TWO Marketing

4theworkplace advert design

2012-01-04T01:35:00.000-08:00

Our recent advert designed for 4theworkplace that was used in the Norwich City Football match programme (NCFC v Tottenham). See our advertising page on our website.

Norfolk Pest Control Company Support Local Charity

2011-10-10T08:02:00.000-07:00

A local Norfolk Pest Control Company has big plans for 2012to fundraise for The Star Throwers in Wymondham. Jon Blake, owner of Abate PestManagement Services has been a big supporter of the charity for a while now,including helping organise a charity darts league that has raised over £20k injust 10 years. This money is also used to support other local charitiesalongside The Star Throwers.

In 2012, Mr Blake is aiming to row the English Channel and backin distance, non-stop, on a concept 2 rowing machine – a total of approx 44miles. His first rowathon last year of 26 miles was only 28 minutes off theworld record!

The Star Throwers in Wymondham was founded by Dr Henry Mannings and is runentirely by volunteers who work not only to support people who are affected bycancer, but also those who are at particular risk of developing cancer. Thecharity provides advice for patients, friends and family, offering additionalsupport from that which can be obtained through hospitals.

“Pest controllers aren’t usually associated with being ‘warm and fuzzy’ typesbut I am very passionate about fundraising for charities such as The StarThrowers who do such fantastic work” says Mr Blake. “I think it is very importantfor local companies to get behind local charities, especially when funding ishard to get.”

With several members of Jon’s family having being diagnosed with the disease,it is no wonder that he is so determined to provide as much fundraising andawareness as possible for the charity – including getting the charity nameprinted on to all of the Abate Pest Management vans.

To find out more about The Star Throwers, you can visit their website at http://www.starthrowers.org.uk/ oralternatively call them on 01953423304. Or if you’d like to be kept up to date with Jon’s fundraising activity,keep an eye on Abate’s blog at http://abateltd.wordpress.com.

Photography a new high!

2011-09-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today i had the pleasure of meeting one of my fears! Yes i had to climb on the roof of the Open Building in Norwich (hate heights) to take some photography for Abate Pest Management of some recent Bird Proofing.

Despite the heights the shot was taken for the new bird control brochure.

Thank you from Barley House Southwold

2011-08-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

We love receiving testimonials and here is one of recent ones from Barley House Southwold.

“Jonathan has been of enormous help in the setting up of our B&B business using his expertise and interpersonal skills to create marketing material that exactly meets our requirements to promote a small but stylish guest house. He immediately 'got' our USP and worked with us at all stages of the website design, its build, implementation and commissioning. The end result is a beautifully stylish, image-rich, robust website with an electronic booking system that is so good at bringing in business that we spend next to nothing on other forms of marketing.”

Advertising does work

2011-08-09T01:52:00.000-07:00

In today’s climate, people have been looking at ways to reduce costs in their business. Some have made a decision to stop advertising, which can be a high-risk strategy and often lead to the competitors gaining extra market share.

I often hear from clients that their advertising is not working. After investigation it is often that the client has only placed one or two adverts in the publication or the advert does not demonstrate the capabilities or have that instant impact.

What I would recommend is getting your advert to have the WOW factor. It is worth spending that little extra money on putting together a professionally designed advert, with great copy and images.

I would also recommend taking advantage of planning your campaigns so you can book in advance, normally getting a reduced rate. The more you are seen, the more prominent your brand will be.

To help generate great adverts I have followed a system called AIDA that was first created way back in 1898. If you follow AIDA it will do wonders to your advertising.

Attention

You have to stand out. Make a great first impression and grab the attention of your customer. How do you do that? Be different and professional. You can't stand out if you look like everyone else or if you knocked something up in publisher.

Interest

To create interest in your product or service, you must demonstrate its advantages and benefits. A feature is an attribute of a product. A benefit is how that attribute can help your customer. It’s like going to a TV shop and reading lots of features, what do they all do?

Desire

Closely related to interest is desire. Move from discussing benefits to specifically how those benefits will help that customer – we call it the ‘you appeal’.

