It would be the easiest thing in the world for the small business owner to believe everything they read or hear in the press, and be convinced that we are heading for some horrific double-dip recession.
This way of thinking has got to stop.
If you look behind the stories, or take the time to discover the positive approaches being taken by organisations across the UK, in spite of the doom-laden perspective taken by the media, then you will see that we are in a position to launch this decade of the entrepreneur!
In the past fortnight, I have seen the positive results of thinking outside the box, and looking for the opportunities out there:
Vince Moran, Chief Operating Officer views the abolition of his quango, British Waterways as "great news" and he views the long-term future of the organisation, with new charitable status as "fantastic".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11541497
Staff at a hospital in Hampshire have been actively involved in looking for ways to save money within their departments, and the creative thinking has already cut overheads by not inconsiderable amounts:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-11540473
So, how can the small business make the most of the opportunities that do exist?
1. Think about where you are spending money, and if you cannot see a return on your investment, think again;
2. Don't stop marketing. It has always been said that you need to market your way out of a recession, and never a truer word has been said. This does not mean that you have to increase your marketing spend. On the contrary, as I said above, be creative. Just because you have always advertised in the Yellow Pages, ask yourself if you are really getting business as a result. Try something new: is your website really working for you? Does it collect data, or really sell your products and services? Could you generate additional income by selling products online? Are you in touch with your existing customers often enough, and are they remaining loyal to you in a financial climate where it pays to shop around?
3. Network. Go back to basic principles of providing excellent customer service. Social Media is the perfect way to do this online, without the need for you to leave your office! Listen to what potential clients and customers want from businesses like yours, react and then let them know what you do. Share your successes, talk about your business and offer help where it is requested. If you have not started to embrace Social Media and the many routes to market it offers, then you are missing out!
Little things can make all the difference. Above all, please BE POSITIVE. Ignore the negative news. We all know that the country has no money, there are uncertainties and we will all have to be watch the pennies, but let us for once believe in our collective futures. As small business owners, we all started up with a belief in our products and services. We just need to share those beliefs, have the strength of our own convictions and get our message out there in front of our clients and customers.
Argent Ram Media provide a range of multi-media marketing solutions for small, medium and large businesses and companies. Please contact us for further information - 0845 009 5396.
http://www.argentrammedia.com/
ian@argentrammedia.com
Monday 25 October 2010
Wednesday 15 September 2010
Mobile vs In-Situ Digital Marketing Screens
I don't know if any of you saw the most recent episode of Dragon's Den.
A chap called Ian Taylor presented his Media Display Digi-bikes (mobile digital advertising screens), looking for an £80,000 investment. He did get the investment from James Caan, eventually, but it was interesting to note the reason behind Peter Jones' rejection of the idea. Although he referred to Ascot as being the client in question, he stated that "it makes more sense to have displays in situ".
The cost of hiring the digi-bike or digi-van is beyond the reach of most small and medium sized business, but the principle is the same across this media - get your message in front of the right people.
We have clients who have increased sales dramatically simply by having a video demonstration of a product on their marketing screen. Show potential customers how to do something, or how to use something and the impulse to buy is so much greater.
A chap called Ian Taylor presented his Media Display Digi-bikes (mobile digital advertising screens), looking for an £80,000 investment. He did get the investment from James Caan, eventually, but it was interesting to note the reason behind Peter Jones' rejection of the idea. Although he referred to Ascot as being the client in question, he stated that "it makes more sense to have displays in situ".
The cost of hiring the digi-bike or digi-van is beyond the reach of most small and medium sized business, but the principle is the same across this media - get your message in front of the right people.
We have clients who have increased sales dramatically simply by having a video demonstration of a product on their marketing screen. Show potential customers how to do something, or how to use something and the impulse to buy is so much greater.
Saturday 7 August 2010
Affordable Digital Screen Marketing for every Business
In your business, do customers and clients ever have to wait to see someone, or do you need to grab their attention to get your marketing message across?
