TLC Business have teamed up with renowned inspirational speaker Simon Harmer and his company Blown Away, to deliver an insightful and inspirational working-lunch session for businesses who are looking to get better results from their marketing in 2016.
Not only will the session include marketing tips, cheats and ideas, but it will give you an insight into marketing trends for 2016, provide advice on how to get the biggest bang for your marketing buck, and inspiration to actually make those necessary marketing changes for 2016.
So when is it? The FREE session will be held on the 25th November 2015 at The Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, between 12-2pm. As well as this, the networking session will include lunch and two presentations.
We guarantee you’ll leave with lots of fresh ideas and feeling motivated to put them into action. Places are limited, so reserve your seat now to avoid disappointment. To reserve your ticket, click here.
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/image-SMALL-1.jpg130400tlchttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngtlc2015-10-23 00:00:002018-05-14 14:43:58Blow Away those Marketing Cob Webs and Get Your Marketing in Order for 2016
1. Obama goes between two ferns with Zach Galifiankis
‘Between Two Ferns’, with Zach Galifiankis, is a series of videos shown on the Funny or Die website. In each episode he conducts an interview with a celebrity between two potted ferns. His typical interview style consists of normal interview questions, random non sequiturs and some inappropriate comments and questions.
Celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Jennifer Anniston and Bradley Cooper have gone between two ferns in the past but the most recent celebrity to do so was Barack Obama. Some of the topics the pair cover include Dennis Rodman, same-sex divorce and the Affordable Care Act. To watch the video, click here.
2. Growth Vouchers: month one results
This time last year, George Osborne first announced Growth Vouchers. The drive behind them is to help SMEs access the advice they need to help them grow. The businesses that participate are allocated a voucher up to the value of £2,000, matched with their own funds, to spend on advice and guidance from industry experts.
The vouchers were launched at the end of January and so far, nearly 1,500 businesses have applied, with nearly 600 vouchers allocated (over £1 million). Nearly 50% of the vouchers issued so far have been for advice in marketing, attracting and keeping customers. If you have not applied yet, it is still not too late. To read more, click here.
3. DHL’s brilliant ad
DHL claim that in many countries the company has more offices, more vehicles and more employees than there competition, which is why they are faster. To illustrate this, they came up with a brilliantly conceived guerrilla marketing campaign to get their competitors advertise for them.
To do this, large DHL packages were covered in thermo-active foil and cooled down below the freezing point, allowing the plastic wrappers to turn black. They then asked for the competitors to deliver the packages to hard-to-get-to addresses in big cities. As the plastic warmed up the message from DHL became clear… to watch for yourself, click here.
With the dust now settled on the courts of Wimbledon, we’ve had the chance to reflect on what business can take from the sport.
We believe that when it comes to performance, businesses can learn a lot from the tennis industry.
Clear vision of success
Like business, sport is outcome orientated; it’s about securing clearly defined results in a competitive environment. A tennis player doesn’t enter Wimbledon with the thought of losing and if they do, it is highly likely that is exactly what will happen. Winning the competition must be at the front of their mind. In the world of business, becoming number one is tough, but having a positive goal to work towards is the key to success. Andy Murray adopts just such this attitude: “I will go to Wimbledon with the feeling that I will win, you cannot come up with another attitude.”
Practice makes perfect
The techniques used by sports stars to maximise their performance can also be applied in the world of business. Much like a business needs to do with its products and services, a tennis player will spend years perfecting their game, putting in hours of hard training sessions to help build up stamina and technique. They will build on their strengths and overcome their weaknesses to become the best that they can be.
Expert advice
Like a business, a tennis player constructs a team of experts to help them realise their vision. A player doesn’t enter a tournament alone, behind them sits an extensive support team of physios, coaches, nutritionists and family members, helping guide them through their career and towards their end goals.
Fully informed
Having the ability to respond to your competition effectively is vital for any business. A business should always know who their competition is and what they are up to. A tennis player will analyse their opponent before a game, finding their weaknesses and identifying their strengths. In the same way, a business must undertake rigorous and regular analysis of its competition and ensure it has a robust marketing strategy to attract its target audience.
