Ideal Marketing Company Blog

Who do you know?

I’m a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell’s book ‘The Tipping Point’  which partly talks about how people’s behaviour can lead to large surges in the popularity of a new product.

In 1967 Stanley Milgram performed an experiment called “Six degrees of separation” which showed that average number of personal contacts standing between you and any stranger is six people. Duncan repeated the same experiment in which 60,000 people across 166 countries were asked to forward an e-mail via personal contacts to one of 18 target recipients. The results were astonishing. The majority of cases required only six steps and the message chains “did not rely on a few highly connected individuals”.

This partly goes against Malcolm Gladwell’s theory which states that different types of people have different types of influence: “Mavens” – experts in the field; “Connectors” – widely networked individuals; and “Salesmen” – passionately persuasive people.

Word of Mouth advertising is one of the oldest and most effective ways of communication as borne out by the 1967 Stanley Milgram and Duncan experiment, but I believe in Gladwell’s point that some people are key to making a message travel quickly and efficiency.

Marketing Seminar Southampton

Marketing Seminar – Southampton

Thanks to everybody who came to my marketing seminars in Southampton this morning as part of the Venue Master annual event held in Southampton over a 3 day period.  Hope you found the marketing ideas useful and will take back a few ideas to help attract more new business leads.  Hope the rest of the event goes well and that you enjoy the keynote speech on Friday from Ruth Badger in the morning.  It was a lovely venue and it’s always a pleasure to speak to such a lovely audiance. I really enjoyed running thismarketing seminar in Southampton.

Marketing Seminar at the Angel Hotel

Free Marketing Seminar – November 2009

What can you do to minimise the marketing mistakes that can happen when you launch a new product, run an advert or send out a direct mail campaign? ‘12 Reasons Why Marketing Fails’ is packed with simple ideas that will help you to avoid the 12 most common errors that spell disaster for your next marketing campaign.

If you want to avoid the wasted money and missed opportunities for growth that can result, book your free place today.

You can also find out more about the ‘Marketing Mentor’ programme and how you can enrol in it for no charge as it is currently fully Government funded.

Details about the free Marketing Seminar at the Angel Hotel, Market Harborough

Date: Thursday November 12th at 5pm

Location: The Angel Hotel, High Street, Market Harborough

Duration: 5pm for a 5.15 start till 6.30pm

Parking: Free in The Angel car park behind the hotel

Please e-mail Helen@idealmarketingcompany.com to reserve up to 3 places or call 01858 44 55 43

Phone seminar

Thanks to everybody who joined in on the Marketing Mentor call today. Pleased to say that we were able to give out some useful ideas and I think everybody listening found something useful to takeaway with them.

To find out of you qualify for free funding for the marketing mentor programme (if you employ between 4 and 200 staff you probably do) call 01858 44 55 43.

Marketing Seminar in London

Looking forward to a new marketing seminar that I will be running next week for the Mace Group at their head office in Camden North London.  Sorry – this is a private seminar for Mace staff only.  I will be running a similar seminar in Market Harborough in early November

Market seminars leicester

Special Seminar on Brand Development and Protection

The most valuable brand in the world is google with an estimated value of $100bn (source: Millward Brown report 2009), this is a staggering sum and google relies almost exclusivity on brand awareness to promote its business.

In the current economic climate customers are increasingly turning to trusted and well known brands whether they are seeking cheaper products at supermarkets such as Aldi or for new and exciting technology such as Apple.

As a business your brand is essential in a competitive market. This is why our second seminar in the series looks at how to protect your brand and how to develop your brand.

The Seminar will consist of the following two presentations:

Alastair Campbell, The Ideal Marketing Company:  Creating a Powerful Brand – What are the simple lessons that every company can introduce when looking at the critical area of branding?

Jason Hathaway, Edward Hands & Lewis Solicitors: Protecting your brand – trade mark registration, passing off and other related legal rights.

The seminar is on 24th September at the Leicester Space Centre starting at 8.00 am and will finish at 10am.

I would urge you to book early as we are expecting a good turnout.

To book a place please e-mail alastair@idealmarketingcompany.com

Seminars Market Harborough

I ran  marketing seminar for Vanilla recruitment in Market harborough in May.  They are going to run a new seminar hosted by Rosie Garwood in September on aspects of making the most of your existing teams and they wrote about this in a recent newsletter.  Thought you might find it of interest.