When customers or clients are waiting, how do you:
Just consider for a moment that all your marketing activity is probably geared towards enticing potential customers and clients to contact you, either by phone, email, enquiry form or a visit to your premises. Your website, email marketing and advertising campaigns do a great job to promote your services, and highlight the ways in which you are better than your competitors. As the old marketing adage goes, your efforts meet the AIDA criteria:
"The average recall of a brand advertised on in-store television is 66%, compared with 24% for brands advertised on in-home television."
Content is the vital ingredient in the digital screen marketing mix, but rather than being held hostage by a system that opnly allows you to show Sky News or CNN, solutions are sophisticated enough to allow you to create content that you want your clients and customers to see, and nothing else.
By all means, entertain them if they need to wait for a while, but ensure that you allow them to see information tha might tempt them to buy, to enquire and generally to engage with you as a business.
Don't take my word for it. Below are testimonials from a chain of trade counters who use screens to increase sales of products.
“We have had excellent success basically because the product is promoted via our screens.“
“York Group 9 branches have sold over £27,000 of [this product] YTD, and because this tool needs to be demonstrated, the screens have been a perfect ‘tool’ for promoting and selling this product."
“A customer wanted some cable to be cut, and whilst waiting he saw the advertisement and bought the product. £26.10 for the cut cable plus an additional £179.00 for the Fein MultiMaster.“
“Just to let you know, Sheffield Central have just received the stock of the Fein MultiMasters. They have sold 4 already! Over £700 of extra, welcome sales thanks to it being promoted via the screens.“
Digital screen marketing works for the following businesses:
Make your clients and customers feel valued and generate additional revenue.
Argent Ram Media provide a range of Digital Screen Marketing solutions for small, medium and large businesses and companies. Please contact us for further information - 0845 009 5396
http://www.argentrammedia.com/
ian@argentrammedia.com
When customers or clients are waiting, how do you:
- Entertain them and reduce the perceived length of waiting time?
- Inform them of your full range of products and services?
- Maximise the potential to increase spend-per-head?
- Keep them up to date with any special offers or promotions?
- Make them feel valued?
Just consider for a moment that all your marketing activity is probably geared towards enticing potential customers and clients to contact you, either by phone, email, enquiry form or a visit to your premises. Your website, email marketing and advertising campaigns do a great job to promote your services, and highlight the ways in which you are better than your competitors. As the old marketing adage goes, your efforts meet the AIDA criteria:
- Grabbing ATTENTION
- Creating INTEREST and DESIRE
- Having a clear Call to ACTION
"The average recall of a brand advertised on in-store television is 66%, compared with 24% for brands advertised on in-home television."
Content is the vital ingredient in the digital screen marketing mix, but rather than being held hostage by a system that opnly allows you to show Sky News or CNN, solutions are sophisticated enough to allow you to create content that you want your clients and customers to see, and nothing else.
By all means, entertain them if they need to wait for a while, but ensure that you allow them to see information tha might tempt them to buy, to enquire and generally to engage with you as a business.
Don't take my word for it. Below are testimonials from a chain of trade counters who use screens to increase sales of products.
“We have had excellent success basically because the product is promoted via our screens.“
“York Group 9 branches have sold over £27,000 of [this product] YTD, and because this tool needs to be demonstrated, the screens have been a perfect ‘tool’ for promoting and selling this product."
“A customer wanted some cable to be cut, and whilst waiting he saw the advertisement and bought the product. £26.10 for the cut cable plus an additional £179.00 for the Fein MultiMaster.“
“Just to let you know, Sheffield Central have just received the stock of the Fein MultiMasters. They have sold 4 already! Over £700 of extra, welcome sales thanks to it being promoted via the screens.“
Digital screen marketing works for the following businesses:
- Retail outlets;
- Hotels and leisure;
- Trade Counters;
- Showrooms;
- Dental Surgeries;
- GP Surgeries;
- Pharmacies;
- Gyms and Health Clubs;
- Estate Agents;
- Hair and Beauty Salons;
- Solicitors
Make your clients and customers feel valued and generate additional revenue.