Evaluation
Whether a tennis player wins or loses they always review their performance. A player will access their stats, watch video play backs and pick out aspects of their performance, what worked and what didn’t. Any successful business will undertake the same process and review its performance at regular intervals. It is through evaluation that a business can know what works, what doesn’t and stopping wasting money on ineffective activities.
Reputation
Finally, a top player and their team will spend time carefully nurturing their brand and how they are perceived in the public domain. They will be mindful of the benefits on offer from sponsorship and endorsements but careful that they choose appropriate partners to meet their end goals. Businesses need to manage their relationships in the same way and present their brand in a clear, consistent and appropriate manner to achieve business success.
In order to help your business perform like a top tennis pro and add fuel to your performance, follow our simple marketing formula.
The objectives of any business, much like a professional tennis player, is to see return on our investment. We believe that by:
1. investing time in planning your strategy
2. finding a USP to help you stand out from your competition
3. analysing your competitors weakness and strengths
4. reviewing your performance on a regular basis
your business will be fully prepared and ready to win your ‘Wimbledon’.
Following on from our July marketing seminar, here is another top tip to more effective SME marketing. This month we highlight the growing trend in Quick Response (QR) codes.
Whilst the QR code debate rages on and we assess whether this is a passing fad or a marketing phenomenon, the last year has certainly proven that QR campaigns can work effectively for the larger brands. From Coca Cola to Tesco, more and more companies are adapting their marketing campaigns to take advantage of the latest technology and consumer engagement channels available.
So is it worthwhile for SMEs to jump on board the latest marketing bandwagon?
SMEs may feel that technology such as QR codes is best left to bigger firms, with more resources and a deeper understanding of how it works. However, with QR codes, this is simply not the case; they can benefit the marketing of organisations of all sizes.
A QR code is a marketing tool that can help drive consumers to specific content of your choosing, such as a landing pages on your website, contact details or competition entry forms. QR codes are cheap and easy to generate online. All your prospect needs to access them is a smart phone. Studies from 2011 indicate that businesses were reluctant to introduce QR codes, with only 8% of businesses thinking that QR codes were worthwhile; however, in 2012 the numbers changed significantly, with 47% of businesses declaring that their brand would benefit from introducing QR codes into their marketing, due to the rise in smart phone adoption amongst consumers.
How can my business use QR codes?
QR codes are currently dominating the consumer market, from packaging, magazine adverts, bus stops and billboards, the list is endless.
Tesco in South Korea is a great example of a forward thinking QR campaigns. In order to help save time, Tesco found a clever way to bring the grocery store to the consumer. Tesco launched a QR code campaign that plastered enormous images of food items on to South Korean subway walls. These images came with a QR code and allowed consumers to scan individual food items to be loaded in their virtual shopping cart. Once they finished their checkout, their order was processed and delivered to the consumer’s doorstep.
If you were at the Olympics this year, you may have noticed that QR codes were sitting right at the centre of mobile engagement during the 2012 games, linking supporters to Olympic action, promotions, merchandise and information.
Before and throughout the Olympics, Southwest trains used QR codes to help their customers plan their journey in a timely fashion, so the passenger could avoid any confusion during the games.
QR codes are not just for the big players. QR campaigns can be used in various ways within an SME environment, from business cards and adverts to direct mail and merchandise. QR codes are a cheap, effective addition to many marketing campaigns and can be used to increase the effectiveness and measurability of campaigns. Common ideas include:
“Scan this product to download a recipe straight to your phone”
“Scan to ‘Like’ us on Facebook and get 20% off this purchase!”
“Scan to enter our latest competition”
Like any marketing activity, it is essential to have a campaign strategy in place, offering something special or unique. You need to understand your target audience, have a clear objective in mind and most importantly, provide valuable information to encourage the user to interact with your brand.