Action

Finally, your customer needs to take action. Usually this is buying your product or service or making the call. The action is whatever you want it to be.

I hope this has helped you make your planning decisions on how you should advertise in print. If TWO Marketing can help with your advertising designs, please contact us through our website at www.twomarketing.co.uk.

Some of our recent adverts

This week and photography

2011-08-05T02:03:00.000-07:00

One of the services we offer at TWO Marketing is photography and this week we have been quite busy. It all started on Saturday when i went to Norfolk Broads Direct in Wroxham to take some interior pictures of some new cruisers. These images will be used on their website, Hoseasons and the 2012 brochure.

Then Rob Whitwood from Inspired Change commissioned me to take the presentation of the summer interns. Dick Palmer (Principal City College), Richard Moore (Inspired Change), Grant Miles (City College) Emma Mortram (City College/Inspired Change) Oliver Hodgson (City College) Matt Buxton (UEA) Robert Whitwood(Inspired Change).

Tuesday afternoon and I needed to get some shots of Norwich for a Tourism brochure, so headed off in the sun and snapped a few great sites.

So if you need help with any photography, please give me a call on 0845 051 4232

Business Networking – Is it in your sales plan?

2011-07-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

Many businesses have taken the plunge into attending a networking event, perhaps as a one off visitor or to attend meetings every week. For me networking should be one of the essentials in your sales plan. Networking has grown at tremendous speed in the past few years. Just in Norfolk alone there are many clubs and events that people can attend. The choice is good as you can select the type of format that best suits you or your business.

Many different events have different start times different ways of working. Some are very formal and some are relaxed. 4Networking has over 300 breakfast groups across the UK and meets at 8am. In the Eastern region there are groups in Norwich North, Norwich South, Diss, Dereham, Swaffham and Kings Lynn. It is the UK’s largest joined-up business network and gives businesses the essentials that they need, People, Appointments, Business and Support. The 4N culture is relaxed and friendly, with a complete lack of pretension and ‘cufflinks’…plus people can network where they want and when they want. I am a regular attendee to the 4N events in East Anglia and have met some fantastic people who have helped me with my business over the past year. I was so pleased with the results I recently became the 4N Area Leader.

BNI is another popular networking group that normally meets at 06.30 in the morning. BNI is like having up to 40 sales people working for you, because fellow members will be carrying your business cards and referring your business to people they meet. There are a number of BNI Chapters in East Anglia.

Networking is not all about the morning and a very popular evening event is ‘The Business Club’ which is run by Richard Kerrison, and regularly has over 50 businesses attending. The Business Club usually meets every other Tuesday evening between 6pm and 9.00pm. Meetings are held at The Holiday Inn North, Norwich Airport and a speaker, facilitator or presenter normally addresses the group. The Antidote Network is another evening event where you can network with other forward-thinking business owners and growers. The Antidote is a pay on the night event also held at the Holiday Inn North on the 3^rd Wednesday of the Month. I recently attended a fantastic evening of Speed Networking at the Antidote, meeting many businesses.

Look out for other events in the area held by; The Federation of Small Businesses, Chamber of Commerce, The Best of Norwich, LinkedIn, O4RB and the Business Networking for Women held at Caistor Hall. Visit the EDP and look at the networker’s calendar to see special events in the area.

To get the best out of a networking event, I have listed some key points and tips:

Create a great elevator pitch about you, your company, what you do and what you are looking for, what can you say in 40 or 60 seconds?
Take business cards and any sales leaflets/offers with you
Don’t go straight into the hard sell create the relationship first
Don’t be frightened to speak to people. When entering a room try and make conversation with people alone or in a group of three
Finally have fun but remember your clear objectives for attending

4Networking – http://www.4networking.biz

The Business Club - http://businessclubnorfolk.co.uk/

The Antidote Network - http://www.theantidote-network.co.uk/

BNI - http://www.bni.eu/uk/index.php

Our AAB2011 Exhibitions offers

2011-07-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

Our Prices include everything!

Graphic Design, Artwork, Print and Delivery

3x3 Cross Braced Complete Pop Up Stand Kit - £975

At 2382mm tall, our cross braced pop up stands are taller than standard magnetic pop up stands on the market so your display will rise above the competition at the show!

