to find out their thoughts on air suspension. Now I grant you it’s not a very sexy subject, but for a motor home owner the mere thought of air suspension is enough to whip them into a positive frenzy. Eight hours later and after interviewing …
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