Argent Ram Media provide a range of Digital Screen Marketing solutions for small, medium and large businesses and companies. Please contact us for further information - 0845 009 5396
http://www.argentrammedia.com/
ian@argentrammedia.com
Saturday 20 February 2010
Where are all the Sales People?
Are there people out there who are prepared to work hard at selling to forge a career?
Everyone appreciates how tough the economy is at the moment. A recession, and the changes that this brings to business, can have a dramatic and radical effect on the individual lives of so many people.
I saw one example the other morning on BBC News: a chap who used to work in the motor industry was made redundant and used the opportunity to retrain as a Nordic Walking Instructor.
We, as a business, have found it far more cost-effective in these harsh economic times, to employ freelancers on a per-project basis - developers, designers, PR experts, you name it; they are all readily available at competitive rates. Our overheads are lower because we are not paying out on superfluous salaries, and we do not need large premises to house staff.
This will change, however, and when the economy starts to improve, we will need the solid infrastructure around us to allow us to capitalise on economic growth. At that time, we will invest in full time permanent staff, and office premises to house them. We have made it a policy to be open and transparent with every individual who works for us in any capacity. They see the cash flow projections, and we share our plans for the future and the opportunities that may be available. These individuals can then make informed decisions as to whether or not they stay as freelancers or if they would like to become full-time employees. The choice will be theirs.
The one black-spot in an otherwise ideal landscape is sales.
With unemployment as high as it is, with gloomy predictions still prevailing over the state of the housing market, and with large-scale redundancies still forecast, why is it so impossible to find committed freelance sales people? I am realistic enough to know that commission-only sales jobs are generally about as popular as a dose of swine-flu, but I cannot understand why it is so difficult to find people who would like to invest some time to forge a medium to long term career.
I have gone through half a dozen freelance sales people - people with whom I have worked before and who all express a burning desire to earn money. I know these people can sell, as they produced results when they were on a basic salary. However, after a couple of weeks, the interest wanes and they go quiet. No sales, no feedback, no commitment.
Am I offering too little commission? We pay between 20% - 40% on the total sales value of any order. A website order of £5,000 would pay a minimum commission of £1,000! Not bad for a couple of days' work.
I have made it clear to all freelance sales people that those individuals who show commitment and bring in business when times are tough, then they will be first on the list when we do come to employ permanent sales people (good basic salary, expenses, banded commission scales and profit share). But at the moment, it makes no sense whatsoever to employ people and pay a basic salary if we are not going to achieve the results.
Where are the sales people who genuinely want to sell, who are prepared to invest some time and effort for their rewards and who may want to build a future as we all emerge from a particularly grim time?
If you are a sales person interested in a commission-only role with prospects, do please get in touch - ian@argentrammedia.com. But only do so if you are committed to driving your own business and working hard to make money.
Everyone appreciates how tough the economy is at the moment. A recession, and the changes that this brings to business, can have a dramatic and radical effect on the individual lives of so many people.
I saw one example the other morning on BBC News: a chap who used to work in the motor industry was made redundant and used the opportunity to retrain as a Nordic Walking Instructor.
We, as a business, have found it far more cost-effective in these harsh economic times, to employ freelancers on a per-project basis - developers, designers, PR experts, you name it; they are all readily available at competitive rates. Our overheads are lower because we are not paying out on superfluous salaries, and we do not need large premises to house staff.
This will change, however, and when the economy starts to improve, we will need the solid infrastructure around us to allow us to capitalise on economic growth. At that time, we will invest in full time permanent staff, and office premises to house them. We have made it a policy to be open and transparent with every individual who works for us in any capacity. They see the cash flow projections, and we share our plans for the future and the opportunities that may be available. These individuals can then make informed decisions as to whether or not they stay as freelancers or if they would like to become full-time employees. The choice will be theirs.
The one black-spot in an otherwise ideal landscape is sales.