Businesses should always measure the results from any marketing campaign, QR codes included. Did your website receive more traffic? Did the campaign generate more sales, Twitter followers or ‘Likes’ on Facebook? Whilst trying out the latest marketing trend can be fun, ultimately the campaign needs to generate results for your business.
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/qr.jpg511960adminhttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngadmin2015-08-10 00:00:002018-05-11 15:16:20A picture is worth a thousand words
TLC Business was delighted to host its annual marketing seminar yesterday, at Winchester Business School, tackling the topic ‘10 Top Tools for Effective SME Marketing’. The unseasonal weather didn’t put off attendees, as a packed house was treated to a morning of our top marketing tool tips. Topics covered included: effective CRM and email marketing systems, Google Analytics, Dropbox, YouTube, URL builders and QR Codes.
TLC Business Director Joshua Spencer said “We were delighted with the turn out and would like to thank everyone that took the time to attend. It was our intention to give attendees ideas and tips that they can take back to their business and use straight away to make their marketing more effective.”
We were very pleased to receive excellent feedback, below are just a few examples and 100% of people stated they would recommend attending future TLC Business events.
‘Excellent insight into the most up to date and effective marketing tools’
‘Excellent morning’
‘Useful tips – food for thought’
‘Very informative – thank you’
For those that were unable to attend the seminar, but are interested in the content and would like to receive a copy of the presentation, please email anna@tlc-business.co.uk.
We are already starting to think about next year’s topics, so if you have any ideas or preferences, please let us know.
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Website-1.jpg225600adminhttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngadmin2015-08-10 00:00:002018-05-15 09:49:20TLC Business Host Top 10 Marketing Tools Seminar
By now, you should be aware that new regulations on a website’s use of cookies came into force at the weekend. Websites available to European visitors and owned by European companies must now follow the EU E-Privacy Directive passed in 2011. The laws require websites to provide information about the use of tracking technology on the site and the purpose of that technology. Websites also must allow visitors to choose whether or not to be tracked.
Is your website compliant with the new regulations? Click here for all you need to know.
Twitter now has 10 million active users in the UK – Is your business one of them?
The once personally focused micro-blogging tool, Twitter, has developed in popularity with individuals but equally amongst businesses in the UK. Twitter may have been a source for celebrity status updates in the past, however, the times are changing and more and organisations are realising the potential behind the social networking site. According to research published this week, over one-in-six businesses now use Twitter to scout and engage with new customers.
So how are small businesses achieving success through Twitter?
The London Studio
Theo Paphitis of Dragons’ Den launched a Twitter competition called Small Business Sunday. Once a week, Theo started asking entrepreneurs to tweet him about their business, choosing his six favourite, which he then flagged up to his 240,000 followers and on his website.
One of the companies that tried to attract the attention of the successful dragon was a multidisciplinary design studio called The London Studio.
“I tweeted Theo hoping to tempt him to look at The London Studio website and see the products I’d designed,” says the MD.
“He did — and his single tweet saw my website’s traffic more than double on its weekly average. I thought the server might break. Sales jumped too — gift shops and other independent retailers got in touch and asked me to be a stockist, and existing ones put in larger orders. I sold an extra 13,000 cards in the month after Theo’s tweet. Twitter has been great for business.”
Big Green Bookshop
The Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green tweeted on the 24th of February 2011 that without help they would have to close the doors to the book shop in nine months due to an unpaid bank loan. Shortly after the tweet was sent, the topic started to trend on the social media platform, growing in popularity, spreading throughout the social media realm. Due to Twitter the shop sold enough books to cover its bank repayments for two months and is now trading healthy.
Is your business one of the 10 million active UK users on Twitter? If so, has you ‘tweeted’ or ‘followed’ in the last two weeks? Take a look at the top tips below to get your business on the path to social media success.
Tips to get your Twitter activity up and running:
Follow other relevant small businesses – Quality rather than quantity
Share tips related to your industry
Post links to original thought pieces
Give referrals via Twitter
Communicate with potential customers, strategic alliances and suppliers
Engage with industry magazines, editors and journalists – you never know who might read your latest news or blog feature.
