If you have yet to formulate a way to gather information from your customers, now it the time to start. Depending on your business type, there are different options that may be appropriate. If you are a company that invoices its customers then you already have a considerable amount of raw data but if not, think about a way that you could start collecting it....read more

E-newsletters enable you to maintain an ongoing relationship with your customers and prospects. They position your company as an industry expert and most importantly are far more cost effective than printed mail. Following on from the previous article, I will now give you ten top tips for writing the perfect e-newsletter, focussing on the content rather than the technicalities of the newsletter creation....read more

Depending on the size of the business, how many customers or prospects you are likely to be sending it to and your budget, there are various options you can consider. There are a number of paid for solutions ranging in price significantly; most of these work on a monthly fee to use the service. Rather than endorsing or criticising any in particular, I will say that as an overall rule, these are extremely effective solutions that allow you to manage and monitor...read more

Due to the numerous ways in which companies can now communicate with their audiences, it is now accepted amongst professionals that an integrated approach to marketing is essential to ensure brand consistency. And to make the integrated approach a success, planning is the key.

An integrated approach refers to considering all channels available and using a combination to reinforce the same message. Online channels include search engine optimisation, PPC, banner, email and affiliate advertising, email marketing, blogging and any other way of communicating with an audience which uses the internet. Offline refers to the more traditional channels of television and radio advertising as well as press and PR, mail shots, relationship marketing and any way of communicating with an audience that does not use the internet.

So, how do you use integrated marketing to improve on the current marketing activities undertaken by your company, improve your position in the market and most importantly, get more sales? The best place to start is back at the drawing board...read more

If you have done little or no PR before, here are some simple steps you should take before telling the press about your company and the products or services you have to offer. Firstly, you need to compile a media list…

Think about magazines, newspapers and websites that your customers are likely to read regularly and split your list into trade/niche; local; national, and; online. You can subscribe to media databases such as Gorkana but these are costly; I’ve found it’s better to spend the time in the first instance compiling your own list, especially if your PR strategy is likely to be relatively small scale and highly targeted (which tends to be the best approach for small and medium sized businesses)...read more

Once you have planned and implemented the site, many people think that the task is complete when in reality, it is only just beginning. Firstly, information that you include in the main pages of the site may quickly become out of date or in need of further additions as new products and services are added to your portfolio. Additionally, whilst the content needs to be relevant to first-time users of the site, it needs to have regularly updated information for return visitors to the site, i.e. your loyal customer base.

By ensuring that new and relevant information is available to your regular audience, it is likely that they will continue to return to your site. This presents further opportunity to promote your products, services and business as a whole through news stories, case studies, white papers and adverts...read more