The stand comes complete with everything you need to make a big impact at the AAB2011. Included with the kit is:-

3x3 Cross Braced Pop Up Stand Framework - anodised tubing, self locking with 10 Year warranty
Full Set of High Quality, Heavyweight Opal Jet Polyester Graphics, Laminated with Scratch Resistant Finish Film for Superb Durability
Luxury Wheeled Transit Case for Easy Storage and Transport of the Complete Kit
Folding Table Top for Case in Choice of Black or Beech Wood Colour
Printed Wrap Around Print (not a plain fabric panel) for the Case
Set of Powerful Halogen Floodlights to Illuminate Your Graphics

Roller Banners – Just £135 each

These banners are 850mm wide and of superb quality.

We have produced these for Abate Pest Management, Chenery Travel, Compass Independent Financial Services, LiveLink Resources, McDonald’s, Norfolk Broads Direct, Broads Tours and many more companies.

Show Leaflets

Need a leaflet to promote your service, product or special offer at the show?

We can produce a low quantity for a low cost on excellent heavyweight gloss art paper.

500 - A5 double sided leaflets for only £225

500 - A4 double sided leaflets for only £295

Order by Aug 31st and we will double the print quantity for FREE

Terms: Prices assumes all images supplied at a suitable high resolution. Prices exclude photoshop montage work and VAT if applicable

New brochure from the TWO Marketing design team

2011-06-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

We are delighted to showcase a new brochure that we have recently designed for OPS Logistics Consultancy (OPS).

OPS wanted to share their in-depth knowledge, experience and expertise that they have to offer and home in on the benefits of:

•   Increase Revenue
•   Reduce Cost
•   Optimise Operational Performance
•   Enhance the Customer Experience

Open publication - Free publishing - More supply chain

It’s Time to Showcase Your Brand with your own Exhibition Bundle

2011-05-16T02:02:00.000-07:00

Complete 3x3 Pop Up Display with Superior Graphics
2 x Roller Banner stands complete with carry bag
2 x Halogen Spot Light Kit
Transit case with wood effect top and graphic wrap
Free Delivery (Mainland UK
Includes design time

All for an amazing £1049 Plus VAT Was £1379

That’s a 24% saving

Add 2500 A5 leaflets for just £299 fully designed and printed

Priced based on the supply of a high-resolution logo and text copy.

If you need help with this then please give us a call on 0845 051423.

Please note the leaflet display stand is not included within the offer.

Photographs2art Studio Sitting at TWO

2011-05-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

Photographs2art ..... capturing special moments and creating stunning mementos to enjoy forever.

A photographs2art experience is first and foremost professional – in every sense of the word! A professional photographer, professional cameras and professional lighting, and the professional result … amazing images that you will undoubtedly want to show off. So, at Photographs2art we complete our professional service by offering quality printing, and mounting options to make the very best of your images.

Studio sitting £50 for one hour session

Call 0845 051 4232 to book

What Hermes had to say about TWO Marketing

2011-05-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hermes

"We were delighted with TWO Marketing's creative flare and passion. The results were excellent and delivered great messages to both our internal and external customers. TWO Marketing has delivered many different assignments for us, including the re-branding of our business from Parcelnet to Hermes, the full management of exhibitions, conferences and events and the design and print of internal communications material. In addition TWO designed and delivered some excellent, eye catching advertising campaigns to raise our brand awareness and support customer acquisition plans." Carole Woodhead - CEO Hermes

"Thank you for all the outstanding work that you have done for this company over the last couple of years, you have done a great job in transforming this business commercially and helping us to really understand the value and power of successful marketing." Jon Tobbell, Commercial Director, Hermes

"Great to work with - good ideas and very success driven, makes projects work. Also personally fun to work with! Thanks." Dr. Fiona A. Lehmann , Head of European Marketing Coordination , Hermes Logistik Gruppe

“Jonathan worked with Hermes, formerly Parcelnet, for over 2 years. During that time he became a valuable member of the business, driving the development and launch of our consumer to consumer product 'myhermes'.He also worked very closely with Hermes Germany and supported the rebrand from Parcelnet to Hermes in 2009. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and found him incredibly resourceful.” Paul McCormack, HR Director, Hermes

Helping the client

2011-03-18T14:22:00.000-07:00

Like many others who have their own business, I love seeing the final results on everything we do, from a new design of a leaflet, an exhibition display or a website. It’s that moment when the client says, “Love it” you know that the team has delivered. Now start with the support of making it happen for the client. S

So it goes like this.