How can I make my employees happier?

The happiness of your employees has a remarkable effect on the overall success of your business. As well as increased productivity, a happy workforce generally means lower staff turnover rates which is what any business wants.

However, in times of economic uncertainty the potential for an unhappy workforce is dramatically increased, as businesses are unable to provide pay increases and bonuses.  You’ll often find that many staff work harder to ensure they remain employed and unless you recognise and appreciate these efforts during tough times, you may find yourself facing staff resignations once the economy and labour market improves.

You can make yours a happier workplace with little or no expense at all; a place your employees will want to be, in bad times and in good by following a few simple tips -

Show appreciation – Create recognition programmes such as ‘employee of the month’ and other ways to celebrate jobs well done. Take time to give personal praise whenever possible.
Provide opportunities – Nothing feels worse than working in a dead-end job. Give individuals a clear career advancement path and allow for cross-training.
Share perks – Make sure you share out any freebies or invitations you receive. Make it as easy for the new trainee to get perks as it is for the CEO. Use your company’s buying power to offer staff discounts.
Communicate – Meet with your staff on a regular basis to keep them updated and motivated. Encourage employees to come to you directly for advice or with problems or ideas and let them know what can and can’t be done.
Lead by example – If you make a company policy, you need to follow it too. Make sure you show that you’re as committed to the long term future of the company as you’re asking your employees to be.
Stay positive – While it might be a relief to vent your frustrations publicly, nothing has a more negative effect on staff morale. If you have a problem with someone, or a mistake has been made, address it in private.
Let your hair down – Socialise with your staff. The best companies have a family feel to them and you can create a siege mentality when times are hard.
Avoid overwork – More hours spent at work do not always lead to more results. Time away from work increases people’s energy and creativity and is just as crucial. Employees have family and outside interests that help balance their lives.

The happiness you give your staff will rebound on you in positives too. Studies show that people who are happy at work significantly improve the bottom line as they are more productive, motivated and dedicated.

For more tips and practical advice on keeping staff happy, building stronger teams and how to get the best out of your staff book on to our next seminar with guest speaker Rosie Garwood from Reflection Consulting in September. See www.vanilarecruitment.co.uk to book a free place.

Marketing seminar - goal setting

Marketing seminars – When I run one of my marketing seminars I often start with some thoughts of goal setting.  Here are a few through from a seminar I held earlier this year you might find of interest.

Don’t be a clown this Summer

Who wants to act like or be thought of as a clown in their business or personal lives? Yet if you are not clear on what you decide to do with your life, it is all too easy to slip up, look ridiculous or end up having others laugh at your best endeavours.

Clowns date back many centuries and have a noble and important role in society – but you don’t want to be thought of as a clown. We all want our projects to be taken seriously and our efforts to be respected. If we go on a journey, we want to travel at speed and arrive in style – not blunder around with our vehicle falling apart. The purpose of a clown is to make people laugh and engender sympathy – and these are two feelings that you certainly don’t want to provoke in others.

Goal setting is the fastest way to achieve what you want in life, and for many people it has enabled them to become successful beyond what they ever thought possible. From Olympic medallists and successful business owners, to teachers and university graduates, goal setting allows us to work steadily towards what we want in life – once we are sure what it is that we want. By working on areas such as health, wealth and wisdom, goal setting allows us to achieve more than by any other method. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject, but the term CLOWN can help us all in both setting and achieving the goals that we want in life.

Here is a simple five point guide to setting goals for yourself and to stop clowning around with your life.

C is for Clear. There is no point in setting fuzzy, unclear goals which are hard to follow. Any goal you set for yourself should be very easy to follow and you should be clear in your own mind exactly what it is you want to do. Lack of clarity is one of the number one reasons why goals fail, so make your goals simple to follow. For example:

‘I will work harder in my job’ is far too vague. Better to set the goal ‘I will work an extra hour each day and make at least 10 appointments every week’. It is much easier to measure a goal if you are clear about what it actually is.

L is for Long Term. Whilst you might set yourself goals for today or this month, it is far better if these goals are part of a long term picture. Losing 2 lbs in weight this week is fine, but if your longer term, big picture goal is to lose 2 stone before your holiday in July, it is easier to motivate yourself. By all means, set goals to have £2,000 in your savings account, but a goal to have enough money to retire by the time you are 50 – and then work backwards – is far more motivating.

