Just Try It Out # 6: Auditing Marketing Efficiency

We haven’t had a Just Try It Out for a wee while now, so I thought I’d throw one back in again. With the start of summer upon us (hopefully), you may be thinking about reviewing the marketing you have already conducted this year, or, alternatively, you may be thinking about starting some marketing in the following season. Either way, the following steps should give you some tips as how to start tackling this review of your business and marketing.

Step 1: Analyse this
Take a virtual snapshot of your business and analyse it (objectively) from various angles. Assess your strengths, weaknesses and any likely opportunities or threats (SWOT analysis). Next think about any environmental forces that may affect your business both internal (micro) and external (macro), the latter of which will include Political, Economic, Social and Technological (PEST) forces.

Step 2: Review
Review your business objectives and decide which marketing activities have delivered the best results (if you have already conducted marketing). Even if you haven’t conducted any formal marketing, consider referrals and Word of Mouth as these are also forms of marketing. Take note however, a few activities might take some time to have any noticeable effects. Even if you feel that some are not yielding the desired results straight away, try to maintain the momentum on those activities and fine tune them where suitable to ensure maximum results.

Step 3: Generate new ideas
Brainstorm to think of new ideas for potential marketing activity, but make sure they are appropriate to your business objectives. Use the analysis you conducted in step 1 also to help devise activities that will maximise your strengths, minimise weaknesses, manage external threats and exploit external opportunities.

Step 4: Plan Ahead (If you haven’t already)
Your planning and auditing schedule should follow a cyclical pattern and if an annual marketing plan has been agreed you will already (or at least should) have noted when your audit(s) will take place. If there is no plan, your audit should uncover the need for one, which can be formalised at the next appropriate juncture. You can then fit each activity and campaign into a suitable time-slot and begin the new season with some new marketing.

So, Auditing Marketing Efficiency - Why not try it out?

Stick it to them

While reading The Marketing Blog today I found an article on eco-friendly, wooden USB sticks from a company called Eco Incentives. The company sell these memory sticks as eco-friendly business gifts and as such, they can be personalised with your corporate logo.

I’ve heard of USB sticks being offered as corporate gifts before, in fact, I have received one myself. I can imagine also that in the current climate many companies are trying their best to appear eco-friendly. But ‘wooden memory sticks that have been “manufactured from the windfall branches that have fallen to the forest floor” before having a USB added to them’ is a new one on me. Nice idea though.

As well as these memory sticks, the company also offer mouse mats, organic clothing, jute bags, recycled glassware, biodegradable pens and even bamboo computers. Yes - bamboo computers. Well, not the whole computer, just the monitor, but still pretty impressive.

Switching now from marketer to consumer, I doubt I am the only one who feels a sense of satisfaction and warm glow of ‘doing the right thing’ when I purchase something fair-trade or eco-friendly. I feel as if I am helping, just a little bit, to support and save the planet, I feel as if that little bit extra money I may have spent on the item was justified and is going to a good cause, and most of all, I feel I’m a good person. Being the giver of eco-friendly business gifts, I’m sure I would feel the same. And, as a receiver, it would perhaps lead me to view the giver more favourably, perhaps…

I care about the environment, but I know that I don’t do enough. For example, I use energy-saving lighbulbs, I recycle my old papers and magazines, I re-use plastic bags, I switch things off when I’m not using them (most of the time) and I try to buy ethical products. But, I still take plastic bags when I don’t always need them, I charge my electrical appliances longer than necessary at times, I sometimes buy from companies with less than squeaky-clean images… I could go on. And as a business too, AME Marketing cares about the environment, but again, we don’t do enough.

Sometimes it’s hard to always do the right thing by the environment. Sometimes it’s too expensive. Sometimes we’re just too lazy. But when we can be ethical so easily, we should.

I love the idea of these quirky objects, not only do they come guilt-free, they also stand out. Corporate gifts are often an effective way to keep in the minds of your customers. As with any of your marketing activities though, its important that its relevant to your company / product. If you operate in a B2B environment then this type of gift may work very well. Your customers are likely to use such gifts and each time they do, your name can catch their eye. And, they will know that you are a company who cares. Perfect.


