Marketing is defined as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
As you can see it is a pretty wide ranging definition and this is hardly surprising given the plethora of different marketing techniques and media. Marketing and business go hand-in-hand. You may design and manufacture the best products or provide the best possible service, but if no one knows about it, you won’t get many enquiries, let alone orders. Marketing is how you alert potential customers to your offering and that marketing can take the traditional form or be more cutting edge in its execution, such as in the case of guerilla marketing. Likewise, if there is no business, there’s no need to market or promote it, so the two areas are inextricably linked.
Where once marketing would have consisting principally of an advert placed in the local or national press or perhaps a radio or television slot, now marketing has taken on a whole new range of ideas. Traditional advertising still has its place of course but even then there is the distinction to be drawn between brand awareness advertising, such as you might see from giant conglomerates such as Coca Cola, McDonalds or Ford and direct response advertising which is more the preserve of smaller organisations and firms whose marketing budget and output is designed specifically to provoke a response or a specific action.
And then there are the new forms of marketing, those associated with the internet. Internet marketing is a whole dedicated discipline in itself and again spans many different concepts from the familiar adsense and adwords or pay per click marketing we see every day when we browse the net, to affiliate marketing, article marketing, reputation management and, of course, search engine optimisation (SEO) the implementation of a series of tools and practices designed to make your website more visible in the search engines.
And that is really what our site is all about. In the weeks and months to come we will delve into the world of marketing promotion and business to examine different ideas, assess best practices and see what is new and exciting. We hope you will find things informative and entertaining. If you would like to get in touch please do not hesitate to contact us – we’d love to hear from you.
High Quality Printed Stationery Can Make All The Difference
For many, the business stationery of a company is one of the first elements that is seen by potential clients. As such this means that it is often the first impression of a particular business and as such should ideally reflect the company ethos and project a positive and professional image. However, many companies choose to utilise poor quality printed material which simply highlights the lack of professionalism of the company and conveys a poor message in terms of its professional approach. This is why it often pays to make use of a professional printer who can offer high quality printing of business stationery.
It is an unfortunate fact that for many businesses current trading conditions are tough. This is exactly why any opportunity that is available to promote the business should be utilised. One facet of business stationery which is often overlooked in terms of potential marketing and advertising are company envelopes. In fact printed envelopes offer an ideal marketing medium as they are consistently utilised to encompass documentation whether this is an invoice, general letter or other form of written administration. For these reasons, they can be considered a viable and high impact option for improving brand awareness which in the current economic climate is a great idea. Envelopes are utilised in many forms and also come in a variety of sizes, an without doubt are an ideal medium within which to add a strap line or marketing message which is instantly visible and which can therefore offer an instant impact. Unlike other forms of marketing material, such as flyers, an envelope is an essential element and as such is not likely to be simply thrown out without at least viewing its cover and internal contents.
In terms of print quality, there is no doubt that it can have a significant bearing on the impression of any business. But as many businesses are also finding out, it can also be used as an effective marketing tool and one which generally does not significantly increase the overall costs of the printing. It is in fact one simple means of increasing the awareness of the company and its products and can be a commercially effective way to additionally market a product or service, with very little effort.
Marketing Leaflets – How To Get The Most From Them
Marketing leaflets may not seem the most sophisticated advertising concept but a well put together leaflet can be a highly effective marketing vehicle. Equally if you ignore some of the fundamentals, you could end up throwing good money after bad. So lets cut to the chase. What makes a good leaflet?First there is the question of content. Make it engaging and appealing – don’t bore your audience with statistics and dull repetitive information. Don’t stint on quality – we would strongly recommend you go for a full-colour design, printed on both sides. It will cost a little more than one side only, but looks much more effective plus it gives you another opportunity to get your message across on the second page! Printing leaflets does not cost the earth so try to make your stand out in every way possible, not least in terms of quality.
It is often a good idea to get a hold of some of your competitors leaflets to see what they are doing right – and just as importantly, what could be improved upon.
Do not try to include too much in your leaflet – after all you are just trying to pique your potential customers interest not present them with a brochure or your services. There is a school of thought that says those who are really interested in you product or service will be happy to spend time reading as much information as they can about it but in general terms research appears to suggest that giving potential customers enough information to stimulate their attention, while overwhelming them, is the best way to go.