O is for Own. Your goals must be your own. If you are trying to achieve a goal for somebody else, it is actually their goal that you are working on. Goals should always be things that you decide and that you believe in. Let other people set goals for themselves, you need to believe and conceive your goals if you want to achieve them.

W is for Written Down. There is an expression that the cheapest pencil can survive the greatest mind. In order for you to remember and be inspired by your goals, it makes sense to always, always write them down so that you can revive them on a regular basis. There is no point in having great ideas if you can’t remember what they are, so always write down your goals and refer to them every day.

N is for Noteworthy. Your goals should inspire you to do greater things to challenge and excite you. If there is nothing exceptional or exciting about your goals, then the chances are that you won’t achieve them because you won’t be moved and inspired by them. Create big goals that will get you out of bed in the morning and make you want to put in the effort to make them happen.

Follow the CLOWN way to set goals that are:

Clear – clarity is always vital to successful goals

Long term – think big dreams to get yourself inspired

Own – if they are not your ideas you are actually working on somebody else’s goals

Written – if it’s not written down you can (and will) forget it

Noteworthy – make your goals exciting and inspiring to get you motivated.

Getting your goals right is no laughing matter. Use these simple ideas and you will generate the success you want in your life – not the laughter of the crowd.

Northampton Marketing Seminars

Just arrived back from a morning seminar I was asked to run for the FSB in Northampton.  The event took place at the Northampton cricket club.  With around 60 business owners present it was a goodoppertunity to talk about the ’9 steps to successful marketing’ that I recently completed a tips booklet on.  If you were one of the people there I hope you found it useful.  I actually recorded the talk and plan on creating a CD and transcript out of it later this month.

East Midland Franchise Show June 2009

I am delighted to have been asked back to talk at the East Midlands Franchise show.  The event takes place at the Leicester Racecourse on Saturday 20th.  My slot will be in the morning and if you are considering setting up on your own but want the security of working within a franchise than it may make good sense.

This year the organisers are thinking about people who have been made redundant as the following news release indicates.

Redundancy need not mean Redundant – say Franchise Show organisers

As more of us begin to revaluate career options with lingering uncertainty in the workplace, starting up your own business – via a franchise – has long been a route considered by individuals looking to re-invest redundancy pay off.

And most franchising companies will tell you that, although a bolt out of the blue, being made redundant can be the making of you. You could well end up happier, and better off, than someone else’s wage slave.

But are those claims slick sales talk from franchise companies who want you to invest in them? Or is there hard evidence to reassure those who do lose their job that using their pay off to fund a business will “pay off”?

Well the organisers of the East Midlands Franchise Show, arriving at Leicester Racecourse in Oadby on June 20th, claim that 9 out of 10 franchisees report profitable business a couple of years into their licence.

And to reinforce the point, the low level of commercial failure is something that the high street banks have picked up on. In this immediate post credit crunch era, some high street banks have even set up specialist franchise teams keen to invest in what the have judged a “safer bet” – and offer preferential banking terms too

So if the worst happens, why not just set up alone? Why not use the capital you would have to pay the franchise fee and instead launch your own copycat idea?

Marcus Remfry, of franchise show organisers Job Done Marketing, gives as good an explanation as any;

“A good franchise will have a good brand, strong national marketing, good support for the new franchisee and most of all – a ready made, proven manual of how to run the business. None of that is there for a stand alone new business.

Those factors make franchising work. It is a far safer bet for the new business owners to succeed – and make their investment work for them

In addition, the clue is in the attitude of High Street banks. Cutting back on almost all forms of lending is in the news constantly, but some have set up specialist franchise teams to invest in, what they see, as a safer business opportunity”

So if you are one of those facing the push from work, it may just be the push you need to succeed. There are five million self employed Britons working today – and in times of economic slowdown, that tally could rise. Considering all career options – including creating your own career in your own company – is one avenue many will consider more and more.

Background:

The East Midlands Franchise Show 2009 takes place on Saturday June 20th at the Leicester Racecourse Conference Centre, Oadby, 4 miles south of Leicester city centre.

The show is free to attend – no tickets required – and there are specialist career and start your own business seminars taking place throughout which are also free to sit in on.

There are 36 exhibitors with full and part time business opportuntites on offer – a list of whom is available online at www.eastmidlandsfranchiseshow.co.uk.