The word ‘Marketing’ covers such a wide range of activities that it’s hard, sometimes, to know what to do first, for the best, or at all! (hello marketing paralysis!) It doesn’t help that lots of new, shiny marketing propositions pop into our emails, onto our social feeds, and are referred to us by others pretty much every day, compounded by reports that this new ‘thing’ will make your content ‘go viral’, attract hundreds of new customers an hour, or give you that point of difference against your competitors. I know, I’m being a little bit facetious here, clearly, but in all honesty, so many o ..read more

I’ve had the discussion around business’ dependence on digital marketing quite a lot over the past few months with clients, networking colleagues and at a workshop I delivered yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, there is clearly a place for digital marketing whether that be social media, email marketing, website etc. However, especially with social media platforms, we, as business owners, marketing managers, and content creators, unfortunately have to play two games… …that of attracting our target audience (clearly the most important) AND having to play the algorithm game. And I say a game because ..read more

It’s a massive hot potato right now, as is greenwashing/bluewashing etc. But are we telling our customers about the sustainability or ESG (Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance) that we’re active in as an organisation, which can be the distinction between us and our competitors, add value to our offering and allow our perfect customers to see who we really are? Sustainability & ESG should be part of your organisation’s brand values and brand statement, and offer an insight into the culture and personality behind the brand. A recent article in edie.net highlighted a survey of mar ..read more

A big statement I know; let me explain why… Ultimately an organisation’s brand is a reflection of how they present, interact & communicate with the world. Your brand, irrelevant of whether you have been established for a number of years, a short while or are a new start-up, carries equity & weight to your organisation which can equate to financial benefit. It is the social value of your organisation, that generates sales, builds market presence and drives customer loyalty, determined purely through recognition and prospect/customer perception of the quality, desirability or need of tha ..read more

One of THE most annoying things about being a customer (I think!) is being asked & not being listened to. I’ve had a subscription to an online ‘fashion stylist’ set up for probably around 18 months. It started well. I’d identified the styles, colours, dislikes as requested. I was sent some good stuff. I bought. I continued to give feedback, helping them understand what I liked so I would continue to buy. I started getting a few random items I’d previously said I’d never wear. Then colours I’d never wear. I fed back I didn’t like what I received. I dropped my order frequency. I fed back. To ..read more

I absolutely LOVE this campaign! It ticks so many boxes for me… – a fabulous planet sustainability message – to the point – clever creative design work – impactful – a community message – excellent demonstration of brand values Let’s hope it continues to have the impact it appears to have to date. The post When the Ad Campaign is Bang On! appeared first on Jo Long Consulting ..read more

Do you show the pricing of your product or service upfront or keep the interested party guessing until they know they simply can’t do without it? Do you let your competitors know what you charge or keep your cards close to your chest? How do you even price your product or service up if it’s more of a specialist offer & actually you want to build the relationship first? It’s a tough one deciding whether to advertise your prices, especially if you are offering a bespoke product/service. However, with more & more people researching before they buy, it can actually make the decision to pu ..read more

I’ve been watching the birds in my garden recently, as it’s the view I have from my office space at home (lucky me!). And I’ve been fascinated by the approach they have in collecting their food for the day. Despite having a lovely bird feeder that I recently put up, their process seems to go like this: – pick a patch of grass, a particular space – patter around a little to see what’s likely to deliver – aim, fire the beak in & enjoy the result! And they seem to get a result every time! And I was thinking about we could be ‘more bird’ with our marketing. Picking a particular patch (audienc ..read more

That’s right, another opportunity for northeast England businesses to take advantage of finding options to drive sustainable growth. I was absolutely delighted this morning to plaster all over my social platforms that I am now an approved registered provider for Digital Drive County Durham, which offers support to businesses across the northeast driving growth through digital solutions. What does that mean? It means that your business could qualify for funding to contribute to: consultancy projects to develop a digital marketing and sales strategy identifying new, undiscovered digital opportu ..read more

Ask anyone for business advice & you’ll always get asked if you’ve got a plan; a business plan, marketing plan, sales plan… Most businesses say they have a plan, however, some will add that it hasn’t delivered, so what was the point? A plan for business is as critical as a rudder for a boat. It gives direction, shows where you’ve been on the map & where you might be off course. However, a plan alone ain’t going to grow your sales, your turnover or make your stakeholders happy. What will make that happen? Actually executing the plan. Taking action. Only writing the plan is like putting ..read more