Claire Shiels Marketing

Want to work in marketing?

2009-07-21T08:38:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to kick start your career in marketing, depending in which areas you want to specialise and how dedicated you are. I recently wrote an article for the website, www.utalkmarketing.com. Be sure to let me know what you think – whether you agree or disagree. Similarly, if you have any questions you’d like to ask, let me know and I’ll try my best to answer them.

Have out of town retailers killed town centres?

2009-07-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Make no bones about it, if you’re not currently marketing your business then you need to start – and fast.

Yes, I know there’s a recession and yes, I know your budget is stretched to full capacity. However, with research from PriceWaterhouse Cooper showing that 5,483 UK businesses folded in the first quarter of this year, small businesses need to maintain or even increase their marketing activity to maintain their profile in the marketplace and continue to seek new clients.

The good news is, if you can make the effort and time, you can actually do this very effectively and cheaply.

Gone are the days of buying expensive contact names and addresses, paying pricey print costs for flyers and even heftier postage costs. Unrequested direct mail (“spam”) and even worse, “leaflet drops”, where the campaign isn’t even targeted and sent to a named individual, are very much frowned upon. “Opt-in” campaigns, where the individual has shown interest in your product or service and given you their details specifically to keep in touch, can be done faster, timelier and cheaper using special e-mail software, such as dotMailer or ConstantContact.

Blogging is an excellent way of increasing your web exposure. A blog is free, simple and quick to create, most using Typepad or WordPress. All you need to do is post regular items on a weekly if not daily basis. Ideally, content should be relevant to your target market and informative, although not formal. You could perhaps choose a mixture of your personal commentary on current affairs, any new changes to your product line or services and advice to your client base. The key word here is “regular”. Search engine spiders love regular, unique, updated content and are desperate to raise your rankings, so help them out. Unfortunately, according to a recent survey carried out among 125 small business owners, 62 percent recognised that a blog would help raise their profile, strengthen their brand image, reputation and search engine ranking. They therefore set up their firm’s blog. Unfortunately, 29 percent then said they updated their post 1-3 times per month, whilst a staggering 71 percent admitted they were too busy to think about it and had let it go. What a missed opportunity.

PR is generally considered to be an extremely credible marketing tool. The trick here is to identify what is actually considered by the editor and the audience as being true “news”. What you might think is something very exciting and relevant may have no meaning at all for the newspaper’s readership, and your carefully crafted (yes, there is a structure) press release will go no further than the editor’s bin. Good examples of a true PR lead might be new appointments, a new client which we’ve all heard of, any events that you’re holding or a commentary on something in the news which is relevant to your business.

Finally, Facebook and Twitter are the new darlings of the marketing world, known collectively as “social media marketing”. Again completely free, simply set up a page or an account and contribute to it regularly, with material much the same as your blog. What you must remember, however, is that these are not simply advertising platforms. To be effective, you must be patient and build up relationships with your steadily growing followers. These people are interested in you and what you have to say, but they probably aren’t ready to commit to spending money with you – just yet. Journalists and editors pick up news leads from social media, comments are picked up by search engines and you can often use social media to drive traffic to your website or blog.

To put it into context, over the period of three months, you’ve built up 400 followers on Twitter, simply by chatting about relevant topics every day. You’re ready to publicise that you have a limited sale offering 25 percent discount on all stock. Within one minute, you’ve informed 400 people, all of whom you know are interested in your products, driving them to your website for a better look. How long and how much would that campaign have cost using traditional methods?

Rural businesses especially, need to adopt these techniques. Footfall can be scarce, even non-existent, so publicising who you are, what you do and how you can benefit your target audience are messages which you need to send out across the globe to bring in new customers.

So yes, new marketing takes time, patience and self discipline. If you can’t afford to do it yourself, find someone who can do it for you. As a small business owner, can you really justify not taking up the opportunity?

How to market your small business on a shoestring

2009-07-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

How to make blogging work for you

2009-07-06T08:50:00.000-07:00

It’s quite simple – just make your blog relevant to your target audience and keep it updated!

