Marketing – Page 34

Looking Ahead – Marketing Calendar August 2015

Welcome to this month’s “Looking Ahead” feature. Here we’ll review events, occasions, holidays and anniversaries that you can use to build your event-driven marketing calendar August 2015.

The calendar is pretty empty this month of major holidays. In the northern hemisphere it’s the dog days of summer. In the south it’s the last blast of winter. These “seasonal” themes are available to you if there’s nothing else that’s suitable.

August is also a “Back To School” month for many northern hemisphere countries…

…and remember major sporting events such as the US PGA Championship (13-16 August), the US Open Tennis (starts 31 August) and the start of the football (soccer) season in the UK (Premier League starts the weekend of August 8).

It’s also “Elvis Week”, August 8-16. Elvis Presley moved on to the “great gig in the sky” on 16 August, 1977.

Other events… [Read more…]

Looking Ahead – Marketing Calendar July 2015

Time for our regular look ahead…this time at the month of July 2015. Let’s take a look at the coming month for events, occasions, holidays and anniversaries that can form the basis for a marketing campaign or promotion and that you can use to create a marketing calendar July 2015.

Two big themes or ideas.

First, that we’re now in the second half of the year. July 1 is sometimes referred to as “Second Half Of The Year Day”.

As with any milestones like this, it’s an opportunity to give people a bit of a jolt and get them to review their goals and plans for the year.

Of course, if they are off-track a little you might well be able to help them get back on track!

Secondly, it’s Summer (in the northern hemisphere)…

…but the depths of Winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere.

In the USA July 4 is the great national occasion “Independence Day”. This theme of independence is very much a universal ideal and so can be used pretty much in any country. The idea of “personal independence” can be the basis for a promotion in many different markets. It’s worth keeping in mind that one of the primary reasons people go into business for themselves is the desire for freedom and independence.

Taking a look at some specific occasions… [Read more…]

Looking Ahead – Marketing Calendar June 2015

The month of June is approaching…

…that means we’re almost halfway through the year 2015!

That in itself can be used as the basis for a marketing promotion…

…along with the other holidays and events that fall in the coming month…

…to create your own marketing calendar June 2015.

Also…

…did you know that June is the biggest month for weddings in the USA? May well be the same in other northern hemisphere countries but different south of the Equator.

If you’re in the northern hemisphere…

…the broad theme can be thought of as “Summer”.

The Summer Solstice occurs at 16.38 UT on June 21.

There’s also Father’s Day (June 21) in the USA, UK and Canada.

TWO big anniversaries this year…

…on 15 June it’s 800 years since the signing of Magna Carta in 1215.

18 June is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.

Other events… [Read more…]

No B.S. Direct Marketing – Book Review

No BS Direct Marketing - Book Review This book review covers the 2nd Edition of No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy…more fully, “Direct Marketing For Non-Direct Marketing Businesses”. Let’s clarify that last point. Traditionally, “Direct Marketing Businesses” have been defined as mail-order, catalogue or online companies that directly solicits orders for business. So, “Non-Direct Marketing Businesses” are everything else…you might say the majority of businesses.

In fact, this book is really the “nuts and bolts” blueprint for the GKIC style direct response marketing that Dan Kennedy prescribes. It is primarily aimed at business folks who are NOT familiar with direct-response marketing. However, even experienced practitioners will find this a useful recap of fundamentals…and a reminder to implement what they already know!

The book kicks off with an introduction titled “The End of Advertising And Marketing As You Know It”. Essentially this is a primer on why what you see BIG BUSINESS doing in advertising and marketing is NOT appropriate for small business and why direct response is the best approach to build a successful business.

The main part of the book is divided into 3 sections – Foundation, Application and Resources.

Section 1, Foundation, makes up the bulk of the book and is pure Dan Kennedy. Over the course of 11 chapters, Dan lays down his “10 Rules To Transforming Your Business Into An Infinitely More Powerful Direct Marketing Business”. For example, Rule #1… [Read more…]

GKIC London Chapter – Meeting 21 April 2015

GKIC London April 2015 Meeting Near St Paul's Cathedral

GKIC London April 2015 Meeting Near The Magnificent St Paul’s Cathedral

A full and very informative meeting of the GKIC London Chapter this month on 21 April at “The Happenstance” near the magnificent St Paul’s cathedral. Three guest speaker plus the always insightful David White.

David kicked off the afternoon talking about…

…“6 Ways To Strengthen Your Business”…

…where he took a look at 6 areas common to every business, where sales and revenue are being lost. Making improvements in these areas can result in a significant boost to your bottom line.

Here are the first 3 of those 6…

1. Leads

2. First time buyers

3. No sale: prospects who got a sales presentation but didn’t buy

As an example of what you can do to improve results, in category 3 you could take a look at the follow up process. If you don’t have a follow up system in place, then that’s one thing you can do straight away.

The second part of David’s presentation covered…

…“8 Questions To Consider For Reinventing Your Business”.

If you’re wondering why you might want to “reinvent” your business, one very common reason is the need to adapt to changing circumstances.

That might be a change in market conditions or a change in the economy.

For example, a BIG THEME in Dan Kennedy’s recently updated… [Read more…]

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