Making Sense Of Marketing

Here are some of the most commonly-used marketing terms and their definitions:

B2B Public relations marketing communication dedicated to providing information resources between businesses. Includes professional services, training, human resources and office supplies.

B2C Public relations marketing communication dedicated to providing information resources between businesses and the consumer.

Community Relations Corporate social outreach programmes designed to build relations and foster understanding of the role of the business to neighbours in the local community.

Consultancy Externally hired public relations services, either an individual consultant or a public relations consultancy.

Copywriting The production of text for publications, advertising, marketing materials, websites etc. Most agencies employ specialists skilled with a direct and succinct writing style.

Corporate Communications Public relations for a corporation integrated as part of the company's strategic objectives.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Borne from the belief that trade brings obligations. CSR makes businesses responsible for their use of resources, both environmentally and socially. The role of public relations in CSR strategies is to communicate effectively to build corporate accountability and transparency.

Crisis Management Having a plan in place that can be effectively actioned when something goes wrong for an organisation.

E-PR/Online PR Communication over the web and using new technology to effectively communicate with stakeholders.

Environmental Communications PR sector specialising in communication on sustainable use of resources, environmental impact of business and corporate social responsiblity.

Evaluation Measuring the impact of a public relations campaign. This process is typically linked with planning and research.

Fees The Charges consultants and agencies make for the time of their staff working on client programmes, usually invoiced in regular monthly installments or quarterly in advance.

Financial PR Financial services sector communications demanding understanding of consumers, their buying patterns and how to influence them, the position of companies in markets and corporate processes, such as Initial Public Offerings (IPO's), Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A's), demutualisation and hostile bids.

Fundraising/Sponsorship Looking for partners to provide financial support, or support 'in kind' for an event or activity where both parties will benefit.

Healthcare Communications PR sector specialising in public and private healthcare provision, including leisure health, effect of drugs and impacts of medical research.

In-House Staff within a company or organisation responsible for public relations function.

In-House Magazines/Newsletter A tool to communicate with employees about news, issues and developments of interest to them about the organisation they work for.

Internal Communications Organisational use of process communication to help achieve corporate objectives. Includes employee and shareholder communications.

Media/Presentation Training Training to help when dealing with the various media (including television and radio), with journalists and when making a pitch to prospective clients.

Media Monitoring Monitoring a company's coverage in the press, on TV and radio, and on the internet.

Media Relations Dealing with and building up good working relationships with journalists from the broadcast and print media.

Pitch A presentation of a recommended public relations programme, generally carefully researched and costed, which can take up to four weeks to prepare and for which some consultancies reserve the right to charge a fee if not subsequently appointed.

Press Office A press office handles all media enquiries and releases all company messages to the media on behalf of their organisation.

Press Release (also known as a News Release) Statement describing an event or item which is considered to be of sufficient interest to readers/viewers/listeners for an editor to publish reference to it.

Print Production The process of producing printed material such as brochures, posters and leaflets.

Public Affairs/Lobbying Those aspects of public relations communication involving relations with governmental or statutory bodies or their semi-official organisations through sophisticated use of political intelligence and pressure.

Public Relations The determined, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics. Also understood as reputation management.

Research Finding out background information about a company, product or person to assist with a public relations campaign.

Organisation Reputation

Reputation has a significant impact on the well being of every organisation. Through building relationships internally and externally, organisations are able to connect, communicate, listen and act on feedback. Reputation can inform, influence perceptions, behaviour and effect change.

In times of austerity, communications investments may not be given the proper priority. Many companies will be under pressure to reduce budgets and to suspend/postpone activities that require external expertise. The reality is, communications should not stop when budgets are tight. Indeed, communications invariably needs should grow - paricularly if there are existing efficiency proposals to support, or if businesses are looking for new and cost-effective ways to deliver their goods and services.

Reputation Matters
What you do, what you say and what others say about you can impact your growth, development and most importantly your profit. Public Relations is defined as "the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics."

Public relations is about managing your reputation. From the written word to the 140 character tweet on twitter, from your brand positioning to your marketing collateral. The way you present your business impacts on your reputation and how you are perceived. Reputation is not just about pushing out the odd press release, its about having a two way conversation. Its about researching, engaging and informing. Reputation is about using traditional media alongside social media (Facebook, Linkedin and twitter etc), in order to convey your message and influence.

Branded spin and smoke and mirrors public relations today couldn't be further away from the outdated view. In contrast businesses today, crave transparency and consulting as the modern view. With the introduction of the internet, there is nowhere to hide. Reputations are therefore shaping the culture of organisations and how they think...not just adding the last minute finishes of gloss.

