bath marketing company

Marketing. A cost or an investment?

Paul TagentLeave a comment

With pretty much any marketing activity that is undertaken, it is likely that there is some sort of cost to the organisation either as a physical cost or as time spent. Either way, you must feel confident that everyone within your organisation is committed to the long term and perceives what you are doing as an investment.

Plan marketing.

As stated previously, marketing is not a “quick fix” born out of a time when business is slow. It is not an activity to be regarded as a distressed purchase. It should be seen as a fire that needs constant attention to keep burning and without it, it is highly unlikely to stay lit. 

If you are the person at whose door marketing has landed, you must become a centre of excellence covering all sales and marketing skills. It is therefore, highly unlikely that you have all the skills needed to facilitate effective marketing and sometimes engaging outside help is required. This does not mean that you are a failure! Quite the opposite. This is actually a good thing as you have identified that you need help and can then survey a number of companies to see which one fits with you and your organisation.

Whether you are doing the actual selling activity yourself or motivating others to do it, always see marketing in the context of your overall plan and believe in its ultimate success! Remember marketing is not just about putting together a pretty brochure! In fact the actual process should include:

Winning new business
Understanding your market
Building your brand
Planning your strategy
Managing existing clients
Internal marketing

When putting together your plan, I tend to use the following:

S – make it simple
M – make it measurable
A – make it achievable
R – make it realistic
T – add a timescale
……but above all, markting is NOT a cost; it is an investment in your business!

Need help? Get in touch with me…

Website, Blog, News…..why all 3?

Paul TagentLeave a comment

A great deal has been written about the merits of creating quality “inbound” links with regards to boosting a websites performance within search engines and I wanted to clarify how I position 3 possible activities within your marketing to facilitate this.

We all know about websites, but what is a website for? In my opinion, a website is your 24/7 shop window and as such, it should contain the factual information about you and your business. i.e. what your business is called, what is does, who is involved in the business + their background, the benefits your business brings, the costs, where to find you etc etc. This information is very likely to change periodically so having some sort of content management system within your website that allows you to make these changes is a facility I would very much advocate. Not only does this facility mean that you can time proof your website, the activity within the pages (i.e. the changes you make) will get noticed by search engines and, as such, will benefit you.

My final word on a website is DON’T scrimp on yours. Take pride in it and invest time (and money) to get something that you are proud of. After all, you might “know someone who knows IT” like a friend of a friend or your son, but would you trust this person with your company?! No.

“What about a Blog? Do I need one??”…are 2 questions I regularly get?!” I have actually written a post answering these a while back. See http://www.themarketingexpert.net/2010/01/what-is-blog-and-why-do-i-need-one.html but the content of your Blog should contain a more light hearted tone than your website. i.e It doesn’t have to be factual or contain lots of information about you or your business. In fact, it doesn’t have to be used to “sell” you or your company and, as such, I actually see a Blog as a way of demonstrating ones credibility within a sector and even a way of opening a discussion with readers. A Blog must therefore be, interesting to read and short enough to get your message across. In addition, a Blog will allow the Blog owner to create “links” to wherever they want…..such as your website i.e create quality inbound links Do this by hyperlinking certain key phrases within the copy and/or by linking images.

And finally, my suggestion is to have some sort of “news” section within your website. “Do I really need a website, a Blog AND news???”

The answer in my opinion is yes.
A news section allows the site owner to keep customers and prospects up to date with what they are up to. Yes, a news section may also well mean competitiors can see what your up to, but so what? I am personally proud of being busy and having news within your website allows continual updating (which Google and its friends can see) and it also means that you can keep people informed.

These 3 elements, if used properly, can make a big difference to your marketing and how customers and prospects “see” you and your business. Remember the world wide web is exactly that, “world wide” and means anyone can see what you write and do so use it properly!

If you need any additional advice about online marketing, please get in touch with me via my website………………………………..and feel free to see my news and blog at the same time!!

Talk about the benefits NOT the technique or features!

Paul TagentLeave a comment
The Laddering” approach

Bath Marketing Consultancy received a call recently from a lovely lady I have met at Networking asking my advice about a new venture she is looking to launch. One of the questions she posed was about “cold calling” or “tele marketing.”

I have written an article previously on my top tips when making a cold call, but I think it is worth re emphasizing the importance of stressing what benefits your product or service will bring to the organisation you have called.