If you are thinking about taking a well earned break away, but don’t feel you want to travel to far. Then this is a great option. Barley House in Southwold. Barley House provides stylish and luxurious bed and breakfast accommodation in the heart of Southwold, moments from the beach and the centre of this charming small seaside town. Barley House is the ideal place to get away from it all for a few days, be taken care of and relax in beautiful, comfortable surroundings. Have a look at their new website and even better check in for an amazing stay.

Secondly our good friends at Abate Pest Management. The website is now fully live for information and for you to buy your DIY pest control products online. Also sign up to Jon’s newsletter from the site and help him build a community. There are many Homes and businesses that use pest control and based on Abates NPTA Gold Status and ISO accreditation and the teams can do, will do attitude, I would recommend them on an adhoc or contract service.

Lets help each other.

Health check on your current sales processes

2011-02-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

It is a good idea to take a health check on your current sales processes, structure and teams. When you evaluate competence find out if your team have all the details regarding product knowledge, company history and statistics. They should also be aware of the industry, your sales processes and policy. Do they have knowledge of the customer, their problems and opportunities? Do they have the relevant sales skills, know how to prospect for business, how to prepare for a sales call and how to build rapport and trust with customers? Do they know how to qualify prospects, know how to write the proposal and deliver the sales presentation? Do they know how to overcome objections and close the sale? One of the most effective ways of evaluating sales peoples competencies is to accompany them in the field. Are your sales people motivated? Is each member giving 100% effort, hold positive attitude, enjoy seeing customers, celebrate their own successes, closely track their sales and commissions earned?

As all sales personnel should have agreed targets and objectives it is much easier to manage performance. Steps for managing and improving performance should be to meet and discuss the performance at regular intervals. Go out and conduct joint visits to understand individual weaknesses and put together a development plan, set a new target and review.

You should also evaluate opportunity. Opportunity is the availability of goals, territory, tools, products and support. Ask yourself these questions: Have you set the right strategy and goals and does the team understand and accept the these? Are the territories or areas clearly defined and do you have the right sales people in the right territories or areas? Does the sales team have the right collateral? Are the products positioned, promoted and priced effectively? Is adequate product training available? Do you support your sales people in the field on sales calls? Do you have an effective sales incentive program, marketing campaign to drive lead generation?

It is sometimes very easy to shout at sales when targets are not being met, evaluate to understand the reasons why, you might be surprised.

Need help contact us

We love to help.

What is the definition of sales?

2011-01-28T13:42:00.001-08:00

What is the definition of sales? Is it cold calling, networking, following up, leaving telephone messages, writing letters, sending information in the post, planning on how to attract your next customer or developing an existing one? Every sales person will participate in a multitude of different activities in order to make a sale. These activities will have a cross over between sales and marketing, the two functions have to work together hand in hand.

To demonstrate I have used the following example on a number of occasions to explain what sales and marketing is:

If the Circus is coming to town and you create a billboard that reads “Circus coming to the town park this Saturday,” that’s advertising.

If you hang a sign on the side of an elephant and walk him through the town, that’s promotion.

If the elephant tramples the mayor’s garden, that’s publicity.

If you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.

If people go to the circus, you show them the many side stalls, explain how much fun they will have spending money at these stalls, answer all of their questions, and convince them to spend a lot of money at the circus? THAT’S SALES!

