I’m not a Wayne Rooney fan.
This stark outlook has nothing WHATSOEVER to do with football, which I regard as nothing more than a noisy, slightly irritating distraction at best. I’m sure our Wayne is a very good footballer and well worth every penny of the £squillions paid for his services by whoever he plays for. (Seriously, I’m not making this up; I actually don’t know who he plays for).
The reason I’m not a Rooney fan boy is because a certain red-topped Sunday newspaper chose to splash 5 pages about Rooney’s (alleged) dalliance with a “woman of easy virtue”.
This highly important news, deemed significant public interest by the news editors, was the major reason the story we WANTED to be featured toward the front of that same paper in that very edition, only made it to page 35! Don’t get me wrong though, the public affairs consultancy who “leaked” the original story did a genuinely fantastic job and the client was delighted with the resulting coverage we spun from the original story.
Sigh, I need to get over it. It’s not Wayne’s fault really. I should remind myself that the world of PR is subject to the vagaries of “news” (or in this instance, meaningless drivel about a 25 year old sportsman that may or may not have had sexual relations with someone other than his wife).
In other words, breaking news will affect the publishing schedule of newspapers (red top or broadsheet).
One thing is certain though. Whatever the news today, it’ll be fish and chip paper tomorrow!
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Over the last few weeks, we seem to have come across an increasing number of companies whose name really doesn’t tell us anything about their business activity. Whilst not a crime, it could present a problem when that business is trying to get their message heard. What amazes us more however, is the number of companies that don’t have a strapline either.
Today, we all search online to look for new suppliers at some time or another. So it goes without saying that our corporate profiles are very important. We need to tempt a prospect, particularly if they are online, to click through to our websites or call us for more information. When presented with the choice of let’s say 10 potential unknown companies, I know I would look at the company whose name and strapline told me exactly what they do.
We all have competitors and need to stand out from the crowd, so the use of a few little words after your company name can make all the difference.
For example, at Business Vitamins, we use "Energise your business through marketing". Perhaps just a touch more well-known examples would be:
- Carlsbergs "Probably…"
- HSBC’s "The Worlds Local Bank"
- Orange's "The Futures Bright"
- Hondas “The Power of Dreams"
- UK National Lottery "It could be you"
- ..and of course Nikes’ uber memorable "Just Do it!"
Having a strapline has many uses. You can also register your strapline as a URL and use it as a tracking device for specific marketing campaigns but that’s a whole other blog post!
Most importantly, your strapline is the key to your branding. It underlines your brand promise which if managed correctly, can improve customer loyalty. Your brand has the power to differentiate your products and services from your competitors - even when those products and services are exactly the same. Audi A3 or VW Golf anyone?
Research has shown 70% of customers are willing to pay a premium for their brand of choice, a strong brand is your most valuable asset.
So why wouldn’t you take some time out to come up with a great little line that could win you new business?
Do you need to outsmart your competitors? Contact us now on 0845 310 2457 to discuss what you want to achieve and how we can help you meet your goals.
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Business Vitamins publish another bespoke website, for Norfolk based NICE - Nationwide Industrial Compliance & Education. Simply, this company provides top level training and consultancy support to local businesses and authorities regarding industrial cleaning. They wanted a bespoke design that positioned their business as "a bit different" from the rest.
Business Vitamins provided all the graphic design and web building, as well as writing most of the copy. The client was particularly pleased with the partner logo cloud - an innovative way in which to avoid any political issues surrounding which of their partner organisations gets listed first!
Business Vitamins publish a new small business website today. Days Sports is a family owned and managed business, based near Bury St Edmunds. They offer a number of service lines including personalised sports clothing (for sports teams), and personalisation of gifts for corporate customers and also events such as weddings and christenings.
The team at Days Sports needed a simple but professional website that clearly communicated their value proposition to new and existing customers alike. Additionally, they had a number of catalogues (in PDF format) which we embedded in their website as page-flipper catalogues - this added an extra level of interest and interaction to the site.
Business Vitamins managed all the design and build of the entire site as well as provided all the copywriting too.
Peter Jones of Dragons Den fame has openly said ”networking is the most cost effective route to market there is.”
I’m not so sure…
Networking is very important indeed. It provides a very enjoyable way to extend your reach, get your name out there and meet potential new clients and suppliers alike. But I believe networking is simply part of a wider activity mix designed to reach a target audience in a number of different ways.
In the interests of pseudo-science, here are some numbers I’ve quickly calculated:
Let’s assume a networking event is 2 hours long. It might take half an hour to get there (and back), so the whole event ‘door-to-door’ is 3 hours. Sound reasonable?