According to a survey carried out among of 125 small business owners by Write My Site, 62% recognised that a blog would help raise their profile, strengthen their brand image, reputation and search engine ranking. They therefore set up their firm’s blog. Unfortunately, 29% then said they updated their post 1-3 times per month, whilst a staggering 71% admitted they were too busy to think about it and had let it go.

As a business owner, you know that success doesn’t simply fall into your lap. It takes hard work, effort and no shortage of stress. If you don’t take the time to recognise that marketing your firm is what will bring in the sales or fees, and invest enough time to ensure that it is being carried out effectively, then there is no reason why new clients should take their time to hunt you down and find out more about you before investing their hard earned cash. Make it easy for them!

Why am I emphasising the need for a blog? I’ll tell you:

1. It’s a great way of profiling your firm to the outside world, absolutely free. Not just your locality, but the whole flipping world. It doesn’t take a genius to put together a cost:benefit ratio analysis, compared to a £300 advert in your local rag.

2. Clients buy into trust, into relationships. When put side by side with your competitors, clients will choose the firm they feel most comfortable with. Blogs are a fantastic way of injecting some personality into your firm, conveying more messages than ads or PR ever could.

3. Communication. If you’re running a sale, have won an award, have a special offer currently, blog it and then Twitter/Facebook it. You’ll reach dozens, if not hundreds, if not thousands of relevant individuals. How much would time, effort and money would that have cost you to DM, providing of course you could buy the contact details? You may also hit lucky and reach an interested editor or journalist, who might run with your story.

4. Google. Search engines just love regular, unique content. Spiders lap them up and if you’ve kept an eye on key words in your blog content and dumped your blogs in the correct category, you’ll attract a lot of interest and go shooting up the search engine listings. Much cheaper than hiring a specialist.

You can’t afford to ignore such a fantastic opportunity to communicate with your current clients and showcase yourself to other potential clients. If you can’t afford the time to update your blog daily or even weekly, delegate someone in your team or pay someone to do it for you. You’ll be glad you did.

Real estate agents missing an opportunity?

2009-07-02T08:48:00.000-07:00

There was a distinct murmuring among fellow Twitterers today, led by PR-guru Nigel Morgan about two estate agents (I shall spare their blushes in this blog as I know many, many agencies are guilty) who are using Twitter simply as a free advertising platform.

The agents in question have been posting Tweets solely along the lines of “4 bed house for sale”, presumably not realising that simply bombarding users with whatever you’ve got on the books is not the most effective form of marketing or indeed efficient way of spending office hours.

So what are they doing wrong? Twitter is a fantastic way of connecting with relevant people much more easily than with Facebook or LinkedIn. It is a useful tool for building relationships, trust and perhaps eventually mutually beneficial backscratching. It takes time, effort and a little bit of knowledge. You would be well advised to seek the advice of Nigel or Twitterer-extraordinaire, Nikki Pilkington. Tweets should be a healthy mix of useful updates, informal conversation and relevant links.

What is it about estate agents? Having worked as head of marketing for a chain of rural property agents for three years, there was a certain viewpoint (some might say lazy) that actually the properties sold themselves and reflected the brand. This was true to a certain extent in the days of the property boom. However, since the slump, agents need to be looking at proactively MARKETING themselves (this is NOT the same as making quick sales). They need to be smart about it, researching who is likely to be buying or selling in their area and using all tools at their disposal, make contact with these people and begin to build relationships. Estate agents are notoriously regarded as being untrustworthy, so selling to these people is an absolute no-no until the relationship is firmly established.

Yes, it takes a lot of effort, but you will be broadening your network of potential vendors/purchasers and promoting your brand – vital for when the market recovers. You wil also find that a little bit of common sense marketing makes a lot more financial sense in the long run than hiring a long line of trendy sales speakers.

From green topics to pink hairdos - and a fascinating author!

2009-07-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

First week back from sunny Mallorca, and what a week it’s been!

On the client front, I’m turning into my own version of an eco-warrior, working with both Bamboo Baby, who has opened my eyes to the use of bamboo in the textiles industry; and a client promoting investment in jatropha, currently being hailed as the newest hope for a replacement to traditional oil. Apparently, millions of hectares are currently being put aside to grow this plant, whose seeds can be converted to fuel for diesel cars without modification.