(Note to self: Next week plug our products, not someone else’s…)

Free and low cost methods of promotion

Everyone likes to get something for nothing, so we thought we’d use this post to give you some ideas of how you can carry out some free promotion for your company.

• Be your own publicity and sales promotions writer
  Submit press releases and editorials to publications read by your target audience. Include a good photograph and always, always follow it up with a phone call.

• Make your efforts work twice or even three times as hard
  When any of your press releases or editorials are published, add them to your information pack and send to clients, colleagues and prospects in your target market. If you have a blog or a news section on your website you can also add them here. When reprinting the articles, include a note saying ‘Recently seen in…’

• Be a guest speaker at a local business or community group meeting, or even on radio or TV talk shows
  Contact organisers or producers and emphasise how your product/service would be of interest or benefit to the audience. Should you get the opportunity to speak, you may even be lucky enough to secure a regular appearance or a fee for your efforts.

• Put flyers on all free notice boards and outlets read and visited by your target audience(s)
  Even handing out flyers or brochures to passers by and business attendees can prove effective.

• Register your business on as many appropriate web directories as you can find
  If possible, also provide a link to your own website to allow prospects to find you easily.

• Check all outgoing communication to make sure you’re using it’s promotional capabilities to full advantage
  Set up a footer on your computer’s letter template for new letters, faxes, bill payments and receipts. Use the footer to promote your product/service offering. Make sure that your e-mail also has a signature providing all your contact information and a promotional tagline.

• Run a competition
  This is not strictly free, as it will cost you the price of a prize. However, running a competition allows you to collect the contact details of entrants which can then be used in future mailings. When the winner is announced it will also allow you to gain further publicity.

• Use reciprocal marketing
  Again, not entirely free, yet running promotions with complimentary businesses or sharing costs such as advertising, databases or research will allow you to get half of your marketing for free, or, allow you to ‘run one, have one run free’

These are only a few examples of what is possible. So let loose your imagination and start thinking how you can improve your marketing for absolutely nothing!

Online Marketing on a small budget

Our last post focused on our new campaign for Plan Your Course and the online campaign we are conducting for it. With this in mind, we thought we would take a look at how to get the most out of your online marketing, even on a small budget.

Your website is a very important stop for many prospective customers looking to find out more about your company and possibly even purchase your products. It may be the case that you feel you do not have the budget to get the most out of your online marketing, yet there are a number of low cost activities you can carry out which can have a big impact. Making the most of your website and all your electronic communications doesn’t have to be wildly expensive.

• Using a promotional signature in all e-mails you send out may seem like a simple, insignificant addition. However, it can prove to be extremely effective. Information such as your name, contact details, e-mail address, postal address, company logo, and a short sentence to describe your business or tagline can all be included. Most e-mail software allows you to automatically add a signature to e-mails and it is completely free. Just think of all the e-mails you send, and indeed, receive in a day. It makes sense to utilise this form of communication to enhance your marketing message.

• Getting to the top of search engine listings, or at least onto the first page of listings is extremely important. A good ranking under relevant search terms on the main search engines is an excellent and cost effective way to drive targeted traffic to your website. If your budget extends to it, pay a specialist agency to conduct your search engine optimisation. If not, you may want to take the time to learn this valuable skill yourself. There are numerous books on the subject and Scottish Enterprise also run a wide variety of e-business workshops, some of which are focused specifically on this subject. For a full list of the courses available, visit http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/events.htm

• Get the right websites to link to yours. The quality of your links is much more important than the quantity. Quality links will provide quality traffic, prospects who are actually interested in what you have to offer. Quality links will also help to improve your sites ranking on search engines as the quality of the sites linking to yours is taken into account when calculating your ranking. To find which links will be the most appropriate to link with, analyse your competitors’ links, search for other sites that you wish to link to, make sure that your content will be attractive and relevant to potential links, publish appropriate outbound links on your site and ask these sites if they will reciprocate the link. One your links are in place, monitor your results and build on them.

• Taking part in the right online community can also bring rewards, particularly for those of you in niche markets. In order to find suitable communities search online, through search engines and related websites/blogs, read trade magazines and ask around. Before you take part, get to know the site and the quality of its contributors. When you do take part, make sure that your contribution is genuinely useful. Your sales pitch can be made elsewhere, don’t be overly commercial on these sites, otherwise, taking part will do your reputation more harm than good.
  