Ask your audience questions
Twitter is more than just a status update, the opportunities are endless….Get tweeting today!
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/twitter.jpeg7501129adminhttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngadmin2015-08-10 00:00:002018-05-11 15:30:47Are you tweeting?
When it comes to corporate responsibility and green marketing, an increasing number of companies are recognising the importance of including environmental sustainability amongst their goals….TLC Business are one of them.
Green marketing definitions can be a little confusing, since green marketing can refer to anything from promoting the environmental benefits of a product, advertising a company’s sustainability initiatives, to simply channelling your marketing message in a more eco-friendly method.
When many people think of SMEs going green, methods such as recycling paper and conducting more meetings over the phone spring to mind. However ‘green’ strategies can incorporate even more day-to-day business activities, from using social media more effectively, to the tools you use to market your product or service.
Green marketing can take many forms, below are some of the systems and tools you can adopt in your business:
Green digital media Green marketing has gone digital with the help of social media and technology. Utilising Facebook or Twitter instead of print advertisements and providing digital versions of press packs are all steps businesses can take to more effective green marketing. Below are examples of how global companies are using social media within their green marketing mix:General Electric has introduced the Ecomagination Challenge, which challenges people all over the world, from businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators to students, to generate ideas how to improve the planet’s energy future. This project is promoted through the company’s website, blog and Twitter.IBM has created a Smarter Planet blog and encourages visitors to participate in conversations about creating a more sustainable planet. IBM also uses Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to keep the conversations alive.
Re-design your materials with green in mind. One of the most effective ways to go green is to consider the potential environmental impact of your printed material at the design stage. That means taking into account factors like paper weight, item size, and mailing format at the beginning. This may seem extreme but a smaller, lighter piece will not only reduce the amount of paper you ultimately use, but also the emissions of the trucks delivering your pieces.Puma is a great example of a company planning ahead. The major sports brand is reducing its carbon footprint by redesigning the packaging for its shoes. Instead of packaging the shoes in a traditional cardboard box, which then necessitates a plastic carrier bag, Puma has designed a new product, dubbed “The Clever Little Bag”. Puma’s new packaging is made of a reusable shoe bag with a built in handle, thus eliminating the need for both a cardboard box and a carrier bag at the end of a sale. Puma’s green effort alone is projected to reduce the company’s paper consumption by over 65 percent, as well as cutting down on annual carbon emissions by 10,000 tons.
Clean up your database:
An up-to-date database can also play a key part in your green marketing strategies. Whether you are sending a direct mail campaign using your new eco friendly marketing collateral or you are sending regular e-marketing campaigns. You can save money, reduce paper use and delivery impact, simply by cleaning up and reducing the size of your database. Regularly updating mailing lists and removing undeliverable addresses, duplicates and bounced email addresses, will play a part in saving resources.
Adopting a lifecycle approach:
Selecting green materials and products for marketing materials and adopting a lifecycle approach that looks at the whole campaign, thereby foreseeing areas of potential waste. More and more companies similar to Recycle Match are evolving. Recycle Match operates on the philosophy that one company’s trash is another company’s treasure and matches businesses who have waste products, such as used billboards, textile waste, and salvaged building materials, with businesses who need them.
The Green Community:
Finally, community is another component to successful green marketing. The green revolution has caused the growth of thousands of organisations and causes, each championing their own method of fighting for the environment. Find the businesses that fight for green living in the area, which relates to your product or service and contact them for support.