In addition to all this, I am in the fortunate position of being able to promote a new novel, “The French Odalisque” by my client, who is now in his eighties, Sean Graham. An extraordinary man, born a German Jew, he was fostered out at an early age by his father and stepmother, finally being adopted by his uncle’s family. Fleeing to England in 1933, they settled in Hampstead, where Sean endured bullying at boarding school. Later, two years into his law studies at Cambridge, he was shipped off to a Quaker camp in Canada for three months as alien enemy.

On arriving back in England, Sean discovered that his home in Hampstead had been bombed and his family had emigrated to the States, with no means of finding them. The war was looming, he volunteered and the Army trained him in intelligence work. He rose through the ranks very quickly and spent the following seven years interrogating high level German officers and other PoW.

After leaving the Army, he went to Ghana as a film maker and helping to create the Ghana Film Industry, becoming close to Nkrumah, President at that time. He then went on to establish the film industry in Tunisia in 1958 before returning and finally settling down in London with his French wife to a life of film writing and travelling. He is now in his eighties, has four grandchildren and is looking forward to the launch party for “The French Odalisque” in September.

It is my honour to be working with someone who has led such an eventful life and I will be doing my very best to get both the novel and Sean’s lifestory out to the public.

“The French Odalisque” will be published by Orbach and Chambers in September and will retail at £9.99. It will be available on Amazon, so make sure it goes on your shopping list!

And finally – I don’t want to tap into the trend of talking about the late MJ, but it is of course a tragedy that he left before his comeback, although some of us may argue that he never left. Another showbiz great who has left us today is the wonderful Mollie Sugden. One week the hair was pink, the next blue and the following week green. One thing remained constant – her love for her pussy. I will raise a glass to the late Ms Sugden this evening and be sure to give my own pussy a special treat in recognition!!

Stay afloat without dropping prices

2009-06-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

I’ve just spent 10 glorious days in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca. Having been there three times now, the locals, who appear to drop their normal jobs during the summer season and concentrate on tourist-related jobs, are extremely worried about the reduction in tourists this year, which will seriously affect their livelihood. Several shops had closed down and they, like the rest of us, can only hold their breath and wait for the end of the recession.

There are ways, however, to engage new customers and encourage as much repeat business as possible, without having to reduce yourself to doing battle in a price war, which could seriously affect not only your profit margins but also your brand reputation. Here are some examples:

One restaurant we went to left us standing at the entrance for a good few minutes before asking us to move from a table we’d focused upon so that they could rearrange the furniture for a slightly larger family behind us. We made a swift exit and never returned.

Another restaurant, Tango, couldn’t have been friendlier, the owner, Manuelo, greeting us at the door each night (yes – each night) and the waiters joking and playing with our young daughter. It isn’t the cheapest of places, but we have gone there regularly, for the last three years.

And finally, a special word for Nico’s restaurant in the resort. A new visit for us, we enjoyed the first time and so returned the next day. Not only did the waiter ask if we wanted the same table as we’d had previously, he gave our daughter some pictures to colour in, remembered that she particularly liked red crayons and hunted one out for her and at the end of the meal, gave her a lollipop and balloon. She was over the moon and we were delighted at the informal, efficient and extremely friendly service and spent a fortune there over our holiday. If you’re in Mallorca, make sure you give them a visit – Nico’s.

Make your service memorable. Make every customer feel like they are valuable to you and not just another foot through the door. By ensuring that they have an enjoyable time buying your products or services, you stand the best chance possible of becoming their number one choice and they will return again and again.

Thriving in the downturn

2009-05-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

Check out my article in the Daily Express today talking about how small businesses can not only survive but thrive in the downturn.

If you are considering starting up in business during this current climate, my advice to you is this:

- do your research. Are you sure there is a big enough market? Is there a gap not being filled by anyone else?
- in order to succeed you have to have commitment. Do you believe in your offering? Are you ready to work long hours and face possible cash flow problems whilst you are establishing yourself?
- remember that you need to spend possibly as much time promoting yourself and sourcing leads as you do actually running the business
- does your personality lend itself to being a business owner? You need a high level of communication skills as well as a tough skin!
- get yourself up to speed on modern marketing methods. If you think the only way to promote yourself is to put an ad in the local paper, then you need a professional like me!
- networking, either physically or using social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are vital tools in sourcing new business.
- you WILL need a website. Research has shown that consumers now rarely use Yellow Pages and other such directories when looking for services. They will search online

Small businesses, although most often run on a shoestring, are more flexible, more cost-savvy and better able to match market demand than many other larger counterparts. By using the most of your business sense, there is no reason why you, too, can't thrive in the downturn.

