KingsleyGreen

Case Study: CW for Business

2011-01-25T03:26:00.000-08:00

CW for Business offers comprehensive business services designed to enhance and improve a company’s performance through employee training and development.

Their training includes: Health and Safety Consultancy, Recruitment, Redundancy services, Retirement Advice and general business skills.
Kingsley green worked with CW for Business to develop a new marketing strategy which gave the company direction and developed their brand. As part of our strategy we helped the company reduce the level of services it provided, which enabled senior management concentrate on their core services which in turn positioned the business as a major supplier in North Wales.

As part of this project Kingsley Green redesigned new marketing collateral which included graphic design and copywriting services. We also provided marketing mentoring services to senior management, which helped them re focus on their business strengths.

I had no hesitation in choosing Kingsley Green to undertake our marketing project because of their knowledge and experience. Their advice was clearly based on an understanding of our needs and experience of working with local businesses.
They provided a professional service and helped create quality marketing material to a very high professional standard which our customers have been quick to comment on.

I am very pleased with the standard of work delivered by Kingsley Green; they are very knowledgeable and approachable. Doreen Magaw, CW for Business

Are women better marketers?

2010-12-03T02:59:00.001-08:00

An Australian professor has claimed women are better marketers

Women outperform men in brand marketing, according to professor Mark Ritson of Melbourne Business School. Their brains are better suited to it, he says.

Ritson, associate professor of marketing at the school, says, “One of the most common observations in my brand strategy class is that in the case studies, the women consistently outperform the men. It’s actually become a bit of a running joke in the classroom – senior male marketer produces average or horrible result. Female marketer repeatedly produces a superior approach.”

The secret lies in genetics, he says. Women’s brains are hard wired for empathy, can read non-verbal messages better and have a far greater ability to convey sympathy. In contrast, men generally struggle with the challenge of understanding others.

“There is, perhaps, no greater skill for a marketer than empathy. Women are genetically geared towards being empathetic from before they are born. In the womb, men’s brains are affected hugely by testosterone which destroys cells in the communication centres of the brain and a growth of cells in the sex and aggression centres,” he says.

Ritson also says that women’s brains are better suited to combining qualitative and quantitative research, have a greater attention to detail and are more able to treat each new client as unique, rather than putting them into groups based on previous experiences – something men are prone to do
Your views?

taken from http://www.b2bm.biz/News/INTERNATIONAL-NEWS-Women-are-better-marketers-claims-Australian-professor/?q=

Google Launches Instant Previews...Good idea or not?

2010-11-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

News Release from: MarketingUK

On November 9th, Google began to roll out a new feature called Instant Previews. Beside the titles of organic search results there is a magnifying glass icon. Once a searcher clicks on the icon of any result, a zoomed-out snapshot of the underlying page appears to the right of the organic results.

Orange boxes highlight relevant content on the page, and text call outs show search terms in context. Once a searcher has clicked on the magnifying glass of one result for a specific search, the searcher can mouse over any of the other results and get the same preview without having to click again within that search.

Implications for advertisers & search marketers

According to Google, using Instant Previews makes searchers 5% happier with the result they end up clicking on, which suggests that people might spend more time on these sites they choose.

Users might also spend more time on Google’s results page while previewing sites and deciding which to visit.

Instant Previews allows searchers to see a visual representation of the site in addition to the textual summary present in traditional search results. This suggests that advertisers and search marketers need to carefully consider how their pages will appear in the reduced size screenshot that accompanies the Instant Previews. My experience suggests that very busy web pages do not fare as well as those with less content and a clear organization.

Implications for SEO

Instant Previews adds one more element that site designers need to consider when they are designing and optimizing their site. It’s important for them to make sure that the each page ranks for terms that are displayed clearly on the page, so that a user who is searching for a specific term will see an image of that in the Instant Preview.

Site designers also need to consider the organization of the information displayed on the page, since if a searcher doesn’t immediately see how the page is relevant to their query it’s easy for them to preview another page. Since Instant Previews highlights search terms where they are found on the page, it will also be important for copy writers to integrate the terms into the page’s copy in a natural way. All these suggestions point to the fact that site designers must pay very careful attention to the different ways search keywords are integrated textually and visually into their pages.

Implications for PPC

There are more questions than answers about how Instant Previews will impact Google’s paid search listings. The most obvious issue is that the previews themselves cover up the ads on the right side of the page. This means that it will become even more important for advertisers to be in the top 3 positions above the organic results. This could result in increased CPCs as advertisers try to secure a spot in one of these top positions. At the same time, searchers have to activate Instant Previews for each search that they do, paid search ads will still have a small window of time to grab searchers’ interest. This suggests that people who write paid ad copy should pay more attention to the relevance and impact of the copy and tailor it so that it quickly gets the attention of readers and draws them in.

