November 6, 2013,  News  No comments

As the author of a best-selling series of sales and marketing books published by Kogan Page in the UK, USA and India you’d expect me to have high expectations from those that I’m willing to employ to deliver products and services. And of course you’d be right!

Unfortunately the majority of tradespeople I come across don’t pay enough attention to the little things, for example, in how they do their business by answering messages when left and generally interacting with the customer.

A common mistake often made by small businesses is to overlook the customer experience which can be just as important as fixing a broken pipe or rewiring a broken fuse box.

So I’m absolutel...

November 6, 2013,  News  No comments

Let’s suppose you’re sitting in a job interview to be the next director of communications for a large, well-known B2B brand.

The key aspect of the role is public relations and of course you’re well versed in the art of how to manage the flow of information.

After all, you’ve done it a zillion times before. So what’s new? Well, that’s kind of true. PR had its place in the marketing mix, was focused on creating awareness, grabbing headlines, engaging with the media and creating an environment where the sale was more likely to place as a result.

Control and timing was everything, wasn’t it? PR’s big brother marketing was a discipline that focused on the channels to m...

November 6, 2013,  News  No comments

Nestlé-owned Häagen-Dazs is one of the most iconic ice cream brands in the world and has successfully connected with female consumers for over half a century.

Earlier this year, the ice cream brand decided to go back to its marketing roots and develop a social media engagement strategy that would create word-of-mouth buzz around the brand as well as the launch of its new premium product in the UK.

A key outcome for its brand managers was to increase consumer engagement on its UK Facebook page and build awareness and bookings for its new Boudoir campaign as well as engage with brand advocates on Twitter.

The Boudoir was an exclusive ‘pop-up club’ that was developed as p...

October 24, 2013,  Guru in a Bottle  No comments

A common misconception often made by small business owners is that marketing is for larger, more established businesses.

I had a chat about this with John Ponsford who spent four days last week completely rewiring all the lights in our house.

I asked John how he gets referrals and he explained that all of his work is through recommendation and word of mouth. He’s nervous about spending money on marketing and unsure what results he could achieve if he went down this route. He doesn’t advertise in the Yellow Pages but doesn’t know what he should do or where he should start.

I commended him for the way he and his father quietly got on with the job; how pleasant they were i...

October 17, 2013,  Events, News  One comment

This was one of the many profound insights shared with a global audience of PR and communication leaders from around the world that gathered a stone’s throw from the National Assembly and Saint-Germain-des-Prés in central Paris last week.

The subject of leadership dominated the two-day ICCO Summit and what was fascinating to observe was a growing consensus view of the recognition that clients need to be supported in understanding not just how their messages are being delivered but more importantly how they’re being received.

I was particularly impressed with Diana El-Azar, senior director responsible for media, entertainment and information industries at the World Economic...

October 13, 2013,  Guru in a Bottle, News  No comments

In business, it’s more important than ever to push the boundaries in order to achieve a competitive advantage. It’s about being brave. And doing things that your competitors can only dream about.

As the world shrinks smaller, the importance of pushing the boundaries and striving for greatness is at an all-time high. And this partly explains why the makers of Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV) – Rockstar – have become the titans of the video gaming industry.

There are very few industries outside of medical, technology, engineering or defence where a company can blow a cool $250m in research and development...

October 5, 2013,  News  No comments

I’m fascinated by real-life experiences of really bad customer service.

It’s not because I have some prurient interest in disasters or the bad luck to befall customers but I genuinely want to understand how marketing can be improved by learning from mistakes made by some of the biggest brands in the world.

It’s not the sort of content PR folk want to see in a blog of course so I’ve had to use social media to dig deep and uncover examples I’d like to share with you. Some appear in my latest book, High Impact Marketing That Gets Results.

The following has been kindly submitted by Barry Maher, a US-sales and marketing guru and author of Filling the Glass: The Sceptics...

October 5, 2013,  Guru in a Bottle  No comments

Ever had the sinking feeling that you’ve done all that was expected of you to entice the customer or client to come back but they simply leave without making a purchase or don’t bother returning your call?

There are five key reasons why customers tend to walk away and not come back:

1. They die (1%)
2. They move (3%)
3. They are lured by a competitor (14%)
4. They are unhappy with the product, service or price (14%)
5. They are unhappy with the way that they’re treated (68%).

Whilst sales and marketing professionals have possibly little influence over the first four reasons why customers do a runner, salespeople and business owners certainly have complete control ov...

October 5, 2013,  Events, Guru in a Bottle  No comments

Leading PR and sports marketing expert Ardi Kolah discusses the findings of his unique global report that identified opportunities for sports marketing and consultancy services to 2022 at the forthcoming ICCO Summit in Paris on 10-11 October 2013.

Kolah recently advised the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) in the wake of the phenomenal success of London 2012 Olympic Games and his recommendations have influenced the British Government’s growth strategy for business and professional services.

Kolah’s briefing for ICCO Members includes:

1. identifying the new business opportunities;
2. explaining the timescales and bidding processes;
3. reporting/estimating the budg...

October 4, 2013,  News  No comments

Global public relations, marketing practitioner and best-selling management author Ardi Kolah has been elected to serve as a member of the PRCA Council 2013-14.

The PRCA represents PR consultancies, in-house communications teams, PR freelancers and individuals. With over 300 agency members from around the world, including the majority of the top 150 UK consultancies and over 100 in-house communications teams from multi-nationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations. It is the largest professional body of its kind in the UK.

More than 900 PRCA members participated in the voting process.

Ardi Kolah said: “It’s a real privilege to join the PRCA Council at a t...