Kerchoonz social media network backs illegal file-sharing legislation

2009-05-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

Following on from the jail sentence handed out to illegal file-sharers, Pirate Bay, by a Swedish court; the UK’s top creative industries are lobbying the government to take a firmer stance on persistent file-sharers, according to today’s BBC news.

Up until now, the UK government has not had, it appears, the inclination to penalise such users, quoting such comments as, “We can’t have a system where we’re talking about arresting teenagers in their bedrooms”, instead preferring to place the onus on ISP providers, setting a target of reducing the problem by at least 70% over the next few years, without publicly seeming to actually take any direct action.

The media industry, in the meantime, is being hit hard, with statistics quoting an estimated one billion music tracks and 98 million films being shared illegally in 2007 alone.

In a direct attempt to combat illegal file sharing and compensate artists, Kerchoonz.com, launching next month, is the first integrated social networking and media site to legally enable streaming and download of music, videos and online games, whilst paying the featured artists and creators of music. Its founders, Indiana Gregg and Ian Morrow, themselves Glasgow-based musicians, are ardent supporters of the campaign to introduce firm legislation towards protecting copyright on the internet.

Indiana says: “Free media comes with a price tag and sites who are profiting from the use or exchange of copyright works without compensating the rights holders are simply robbing the livelihood of artists and not only that, they are destroying any chance for new artists and bands to raise funds and investments in their music and/or get record deals. Nobody will want to invest in new music in the future if security isn’t tightened on the web.”

The nation is "fizzing" about Sherbert Fountains

2009-05-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

You don't need me to tell you, it's been in just about every press outlet going in the UK, over the last week. Swine flu is appalling, the credit crunch depressing but Sherbert Fountains being changed from cardboard to plastic? It's a step too far, I tell you.

My client, www.aquarterof.co.uk, has gone from selling the "proper" SFs singluarly to boxes of 'em. I can see them now, turning up on future episodes of Antiques Roadshow, with the resident expert fondly stroking the flimsy packaging, already wilting at being exposed to the slightest bit of damp in the air. Another piece of truly British tradition tossed by the wayside in the interests of hygiene. Which makes me wonder - if we have become so concerned about hygiene over the last 25 years or so, why are our hospitals so riddled with bugs nowadays?

James Bond Is Irish!

2009-04-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

My client Sto-It has been very busy of late. After launching its new concept in personal secure storage for apartment owners (unit fits over your car bonnet in your underground parking bay)to remove that sports equipment, pram and boxes of LPs (yes LPs) from your otherwise pristine pad, the team is working like Santa's elves to have its deluxe model ready for launch next month. Deluxe in that should an undesirable come lurking near your BMW whilst it is parked in your bay, Sto-It Deluxe's inbuilt security camera will take a shapshot of them and fire it off to your mobile phone, no doubt rousing you from your bath, sharpish.

Claire Shiels Marketing going national?

2009-04-29T04:30:00.000-07:00

Had BBC business correspondent on the phone today, talking about how I managed to set up my business and have continued to successfully secure a great list of clients, despite being located right on the edge of the Northumbrian hills, with only the sheep to talk to during the day. There are no pubs or shops in our village and the population teeters somewhere around 300 (didn't realise it was that many). There is however, a beautiful church and fantastic first school, with about 40 pupils. To some it would be hell, to me it's an absolute privilege being able to do a job that I'm passionate about, be surrounded by jaw dropping beautiful countryside, have time to spend with my young daughter (occasionally) and being able to now count many of my clients as true friends.

It's not confirmed yet whether the interview is going ahead, but you can bet that I'll be shrugging off my dressing gown, reaching for the nearest power suit and dashing off to a hair and beauty salon before I'll face the nation. Now, where can I find one......?

