This is the tale of two of my clients, and a graph.
The first client undertook a particular marketing activity consistently for about three years, and enjoyed success with it. But it then reached the point where it wasn’t working any more…
Read OnIf you’re wondering whether you’re doing the “right marketing”, that’s a good thing. It means you are thinking about your marketing’s effectiveness and measurement and what your options might be to make improvements. To begin answering the question of whether your marketing is “right” we need to step back and tackle three key questions: 1.…
Read OnMarketing can sometimes be viewed as the money-spending department, rather than the revenue-generating department. Marketers often don’t help themselves by talking vaguely about “brands” and “positioning” (and letting themselves be seen as ‘creative types’) rather than using the kind of words the FD loves to hear – cashflow, return on investment, margin, and of course…
Read OnIt’s the spring exhibition season, and even these days, when marketing thinking is dominated by all-things digital, many companies are still choosing to stake out their spot in the exhibition hall. But do you know how to make the most of the opportunity – and does your company team actually know how to behave at…
Read OnMeasuring your marketing efforts is vital, so you know whether you’re doing the right thing and, importantly, how you can improve to get even better results. Many of our clients are manufacturers, and so embrace the concept of ‘continuous improvement’. We believe marketing should do the same – which is why putting objectives and measurements…
Read OnDigital marketing has transformed marketing strategy and practice at a rapid pace, and continues to do so. If you don’t live in the digital marketing world every day, it can all seem a bit baffling; and with things changing so quickly there can be a real sense that digital marketing is a black art, and…
Read OnSocial media can be a fantastic way to market your business. It’s certainly received a lot of hype from the marketing community, and now it is almost expected that a business has to include social media in its communications mix. While social media can be a fantastic marketing tool, I have seen businesses wander into…
Read OnThe coronavirus has seen many people being advised to work from home – but even in today’s connected world this can be a new and startling experience for some. I’ve worked from a home office, on and off, for around 10 years now, and it’s a very different experience from being in an office with…
Read OnI speak to many businesses who define their target market as “SMEs”. An SME (small-to-medium enterprise) is a business with less than 250 employees, turns over up to about £40m, and where a non-SME organisation doesn’t own more than a quarter of it. The problem with targeting SMEs is this: according to government statistics, 99.9%…
Read OnGoing through the checkout at a certain supermarket, I commented on how quickly the cashier was scanning my items. “I have to,” she replied. “We have to scan 30 items a minute.” “So, you’re measured?” I asked. “What happens if you don’t achieve it?” “We get told off – but not as bad as [other…
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