With unemployment as high as it is, with gloomy predictions still prevailing over the state of the housing market, and with large-scale redundancies still forecast, why is it so impossible to find committed freelance sales people? I am realistic enough to know that commission-only sales jobs are generally about as popular as a dose of swine-flu, but I cannot understand why it is so difficult to find people who would like to invest some time to forge a medium to long term career.
I have gone through half a dozen freelance sales people - people with whom I have worked before and who all express a burning desire to earn money. I know these people can sell, as they produced results when they were on a basic salary. However, after a couple of weeks, the interest wanes and they go quiet. No sales, no feedback, no commitment.
Am I offering too little commission? We pay between 20% - 40% on the total sales value of any order. A website order of £5,000 would pay a minimum commission of £1,000! Not bad for a couple of days' work.
I have made it clear to all freelance sales people that those individuals who show commitment and bring in business when times are tough, then they will be first on the list when we do come to employ permanent sales people (good basic salary, expenses, banded commission scales and profit share). But at the moment, it makes no sense whatsoever to employ people and pay a basic salary if we are not going to achieve the results.
Where are the sales people who genuinely want to sell, who are prepared to invest some time and effort for their rewards and who may want to build a future as we all emerge from a particularly grim time?
If you are a sales person interested in a commission-only role with prospects, do please get in touch - ian@argentrammedia.com. But only do so if you are committed to driving your own business and working hard to make money.
Monday 8 February 2010
Hobbies versus Personal Achievements
I gave a presentation today to Year 2 Students on the Multimedia Design and Technology course at the University of Kent. The topic was "What Employers look for when recruiting students and graduates."
In the presentation, I referred to my pet hate of lists of hobbies added to the bottom of CVs, and understand this may have caused some confusion amongst the presentation attendees. A presenter on a previous occasion had advocated the listing of hobbies, so:
Hobbies vs Personal Achievements
To clarify, my pet hate is for those CVs that have a paragraph at the bottom reading something along the following lines:
"In my spare time, I like to read, cook, ride horses, play board games......"
A hobby is something done in one's leisure time for pleasure - gardening, sewing etc.
Compare that to "Personal Achievement". Those students who attended my presentation will recall (hopefully) that I had a slide or two entitled "What have you done today, to make you feel proud?" An achievement.
I came across a news item recently that sums up what I mean by Personal Achievement:
http://www.justgiving.com/charliesimpson-haiti
This little chap is only 7 years of age, but what an achievement. So, his CV? "In my spare time I like to ride my bike..." OR "In 2010, I rode 5 miles and raised over £200,000 for Unicef's Haiti appeal." Hobby vs Personal Achievement.
Many of you will undoubtedly follow pursuits in your spare time, but personally, I am looking for your achievements. How have these pursuits made you different? How have they made you stand out from the crowd? What have you achieved that makes you feel proud?
The two are not mutually exclusive. A hobby can still be a pursuit through which you achieve something. You enjoy reading as the hobby, but getting a review of a novel published in a respected magazine is an achievement.
In the presentation, I referred to my pet hate of lists of hobbies added to the bottom of CVs, and understand this may have caused some confusion amongst the presentation attendees. A presenter on a previous occasion had advocated the listing of hobbies, so:
Hobbies vs Personal Achievements
To clarify, my pet hate is for those CVs that have a paragraph at the bottom reading something along the following lines:
"In my spare time, I like to read, cook, ride horses, play board games......"
A hobby is something done in one's leisure time for pleasure - gardening, sewing etc.
Compare that to "Personal Achievement". Those students who attended my presentation will recall (hopefully) that I had a slide or two entitled "What have you done today, to make you feel proud?" An achievement.
I came across a news item recently that sums up what I mean by Personal Achievement:
http://www.justgiving.com/charliesimpson-haiti
This little chap is only 7 years of age, but what an achievement. So, his CV? "In my spare time I like to ride my bike..." OR "In 2010, I rode 5 miles and raised over £200,000 for Unicef's Haiti appeal." Hobby vs Personal Achievement.