Want to do a bit of marketing for free? (Well, almost)

Some marketing activities can prove to be extremely costly and as a result, many companies are put off from conducting marketing, believing that they cannot afford to. There are however many activities that can be conducted for little or no money. All they cost is your time.

A Press Release is one such activity. This type of communication is less sales specific than other promotional methods as the focus is on a subject of public or business interest. Unlike traditional promotional methods, press releases are seen to come from an impartial source and therefore appear more credible.

Articles will usually be published at no cost, however stories must be of genuine interest to readers and be in no way obvious sales pieces. And, the likelihood of stories being published can depend very much on the relationship that exists with the editor of your targeted media.

Nevertheless, the pointers provided below offer some tips on how to go about writing and structuring articles to improve their chances of being featured:

• Before you even start writing, research suitable press. This will give you an idea of the style of writing which would be suitable for the publication and whether the media is targeting those you wish to reach

• While you are researching, also find the contact details of the appropriate editor. This might be found within the publication itself or from web sites and directories. Always mark your release for his or her attention

• Start writing. Be creative, inventive, and most importantly - honest. And, remember that your story must be newsworthy and of genuine human, local or trade interest

• Keep your article short and sweet. One side of A4 or around 200-300 words is about right
  Think of a short, catchy headline to get your news story noticed by the editor


• Tell your story in the first paragraph. Make it short and then elaborate through the rest of the article

• Include personal quotes, add your contact details (you might want to give your home number in addition as reporters often work to deadlines outside normal office hours) and include some eye-catching photographs to accompany the story

• Finally, remember to give details of when you want the story to go public

Your story may not get printed the first time, but don’t get too downhearted. Ask for advice as to where your release fell short and how you can improve in the future. Keep trying.

The more frequently you are in contact with publications, the better a relationship you’ll build and the better the chance of your story being published. So, get writing!

Just Try It Out #5: Questionnaire Design

A couple of weeks ago we talked about beginning your marketing this year with a spot of market research. We then brought you a Just Try It Out focusing on Focus groups.

A comprehensive research study also often involves using questionnaires; therefore in this issue of Just try it out we provide you with a few dos and don’ts of questionnaire design to get you started.

DO…

• Make sure your questions provide information that relate to your objectives and is useful to know, not just ‘nice to know’
• Ensure the first question filters out inappropriate respondents. For example, if you want to know about the views of smokers, ‘Do you smoke?’ would be an appropriate first question
• Make sure that your questions follow a logical order
• Put the easy questions first
• Have more interesting questions towards the end to maintain interest
• Keep language used simple, especially if the questionnaire is self-completion
• Be precise
• Phrase personal or sensitive questions carefully and leave them towards the end
• Test out the questionnaire and refine it before unleashing it on the masses

DON’T…

• Make assumptions
• Ask questions respondents can’t answer
• Ask questions that overtax the respondent’s memory
• Ask questions that might make the respondent look stupid or involve a loss of status. For example, don’t ask specifically how much respondents earn. If you need to ask a sensitive question such as this, group answers together in bands
• Ask leading questions. If you sway their response, your results won’t be an accurate reflection of opinion
• Ask two questions at once, e.g. “Would you buy this if it was cheaper and better?”
• Refer to answers other respondents gave
  

Ultimately, good design comes with experience. Having expert advice and guidance is a good idea, however, it is worth trying to master questionnaire design yourself.

Monitor your results each time you complete a questionnaire and keep trying - practice makes perfect!

Just Try It Out #4: Focus Groups

Following on from our discussion on Tuesday about market research, this Just Try It Out will look at how to actually conduct one method of qualitative research, focus groups.

Focus groups are basically in-depth interviews with a group of between six and ten respondents. When descriptive and detailed information about opinions is needed, focus groups can be extremely useful. The only downside is that this activity can be difficult to manage. As with everything however, you’ll find it easier with practice and our tips below should also help you along the way.