Arguably, the most important part of any leaflet is the headline which you be designed to catch attention immediately, preventing the recipient simply throwing the leaflet in the bin. You only have a few seconds to get people interested and the number one way to achieve this is by means of an arresting headline.
Another vital part of a properly created leaflet is the all-to-action. This is not brand advertising you are engaged in here. That is fine for businesses like MacDonalds, Coca Cola and British Airways. You have spent your hard earned cash on these leaflets and you want then to achieve a result – an action, whether that is the potential customer picking up the phone to make an appointment, sending an email or visiting your website for further information. How do you achieve this? It’s simple – just say it clearly on your leaflet: ”Call Now To Book An Appointment” or ”Visit Our Website For More Information”. The purpose of the call-to-action is to lead potential customers by the hand to the next step in the sales process.
Image: Freedigitalphotos.net
The Effect Of Different Colours In Marketing
Many people are surprised to learn that using different colours in your marketing materials can have a significant effect on the success or failure of your marketing activities. When it comes to colour, the world’s favourite is blue, which is probably no great suprise when you think of the colour of the sea and sky that surround us. In fact this association can be used not only as a colour scheme in marketing, but as part of a brand identity – take www.blueskyloans.co.uk for example. They use blue, naturally, in their marketing materials and website, but have also built their brand name around the concept of the blue sky. Another example can be seen in the case of maid service Proclean domestic cleaning glasgow. As you will learn below green is associated with freshness and nature so was a logical choice for a cleaning agency, given how switched on people are these days to ecological choices. The company have carried the “green” message through to every interface with customers – in marketing materials, staff uniforms and vehicle livery.
So, if blue is the favourite colour, what do the myriad other colours available to marketers and advertisers signify?
Image: “Color Chart Zoom”
Here’s a brief breakdown of a few of the most popular and/or commonly used colours:
Red: Red stands for action and adventure, as well as other emotions such as anger and lust. It is regularly among the top two colours for consumers and advertisers alike. It is internationally recognised as “stop” and is the most popular colour used in national flags. In marketing red is best employed if you are trying to promote an action-or-activity based product or service.
Orange: Orange signifies vitality and energy. It symbolises autumn around the world and is a colour which young people, especially children, tend to be attracted to. In terms of marketing, orange represents good vaue-for-money and the possibility of negotiating a discount.
Yellow; Yellow almost universally signifies warmth, good humour and cheeriness.In terms of marketing it is probably the most eye-catching colour available to advertisers.
Green; No surprisingly, green tends to stand for freshness and vitality. It is now universally accepted as representing ecological themes and is associated with all things natural and wholesome.
These are just a few of the colours to choose from. Which one do you think represents your brand most accurately?
Improve Client Acquisition Through Efficient Use Of Email
For any business, keeping in regular contact with existing clients as well as potential clients is extremely important. Most businesses now use email, as their preferred choice when it comes to communicating with their clients. As with any form of communication medium, the effectiveness of the relevant form of communication needs to be maximised in terms of quality itself as well as its overall effectiveness, which can have a significant impact on future communications and potential business.
When it comes to producing a high quality email that achieves the desired results, email templates provide a simple yet effective means of achieving this. An email template is a quick and effective way of producing an eye-catching and appealing email, through effective design and proven methodology. An email marketing service will usually provide an array of templates which are suitable for differing business requirements, and which will have been designed with results in mind.
In terms of efficiency, most successful businesses that utilise email marketing as part of their marketing mix, will use a professional email marketing service which offers a variety of useful features. This may well include elements such as the ability to manage a subscriber list, in essence their current and potential clients, in addition to features such as managing bounce backs to keep their list up to date whilst the ability to analyse the effect of a particular email campaign through extensive reporting is an extremely important feature as it provides the means to ensure the desired return on investment and to also amend and tweak any campaign to improve results.Most would agree that a professional email marketing service is invaluable in helping to achieve success online, as testified by many companies who already utilise this means of marketing. The usefulness of a professional email marketing service cannot be underestimated, with its comprehensive range of email creation tools as well as reporting features, it provides the relevant tools required for a success campaign and continued success through effective use of this popular marketing medium.
Image – “Businessman Sending Message” courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net