Looking to the future

Google has not yet announced their plans for Instant Previews, so we’re left wondering if and when it will roll out for all search queries. The scope of its implementation (and the scope of its adoption by searchers) will determine the impact it will have on SEO and PPC. If Google does roll it out to all results it will be interesting to see whether they change the layout of the results page so that Instant Previews do not cover up the paid results. If they don’t change the layout of the page, it will be interesting to see if they announce a new way to measure paid impressions so that data will reveal how long an ad was displayed before it was covered with an instant preview.

Do you think instant preview is a good idea?

How to Choose a Marketing Mentor

2010-11-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

A marketing mentor is a person you can work with regularly to help develop your business. They will have the necessary skills, experience and achievements to add value to the marketing capability of your business. Marketing is an essential business discipline and without it your business will struggle to survive and grow. A good marketing mentor provides ongoing advice, support and practical assistance for the development of your skills and the wellbeing of your business. Here are 10 top tips for choosing a mentor with specialist marketing expertise. The tips aren’t in any particular order.

1. Credibility and believability

You want to be assured the prospective mentor has sufficient credibility. This builds believability in the capability of the mentor and gives you the confidence to succeed using the mentors advice, guidance and support. Some considerations would include the mentor’s past achievements and current standing in the marketplace. What tangible evidence of their success exists? The appropriate qualifications, membership of professional bodies and necessary insurances should all be in place.

2. Be ready for mentoring

Before choosing your mentor you want to be sure you are ready. Have you identified specific needs to be addressed during the mentoring process? Are you clear what challenges are going to be resolved? You want to be prepared to back your agreed goals with action. This will take personal accountability, unwavering responsibility and an attitude of open-mindedness.

3. Find your kind of person

The ideal mentor will be your kind of person. You want to relate to each other with understanding and due consideration. You are choosing a person to work with over a period of several months; perhaps years and you want to be sure there is mutual respect. You both want to have an appreciation for each others qualities and capabilities. Mentors aren’t superhuman! They will have personal strengths and development areas just like any other person.

4. Obtain a sample of their work

Obtain a sample of the prospective mentor’s work before making any commitment to be mentored by them. Consider their track record. Have they worked within similar sectors or similar markets and achieved measurable success? Perhaps they can offer you a free or reduced cost sample of how they work and the processes they plan to use to mentor you. You must be comfortable with their methods.
5. Insist on a structured approach

Any advisory process requires a clear structured approach. How is the prospective mentor going to help you establish your goals and aspirations? A robust structure and clear methodology is essential to any mentoring process. You want a definitive scope and expected curriculum to follow.

A variety of mentoring styles and approaches is desirable. Does the mentoring enable various methods to gain the required information and knowledge? Are methods applied according to your learning preferences?

6. Ask for a guarantee

Anything to reduce potential downside risk is helpful. For example, solid guarantees giving you redress in the event of dissatisfaction. In addition, you may be able to obtain performance-based guarantees. These offer redress in the event of certain results not being achieved.

By agreeing to work with a mentor you are taking on a significant commitment of time and money which represents risk to you and your business operation. Guarantees help to reverse this risk so they are an important feature in the overall decision making process.

7. Appropriate skills and capabilities

The skills and expertise levels required of an effective mentor are wide ranging. You want to choose a mentor with the appropriate skills and capabilities and you need to assess how well these skills have been developed. Spend time as part of the selection process to check for evidence of the appropriate skills. Some of the essential skills include listening skills, highly developed communication skills, advisory skills and coaching skills. There is also a requirement for a wealth of specific marketing knowledge and expertise. Make sure you look out for them.

8. Testimonials and endorsements

You can check out evidence of previous success with clients by reading customer testimonials. A good mentor would have several testimonials and endorsements across a range of clients they are currently working with or have worked with in the past. Check for validity with clients name and business name. You can perhaps check their website to validate authenticity. You may also be able to speak to other clients. This provides you with third party endorsement to the mentor’s added value and quality of their work.

9. Relevant experience

What relevant experience does the prospective mentor have in your marketplace? Have they worked with similar businesses and sectors? It is important to assess the level of relevance their experience is to your situation.

They may have experienced success in completely different markets and there is no automatic reason for the same methods succeeding with your business. Many marketing principles are universal although if they have only worked with start-up businesses, for example and your business is very established then they may not work for you.

10. Cost justification

Justify the cost with a reasonable return on investment. Ultimately, you are in business to make money and the prime reason for investing in a mentor is to make more money – more quickly. Establish beforehand what are the total costs in terms of cash and other resources.