As a professional, features interest you. As a potential buyer, the prospect may share your interests – but equally they may be solely interested in the end result. It is YOUR job to make that benefit clear and unambiguous – “and this is what you get” rather than “and this is what it does.”

For many clients what you actually do (or offer) may be of no interest (to be honest, I have a client in the legal sector who goes to sleep when I explain HTML or Social Media!), so the results and what is in it for them are the top of the list.

My suggestion is to adopt the “laddering” approach; moving from feature to benefit with transitions. For example – 

“…..and this provides you with…..”
“…..which means you’ll be able to….”
“…..allowing you and your company to….”

Why not give it a try? Oh, one more thing, remember to use the “you” or “your company” words for that personal focus!

Good luck and if you feel like it, why not leave a comment re any results below.

Working on holiday. Right or wrong?

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After my first official break with my family in nearly 2 years (Devon Mon-Fri last week), I found myself in a panic when the cottage I had rented had no mobile phone signal and no wi fi. 

I have read numerous articles since going into business for myself about the importance of finding the balance right between working time and home/switch off time, but it really alarmed me at how naked and exposed I found myself. In addition, every time I entered an area where I did get a signal, there was inevitably numerous emails and voicemail messages on my phone that needed actioning. For example, on Tuesday morning last week, I went to Woodlands Park and my phone flashed up 14 emails and 3 voicemail messages by 10am.

That was the final straw.

My decision was to set aside time every evening to go to the local pub (it was the only place that had wi fi – honest!) and work from 6pm until 8/9pm on my laptop so that I could try and clear the decks. This meant that I said good night to my kids early and left my wife to put them to bed. It also meant that I could sleep properly at night and knew that I would be able to at least start each day without stress knowing that I had done what work was required.

Some of you might say that I should have warned clients that I was off last week – I did. Some of you might say that nothing was that urgent that it couldn’t be left until I got back – I am afraid there was some media advertising work that needed doing that was time sensitive. Others might say that I should’ve got cover – who do I get as I am my business??! 

What I am getting at here is that I think going into business for yourself means that this sort of thing is to be expected. I have worked with over 40 businesses since I started Bath Marketing Consultancy and a number of these clients I work with on a monthly basis so they have a right to have access to me. 

In addition, why does something like the iphone sell over 51million units if people didn’t want to be pestered on their holidays?!

What do you think?? Please leave me a comment as would be very interested in what you think.

Don’t be afraid of commitment!

Paul TagentLeave a comment

Sometimes people see marketing as more of a quick fix process; a sort of knee jerk “distressed” purchase typically after experiencing a slow period in their business. However, marketing is very much a long term commitment that takes time to yield and I feel it is in every businesses interest to embrace marketing and get on board for the long haul. The high's and low's of being in business

How many initiatives can you name in one breath? SEO, advertising, e marketing, newsletters, direct mail, networking, article posting, Blogs, referral marketing………phew! Each one of these can be a very useful way of marketing your business. But, which one or which combination will be the most successful? The answer to this is to test each one and see what happens. If you are going to do this yourself, then dedicate time to do it properly. If not, buy someone in to help you. (After all, that is what marketing consultants are there for!)

As per a previous post, marketing is much more than sales, it is about forming a dedicated plan of action; researching all aspects of your market, defining your business and establishing what you have to offer.






Twitter Facts for Internet Marketers

Paul TagentLeave a comment

I recently came across a very interesting article by By Anna Johnson about Twitter based on Twitter’s recent 2010 developer conference, Chirp, the company’s co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone revealed some intriguing statistics about the company.

Here are some facts and figures of interest to Internet marketers:

Twitter has 105,779,710 (just under 106 million) users
Twitter is growing by 300,000 users per day
Twitter gets 180 million unique visitors per day
75 percent of Twitter’s traffic is outside Twitter.com i.e. one out of four Twitter users accesses Twitter via a third party like Tweet Deck
Twitter users post 55 million tweets per day
Twitter’s search engine gets 600 million search queries per day and are expected to rise to 1 billion per day by May 2010

If anyone is ever in doubt about the use of Twitter within online marketing, I think these should dispell any negative myths!

My tips on how to make the dreaded cold call

Paul TagentLeave a comment

Like many areas of business, to be successful a great deal is to do with planning. Have you done your homework? Do you know the prospects’ name, job title, role within the organisation, areas of responsibility, business sector, email address and correct phone number – direct line is a bonus? In that case, you are pretty much ready to pick up the phone and dial…


This is not the best way to prepare!

