1. Pull it all together
2. Update the company brochure
3. Regularly update the company web site
4. Agree and release press releases and articles
5. Organise product, people and client photo shoots
6. Produce emails, letters, advertising

and other marketing stuff, not least of which was having the time to update any of the social media sites.

What’s more he hadn’t got the time to bring someone in occasionally and ask them to do some web site copy, or the brochure or emails or anything else.

He couldn’t afford someone full-time and yet he knew he needed to do the marketing. The problem being that if he brought someone in they were only used occasionally and never really got to know his business.

You could tell he was immensely frustrated.

The frustrations mounted, even while getting business

And as he said it wasn’t all about buying a web site, yes he might get some people buying through it.

It wasn’t about tweeting the latest offers, although he was sure he’d get some business.

What it was all about was being able to integrate the lot into a more powerful way of using all the bits and bobs he had.

That meant every piece of marketing supported every other piece of marketing.

Dealing with the right avenues of marketing at the right time was frustrating

It was so that rather than having to deal with all the different marketing related companies such as a PR company, an advertising agency, a marketing company, a printing company, a social media agency, a graphic design company and Uncle Tom Cobbley he could just tell someone his vision of where he wanted to be with marketing and leave it to that one person to pull it all together. They would deal with the PR company, advertising agency, and everyone else whilst maintaining his strategic view of the company direction and marketing thrust.

In a large company that would be the sales and marketing director, or other such person. In the smaller companies (his turnover is about £1 to £2 million) they don’t exist and they wouldn’t even be affordable.

Marketing headache relief

And the solution as he saw it was to employ someone on a part-time basis who’d had marketing experience from social media to marketing strategy and had the ability to manage outside agencies and the ability to write web copy as well as direct mail.

A tall order we both agreed. Until it slowly dawned on both of us that I was that person!

So the new marketing action man is your truly!

So what now?

Luckily I already know his business so I can be productive from day one. First task is to see about an ecommerce site, where I’ll also ensure that the marketing elements we need are included at the design stage rather than an add-on after the fact.

What next?

I thought it was such a good idea that I want to offer it to other businesses who don’t want to pay the significant sums such as person would want if working full-time.

So if you’re interested in having an ex-programme director/marketing strategist/direct mail and email copywriter/blog writer and WordPress blog builder coordinating and implementing the marketing you want email me on marketing at acornservice.com

It could be a lot of fun and very profitable for both of us!

I’d popped in once before because I was intrigued by its location and I suspected that it probably wasn’t doing too well. The first time I’d called I’d tried on several very nice suits and almost bought one. And during the fitting the owners and I had got into a discussion about business. Like you do!

It was clear that they weren’t making much money from it. And I suggested doing a deal where they outfit me with their best and I’d help them with their marketing. I gave them a card and walked out and promptly forgot all about it.

Today when I went back (probably 8 months later) I noticed that they were closing down and having a closing down sale. I talked to one of the owners and he admitted that they were probably making enough to pay the rent, but that was it.

When I again suggested marketing he shrugged and said he’d love to but it costs money.

And of course he’s right to a certain extent…

Marketing needn’t cost the earth. What he hadn’t thought about was that he could have used my services for a ridiculously low price as their costs for suiting and booting me would have been minimal compared to the marketing education and implementation assistance they would have got.

And if they’d wanted to sell they could have then have sold a going concern.

There are so many things they could have done when I talked to them last time.  They could have …

• Worked out an interesting (true) story about the shop that differentiated it from competitors, to tell to everyone
• Started collecting names, emails and mobile numbers of people popping in (like me)
• Collected customers details
• started continually following up that list with offers and news
• re-launched the shop for minimal amounts of cash
• they could have got some PR going
• special invite only nights
• business networking!

The marketing world was their oyster. And yet they simply sat in the shop and looked at the top quality stock they have and wondered why it didn’t walk out the door.

They had well and truly buried their head in the sand and thought sales would come to them. And as a result their shop is going.

It’s such a shame when they’re both lovely people, but lack of sales happens to everyone, even those who really deserve the sales. If they don’t do their marketing right.

Shoesmiths success is the inspiration behind the launch of a free course to teach 18-24 year olds, based in Manchester, how to create cutting-edge mobile phone applications.

THE WHITE ROOM is launching the unique course to help budding creatives make a start in the media sector through designing original iPhone applications.

The initiative, backed by Manchester Council, The Cornerhouse and Manchester Metropolitan University will also teach a range of business skills.

With over $3bn worth of mobile phone apps downloaded in the last 2 years there is a real chance of turning ideas generated during the course into real business propositions.

The course is open to recent graduates, the unemployed, part-time as well full-time workers who can attend for a day a week. Applicants need to be resident within Manchester Council boundaries. Training bursary will also be available. No technical ability is required at all.

Phil Birchenall, project director at The White Room says: “What we need is plenty of enthusiasm and ideas, that’s all. We are looking for people that really want to start a career in the creative sector – we believe we will be nurturing some of the stars of the future.”

The App School can be found at www.appschool.co.uk and Phil can be contacted on 0161 446 2991. The school can also be found on Facebook.