Canadian cock-up spells great news for Northumbrian tourism

2009-04-26T07:22:00.001-07:00

Just been speaking to a neighbour of mine, who works in a senior role at Northumberland Tourism Ltd. Whilst as communications professionals, we winced at Calder Bateman’s almighty and extremely expensive cock-up (although, to be fair, who on earth signed this project off?) and smiled wryly at various government officials claiming the ad was never meant to represent Alberta directly but was simply portraying a “tone”, we are clapping our hands at Northumbria’s inadvertent publicity.

Now that the primary industries of fishing and mining have all but disappeared from the county, tourism is our principal source of revenue. Like every other area of the UK, we have been hit hard by the economic climate and need all the help we can get to promote our outstandingly beautiful countryside and coastline. Whilst we are sympathetic towards Alberta’s red-faced gaff, we are grateful for its endorsement.

As for the new tourist industry “approach” of conveying a “tone” for an area, I wonder if we will turn our attentions to promoting the lively social activities enjoyed by our local rural communities. Perhaps they’re over there, filming the Vegas Strip as we speak….

Networking for the terrified

2009-04-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

I've just come back from my daughter's fifth birthday party. Yes, I'm weary, yes I'm deaf, yes, I'm covered in orange juice. However, she had a wonderful time and I was asked by several children I barely knew, if they could come to our house for tea. Strange that, isn't it, how children have no fear of rejection and no knowledge of social etiquette.

I think they're absolutely right, of course. Wouldn't the world be an easier place if, as a business person, you could simply go up to someone who you hardly know but who you think could be useful to your business and ask if they will refer you to some clients within your target market? That's it, it's out in the open, there's no ambiguity and you haven't spent an excessive amount trying to impress the person. Sadly, as professionals, most of us lose this ability over time, having dealt with any number of oppressive silences, frosty glares and mumbled answers when our networking abilities haven't been up to scratch. As a result, our comfort zone contracts alarmingly and we find ourselves making excuses not to expand our contacts, not to call upon them for business development.

Unfortunately, with budgets considerably squeezed and sales figures wavering unnervingly, now is the time we need to call upon our networking skills.

Several years ago, as head of marketing for the Manchester office of PKF accountants and business advisors, I drafted in the help of Will Kintish, a networking expert. His workshop was refreshing, appropriate for professional services and certainly appealed to those terrified at the thought of having to network.

If you are one of these individuals, I will be delighted to help you out with some tips to get you started. Alternatively, a visit to Will's site is well worth it.

Cat Fight

2009-04-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Cats caught on camera, imitating the human mating ritual. Check this out...

Small step towards victory for anti-pirate artists

2009-04-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

A small victory this week for my client kerchoonz.com with the news that the operators of Swedish torrent site The Pirate Bay have been found guilty of illegal file sharing, being fined $3.6m and sentenced to a year each in jail.

In unrelated emails last year, both Indiana Gregg and Ian Morrow, founder members of Kerchoonz.com had asked TPB to remove links to Indiana’s album, “Woman at Work” from its site, being met with ridicule, abuse and sarcasm from subsequent blog posts after TPB made the correspondence public.

The couple complained that illegal file sharing directly took money out of the pockets of artists and requested that they change their business model. TPB refused and although not as a result of this conflict in particular, have landed themselves with a jail sentence.

And Kerchoonz? They are preparing to launch the first social media platform fully integrated with facebook and Twitter, allowing legal free downloads for users and sharing revenue made from onsite advertising with featured artists.

DIY marketing

2009-04-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

I may be doing myself out of a job here, but for those who don't run in marketing circles, "Seth Godin" is a guy after my own heart (but infinitely better known and richer) - telling it like it is and refusing to drift off into that marketing land of buzz words and hazy results. For those of you who would like to get a firm grip on marketing your business, he will tell you the truth about SEO and why it so often fails, tips to get the best out of your website and other practical, non-nonsense information. He's extremely well respected in the industry, is someone who the more sensible among us aspire to, and someone I frequently refer to. You can find him here - http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

SEO is no quick fix

2009-04-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

I receive many requests from potential clients requiring website copy which will enhance SEO. SEO, despite what some "experts" may tell you, is no fast fix. If you hit lucky and manage to get yourself listed in the first couple of pages of Google, there's no guarantee you'll stay there for any length of time. In fact, it's highly unlikely. The only way to try and maintain this position is to work hard at it - every single day, using your full marketing toolkit. That's updating your blogs, regularly reviewing your website copy, writing online articles, PR, contributing to forums and so on. It can be a costly business if you outsource the work, solely with achieiving this objective.