However, before doing so, there are some very beneficial little habits I have included in my routine that I feel give me a better chance of getting that all important meeting. These are confident building steps and little personal elements that I am going to share with you. I know cold calling is a nasty initiative, but I never see cold calling as a numbers game. The people I contact are relevant and I truly believe I can add value to their business. This makes me feel positive before I start! I appreciate that cold calling makes people nervous and rejection rates are high so don’t laugh at the next paragraph!

1) I always make my calls in an empty office or room. This may sound obvious, but you never want to be overheard or have the possibility of being interrupted. If you work from home and have a family, wait for them to go out!
2) I always stand up. This actually makes me more alert and able to move about. Sitting down might seem relaxing, but it is far easier to be aggressive or defensive if you are in one place.
3) Smile. This is pretty much industry standard, but a smile projects the correct mood in your voice and, believe it or not, a good, positive smile can be heard down a telephone!

4) I have been known to play a song from i tunes in the background and sing to it as I dial. This actually makes me happy and feel like the call is going to be a positive one.

My next post will be about the call itself such as, DON’T start with “how are you?” Always say who you are and your role clearly. So many cold calls that I receive just go straight into the sales pitch following a “how are you” opener. The person on the other end of the phone will most likely receive loads of these calls so concentrate on what you can do for them and why.

I hope this little snippet from Bath Marketing Consultancy helps.



What are links?

Paul TagentLeave a comment

(If you are reading this from my Twitter post, well done, this is what link building is all about!)

Basically, a link is a word, phrase or image that people can click on in order to be taken to your website. The more genuine links you have coming into your site, the better, especially if they are one way links. But why should other sites link to you? Perhaps you have great content that their visitors would find of interest or you host a great  video, you are offering some sort of give away or even a free report. Either way, the people most likely to link to you will not be competitors, but more likely businesses that compliment your business in some way. For example, a site about fitness might be linked to a site dedicated to sports or nutrition. If you find a site that links to your competitors, ask the site owner to link to you.

You can also create links yourself – for example in a Blog like this or a directory or maybe even online press release sites. BUT be very careful of Black Hat link building as this will have an adverse effect. For the same reason avoid buying links.

If you need some help with this side of search engine marketing, please get in touch with me via my website…

Why outsource?

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When you stop and think about just how much is involved with marketing, you may stop and ask yourself how can you possibly do it all yourself. The answer is that you can’t. Not on your own and especially if you want to cover all your other responsibilities. This is where outsourcing comes in. While you might think this is just a way of paying someone else to do something you might be able to do, don’t. Outsourcing is the best way to bring in an expert to do the jobs that you are either not very good at or simply don’t have time to do.

One of the many reasons why it makes sense to outsource is that it will let you take advantage of the principle that 80 per cent of your value comes from 20 per cent of what you do. If you can put more effort into that 20 per cent, you’ll be able to bring in someone else to do the other tasks you are shedding. As a small business, the temptation to do everything yourself is great especially as outsourcing will normally mean a cost, but don’t forget specialists will actually save you time and money in the long run. In addition, in areas like marketing, a specialist will be able to open doors for you that will bring in business actually helping your business grow and actually make you money.

Outsourcing is all about bringing in the right person or people to do a job that you don’t have the skills to do effectively yourself. In my opinion, outsourcing is a positive step in business as it means that you have identified a possible weakness in your business plan and brought in someone who can turn it into a strength; adding value to the process.

What can be outsourced:

Accounting services
IT support
Marketing
Phone answering
Logo design + other graphic design projects
Website design
Search engine optimization
Copy writing
Producing audio or video
Surveys
PR + promotion

Whatever you outsource, you must find someone who is right for you and your business who cannot only do the job you need, but can do it at the right price. To start the ball rolling, right down exactly what you want and do some research. Maybe ask other people who they use, or use search engines to find what you want. For example, if you want “marketing advice Bath“, put that phrase into Google and see who comes up top – Bath Marketing Consultancy!

Your radio advertising check list

Paul TagentLeave a comment

From my Twitter post today. The 5 “i’s” that make up a successful radio campaign are:

  1. Involvement – will it draw in listeners?
  2. Identity – will listeners know who the ad is about?
  3. Impression – will listeners get the right impression of the brand?
  4. Information – will the listener understand what the ad is saying?
  5. Integration – if the ad is part of a wider campaign, will the listener make the connection?

 As with ads that run in the press, it may be possible to haggle on the price of radio advertising and my suggestion is to get a price based on the potential of long running campaign.