Traditional promotion – the impulse purchase

2011-01-09T01:09:00.000-08:00

The hype is definitely digital, even yesterday I reviewed a recent email campaign that we sent out to consumers and 19% of the open rates were people using iphones and ipads. However we must not forget the sales opportunity that presents itself on the day. For this you need good old traditional methods of promotion. If you have a retail shop or a visitor attraction, then put yourself in the customers shoes. Take a walk or drive and go past your outlet. What did you think? Did it scream at you! Come in and see us? Your brand needs to be good at the first impression stage, always think customer benefits and tell the story. You can do this with great point of sale, window side or roadside (if planning allows).

Also let others know what you do and where you are by working in partnership with other businesses. This could be the person who makes jewellery having a presence in a hairdressing salon or card shop. Make sure that you have leaflets and cards and even set up a commission scheme with your partner.

You must remember that many of us do not plan ahead, we often go looking for something to do or something to buy. The key thing is make sure that you plan ahead and capture every possibility.

If we can help you gain more sales with any branding, design or print, then we would love to hear from you. Please contact me on 0845 051 4232 or visit our TWO Marketing website. Good luck for 2011

SEO Predictions for 2011 by Liverpools Hit Search

2011-01-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

SEO- As a result of the local fragmentation of Google, and the growth of local search entities, SEO will become more complex in its management and delivery.
- Content will define SEO in 2011, with copywriting skills becoming more important than ever.
- The blurred lines between SEO and social media will be emphasised even more this year, particularly with new local additions being added to search engines.
- Sales generated through SEO-based channels will grow by more than 50%.
- Google will remain the dominant search engine, although Bing and Yahoo will claw back up to 2% of the market share through the course of the year.
- Facebook will launch its own search listings in 2011, with a local bias that will see Facebook gain a reputation as the "local search engine"

- The increasing adoption of HTML5 towards the end of the year will provide better cross-browser platform support.
- Google will introduce a "brand halo effect", allowing larger brands to become more prominent in their industries, and target keyword phrases that they had previously had little exposure on.
- Yahoo is set to remove its site explorer tool this year.
- Bing will add more functionality into its Webmaster Tools, which will allow for greater reporting on links and site-wide reporting.
- Bing’s Facebook results will become much more prominent in the UK in the first quarter of 2011, which could lead to some interesting celebrity mishaps, promoting the awareness of managing your reputation online from the general public.
- Google is set to move Google Local and Google Shopping to a paid medium by the end of 2011, and will cause further uproar by displaying more of its own content, ie: links to business listings within search listings.
- Bing will look to make its Facebook investment work in 2011. Facebook listings will start to appear in more "interesting" places, while impressions and "like" data will be put to good use in its keyword ranking mechanism.
- Google’s current share price of $600 is one of the dominating elements in its 2011 strategy; expect to see a 10% growth of these shares throughout the year.
- Yahoo’s partnership with Gannett will expand its local-based advertising, as well as provide additional content opportunities.
- Yahoo's Margin increased to 11% in 2010, mostly aided by the Sale of HotJobs, its investment into Alibaba and shedding of 4% of its workforce. Its Search Agreement with Microsoft to obtain full traction in 2012, and CEO Carol Bartz believes Yahoo will be a more attractive proposition to purchase in 2011, with Apple or Facebook expected to be the potential suitors.

Top 10 tips for improving sales in 10 minutes

2011-01-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

This Friday i wll be at 4Networking Kings Lynn.
"Everyone should be looking at way’s to increase top line sales. Jonathan White of TWO Marketing reveals some top tips on low cost or no cost methods, that will help you WIN more business".

Friday 07 January 2011
08:00 - 10:00
Leziate Park
Leziate Park Ltd
Brow of the Hill
Leziate
Kings Lynn

PE32 1EN

Happy New Year

2011-01-04T07:04:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone.

Norfolk Broads Direct Boating and Cottage Holidays

2010-12-30T11:30:00.000-08:00

Your current customers are your assets

2010-12-11T01:05:00.000-08:00

Your current customers are your assets - assets are generally long term, so are your customers.
You need a database of all your customers, their details, what they spend, what they buy, when did you last communicate to them, what have you sent them and if you have their birthday then how about sending them a card, free gift or a voucher at this special time.

A simple structure will really help. I love the sales ladder tecnique which takes your suspects through to the advocate stage.