Here's a good tip for you though - www.wordtracker.com will help you decide which key words and phrases to go for when writing online copy by showing you the most popular and relevant to your particular business. It's 59$ or £29 per month, but they have a free trial of 7 days.

A new age in property recruitment

2009-04-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we're all clued up about social networking, but have you heard about "social headhunting"? This has been introduced (to the best of my knowledge, your honour), or at least brought to our attention by my client, Prefio.com. Focusing on the property industry, Prefio is not your usual recruitment agency. It offers rather nice wads of cash to "referrers" (which currently number around 1000, all with the relevant knowledge of the movers and shakers in the industry) of both potential new employees or employers looking for staff.
The reason? Prefio's logic states that it can gain inside knowledge and market awareness simply by asking the people in the know, to tell them and they will in turn pass this information onto the relevant people (employers or potential employees). Result? A win:win situation.

Does it work in practice? Well, having come from a property marketing background, our firm's policy towards recruitment was to:
a. put an ad on the website. Free but meant you received applications from people from all walks of life

b. put an ad in the local press. More expensive, and you still received applications from people from all walks of life

c. asked all employees if they knew someone suitable. Free again - but yes, you still received applications from people from all walks of life

It seems to me that if you're recruiting at a medium to high level, therefore requiring someone with property experience, but not living in a city area, your chances of recruiting that "special someone" is pretty remote, especially if you don't have the budget to advertise in the national property press. So, overall, it seems Prefio may have hit on something here - I'll keep you informed...

PS - Any referrers out there. If you refer a potential employee successfully, you'll earn £2,500. If you refer an employer looking for someone and are successful, you'll earn £500. The address is www.prefio.com - tell them Claire sent you!

IT therapy for the masses

2009-03-25T10:41:00.001-07:00

Just taken on a really interesting client with a unique concept which I will be shouting about shortly. Evie Consulting is an IT firm, providing the usual services - but with a twist on psychology.

Having worked in IT in the past (and my husband being an IT professional) I understood exactly what Fiona Hannah was talking about, immediately. Working as THE IT helpdesk/trainer at Eversheds Newcastle way back in the dark ages, my task was to bring everyone off typewriters (yes, that long ago) and onto Microsoft office.

As always happens, some coped better than others. However, one secretary, who had been there forever and was in fact an extremely good secretary, lost the plot. She coudn't get the hang of a mouse and was trying to write words in the air with it. Finally, she went on sick leave for a few weeks with stress, before returning and trying again.

Some time later, she returned but still no good. Finally, in desperation, she worked alongside my desk for a while, so she could get 1-1 tutoring on a daily basis. It didn't work, and she left, feeling worthless and the company lost a damned good secretary.

Although I hope everyone is now using Office in the same way they use the kettle in the mornings, any new software introduced into a firm which impacts heavily on daily use, is more often than not met with scepticism and sometimes downright dislike. The results can range from increased sickness and a downturn in production to passive resistance - finding ways around the system or simply a downright refusal to use the software.

Fiona, a qualified psychologist, has hit on something, I think, translating techie speak and focusing on the psychology of the user. Investment in this sort of approach must surely give a good return on the budget, with increased motivation, smoother management of change and maintained productivity.

Marketing success and leadership

2009-03-11T14:14:00.001-07:00

Interested to hear everyone's stories, good and bad about a notable head of a firm and how they affected the effectiveness of that firm's marketing function. Is a driven leader more useful, even if convinced they are right whilst steering everyone in the wrong direction? Or is it better for them to have faith in their marketing team and let them get on with it, only dipping in when necessary? Does a happy medium exist?

Thinking of retiring?

2009-03-04T05:41:00.000-08:00

Met up with a financial advisor client of mine in Manchester on Sunday, to discuss content for her fabulous forthcoming new website for her consultancy, Parsonage.