Many of you will undoubtedly follow pursuits in your spare time, but personally, I am looking for your achievements. How have these pursuits made you different? How have they made you stand out from the crowd? What have you achieved that makes you feel proud?
The two are not mutually exclusive. A hobby can still be a pursuit through which you achieve something. You enjoy reading as the hobby, but getting a review of a novel published in a respected magazine is an achievement.
Thursday 28 January 2010
Digital Screen Marketing need not be beyond the Small Business
Digital Signage and Digital Out of Home advertising (DOOH) are two of the most rapidly growing areas in the world of marketing today.
It seems that everywhere you turn, you will see a digital marketing screen: at point of sale on Camelot's Lotto terminals; beside the escalators on the London Tube network; in railway stations and shopping malls. The use and application of these screens is varied and increasing by the day.
Why is screen marketing so important?
In previous blogs, I have talked a lot about engagement, and for any business in today's economic climate, it is becoming vital that you engage with your customers and potential customers. This is nothing new, when you analyse it. It harks back to the days of the corner shop, when the shop owner used to know every customer and was able to get together their staple purchases for them before they even entered the shop - real customer service.
Direct response marketing has always been considered to be a vital part of any marketing strategy, and that direct exchange between you and your customer is the ideal opportunity for you to increase sales.
Looking back at the principles of successful market, we are always reminded of AIDA:
Attention
Interest
Desire
Call to Action
The AIDA principle is as strong today as ever, and should be ignored by any business at its peril.
Screen marketing is important because it can combine all the above in a dynamic and evocative format. It allows you, as a business, to disseminate some of your customer service principles, your key marketing messages and your direct-response advertising in an engaging way.
This is way above the budget of the small business, I hear you cry!
No; it's not. Screen marketing solutions are becoming ever-more affordable and, more importantly, more cost-effective.
I would urge any small business to examine their marketing and advertising strategies and analyse what really works for them.
Just because your competitors advertise in the local paper does not mean that you have to follow suit. What response do you get from this traditional form of advertising? What about the Yellow Pages? Always the favourite of the small business, but can you categorically state the percentage of your enquiries that come from this medium? Have you analysed the price-per-lead from these sources?
The following came through from Chris Cardell (Cardell Media) the other day:
"Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an Entrepreneur worth £200 Million and a struggling business owner who can't pay their bills?
It's not talent, genius or hard work. It's not luck. And it's not the economy.
The difference between them is actually very small. Undetectable to the human eye. We've had Duncan Bannatyne (from BBC's Dragons' Den) as a guest at a couple of our events. With the greatest respect to Duncan, I'm sure he'd agree that the difference between him (he's worth £200 Million) and the struggling business owner is not brains (he's smart but so are many of the struggling ones) and it's certainly not education (Duncan left school with no qualifications.)
I'll tell you the difference. It's their ability to use their minds effectively and think RADICALLY differently to everyone else."
Digital Screen Marketing gives you the opportunity, as a small business, to do something different that will set you apart from your competitors. Don't spend more money; just divert some of the money you currently spend on your routine marketing activities and try something new. Something that will speak directly to prospective new customers. Something that will promote your business with dynamism and in a format that will engage with the viewers. Something that will generate a response from those people who could be about to spend money, and something that will encourage them to spend that money with you.
Argent Ram Media offer a wide range of digital screen marketing solutions aimed at both the small and large business. Local advertising opportunities exist in major UK garden and leisure retail outlets and prices compare with those of local newspaper advertising. For more information, please contact Argent Ram Media on 0845 009 5396 or email design@argentrammedia.com.
It seems that everywhere you turn, you will see a digital marketing screen: at point of sale on Camelot's Lotto terminals; beside the escalators on the London Tube network; in railway stations and shopping malls. The use and application of these screens is varied and increasing by the day.
Why is screen marketing so important?