A great reputation is a hard-won and highly valuable commercial asset. Underpinning opportunities for growth. A poor reputation, on the other hand, always wounds and sometimes can lead to the downfall of a brand. A sudden crisis, badly handled, can cause a previously strong reputation to collapse and threaten future profitability. Businesses must take reputation seriously and have it as an agenda item. But whilst it seems inconceivable that any business would leave the fate of one of their most valuable (yet vulnerable assets to chance), there are many organisations which spend less time on reputation risks and crisis preparedness.

The objective of public relation agencies, must be to ensure company's reputation are protected and that communication needs are met. In ways that are effecient, effecctive and in support of the organisation's goals. Measuring the outcome of public relations, demonstrating the positive benefits of investing in reputation, will undoubetdly prove valuable and provide an excellent platform for future conversations.

If business owners take the time to identify the potential reputation risks associated with their particular industry, document a robust crisis communications process and test it thoroughly, they would get the chance to make their mistakes in the privacy of the training room, rather than under the spotlight of a real incident.

How To Select The Right Marketing Agency

Careful consideration should be given, when considering where and with whom to spend your precious and hard earned income. Using marketing and public relation agencies or suppliers (for outsourced work) is becoming increasingly common.

The marketing sector as vastly changed in recent years following a change in the business landscape, resulting in a wider-ranging choice of agencies. Varying from full-service agencies (those that supply everything from creative, design, media, planning and matters that constitutes marketing communications, ie direct marketing, sales promotion, advertising and public relations), to freelancers (that specialise in one particular discipline) as well as specialist agencies that only supply one of those areas related to market communications previously mentioned.

Key Points To Consider

Have a clear and written brief in mind when approaching agencies. A clear brief may include;

A business background

Objectives

Target audiences

What you require as an outcome

Timelines

Contacts and a budgetSome clients may see this as been unnecessary, but many agencies and suppliers will need some guidelines on what the client is prepared to spend.

Consider whether or not you need them to have industry experience - some specialist industries such as technology may benefit from this. Quite often agencies may have a policy of taking on non competing clients, so this may be an issue when searching for candidates.

Approach at least three agencies and invite them to a briefing meeting, or brief them over the telephone (not ideal, but sometimes necessary). At the meeting observe how interested they are in your organisation, what you want to achieve and very importantly, whether or not you would like to work with them! Chemistry is vital you must be able to form a long term relationship built on mutual respect and trust.

If you like suppliers that you can meet regularly face-to-face, then location is important. Otherwise you and the agency will incur additional expenses.

During the briefing meeting, if possible have two or four colleagues present, and beforehand discuss what you are looking for. Some companies use a scoring sheet with a number of elements being scored out of 10. The final scores can then be objectively discussed and a agreed logical decision made.

The elements you may want to include on an observation sheet might include;  Response to brief, Industry experience, Creativity innovation, Chemistry, Adherence to Budget.

Following the briefing meeting, inform the successful agency and agree a contract ensuring both parties agree to the terms and conditions.

Inform the other suppliers of your decision, telling them why they did not win the business. Not only is it courteous, but feedback is always useful and used as a point of reference.

The agency or freelancer must be seen as an extension of your marketing department. Liaise with them as much as possible, they are not mind readers. If you do this, you will build a long and fruitful relationship with them and your marketing communications campaigns will be a success. Work together to ensure the campaigns are measureable and that you get a good return on your investment.

Twitter Social Media Marketing Tools

Twitter.com is one of the fastest growing Web Social Sites today. According to research, 75,000,000 people visited Twitter in January 2010, that represents some 1,100% growth in a year. Multiplying yourself eleven times in twelve months or so must count as explosive growth.



This new means of communicating as brought Twitter to the forefront of the Internet revolution, making it one of the fastest ways to get real-time news from and to people from around the world. If you are not on Twitter yet, now is the time to get on it and build your followers. Here is a list of Twitter tools which assist and enable you to use Twitter more effectively;


Twitter

Create tweets.

Uses bit.ly for shortening URL’s which in turn tracks your clicks.

Follow those who follow you automatically.

Unfollow those who you follow.


Tweet Spinner
 
Create and schedule tweets.

Schedule rotation of profiles and designs.

Automatically clean spam from your Direct Messages.


Twitter Feed

 Twitter Feed allows you to use RSS feeds to post on your Twitter automatically.


BrandChirp

Effectively monitor, manage and resolve all brand activity. Establish new connections and reach a bigger audience with our one of a kind target follow feature.


Tweet Adder

Get more followers instantly.
Find people to follow by their geographical location.
Automatically generate and post tweets.
Automatically reply to anyone that follows you.


Bit.ly

Shorten your links.
Share links with anyone.
Track/get real-time data.


Twitbacks

Create a free customized background for your Twitter account for free, if you are not knowledgeable in website/graphic design.