She gently chastised me for not having a retirement plan in place. Actually I do, he's called Nick and I'm planning for him to work until he drops!

Sales v marketing - the debate continues

2009-03-02T12:37:00.000-08:00

It seems I have created a heated debate with my question "what do small businesses really want from communications professionals?" - a debate which is still raging, several days after I posted it.

Trying desperately to stay neutral, (I am, after all, a comms professional AND a small business owner), I have listened to both sides of the argument - as indeed, it appears, two distinct sides are forming.

One passionate viewpoint (not from a marketer, funnily enough) is that marketing people also need to double up as salespeople, investing heavily in the business itself, being responsible for bringing in the revenue and being paid solely on results.

The neighbours on the other side of the fence are pointing out that marketing lays the groundwork for sales - identifying opportunities and providing leads but not closing the deal, which demands a completely different set of skills.

My thanks to all those who have taken part in such a worthwhile and passionate discussion. Now, does anyone have a pair of stepladders? I need to get down from this fence...

Chocolate retailer has it all wrapped up

2009-02-25T05:07:00.001-08:00

Thrilled at securing an interview on Radio Essex for my client, Wrap My Bar promotional chocolate retailers. Such exposure can be a fantastic stepping stone for small businesses and provides a real sense of satisfaction for the comms professional.

DIY Disasters

2009-02-23T01:27:00.000-08:00

Article from Tristan Titeux of London-based contemporary furniture makers and fitters, Custom Carpentry - he advises those looking to market their home, to avoid those dreaded DIY "projects" and bring in the professionals, instead. This, he says, will present the home at its best and help to sell it faster in a sluggish market, thus hopefully making a good return on investment.

He doesn't need to persuade me. Let me take you back several years, with shelves needed in the kitchen. A small hole reveals somewhat flakey plasterwork. Several small holes later, they decide to merge and become one gaping abyss. Several days, smirking tradesmen and wads of paper money later, the kitchen has been returned to normal - still without shelves.

Those home improvement programmes have a lot to answer for.........

What do small businesses need from communications professionals?

2009-02-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

What exactly do they need? "Carefully planned and well executed integrated marketing campaigns" my colleagues will quite rightly shout at the screen. "Something that's going to bring me considerable revenue quickly, at very little cost" many of my clients will equally correctly retort.

The fact of the matter is, as any communications professional will tell you, 90 percent of the time, marketing is only effective if it is sustained, thought out and timely. It doesn't have to cost the earth, but it does COST.

My approach is to advise clients of the range of tools they have in their "marketing toolkit". Used together, they can make a huge impression and be extremely effective. However, not all clients can afford the entire toolkit all in one go, and may need to pull one out of the bag when they can. In this instance, it is up to the marketing professional to choose which tool would be most appropriate and affordable in each instance, to try and obtain the best results.

I would be interested to hear both from other communications colleagues how they have approached this challenge and also from small business owners - what are your thoughts?

http://www.csm-comms.co.uk/

Marketing in the north east

2009-02-20T03:20:00.000-08:00

Although I've only been up and running a short while, I now have a steady stream of happy clients coming through the door (well, the PC but you know what I mean) which is fantastic and a great relief! Although based in Northumberland, my clients so far hail from the north west, home counties and London - and one from Hexham. Why is this, I ponder? Are the north easterners already well catered for? Do they not recognise the need for publicity? Are they wary of all things marketing? Answers on a postcard...

PRWeb UK launches March 09

2009-02-17T09:48:00.000-08:00

Leading news distribution channel, PRWeb, is focusing on Old Blighty next month, launching a UK version of the site.

By sending their news to PRWeb UK, companies will be distributing releases directly to more than 450 publications. Through a search-optimised web platform, firms can increase their rankings on search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Spiffing!

Show of support from the PR industry

2009-02-15T03:11:00.000-08:00

My consultancy has now finally launched (http://www.csm-comms.co.uk/) and I have received a congratulatory email from Nigel Morgan, of Morgan PR which just shows how supportive colleagues in the communications industry are of each other.

We discussed how, when a recession such as this hits, it has been generally thought that the PR/marketing and IT functions are affected particularly badly. However, we have both seen that these two areas appear to be thriving. It certainly makes sense ; employees want to maintain their jobs, so compete for personal profile, and it is vital for businesses to maintain promotion - albeit on a smaller budget.