Plan and prepare
As with any marketing activity, you should firstly think about what you want to achieve and formulate a set of objectives. This will then allow you to write a topic guide for the activity. This will form the structure of the focus group, so take time to get the guide right and do it well in advance. Next, set a time and place for the focus group that is conducive and comfortable. The activity should last for approximately sixty to ninety minutes, so ensure that you can progress through all of the proposed agenda in this time. Make sure that you have access to recording equipment; you cannot take notes and moderate effectively at the same time. And, test the equipment beforehand.

Recruit and Confirm
Postal, telephone and face-to-face invitation methods would all be advised when recruiting participants for the group. An incentive of some sort, perhaps financial, may also encourage participants to take part. A word of warning however, be choosy when recruiting. Remember that the group’s characteristics should represent those of your target market. Yet it is a good idea to keep a few potentials at hand in case of last minute cancellations. Confirming attendance a few days beforehand should avoid any problems.

Facilitate and Participate
Before the activity commences, introduce yourself and your role as moderator. Once you have begun, it is your job to make sure that you progress through your topic guide and stick to the issues at hand. You will also have the responsibility of ensuring that all members of the group have an equal opportunity to contribute and express their opinion. Therefore, be prepared to interrupt those who are hogging the floor and encourage the quieter members of the group to state their viewpoints.

Review and Conclude
As you go along, review what the group has discussed to make sure there have been no misunderstandings. Simply repeat what has been said at the end of each issue and ask for clarification if needed. Alternatively, you may wish to wait until the end to summarise in order to ensure the smooth flow of discussion from one issue to the next. After this, all that’s left to do is conclude the meeting with a thank you to everyone who took part.

Analyse the data
Now it’s back to the office to transcribe the session. Once this has been done, the most important issues raised in the group can be picked out and perhaps used to inform further primary research.

So, why not try it out. You can gain a lot of valuable information and you never know, you might even have some fun in the process!

Research, Research, Research

New Year, New Marketing? How is it all going so far?

If you are still unsure what activities to carry out this year or indeed who your customers are / what they want, then market research is the most useful activity you could carry out this year. If you don’t know what your target market’s needs and wants are, how can you market to them? Research should be the foundation of whatever you do in marketing terms. In fact, it is one of the most important aspects of marketing.

Below you will find a simple, step-by-step guide to conducting a basic research project. Try giving it a go.

1. Identify your objectives
What do you want to know about the market and why?

2. Source secondary data
You may be able to find all the information that you need through existing sources or studies, yet it is unlikely what you find will be specific enough. The data may also be dated or biased. Secondary data will however, form the basis for any primary research that you do and is an essential step.

3. Identify an appropriate sample
Think about who to talk to in order to get a representative sample of the target market. Aim to contact a cross section of your target market as well as opinion leaders and specialists.

4. Focus groups
Focus groups provide in-depth, qualitative information. You may decide that you want to carry out this activity to highlight the issues in the market and to help in designing a questionnaire. Look out over the coming weeks for a look at this topic in more depth.

5. Designing questionnaires
Topics in the questionnaire should all relate to the objectives of your research. Avoid asking ‘nice to know’ questions and keep the questionnaire short. Otherwise those completing the questionnaire might give up half way through or not complete the survey at all. We will also look at questionnaires more closely over the next few weeks should you wish to carry out one of your own.

6. Conducting the research
Make sure that it is as easy as possible for respondents to participate, and free. You may want to offer some kind of incentive to participants to encourage their involvement. Choose an optimal location, time and manner of approach. And, if appropriate, ensure confidentiality of their response.

7. Collate and analyse the information gathered
The analysis should be focused on the information needs set out by the objectives at the start of the research. Make sure that the findings are firmly based on the facts and are completely impartial.

8. Prepare the report
Your research report should follow the same basic outline every time – Objectives, Methodology, Limitations, Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations.

You wouldn’t think of making an important investment or purchase in your personal life without doing some research first. Why should it be any different when it comes to making an investment in the marketing of your business?

New Year, New Marketing

A Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you all had a very pleasant and restful holiday period and are raring to start your marketing for 2007.