Soxialize Tweet Pro

Tweet Pro is desktop software that automates finding and following targeted Twitter users.

Tweet Pro will do all the hard work of finding and following people who may be interested in your product or service.

Twitter, which began as a platform for friends and family to keep in touch, has evolved into a different product that the creators couldn’t have predicted. In addition, businesses are turning to Twitter for marketing and branding.

Niche marketing using Social Media, allows marketers to reach very specific subsets of individuals based on their personal preferences and interests. Business owners can also create social media strategies based on reaching selected individuals or even create unique marketing campaigns to target large specific audiences.

How To Make Money

Many individuals aspire to owning their own business and or generating sufficient money to live a respectable lifestyle. Others dream of making money in the aim of benefiting someone else, for example a community or charity. Have you ever thought about how to make money? To make money is always easy on paper, but only after you gain the knowledge and applied it.You must be willing and disciplined to pay the price. Only individuals who are prepared to consistently work and apply the knowledge will achieve their financial goals online.

There are advantages to making money online has many advantages over the traditional brick and mortar establishments. Online businesses tend to have very low start-up costs, lower overheads, and are virtually always open facilitating and providing automated streams of income. There is a huge reduction in the number of employees required to participate in the online business, with many people content with settling for a home business model.In many instances, individuals are not required to purchase stock. It is also possible to create a substantial monthly income without doing any selling online. Digital products provide the highest profit margin imaginable for any online business.

In contrast, the conventional brick and mortar businesses requires employees, real estate, costs, utility bills, insurance, among other investments thus disuading many individuals from pursing. But why do so many people fail to make money? There are two major reasons:

First, many people are not willing to work and commit themselves. The truth is, you cannot easily generate revenue overnight by magic or by flipping a switch. You need to have a plan of action and realistic goals in oreder to make money. Greed and laziness are two common characteristics too often protrayed by and yet surprisingly, these two characteristics are the most commonly exploited and preyed upon by shady individuals. The sad outcome is that their business endeavours suffers in the long run, because every business reflects it leadership!

The lack of knowledge or the reluctance to seek information and advice is the second reason why people fail to make money. Failing miserably to market properly their products and or services to potential customers and targeted audiences.

How To Create Wealth

To create wealth, each person/partnership must first have an idea, do their research, gain the knowledge, apply that knowledge, and are willing to be consistent in their effort over a period time. Making money fast and effortlessly does not generally happen instantly, but it can frequently happen every time knowledge is exercised.

Making money fast can be defined, when understood within a given realistic time-frame. For example, in order to become rich working for someone else in the corporate world, years and decades are a requisite to climbing the financial ladder of success. If you compare the corporate world timeline to the internet world timeline, in some cases the ladder of financial success on the internet is realistically weeks or months as long as real knowledge is gained and continuously applied.

One approach to obtaining business knowledge is to hire a mentor/coach, or to bring in and work alongside individuals and organisations whom have the expertise as your systematic guide. However this student and teacher relationship can be expensive. A mentor will require substantial payment upfront in return for their time to properly teach a student.

Secondly, there is nothing in place to hold the mentor accountable to ensure your success. Once that mentor has been paid there is no guarantee you will be successful. The reality is similarly to a student who fails to graduate from a university. A refund will not be provided. The alternative to hiring and working with experts, can be to find a successful product or service where the profit is split between the student and the teacher, therefore rewarding both parties.

The teacher will be motivated to make sure the student is successful selling their product or service. The bottom line is, the more revenue generated the more money that will be shared out. The secret of wealth in any business sector, is leveraging the efforts of teamwork to produce the highest and fastest return for  time and investment.

To make money, you must have what it takes, not only to survive, but to thrive. Find the right network relationship and you will then be able to earn money as you learn the knowledge. As you continue to apply the knowledge, more income will be generated giving you more leverage thus increasing your opportunities to make even more money thus postioning you to acquiring a vast fortune.

James Caan The Real Deal Entrepreneur

Early Life

James Caan was born in Lahore, Pakistan. His father was Abdul Rashid Khan, a leather worker; he was born into a household of three brothers and three sisters. His father brought the family to the East End of London in 1962. The family settled in a home just off Brick Lane, and Abdul started a business making leather jackets.

Caan got his first job in the recruitment industry at the age of 18, when he joined Holborn-based Premier Personnel as a trainee interviewer. Within the year he moved to the larger City Centre Staff Bureau as a branch manager, before being headhunted by Alfred Marks, where he became manager of their Oxford Street branch. Finally, Caan settled down in the recruitment department of reid Trevena, an incentive-driven financial services company.