All I can say is if I was 18-24 I’d be knocking on their door right now!

Creative Credits aims to help Manchester SME businesses get creative input from other businesses registered on the Creative Credits gallery on their web site.

The way it works is as follows:

Creative Credits As A User

Initially eligible users register on the Creative Credits site. There is a deadline after which no more companies can register.

Then there is a lottery and a certain number of companies is awarded “Creative Credits.” What that means is that NESTA (the organisation funding this) will pay £4,000 of a £5,000 creative bill if the user uses one of the companies registered on the creative credits database.

What NESTA say on their web site is:

We’re inviting Manchester-based small businesses from all sectors to apply for ‘Creative Credits’ worth £4,000. These can be used to purchase services from a local creative firm. All we ask is an investment of at least £1,000 and we’ll top it up with £4,000.

The first wave of registrations has finished and the next wave will be February 2010. So remember to register.

Creative Credits As A Supplier

A web design agency, marketing coach, PR company, graphic designer or other sort of creative company registers on the Creative Credits site as a supplier of those services.

Then they wait to be approached by businesses who can browse the online gallery to choose a supplier to work with.

It does seem like a very good idea for businesses who would benefit from creative input but who really can’t justify the cost of a campaign yet.

And of course I’m registered as a supplier, see my creative credits gallery

I noticed that it wasn’t completely full and there were one or two no-shows, which I know is not unusual.

I bumped into the company who ran a Lamborghini competition last year. I discovered that although they were exhibiting a lovely red Ferrari it wasn’t a prize in a new competition as they’d heard of people having bad experiences with lending 3rd parties high-end luxury cars!

The highlight for me was meeting Sean Connery, alias 007 at the event organisers desk. Obviously he was a lookalike but he was still pretty good.

looking at the crowds rushing around it made you realise how much business people are chasing. And everyone was clustering around email marketing and SEO How-to seminars.

Email is straight forward and it’s good to see so many people looking at how to use it better.

So until next year goodbye to a great expo!

Inside I found what seemed liked countless numbers of email marketeers.

And they were all parroting the same sales spiel that has been uttered for the last few years…

Things like, we can track the open rates of emails, we can do analysis and link into analysis packages. Yes, we’ve known about that for a long time.

However, the jewel in the crown this time was that both lecture theatres had engaging presenters who actually delivered useful and interesting stuff.  Certainly for the 4 seminars I watched.

In fact in both theatres there was standing room only.

We were taught how to blog and how to use social media in a business context. After that finished the next seminar was about mobile computing.  I sat next to a nice couple who’d come up from Birmingham who wanted to find out what they could do online. And no they didn’t really think mobile was for them.

Now that was interesting, because if you think about it there are now more mobile phones in the UK than people. And there’s no doubt that with Twitter it’s becoming easier and easier to use a mobile for social networking and cruising online content.

So neglecting mobile is rather like saying I wont bother with a web site – now pretty much essential for a lot of companies.

Table of contents for Trade Shows And Events

1. How You Make Your Trade Show or Event Successful
2. How You Can Make Or Break Your Event
3. Making The Most Of Seminars, Events and Exhibitions

Event Venue and Location, Location, Location

The one thing that can make or break a meeting or exhibition is the venue and its location. It’s vital that the right venue is chosen for the type of event you’re holding.

If you’re selling up market products or services your venue needs to reflect the same type of image. If it doesn’t your customers are unlikely to attend and the event results will be disappointing.

So your choice of venue depends on your objectives, the scale of what you’re doing, your intended audience and of course your budget.

There are many event management companies that have the experience to quickly provide you with a short list of venues that meet your objectives. And that is certainly the easiest approach to getting a venue. And usually they don’t charge you a fee as they are paid by the location.

Make use of the Internet when researching venues

Venues can range from a hotel meeting room, to specialist conference rooms built within sports stadiums, restaurants, hotel complexes or specialist conference facilities.

Manchester And The Northwest

I’m based in Manchester and in the Northwest we’re fortunate in that we have a wide choice of venues to select from. Places like the Bolton Reebok, Manchester United, Manchester City, Lancashire Cricket Ground, Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex and before that Central station) and the Manchester Evening News Arena to name just a few.

Other slightly more unusual venues are museums, including the Imperial War Museum (North) and the Museum of Science and Industry, historic residences like Heaton Hall and town halls like Manchester, Rochdale, Stockport, Bury and Bolton.

Looking further afield there is the NEC in Birmingham, Earls Court and the Wembley Arena in London and many similar locations scattered throughout the UK’s major cities.

In London there are countless high quality hotels offering good conference facilities. Again you can get quirkier venues too, so you’re not tied to the usual suspects.

Go And Look At The Shortlist

The main point about venues is that once you’ve a shortlist of 3 or 4 venues go and see them. Then consider whether each one fits your event objectives.

And remember it’s all very well finding a fantastic venue, but if your audience find it difficult to get to they wont be in the right frame of mind to listen and learn when they arrive.

The Heathrow hotels are particularly useful for events that attract overseas attendees as people can fly in, book into the hotel and walk straight into the event. Lovely!