One effective activity you might want to consider this year is sending out a newsletter to customers and prospects. Newsletters provide a flexible way of improving and maintaining your identity in customers and prospects eyes. They give regular contact with customers and build on your credibility as an expert in your field, thus enhancing your reputation. If done well, customers will not only rescue it from heading straight to the bin, they may also keep it indefinitely.

You might be slightly confused however about how to begin the task of compiling this piece of communication. Below you will find a simple step-by-step guide to help you get started.

Step 1: Think what message you want to send out
Think about what the objectives of your newsletter are and who will be reading it. This is the first step in thinking about what the newsletter will look like, what it’s style will be and it’s content. You may even decide at this point that you do not need a newsletter at all.

Step 2: Size isn’t important
You don’t need to have page upon page. Even just a letter on one page could do the job. Appropriateness is the most important factor, not gloss or weight.

Step 3: Create the content
Make sure that your newsletter is valuable to those who are receiving it. Include content that your readers will keep for reference or show to others. You might want to highlight any changes in your market or discuss the current issues. Also, ensure that your graphics and images are of as high a quality as possible. Involve your graphic designer from an early stage.

Step 4: The proof is in the reading
Always use a spelling and grammar checker (set to the audience’s specific language) when composing your text. Accuracy is critical. Proof read carefully at every stage; read slowly, avoid distractions and try reading sentences backwards too as it helps you concentrate on the words rather than the overall context.

Step 5: Maintain good circulation
Ensure that your readers receive their newsletters in good condition. This might mean dispensing them from a display unit, using a third party for large mailings, having your own customised envelopes or using a specialist e-mail tool should your newsletter be electronic. If you only have a very small circulation you may even want to deliver the newsletters by hand.

Step 6: Perfect Timing
Plan time to produce each edition on a regular basis. How often you wish to produce your newsletter is up to you. You might want a short newsletter each week, or perhaps only quarterly or even annually. Think what would be appropriate for your readers.

Step 7: Speak and tweak
Regularly review your content and the readability of the newsletter. By contacting a cross-section of recipients you will be able to gauge opinion and can use any criticism to tweak subsequent issues where needed.

So, try giving your marketing a boost this year and try something new. Over the coming weeks we will give you tips on a variety of marketing activities you may want to give a bash in 2007 – and, most of them are inexpensive. So… what’s stopping you?

Just Try It Out #3: Customer Feedback

Your company may already have an idea of what your customers think about you. But, without proper research, you cannot be certain. By conducting regular, formal customer feedback surveys, you can identify the needs, wants and opinions of your customers in a much more accurate manner.

If you are unsure where to start, the following tips will give you an idea of how to prepare and conduct the feedback, and what to do with the answers found.

Think about what you want to find out
Write down everything you would like to know from your customers, and then think about which questions you actually need to know. If you have too many questions clients will tire of your questionnaire, so keep it short and make sure it is of use. Select only the questions that will have a bearing on your business decisions.

Think about who you want to ask
You don’t need to ask every client you have ever had each time you conduct feedback. Be focused and profile clients to target. However, avoid only selecting clients who will provide a positive response. Negative feedback is just as useful, if not more useful, than praise.

Think about how you will contact clients
The most appropriate method of contact will depend on your target group. Methods include electronic means, such as through a website or via e-mail; traditional methods, such as by post, fax or telephone; or face-to-face interviews.

Think about the language you use
Questions should be easy to understand and should avoid being leading or vague. Try also to make questions interesting. After all, your customers are doing you a favour; it’s only fair to make the experience as painless as possible for them.

Analyse
For small feedback surveys, a simple spreadsheet may suffice to analyse the information collected. Depending on how in-depth your survey is however, you may need to use survey software to analyse the results accurately. Once analysed, try not to get bogged down by all the statistics. Think about the initial question and how the analysed answer relates to this, this will help you to make sense of it all.

Think about how to put the information to good use
Consider how the results from the survey affect your business and what realistic changes you can make to make an improvement.

Above all, don’t let the information go to waste.

Just Try It Out #2: Follow-up Telesales Calls

In part two of our series of marketing tips, we look at an area that can often give marketing DIY enthusiasts a bit of a headache - making those necessary follow-up telesales calls.

Be warm!