Let’s also assume you’re unlikely to meet someone for the first time, for them to decide you’re brilliant and write you out a purchase order on the spot. Perhaps it takes a handful of times (perhaps 4 or 5?) of meeting people at a regular networking event to build a relationship (and trust) before you’re likely to get either a single direct lead or a referral, let alone close some business!
So, that’s around 15 hours of your time, in total. Stay with me…
The next bit is rather specific to each and every one of us, but let’s say you charge your time at £25/hr. Some people will charge more, some less, but at £25 that networking time has cost around £375.
What’s the alternative? We recently managed a direct mail campaign for a client - the TOTAL cost of which was £770, including design and distribution. That client received 67 leads. Of which, upon qualification, c60% were high quality, real, closable leads.
A one off perhaps? No. We’ve managed similar numbers three times in a row now for the same client.
So how cost effective does networking look now Peter? Who said direct mail was dead…
Do you need to outsmart your competitors? Contact us now on 0845 310 2457 to discuss what you want to achieve and how we can help you meet your goals.
Why not find out more about Business Vitamins, Strategic B2B marketing agency Suffolk.
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Business Vitamins are very pleased to announce the recent publication of the new Hoskins Brick website. Hoskins Brick are a specialist importer and distributor of extremely high quality and innovative bricks. They were looking for a fully bespoke design, that helped position them as a key player in the architectural sector.
As well as designing and building the site, Business Vitamins also contributed to the copywriting. Since going live, Hoskins Brick have commented on an immediate and significant increase in the number of the enquiries received online.
Do you need to outsmart your competitors? Contact us now on 0845 310 2457 to discuss what you want to achieve and how we can help you meet your goals.
Why not find out more about Business Vitamins, Strategic B2B marketing agency Suffolk.
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We all know that if we continue to consume the earth’s resources at the current rate, the planet is in serious trouble. Whilst many of us recycle as much as possible, how many of us think about sustainability and our obligations to future generations when we go about our business activities?
Typically we think of only larger companies having Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. But we can all do our bit, even those of us who are working in ones and twos. If you have already implemented recycling for your waste or changing your paper stocks where do you go from there? Looking at the sustainability of your marketing could be a great way to further your green credentials.
For years, marketing has been seen as the black sheep of the business family when it comes to the environment. The bad boys that encourage excessive consumption as new products are launched without a thought. But things are changing. Business owners must now consider the impact and resources their marketing campaigns use.
For those of you that feel sustainable marketing is just too difficult to undertake, consider the business argument. Consumer’s expectations change. Increasing numbers of us buy from companies and brands that are aware of environmental issues and are actively combating the drain on our global resources. Despite the recent economic downturn, ethical spending is up. So by increasing the sustainability of your marketing, you might also attract a new ethically aware customer base. It could also differentiate your brand from competitors, increase your customer retention and brand loyalty. Who would sniff at that?
If you want to begin to look at sustainable marketing for your business, where on earth do you start? My advice would be with a Sustainable Marketing Audit to look at the impact your product or service has on resources. This will allow you to gauge how environmentally friendly you are now and give you some ideas of where you can focus improvements.
First, write out the headings that cover the classic marketing topics of the four P’s: Product, Place (and distribution), Price and Promotion. Next, take each heading, and with your product in mind, decide whether you can or have the ability to apply the three R’s a) Reduce b) Reuse or c) Recycle.
For example, under Product you may ask ‘What is my product made from? How is it packaged? Or how will it be disposed of?’
Or under Place ‘Where is my product made? How is it transported?’
For Price you could consider ‘Does the price include a warranty for repair? Are pricing incentives being used to encourage over-consumption?’
For Promotion, ‘Are the product attributes being accurately communicated to the customer? ‘What resources are being used to communicate the products features?’
While these are only the first steps in setting up a sustainable marketing policy for your business, from small acorns large oak trees grow. And after all, isn’t that what this is all about?
Do you need to outsmart your competitors? Contact us now on 0845 310 2457 to discuss what you want to achieve and how we can help you meet your goals.
Why not find out more about Business Vitamins, Strategic B2B marketing agency Suffolk.
Or follow BizVits on Twitter?
Or Like us on Facebook?
Or +1 us on Google+?
Or see the Business Vitamins channel on YouTube?
The reason I’m not a Rooney fan boy is because a certain red-topped Sunday newspaper chose to splash 5 pages about Rooney’s (alleged) dalliance with a “woman of easy virtue”.