Internal Events

If you’re holding an internal meeting, holding it in any cheap venue you can find sends out a message that you’re not particularly interested in your staff. So make sure that an objective of an internal event is to let the staff see that they are appreciated.

Continuing Series

This ad-hoc series on events, exhibitions and meetings continues. In the meantime you can get a trade show and event planner by signing up on the form after the tags.

del.icio.us tags: manchester, northwest events, event venue, Heaton Hall, MOSI, Manchester United, Manchester City, Bolton Reebok

Technorati tags: manchester, northwest events, event venue, Heaton Hall, MOSI, Manchester United, Manchester City, Bolton Reebok

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Table of contents for The Office Party

1. Office Christmas Party – How Much To Pay?
2. How To Make Sure Your Office Christmas Do is a Success
3. Which Office Christmas Party And Who To Invite?

Office Party Objectives

Have an objective. yes it’s that simple!

Surely the objective is for all the staff to have a good time at Christmas?

Quite right. However, what about other objectives a Christmas party could fulfil for you?

For example:

1. Staff Objectives

a. Maintain staff retention

b. Improve staff communications

c. Reward staff

d. Thank spouses for support

2. Customer Objectives

a. Thank customers

b. Reward customers

c. Network with past and present customers

d. Retain customers

e. Recapture old customers

3. Supplier Objectives

a. Thanks suppliers

b. Reward suppliers

c. Maintain good supplier relationships

As you can see all those objectives can make a difference to how you organise a Christmas party.

Should We Sell Tickets?

Selling tickets to the Christmas party can certainly be done. However, you should decide whether that helps your party meet your objectives.

Remember if you plan a Christmas party in Tenerife expecting your staff to pay for their own flights, accommodation and board is a bit much. And would effectively be seen as the ticket price of the party. Whereas planning a party in central Manchester with a hotel for the night and only asking your staff to make their own way there could be considered fair. So balance the need to keep costs reasonable with the desire to meet your chosen objectives.

Party In The Office Or Not?

Christmas parties are big business and venues around the Northwest run them. Event companies run them and even web site businesses run parties in popular venues for you. Or they can set it up so that a party is shared with a few, or many, other office parties.

In Manchester shared party prices range from £50 per person (for Jongeleurs Posh Christmas Comedy Party at The Jarvis Piccadilly ) to as little as £20. Sites where you can find places to hold Christmas and New Year parties include:

• www.officechristmas.co.uk
• www.christmas-and-new-year-parties.co.uk
• www.venues.org.uk

The first two sites run the shared, or exclusive, parties for you and the third one allows you to go directly to a venue that’s running Christmas parties. The downside with these sites is that in their Northwest sections they focus almost entirely on central Manchester and Cheshire.

Typically party organisers generally provide good events that staff are quite satisfied with.

And without an objective none of these decisions can be made.

So getting setting your objectives now. Although for this year it may already be too late.

Flickr tags: Office Christmas Party, Christmas Party Venue

Technorati tags: Office Christmas Party, Christmas Party Venue

I like the exhibition hall because it can contain a vast number of stands. Last year BEX, its nearest equivalent, was a disappointment as was 2005, after which I commented on trade shows.

This time the hall was full to bursting with stands and a variety of exhibitors all with interesting and varied prizes to attract people to their stands. The prizes ranged from a laptop and a DVD recorder right down to the “usual” bottle of champagne.

There was a great variety of businesses there. The first one I particularly noticed was a Master Mind like contest where you got to sit ain a black chair and face the questioner for 2 minutes of business-related questions. Some of those questions were anything but easy! Still I managed to remain at second place until I left about 3pm!

I also noticed a lovely idea where the stand was set-up as casino with the winner getting a prize if their number came up – I was lucky and got a half-bottle of Medoc.

Both these ideas were great but both suffered from lack of strategic marketing forethought.

The Mastermind stand could have made more of the Mastermind approach with louder music, appropriately dimmed light and more questions as I heard them being repeated later in the day. They would also have benefited from wearing black T-shirts with “Mastermind Challenge Stand XYZ” written on to advertise it as they went around the rest of the show.

The casino was fronted by two really friendly ladies but after I’d had my go I was no clearer as to exactly what they did.

And the one I loved the most was the stand that had a Lamborghini offered as a prize. Only for a weekend though! Still I guess I could make do…

The people around that certainly played the prize for all it was worth and I’m quite sure they got a lot of interest from businessmen in particular.

And yes, I did know what they did – recruitment!

LiveJournal tags: Business exhibitions, G-Mex, Lamborghini, Jim Symcox, Manchester Central, Business Northwest

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When premises on an industrial estate are on fire it can prevent companies there working in their own premises.

The fire was at night and meant that there was little or no activity on the industrial estate. That meant people could go into work pretty much as normal today
What would have happened if the fire had involved hazardous chemicals? Would people have been allowed on site?

What if their premises had burnt down because of the fire flashing over to their building?

Would they have had the foresight to plan for such a disaster?

If you haven’t but you’d like to know what you don’t know that could help you…

Check out the disaster preparedness and disaster recovery site for a free report that should do just that.