What about your suspects? Understand where your next prospect is coming from. Who are your prospects? Set clear customer objectives and targets. Retain your customers - it is cheaper to retain and develop existing customers than it is to acquire new ones.Simple CRM (customer relationship management) systems are low cost and easy to use, bringing out the best of how you manage your customer.

You need to understand the laws of data protection. Today you simply can not just send people mailers, emails or even call them. They need to opt into your communications method and give them the easy option to opt out! You need to manage their data according to the Information Commissioners Office. The ICO has some easy to understand guides on the basics.

Good luck and we are also here to help. TWO Marketing.

Outsourcing Your Marketing

2010-01-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

It is true businesses are facing tough times, the first thing most businesses do is pull their marketing budget. I want you to understand that I advise against it. Studies have shown that in previous recessions businesses that continued to invest in marketing saw growth in their businesses, while those that pull their budgets saw a decrease in sales.

In today's economy it's not uncommon for businesses to begin to look at the option of outsourcing their marketing rather than doing it in house. Outsourcing can save you the overhead of a marketing department, but what should you look for when contemplating this option to ensure that it's successful and you don't get financial burned?

It’s not a secret that many companies that downsize, re-prioritise or expand find outsourcing to be a cost effective decision to fulfil certain corporation functions.

Outsourcing has become an essential aspect of business strategies and this included the marketing function.

Outsourcing allows a company to put more focus on product development and overall operations. It eliminates the delay the need to hire full-time staff and avoids tasking overworked staff.

TWO Marketing help companies market their products and services without extending their in-house marketing staff. We can often provide the same service as an in-house marketing department, but at half the cost.

Some Strategic Thinking in 2010

2010-01-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

When you build a new house, you need a solid foundation before you start building up the brickwork. Marketing is the same, set the foundation within a plan before you go and spend money on promotion. Don't waste money on impulse purchasing, set out the plans and stick with them. Everyone hear of horror stories where companies pay for advertising that don't even exist. A good plan will deliver good results...
Developing a marketing strategy is vital for any business. Without one, your efforts to attract customers are likely to be haphazard and inefficient.
The focus of your strategy should be making sure that your products and services meet customer needs and developing long-term and profitable relationships with those customers.
To achieve this, you will need to create a flexible strategy that can respond to changes in customer perceptions and demand. It may also help you identify whole new markets that you can successfully target.
The purpose of your marketing strategy should be to identify and then communicate the benefits of your business offering to your target market.

Set your companies vision

What are your companies aspirations?
Have you set your goals and objectives?
What are your predicted sales revenues short, mid and long-term?
Have you a clear strategic plan?

How will you achieve your vision?

Do you want your existing customers to spend more?
Do you want to acquire more customers?
Are you looking to expand with new locations or new products?
Have you segmented your customers by size, location, industry and buying behaviour?
Do you have a customer database?
Do you have a marketing plan?

Business Blogs – Should You Have One?

2009-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

A business blog has a number of benefits. Through communicating and interacting with customers it can build loyalty as well as attract new customers because it’s an excellent way to illustrate your expertise in a certain industry, thereby establishing your credibility.

However, quotes such as creating a business blog will ‘turbo-boost your sales’ or ‘bring in huge amounts of additional income’ are extremely misleading. Building an insightful, interesting and ultimately a business enhancing blog is a long time-consuming process. Rarely updated business blogs can do more harm than good, as can blogs with incorrect or poorly researched posts.

The amount of time required to research and write each blog post should not be underestimated, and is the downfall of many new bloggers. If possible, dedicate the job to a member of staff with excellent writing skills; otherwise decide if you have a number of hours each week that you set aside to update your blog.

There is no doubt that when done properly blogs are excellent marketing tools. They foster relationships, enhance loyalty, and can become ranked highly in search engines, but think long term - instant results will not be forthcoming.