Business Activity

Alexander Mann (1985–2002)

In 1985, after several years investing in his wife's chain of boutiques, Caan decided to found his own recruitment company, Alexander Mann. In 1992, Caan appointed someone to run the business allowing himself the freedom to develop his other business interests. In 1999, he sold a minority stake in Alexander Mann Group for £25m. The business was then valued at £60m by Advent International. In 2002, he sold his majority stake for an unknown amount. At the time Alexander Mann was turning over £130m a year and operating across Australia, Europe, and Asia.

Further businesses (1993–2006)

In 1989, Caan co-founded executive headhunting firm Humana International with Doug Bugie, eventually growing the business to over 147 offices in 30 countries, and launched the trade magazine Recruitment International, with David Head. In 1996, he set up business process outsourcing company Alexander Mann Solutions with Rosaleen Blair. Caan later sold Humana International to CDI International in 1999, his stake in Recruitment International to co-founder and editor David Head in 2000, and Alexander Mann Solutions in 2002.

Hamilton Bradshaw (2003 – present)

In 2003, Caan set up London-based Hamilton Bradshaw, a mid-market private equity company. The Company’s portfolio contains firms in all sectors of industry, although it lists its interests as buyouts, development capital, and turnarounds. In 2006 it bought sandwich shop chain Benjys, which collapsed 9months later into liquidation. In 2007 it bought public and private sector recruitment specialist Eden Brown with revenues at over £180m. The company has already increased profits by 70% through a combination of investment and greater efficiency in the first six months of ownership. At present, Hamilton Bradshaw manages 41 companies, with a combined yearly turnover of £400m, and a real estate portfolio valued at £35m.

The Big Issue (2009–present)

On 1st December 2009, Caan was invited to become the Chairman of The Big Issue Magazine. A positive move to inject some entrepreneurial expertise, particularly with a view to bringing the publication into the digital age.

Caan continues to champion entrepreneurship in the UK and recent activity has seen him working closely with Enterprise UK. Caan was honoured to open the parliamentary reception of the Government funded campaign ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week’ run by Enterprise UK during the week of 16 – 22 November 2009, organisations in over 80 countries ran thousands of events to inspire people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity.

Caan also joined the ‘Flying Start Rally’ and talked to young entrepreneurs about his journey, successes and failures, and how to make it in big in business.

James was appointed Co-Chair of the Department of Business’ Ethnic Minority Task Force (EMBTF)in June 2007. EMBTF supports over 280,000 businesses, contributing in excess of £20 billion a year to the UK economy Task Force. James was enthusiastic and excited about his role as Co-Chair of the Department of Business' Ethnic Minority Task Force.

Throughout his career, James has had great success working with entrepreneurial start-ups, and enjoys this sector the most. He relishes the chance to provide something tangible on this scale, working alongside the Government. As Chair of The Ethnic Minority Business Task Force, Caan presented a report to government outlining the Economic Case for Investment in Ethnic Minority Business.

Autobiography

Caan published his autobiography, The Real Deal: My Story from Brick Lane to Dragons’ Den; in November, 2008. It reveals the incredilbe story of James Caan's remarkable life, journeying from his childhood to his phenomenal success. The book provides insight into the ups and downs of business, offering a detailed account of what success truthfully entails.

Its Time To Think About Working Memory

Do you ever have days when you wake up and see everything as half-empty instead of half-full. I know half the money that I spend on advertising is wasted; I just don't know which half. What do you think?

Researchers are developing a new revolution in intelligence which will change every aspect of our lives. Working memory, the ability to remember and mentally process information, is so important that without it we could not function as a society or as individuals. One way to visualise working memory is to see it as the brain's Post-it-note; we make mental scribbles of bits of information we need to remember.

For example, we use working memory to remember directions while driving or someone's name and phone number. Without it, we would be literally lost. We would not know how to get to that important meeting and would forget important contacts. Working memory is critical for many activities, from complex subjects such as reading, mental arithmetic and word problems, to simple tasks like copying and navigating between places.

Individuals with superior working memory tend to have better jobs, better relationships, more happy and fulfilling lives. In contrast, people with poor working memory struggle in their work, and their personal lives. More recently, further research as shown that working memory is also important for our mental health. Leading expert, Dr Tracy Packiam Alloway at the University of Stirling, UK, as written scientific articles and books on working memory and learning.

Do you ever look at the advertising on television and wonder who thought that advertising would ever influence anyone to buy their product, or change their behaviour? Or do you sometimes see an advert, and know that it gets right to the heart of the issues that influence you? Do you wonder whether different sorts of marketing campaigns influence different types of audiences?

For example, are some people more influenced by celebrities than others? On the other hand, do you think you would be more influenced by a rational scientific argument or an attractive face...? If you ever wonder these things, you are not alone. Huge amounts of money is spent anually on advertising, yet until recently researchers surprisingly had liitle information about what features of advertising influence individual behaviour, and more importantly how? What do you think?