With the current emphasis on going green, recycling, and saving the planet, it would be foolish not to engage with the green consumer. However, it is important that your actions are credible and sincere. It is all too easy to employ ‘green wash’ when communicating your ‘green’ policies. Organisations that do this run the risk of attracting negative feedback and potentially damaging their reputation. A business doesn’t have to implement all of the suggestions above, simply adopting one or two can be a step in the right direction. Like any marketing or business activity, having a plan is essential. Your green plan doesn’t need to be complicated or lengthy, but you should outline the steps you need to take to ensure effective execution and alignment with your overall marketing strategy.
https://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/eco1.jpg500500adminhttps://www.tlc-business.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/logooptimised.pngadmin2015-08-10 00:00:002018-05-14 15:19:23Growing your greens
Total Send is the latest email marketing web service that is easy to use and represents a viable alternative to established platforms, Campaign Monitor and Mail Chimp. It manages subscribers, sends campaigns and tracks results. Total Send includes all the features you need for running a successful email marketing campaign for your business and is extremely cost effective. Click here for more information.
If you find yourself taking a long time converting your meeting notes into a digital format, take a look at Dragon Naturally Speaking. After initial scepticism, we have found it incredibly effective at reducing the time we spend typing up our notes. For more information click here.
Keen to monitor your social media activity’s effectiveness? TwentyFeet is tool that pulls in data from Facebook and Twitter and presents it in graph form. TwentyFeet’s stats include friends and followers, retweets, mentions and Facebook status comments. To find out more click here.
Recently we mentioned Pinterest in our March marketing top tips and we thought it would be a good idea to share a little more about the latest social media trend and how your business can get involved.
Pinterest recently hit our social media world with an almighty bang, receiving more than 103 million visits in February. If you have not yet joined the millions of other social media enthusiasts on Pinterest, it may be hard to understand the fascination. At first glance, the Pinterest home page may appear to be a wall of fashion trends, cupcakes and food thumbnails. However, once you start searching your own interests, you may find yourself quickly addicted to the new world of pinning.
How Pinterest works:
Pinterest invites visitors to set up their own virtual “pinboards”, incorporating interesting images, designs and styles into different categories that the user invents. From kitchen designs to jewellery collections, there is an array of ‘interests’ to suit everyone’s needs. So how is Pinterest a social networking site? Well, Pinterest allows members to comment on each other’s images and follow their pinboards. If a photo strikes a user’s fancy, then they can simply repin it.
Who’s involved?
Google Ad Planner recently showed that nearly 1.5 million unique users are visiting Pinterest daily, and spending an impressive 14+ minutes on the site. Pinterest is very much tailored towards the US market at present but it is rapidly growing in the UK. According to Andrew Lipsman, ComScore’s Vice President of Industry Analysis, females account for 68% of the site’s visitors worldwide and a whopping 85% of the activity. However, in the UK, the demographic is different, with a mostly male audience, interested in more than just re-pinning and showcasing photographs. Instead, they are focusing on the web statistics and analysis associated with this new social networking phenomenon.
How can my business get involved?
So, can a business benefit from yet another social networking site?
SMEs who currently promote their brand on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+ should start thinking about adding Pinterest to their mix. Pinterest HQ suggests that businesses first spotlight “aspects of your brand that may not come to mind at first,” such as charitable activity and coporate social responsibility schemes. They also suggest incorporating other aspects of social media, creating a communication hub to new and potential consumers.
Currently, Pinterest works best for brands that can display their service or product in thought provoking, attractive and sometimes funny images. Photographs are a great way of engaging users and encouraging them to follow and interact with your brand. Businesses can also make sure that a Pinterest user who clicks on their photos will be taken directly back to their website, where the product or service is displayed. According to top marketing researchers, last month, Pinterest delivered more referral traffic then Twitter.
However, like any social networking site, Pinterest comes with a warning. There have been recent headlines claiming there are copy right issues regarding Pinterest. Our advice would be, as always, be careful what you upload online, if you ‘re pin’ an image, check that the link goes back to the original website, thereby providing referral links & traffic to the copyright owner. Inform your employees of your social media best practice and finally use this as an excuse to upload original and creative content that reflects your brand and engages your consumer.
See below for a couple of brands using Pinterest, one you may expect and the second one you may not.
Unicef:
GE:
For more advice on safe social media for your business, click here.
1. Obama goes between two ferns with Zach Galifiankis