In previous blogs, I have talked a lot about engagement, and for any business in today's economic climate, it is becoming vital that you engage with your customers and potential customers. This is nothing new, when you analyse it. It harks back to the days of the corner shop, when the shop owner used to know every customer and was able to get together their staple purchases for them before they even entered the shop - real customer service.
Direct response marketing has always been considered to be a vital part of any marketing strategy, and that direct exchange between you and your customer is the ideal opportunity for you to increase sales.
Looking back at the principles of successful market, we are always reminded of AIDA:
Attention
Interest
Desire
Call to Action
The AIDA principle is as strong today as ever, and should be ignored by any business at its peril.
Screen marketing is important because it can combine all the above in a dynamic and evocative format. It allows you, as a business, to disseminate some of your customer service principles, your key marketing messages and your direct-response advertising in an engaging way.
This is way above the budget of the small business, I hear you cry!
No; it's not. Screen marketing solutions are becoming ever-more affordable and, more importantly, more cost-effective.
I would urge any small business to examine their marketing and advertising strategies and analyse what really works for them.
Just because your competitors advertise in the local paper does not mean that you have to follow suit. What response do you get from this traditional form of advertising? What about the Yellow Pages? Always the favourite of the small business, but can you categorically state the percentage of your enquiries that come from this medium? Have you analysed the price-per-lead from these sources?
The following came through from Chris Cardell (Cardell Media) the other day:
"Have you ever wondered what the difference is between an Entrepreneur worth £200 Million and a struggling business owner who can't pay their bills?
It's not talent, genius or hard work. It's not luck. And it's not the economy.
The difference between them is actually very small. Undetectable to the human eye. We've had Duncan Bannatyne (from BBC's Dragons' Den) as a guest at a couple of our events. With the greatest respect to Duncan, I'm sure he'd agree that the difference between him (he's worth £200 Million) and the struggling business owner is not brains (he's smart but so are many of the struggling ones) and it's certainly not education (Duncan left school with no qualifications.)
I'll tell you the difference. It's their ability to use their minds effectively and think RADICALLY differently to everyone else."
Digital Screen Marketing gives you the opportunity, as a small business, to do something different that will set you apart from your competitors. Don't spend more money; just divert some of the money you currently spend on your routine marketing activities and try something new. Something that will speak directly to prospective new customers. Something that will promote your business with dynamism and in a format that will engage with the viewers. Something that will generate a response from those people who could be about to spend money, and something that will encourage them to spend that money with you.
Argent Ram Media offer a wide range of digital screen marketing solutions aimed at both the small and large business. Local advertising opportunities exist in major UK garden and leisure retail outlets and prices compare with those of local newspaper advertising. For more information, please contact Argent Ram Media on 0845 009 5396 or email design@argentrammedia.com.
Thursday 7 January 2010
Successful launch for ICE
Happy New Year Everyone! Hope 2010 proves to be a successful year for all..
My first post of the year is a short one, and just to say how pleased we are to be members of the new ICE Business Network launched at the end of last year by the University of Kent at Canterbury:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/news/stories/successfullaunchforice/2009
We, at Argent Ram Media, have had a very successful relationship with the School of Engineering and Digital Arts at the University; a relationship that looks set to continue.
The ICE Network (Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise) is a scheme that "aims to connect local, regional, national and international businesses to the University of Kent and each other."
The University has a wealth of talent available, and any scheme that makes this talent easily accessible to the local business community is inspired.
My first post of the year is a short one, and just to say how pleased we are to be members of the new ICE Business Network launched at the end of last year by the University of Kent at Canterbury:
http://www.kent.ac.uk/news/stories/successfullaunchforice/2009
We, at Argent Ram Media, have had a very successful relationship with the School of Engineering and Digital Arts at the University; a relationship that looks set to continue.
The ICE Network (Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise) is a scheme that "aims to connect local, regional, national and international businesses to the University of Kent and each other."
The University has a wealth of talent available, and any scheme that makes this talent easily accessible to the local business community is inspired.
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