Nigel in particular has observed that permission marketing is particularly effective. For those who haven't come across this term before, a switch in marketing theory has been taking place over recent years (although the concept of permission marketing was introduced many years ago). Instead of segmenting your customer base, on variables such as demographics, geography, life stage and so forth, and treating each segment the same, marketers are now focusing in on each customer or potential customer specifically where we can, to ascertain their needs and wants, and creating messages and solutions to fulfil this criteria. "Opt-in" email marketing is a useful tool, telling you that an individual has actively given their permission for you to contact them telling them of your products, services and passing on your knowledge, which facilitates more effective marketing campaigns, rather than the traditional method of just mailing vast numbers of individuals, many of whom may not be at the right stage to require what you're offering, only giving them the option at the end to opt out of future mailings.

In this rocky economic climate, it is refreshing and encouraging that industry peers are taking the time to support each other and in my view, it is this, rather than all out competition, which will carry us through into better times.

For Nigel's blog, please follow this link: http://www.morganpr.blogspot.com/

Marketing professionals or charlatans? (Or, "never mind the b*****ks, lets get results")

2009-01-28T14:18:00.000-08:00

I suspect that the title of this post will have the hairs bristling on the back of fellow marketeers’ necks.

I have likened the marketing industry to that of the “psychic arena” for several good reasons:

1. Both of them, to the uninitiated, hold a great deal of mystique - many theories abound about how it all works, but there are no firm answers out there, despite the “X Files” promise
2. Clients quite often ask both professionals to look into the future and forecast results without a shred of uncertainty
3. Both rely heavily on psychological techniques
4. Both require top notch communication skills
5. Accuracy and results are very often difficult to measure in both cases
6. In both worlds, in my own humble opinion, there are those that can do, and a great many more who claim that they can do, causing untold harm to the rest of us in the same industry.

On my travels around the UK as a marketeer, I have come across a great many individuals, who can certainly “talk the talk”. They may have a way with words, they may sound very convincing, having taken on board the buzz words of the month, but when it comes to the hard graft of marketing, some of them have produced some very shoddy campaigns and material indeed.

Make no bones about it, marketing is hard work. Of course, there will be the firms who think they are literally doing the business by having regular lunches and drinks parties with their buddies - which the lazy marketeer will be more than happy to spend their time organising (anything for an easy life). However, for those of us with professional ethics, our job is to keep up with the latest theories and tools, pushing for better targeting and understanding of our client bases; pinpointing the message we want to give and making damn sure it gets out there at the right time and with measurable results.

Lets be brutally honest, none of us are the world’s greatest expert in our trade. However, we owe it to our employers or our clients to cut the crap, get down to roots level, put in the ground work and get the best results for them that we can.

As I gaze at my crystal ball, I think I can almost see the future. Struggling businesses with dwindling budgets will be desperate, now more than ever, to achieve the greatest amount of publicity and sales. I would hate to think that amateur marketeers will take advantage of their plight. It’s up to us to guide them accordingly; achieving the best results possible for their money and steering them towards a brighter future and a healthier cash flow.

Countdown to launch of Claire Shiels Marketing

2009-01-27T05:16:00.000-08:00

5 weeks and counting! It seems like only yesterday when I decided to run my own PR and marketing consultancy. Many people have asked cautiously if I think it's a good idea to start up in business in this economic climate. Generally, I'd have to agree with their concern. However, my idea of helping north east start ups and small businesses with their publicity, offering payment by the hour rather than expensive monthly retainers, seems to have taken off and I actually have projects coming out of my ears across the UK, not just the region.

I find I'm waking up every morning at 5am, full of energy, waiting to see who has also approached me - so far, I've had a promotional chocolate firm, digital media specialists, appliance manufacturers and a debt management agency. So you can see, the case load is extremely varied, which helps to get the creative juices flowing.

Another exciting piece of news (well, to me anyway!) Barclays Bank has asked me to act as its marketing expert in this region, for start ups, which I'm thrilled about.

Now, all I need to do is find a decent website designer, finalise my publicity campaign - and start doing some work!