News about Toolkit Marketing. Marketing News in Colchester Essex UK

The importance of having a goal

Studies have shown that businesses which have a business plan and a marketing strategy are more successful and are better prepared for an economic downturn. With the latest news on Greece, Portugal and Spain's economies, the foreseeable future for the UK economy is not looking too rosy. Cuts, higher taxation are all to come no matter which party wins the election.

Most businesses have reduced their outgoings: lower rates, cut or lowered costs, better buy in, keep minimum stock etc. Many businesses are not investing in a recession, but it is important to continue to invest. Training, innovation, updating, looking at your process, service are some areas Toolkit Marketing looks at. Do you have your product right, are you charging the right price, which products are more profitable and which are seeing higher growth? Do you have stockcontrol? Do your staff have contracts, job descriptions and are they empowered? Are they the right staff for the job - do they need training? Are they happy and 'on board'? What would happen if key account people leave? If you do not know answers to these questions, you need to sit back and work them out.

Are you monitoring your website (if you have not got one, why not?), are you optimising it, are you using social media? What is your focus, what are you trying to achieve? What channels and how many are you using to sell your products/products or services? What means do you use to increase the company's profile? Recent research shows that Eco and Corporate Responsibility are not customer driven yet, but it will only be a matter of time. Be a leader, not a follower, be innovative. Try new things, listen to your staff and listen and talk to your customers.

A business plan helps you focus and a marketing plan will help you form a strategy to achieve your goals. Doing more of the same is not an option. A small difference can make a big impact on the business. Whatever you do, you must know your financial position, otherwise how can you plan. Plan ahead. Focus on your goal and be tenacious. Set your goal and work back and enjoy what you do which will make the path to your goal appear much shorter and more than likely you will do a better job.

I like the following quote apparently from Warren Buffett: "You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right". Believe!

Local Democracy, Economic Development

And, the Labour Government is clear that we need to unlock the potential of local people and involve them in shaping their services and communities. Reinvigorating and strengthening local democracy is key.

It believes that the Bill (introduced to the House of Lords on 4 December 2008) will offer people and communities those opportunities - underpinning its commitment to doing all it can to help people, businesses and communities through the current economic hardships and to prepare effectively for economic recovery.

We shall be testing the latest Bill to see if we can get our Councillors' help with giving local companies a chance to quote for local contracts. If anyone would like to hear more, please contact us.

Communities in Control

Interesting document about changing the focus towards local community involvement:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/886045.pdf

How can we improve Colchester?

If Colchester wants to gain a march on Chelmsford and Ipswich it needs to look at how people use Colchester. Towns like Amsterdam have an excellent park and ride as well as the highest parking charges per hour in Holland. All this to encourage people to leave their cars at home and away from the centre and encourage people to cycle in. Once we have a park and ride, we can then have Town part pedestrianised, encouraging people to stay and spend their money in Town.

Feedback is important but observation can be much better. Businesses need to not only ask their customers what they like, do not like, but also observe their buying behaviour. This will give them insight in how they can improve their services and what services they should add.

We do not want Colchester to be another faceless town, we need the diversity and character of the independent shops and businesses.

Towns in France and Switzerland successfully operate a Multipass where residents elect to pay a yearly fee through their rates which entitles them to access venues such as say Colchester Castle, Leisure World for a nominal fee per person if prebooked. Should we have such a pass in Colchester?

Should we have a digital billboard so everyone can see what major events are on in Town that day and refer them to the Visitor Information Centre?

Any thoughts, ideas or observations please contact: Margo Lumby on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

How to minimise the effect of the recession

2010 Certainly promises to be a tough year. More than ever it is important to look at who your customers are and monitor your suppliers. What are the effects on your business if there is a change in your current relationships?

Most companies by now have looked at their cost base. If you have not, there are companies who will look at it for free or charge a percentage of the costs they save.

If you read our earlier news on the House of Lord’s Bill of 4 December, you will know what you can do to limit your costs and how you should look at accessing all the grants, incentives that are out there to help the small business succeed. Do not slash your marketing nor your training budget.

Keep your services and products age neutral unless there is a good reason not to. The population is growing older and this sector is also more affluent.

Concentrate on customer value. Have processes in place. Integrate sales and marketing. Work as one team. Deliver value. Act on what you know. Do not stop taking risks, but make many small bets and listen to feedback. Experiment. Listen to what customers say and adjust your product, customer service or strategy.

Network and make contacts within the local community! This is not only important to find out what goes on, but also helps with lead generation and potential business and helps keep your company in people’s thoughts. Word of mouth and recommendation is the most important factor for buying decisions in Business to Business. What are your experiences? Are they coming from business networks, your family, the sports club?

Have you looked at your WOM buying process, where and why it happens? Who are the influencers in a company and have you tried to profile them and develop plans to reach them?

Learn from your mistakes.

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