The fundamentals of social networking differ to other forms of online marketing. Social networking isn’t about spending money to create visibility for your business. It's about participation, being part of a community and contributing to it – in essence the fundamentals of social networking are:

Creating Awareness – especially in the early days you must be an extremely active user
Developing Relationships – make contact and develop relationships with influential users
Creating Something of Value – only content which is fun, interesting or useful will gain visibility
Building your Reputation – be active, contribute to the community and avoid overly promoting your content

There are a number of different types of social networks – social networking websites (Facebook, MySpace), social news websites (Digg, Mixx), social bookmarking websites (Stumbleupon, Del.icio.us), and niche sites such as Twitter.

Each type of social network requires a slightly different marketing approach, although they all require the four fundamentals – creating awareness, developing relationships, creating something of value, and building your reputation.

The one aspect of social networking which is important to consider is that it does require effort and a huge amount of time. To create awareness and build up a good level of trust on social media websites means that you must actively seek high quality content which can be submitted, as well as reading and tagging those articles which are of high quality.

10 Websites for Local Marketing

2009-11-17T07:12:00.000-08:00

Do you own a business targeting the local community? Are you looking to increase your online presence but you're not sure where to start? For marketing ideas check out 10 types of websites which are ideal for local marketing:

1. Classified Advertising Websites
Examples: Gumtree, Vivastreet
Description: Many classified advertising websites allow you to post ads in a particular local target area, and cover all types of products and services, from property rentals to plumbing.

2. Pay per Click Advertising
Examples: Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing
Description: One of the reasons why pay per click advertising is so popular is that ads can be highly targeted. You can choose to only have your ads displayed to those people searching within a specified area.

3. Online Directories
Examples: Yell.com, Thomson Local, Touch Local
Description: Using an online directory is one of the most popular ways to search for businesses and is ideal for advertising a local business.

4. Shopping Comparison Websites
Examples: PriceGrabber, Kelkoo, Google Product Search
Description: Not technically just for local marketing but you can list your products for free, with customers often able to search and compare products by location.

5. Online Marketplaces
Examples: eBay
Description: Users can search for goods close to where they live – ideal for putting your products in the shop window for local people.

6. Local Area Guides
Examples: Up My Street, The Best Of Buy Local
Description: There are a wide range of local area guides offering free listings for your business and highly targeted advertising.

7. Local Services Websites
Examples: My Local Services
Description: Similar to online directories except with an extra emphasis on everything being local.

8. Local Newspaper Websites
Examples: Type ‘AREA local newspaper’ into Google
Description: Traditionally the local marketing has centred advertising in your local newspaper. Today it’s no longer essential but many local newspapers also have popular websites which may be worth advertising on.

9. Pay per Lead
Examples: Approved Index
Description: If you have a business service pay per lead advertising can be a highly effective way of generating quality leads. The most popular sites also allow you to advertise and therefore only generate leads from customers in a specific geographical area.

10. Maps
Examples: Google Maps
Description: Millions of people search on Google Maps every day, so if you offer a localised service a free listing on Google Maps can help raise your profile amongst your local community.

All-About-Business NCFC

2009-10-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to be exhibiting at the All-About-Business networking exhibition at the Norwich City Football ground at Carrow Road on 22nd October, organised by Norfolk business people for Norfolk business people.

The exhibition itself is open from 12 noon to 6pm. There are also two free seminars all about social marketing; at 11.30am, and again at 3.30pm; feel free to attend at which-ever time is most suitable to you.

The speaker is the renowned expert on social marketing, Ian McKendrick. If you’re puzzled about whether you should be “tweeting” or wondering what’s all the fuss about facebook, then Ian’s insights will be invaluable to you.

So please, do come and visit us on our stand and then enjoy the relaxed networking opportunities which will be there for you to make some new local business contacts.

You can just turn up on the day though it would help us (and the organisers) greatly if you could register your interest at http://www.all-about-business.co.uk/

CELEBRATING TWENTY YEAR’S

2009-10-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

Jonathan White has been involved with the Courier and Express parcels market for twenty years, working with Securicor, DHL and Parcelnet. Now Jonathan runs his own Sales and Marketing company (TWO Marketing) and is a Director of Oracle Logistics Consultancy.

The Courier and Express Parcels Market have seen some huge changes over the past twenty years. In this report I have focused in on a couple of areas, Home Delivery, Sameday and technology.