Naturally, prospective customers are much more receptive to "warm" calls than cold. Precede your telephone campaign with a direct marketing postal mailshot to up-to-date named contacts.

Smile and stay calm!

There's really nothing to be nervous about! Try to smile as you speak confidently and clearly, at an even pace.

Don't be 'phoney'!

Be genuine and steer clear of expressing what could be perceived as spurious sentiments. Be as natural, professional and honest as you can.

Cut to the chase!

Don't beat about the bush. Your prospective customer will prefer it if you divulge the real reason behind your call early in the conversation. If the customer is not interested, you won't have wasted time unnecessarily with idle chit-chat.

Call back on time!
If someone tells you that the call is inconvenient (without being dismissive) politely offer to call back at a more agreeable time. If a time is given, make sure the action is followed through as agreed.

Don't take rejection personally!

Telephone campaigns inevitably lead to some rejection. Don't take it to heart! Most prospects will object to the product or service on offer, rather than who is offering it.

Take complaints seriously!

If anyone gives a firm objection to being telephoned, act on it straight away. Apologise for the inconvenience and reassure them that their details will be removed from future sales activity.

Don't give up!

Even if one telephone campaign does not work as well as you'd hoped, don't get too despondent. Practice makes perfect so keep trying!

Writing for the web

Before you ever get a chance to impress customers with your service and your expertise, many prospects will decide whether to do business with you based on the quality of your written communications. Therefore, when prospects find you on the web, the words that you write are your best and possibly your only chance to create a good and lasting impression.

But how can you make this positive impression?

1. Be correct: Errors tell prospects that you do not care enough to check what message you are projecting. Double-check everything before publishing it online. If you cannot proof read it yourself, get a colleague to help.

2. Be clear: Don't try to dazzle prospects with jargon and big words. Being clear and unambiguous will dazzle prospects with much greater effect.

3. Be economical: Say what needs to be said in as little space as possible. Readers will switch off if they have to plough through screeds of text to find what they are looking for and will go elsewhere. Respect their precious time.

4. Be yourself: Don't be too formal. Use words and phrases you would use in everyday speech. Also use words like 'you', 'us', 'we' and 'our' to personalise the message. You want everyone who reads the text to feel as if it is directed specifically at them.

Even more importantly however, think about who your customers are. Targeting your message effectively is the single most valuable part of your writing. Being correct, unambiguous, economical and showing the company's personality are all essential. However, it won't matter if you are writing to the wrong audience, because nobody will be listening anyway.

So, research before you write and take time when writing your text. Your readers will thank you for it, hopefully with the business they bring to you.

Why you need a marketing plan - NOW!

With the end of the year fast approaching, now is the perfect time to begin putting a marketing plan together to help start the New Year in the right direction.

A strong plan can help you create, guide and coordinate your marketing efforts. It will compel you to think about your business goals and how your marketing strategy will facilitate the realisation of these. Furthermore, preparing the document itself will allow you to examine and appraise the current state of your business and the industry it operates within. Therefore, before you sit down to actually write your marketing plan, research and make sure you have a clear idea of the following.

1. What are your products and/or services, their benefits and features?
2. Who is your target market and what are their buying habits?
3. Who are your competitors and what is their offering in comparison to yours?
4. What is the problem, need or desire your product or service solves?

Although some companies build marketing plans that are more strategic in nature, it is likely your plan will simply set out the course of one year. The document should contain information about your company, its resources, influences, products and/or services; short and long-term objectives; your marketing strategy and activities you will conduct to help achieve your objectives; your expected outputs; contingency plans and a timetable. It should also document the costs of any marketing activities as well as how you plan to measure the success of such activities.

Once the plan has been written, it will need updated each year. Take note of any changes in your market throughout the year and if you need to, alter your activities - the tactics that proved successful one year may not work so well if conditions have altered significantly. So, plan to review your marketing plan frequently and use your contingency plans if need be. Reviewing every quarter is ideal; however if that is not feasible, do so at least once each year.

These are just a few tips on where to start when putting your plan together. The task may seem overwhelming and is indeed time-consuming, but it is entirely worthwhile. If you don't already have a plan in place, now is the perfect time to do so. A well-written, comprehensive plan can be the focal point of all your ventures since it describes how you will attract and retain customers -- the most crucial aspect of a business.

