If you want to get 2012 off to a flying start, you might be interested in a free seminar I’m running at the end of January. Following a ‘full house’ for this talk in November I have been asked to run it again.

It’s taking place on Tuesday January 31st from 5pm till 7pm at The Arc Business Centre, Lubenham Hill, Market Harborough, LE16 9SZ.

The theme is making the most of new business opportunities in 2012 by using a combination of traditional marketing principles – combined with the best of social media and the latest modern marketing techniques.

As it takes place near tea-time, we’re laying on drinks and nibbles to make it even more tempting for you.

It’s free to attend, but we are anticipating another full house so PLEASE book early to avoid disappointment. You are welcome to bring up to 2 colleagues with you.

Just e-mail seminars@idealmarketingcompany.com if you’d like to come saying how many places you’d like and I’ll e-mail you full directions and a reminder a few days before the event.

Thanks for all the feedback from last nights marketing seminar with a focus on social media last night in Market Harborough.  Looks like we are going to run it again in January.  Will post details on here as soon as the date has been confirmed.

The talk will be on the theme of  ‘ The top 10 lead generation ideas to grow your business’

Running from 9.45 till about 10.30 It will cover plenty of ways to grow a company.  Receiving multiple streams of warm leads is, in many ways, the quickest.

This seminar offers the 10 most popular low cost ways to generate regular leads that can be quickly turned into new customers.

Presented by the author and MD of The Ideal Marketing Company Alastair Campbell, this seminar will offer practical no-nonsense tips for small business owners who have a limited amount of time & money to spend on their marketing activity.

 Visit http://www.leicesterbusinessevents.co.uk/ for more details about the event.

Free Branding and marketing seminar

I’m very pleased to be talking at a branding seminar being held in Market Harborough on July 5th at the Angel Hotel.  Please see details of this free branding seminar below…

Tuesday July 5^th, from 7pm till 9pm at The Angel Hotel, Market Harborough

Market Harborough based networking group Working Breakfast will be holding a special evening event for business owners and managers on the theme of branding.

How do you create a brand that is right for your business?  How can you protect your brand or use it to increase the value of your business? What makes a memorable logo and how can you get your brand out in front of customers?  These are just a few of the questions that will be covered by speakers during the evening which runs from 7pm till around 9pm on Tuesday July 5^th at The Angel Hotel.  Admission is free of charge.

This evening event is being organised and supported by Working Breakfast

Working Breakfast is a new business and lead generation club for local companies and meets every Wednesday morning at the Angel Hotel.  From January till the start of June this year over 1000 new business leads have been passed within the group (that’s an average of over 9 leads per member, per month).

On July 5^th up to 50 business owners and managers are expected to attend and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.   It would be great to see you there.

To book a place – email alastair@idealmarketingcompany.com or visit www.workingbreakfast.com and compete the short online form.

Practical tips on how to get more from your marketing budget

There are so many ways to spend your marketing budget – from adverts to internet optimisation there has never been more choice available to the small business owners.  This seminar looks at 10 proven low cost ways to help generate warm new business leads, improve conversion rates and keep customers for longer.

As an award winning marketing company owner and published author, Alastair Campbell has spent 21 years coming up with effective marketing ideas that are either free or very low cost to implement.  It’s common sense advice that can be introduced instantly in your business to profitable effect. www.idealmarketingcompany.com

DTFC Networking Lunch – Wednesday 6^th July 2011 – Starts at 12.00 and Finishing at 14.00

The meeting will be relaxed, easy going, encouraging conversation and developing relationships and business friendships.

The event is £15 (inc VAT) per person, payable on the door and includes a two course lunch.

Please make sure you support this event and local business by attending, book below to confirm your place.
http://dtfcnetworkinglunch.eventbrite.com/?ref=ebtn

To book your free place call 07921 670273 or e-mail  Claire@daisymarketing.co.uk

Many companies are looking to make what they already have s-t-r-e-t-c-h further.  Teamwork specialist Rosie Garwood & Marketing consultant Alastair Campbell will deliver a seminar that is aimed at small business owners keen to make the most of limited budgets and tight resources.

This seminar will cover 2 topics that every small business owners is always keen to receive help on:  improving the productivity of your staff and getting more from your marketing budget.