One of the key areas of change in the domestic market has been the switch on volume from the high street to the residential home. Today the biggest influence in the developing parcels sector has been the growth of the internet. The B2C, and C2C parcels sectors have therefore in recent times displayed significant growth with retailers still responding to internet growth and online auction sites such as eBay. We now have more solutions aimed at the consumer and small business with a number of online parcel portals open to everyone, following the successful footprint of Parcels2Go. I can now count many more with the key ones being: Interparcel, myHermes, Interlink Direct and DHLitNow.

We all know that one of the key failings of home delivery was (and in some cases still is) the ‘No one in to receive’, it’s good to see that improvements have been made with new innovations in technology, carrier products and process improvement. In this changing world, the carriers who were firmly placed in mail order, such as Hermes and Home Delivery Network (HDNL), came into their own, Hermes had their lifestyle courier network and the safe place delivery service, whilst HDNL had their vast network of employed drivers. The carriers who were more focused on B2B had to find solutions for the demand of this enormous growth area in home delivery. DHL Express launched their life style courier service and other forged partnerships such as DPD and Parcelnet (now Hermes). Drop and collect services were being introduced such as DHL ServicePoint and the new brand of CollectPlus launched recently with HDNL and PayPoint. I am all in favour of these solutions as it gives the consumer choice and an easy solution for returning goods. It’s pretty good too for the carrier as they have a consolidated collection and drop rather than many different addresses.

Europe still grows with more retailers starting to set up across the water, virtually or with bricks and mortar. Hermes declared earlier this year that the European Home Delivery market is forecasted to almost double in value to €10.5bn by 2016.

Despite seeing a consolidation of courier and distribution companies, this is still a very competitive industry and it’s the complete package that companies have to focus on. The number one focus point must be the customer, get that right and customers will remain loyal for many years. Communication is critical for customer survival. Letting parties now when parcels are going to be delayed and when they are delivered or expected is still a priority on their checklist. Managing data so customer service staff can advise people what is happening is critical. This all leads to best practice in the field. Data has to be captured accurately and timely and available as fast as possible to give out the required answers. My point is that customers will still be satisfied if issues are resolved quickly and if they are advised in a timely manner.

Technology Drives Satisfaction......... Customer satisfaction and expectation has dramatically increased with different enablers coming into the marketplace over the past few years, such as real time track and trace with the introduction of hand held technology, home delivery lifestyle couriers and the collection and drop off points for customer ease of use. Companies like Skillweb are experts in the field when it comes to kitting out couriers with hand-held devices.

When I first started out in the courier and parcels market, technology was virtually non-existent, everyone worked with pen and paper and scanning PODs to microfiche. Today there have been huge improvements and introductions of some stunning technology. I have already mentioned the real time track and trace via hand held technology, but we must also thank the telecommunications world in bringing us SMS messaging, so we can advise even the consumer with information on delivery “Your parcel is out for delivery” or “Your parcel is ready for collection”. Customer Relation Management (CRM) systems have advanced and these tools strengthen the relationship with records of all customer service cases, identification of sales opportunities and threats. Best of all you do not need to build your own, costing thousands as you can join up with a service on demand company and enjoy the benefit of a cost per user scheme. For retailers there are also choices available now for multi carrier selection with software selecting the best carrier for their product and delivery location.

Another area of change is where customers are now much more cost aware, gone are the days where people just send a shipment on a Sameday motorcycle without any thought process, now questions are being asked why! Can it wait for an early morning delivery? In the Sameday market many new services have been introduced including technical courier, swap outs, small parts warehousing and fulfilment. There will always be a need for a traditional Sameday service and many operators lead the field with new innovation. As an example of what I call innovation is the partnership that CitySprint, MetaPack and ASOS.com has recently created to have ability to offer ASOS.COM customers a Sameday delivery within a 50 miles radius of Hemel Hemstead.
So in the last twenty years the market has definitely changed, many improvements and innovations have been introduced, lots of challenges have been faced, especially in the shift from high street to the home and the new technology enablers to drive customer satisfaction. Will the next twenty years see as much change?