Yet, should the task seem a little too daunting, don't despair. We have the answer. The 'Plan Your Course' Marketing Training programme, which is delivered by AME Marketing, offers a series of five workshops as well as five days consultancy time to assist you to research, prepare and formulate your plan.

The course empowers you with valuable marketing skills and knowledge, ranging from how to carry out a marketing audit of your business to setting budgets and allocating resources. By the end of the course, you'll not only know how to structure your plan, you'll know how to carry out each of the activities contained within its pages.

Utilising support from the À La Carte Marketing Programme, the course is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This means that the costs to businesses like yours are kept as low as possible. So, a course that should cost you £2,850 only costs you £600.

With only a month and a half left until ERDF runs out, the time to book your place on 'Plan Your Course' is NOW! Follow the link to our main website, which you will find to the left of the page, or give us a call on 01292 678920 for more information.

Can you really afford not to plan ahead next year?

Consistency, consistency, consistency

Does your logo appear on everything you send out? Do you have a house font that you use religiously? Is your core message present in every communication? If not, your marketing materials are not working to their full potential.

It takes prospects between five and nine times to move from reading your message to actually getting in touch. Even then, the reader will not be paying attention all of the time. Prospects might consciously or subconsciously read the message only once out of three exposures. That means the number can then jump from nine exposures to firmly get your message across, to twenty-seven.

Does that mean that you have to bombard prospects with twenty-seven ads or twenty-seven pieces of direct mail? Well, not exactly. If you can provide a consistent message throughout every contact you have with prospects, this number can be cut considerably – meaning you won't have to wait months for your product / service to start selling.

Got a logo? Use it in every ad that you produce, every letter you send out, every page of your website, on your brochure, on your business card, basically any interaction you have with potential customers. If you don't have a house font, choose one. This will also allow prospects to recognise that the message they are receiving comes from your company. As will attaching your core message to every piece of promotion you use.

Familiarity breeds liking. People tend to rate familiar things more positively than the unfamiliar. Psychological studies have shown that even when people are exposed to things in time-spans below the perceptual threshold, they later prefer these things to others they were not exposed to. In relation to your company's offering, this indicates that the more they are exposed to your brand and message, the more familiar it will become to them and therefore the more positively they will view you.

Of course, this does not take into account any rational or emotional reasons for liking or disliking your brand. People may be happy to use familiarity to inform unimportant decisions, or decisions where the choices are all fairly equal. When more is at stake, however, familiarity might be relegated further down the list of influencing factors. Yet this does not mean that you should discount its power.

The more your prospects see your message in a consistent way, in a variety of mediums, the more the message will penetrate. Prospects do need to be in the market for your type of product to pay your message any attention and they will need to view your company positively to buy from you. But a consistent, clear message, reinforced a number of times will help significantly.

So, does your logo appear on everything you send out? Do you have a house font that you use religiously? Is your core message present in every communication? If not, your marketing materials are not working to their full potential. Make sure they do.

Just Try It Out #1: Press Releases

The 'Just Try It Out!' column in our quarterly marketing bulletin On Target has been so well received we thought we'd publish them on our blog!

In the spirit of "you never know until you try", each article will try to inspire you to take up a little marketing DIY.

This time, we give you some pointers when writing a press release to get some free publicity!

1. Research suitable press and find contact details of the appropriate editor from web sites and directories. Always mark your press release for his or her attention.

2. Get writing! Be creative (inventive but honest!) and remember that your story must be newsworthy and of genuine human, local or trade interest.

3. It's always better to keep your release short but sweet. One side of A4 or approximately 200-300 words is about right.

4. Think of a short, catchy headline for your press release. This should get your news story noticed by the editor.

5. Tell your story in an initial short paragraph and then use the rest of the article to elaborate.

6. Get personal! Include personal quotes and add your own contact details. Have a few photographs ready for inclusion.

7. Remember to give details of when you want the story to go public.

There you have it! Have fun telling the world what's going on in your business and enjoy the free exposure that your efforts might generate. If your story isn't printed first time, don't get too downhearted and, most importantly, keep trying!