Rosie Garwood’s talk is about team productivity: practical tips for achieving more with less

Today’s challenge for team managers is the art of getting the best out of their team.  Limited budgets, heavy workloads and testing targets reduce opportunities for building and maintaining team relationships, just at a time when niggles and poor motivation mean you probably need them most. Ignoring problems doesn’t make them disappear, and can devastate productivity and business success.

This seminar will deliver case studies and 5½ tried and tested tips for raising team performance. From better team meetings to maintaining morale and commitment to quality, there is something relevant to you.  As a Teamwork Specialist, Rosie Garwood is committed to supporting managers, providing practical solutions and protecting you from overblown management theory, pointless jargon and self-appointed “experts”.  www.reflectionconsulting.co.uk

Alastair Campbell’s talk is about low cost marketing ideas: practical tips for getting more from your budget

There are so many ways to spend your marketing budget – from adverts to internet optimisation there has never been more choice available to the small business owners.  This seminar looks at 10 proven low cost ways to help generate warm new business leads, improve conversion rates and keep customers for longer.

As an award winning marketing company owner and published author, Alastair Campbell has spent 21 years coming up with effective marketing ideas that are either free or very low cost to implement.  It’s common sense advice that can be introduced instantly in your business to profitable effect. www.idealmarketingcompany.com

Please note that there are only a LIMITED NUMBER of seats available. Please e-mail seminar@idealmarketingcompany.com or call Alastair on 01858 44 55 43 to reserve up to 2 places (2 places per company maximum) or to find our more information about the event.

The Achieve MORE with LESS seminar takes place at

Barclays Bank,

1-3, Haymarket Towers,

Humberstone Gate,

Leicester,

Leicestershire

LE1 1WA

It will run from 5.30pm till approx 7pm on Tuesday May 24^th 2011.

As well as being a PR and marketing seminar it also covers a host of other ideas around business growth such as goal setting, planning and how it inspire staff and appreciate customers.

Is disaster looming for your marketing?

Are your marketing attempts doomed before they’ve even started?

There are many powerful techniques that can be taught when it comes to marketing your business.  From empathising with your best customers, to polishing your direct mail skills.  Are they important?  Of course they are, and they can make a significant difference to the success of what you do – but only if you build your marketing campaign on a solid foundation.

One of the most important building blocks in creating a successful campaign is to start at the beginning by seeking out genuine opportunities and gaps in your marketplace.  There are always new products and services arriving.  The ones that do well are either brilliantly marketed or more commonly, they fill a genuine need that exists.

There are always new opportunities to serve the public.  One of the quickest ways to launch a new or revised offering is to look at what is already working.  Is there a company that seems to be doing really well – they are profitable, busy and expanding?  What are they doing?  Is there a formula that they have adopted that you can adapt?

One way of doing this is to look and see if there are any recent changes in legislation.  Duncan Bannatyne made his first fortune from care homes because there was an important change in legislation.  In his book, Anyone Can Do It, he talks about how this change in the law gave him a profitable and competitive advantage over his competitors.  It enabled him to create care homes from scratch that met the new legislation and had a better ratio of staff to residents.

Look into what new trends are emerging.  I worked for a company that developed an anti-truancy product at a time when truancy was always in the news.  The product had a dramatic impact on the problem, and because it was a timely solution, we were able to generate a great deal of publicity.

Take your cues from the marketplace and have an ever open mind about what you are really selling.  There may well be a trend emerging in similar areas that you have not yet considered that could represent a whole new area of growth for your business.

Action points

1. Don’t create a new product or service just because you can or it interests you.

2. Look at how you can solve a problem in a more efficient, cheaper or faster way.

3. Is there a company that is rapidly growing in a different sector to you? Can you copy some of the ideas that they are using and apply it to your sector?

4. Always get the basics right before you build your campaign. Ask if there seems to be a genuine need for what you are offering, and only then think about how to market it in the most arresting and compelling manner.

Alastair Campbell in running a free evening seminar called ‘10 ½ ideas to grow your business’ on Wednesday November 24^th at The Angel Hotel, Market Harborough.  To reserve a free place for up to 3 people call 01858 44 55 43 during office hours or e-mail seminar@idealmarketingcompany.com