Be clear about the timeframe and the results you are expecting to obtain. This gives you a focus point and provides an objective measure of success. You can also track progress along the way. I wish you best success in choosing your mentor.

Taken From top10tips

Kingsley Green can offer Marketing Mentoring for your business, for further information Contact Us and read our clients testimonials http://www.kingsleygreen.com/marketing_clients.htm

Twitter 'more useful for B2B than B2C'

2010-10-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

"Twitter is becoming more of a tool for B2B marketers than one for B2C," according to Giff Morley-Fletcher, head of strategy at B2B expert Base One Group.

Speaking exclusively at B2BM's Demand Generation seminar yesterday afternoon, he explained the potential benefits of an effectively managed B2B presence on Twitter and other social media sites.
He said: "Everyone is slightly bored by the ‘Britney Spears is having a shower' tweets. Twitter is a very useful B2B tool. It can be used proactively and reactively.
"We have seen it time and again: one good tweet can generate more than 100 clicks."

The importance of identifying and engaging with retweeters was also highlighted at the event, as were the benefits of encouraging contacts to set up accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Linked In.

Other speakers at the event, which was held at The Brewery in central London, included Adam Sharp, MD and founder of CleverTouch Marketing; Pete Jakob, marketing transformation leader at IBM and Zina Manda, director at Mardev-DM2.
http://www.b2bm.biz/News/SOCIAL-MEDIA-NEWS-Twitter-more-useful-for-B2B-than-B2C/?q=

Do you agree?

Why SMEs need their own social space

2010-08-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

Click here to read the blog by Jeremy Whitaker, CEO, B2Group

Why SMEs need their own social space

Sainsbury's run a campaign on Facebook to get children eating healthily

2010-08-03T03:25:00.000-07:00

Sainsbury’s has launched a campaign on Facebook encouraging parents to think creatively about the food they give their kids over the summer holidays. The tiny taste team will be judging parents in a challange to create a healthy recipe.

There are 4 videos to watch... Sainsbury’s has launched a campaign on Facebook encouraging parents to think creatively about the food they give their kids over the summer holidays.

http://www.facebook.com/sainsburys#!/sainsburys?v=app_143267969034057

The campaign, created by digital agency Dare, ties into wider summer advertising activity featuring chef Jamie Oliver.

Sarah Squire, senior brand manager at Sainsbury’s, said, “The Tiny Taste Team is a digital extension of our work with Jamie Oliver to provide food inspiration to our customers. Facebook and YouTube are the perfect places to create a conversation around food and allows us to help mums find recipes their kids will love.”

"Just Can't Get Enough - B2B and Social Media"

2010-07-30T03:42:00.000-07:00

Just Can't Get Enough - B2B and Social Media

Taken from Stephen Mills - B2B Marketing Blog

There’s still a persistent online debate whether social media is effective in B2B or even if it has a role at all.

Some companies actually bar access to social networks to stop staff "wasting time". It’s strange that the same companies don’t brick up their windows to stop people wasting time gazing out of them!

But businesses have been networking for centuries – starting with the trade guilds in the middle ages, if not before. The “new and sexy” social media tools allow that networking instantly on a global scale rather than just in a meeting room or tavern.
And as a long ago as 1984, which in internet terms is almost prehistoric, Irene Greif and Paul M. Cashman talked about “computer supported cooperative work”. As with other ideas, what started in B2B, the crowd picked up and used it in completely different and startlingly effective ways. And then companies come back to it and ask how they can get some of that action.

Social Media is already widely used in businesses, but not on consumer platforms. Many, many firms are using “social media” techniques to get the Holy Grail of effective, instant and global collaboration. Increasingly IT firms especially are looking to reduce help desk costs by providing users the ability to connect with fellow workers rather than a dedicated call centre to solve IT problems.
But these “social network” tools are for employees only and potential outsiders are repelled at the gate with the tightest of security. So maybe we should call them “anti-social” networks instead!

Perhaps for B2B marketers, they should be looking at how to get a presence in these walled gardens just as much as in the rambling acres of the public social networks.

The views expressed in this blog are personal views of the author only and not of any company or organisation in anyway associated with the author

WORKSHOPS CONTINUE TO BE A SUCCESS

2010-07-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

Our latest marketing mentoring workshop was recently held in Chester was a great success. Amongst the attendee businesses were – Management team from a local University, Management Consultants, Owner of a driving School, Solicitors and a Sales Consultant.
Our workshops are very interactive and we spend a lot of time dealing with attendees marketing needs which generated new ideas and encouraged “new thinking”.

If you need new marketing ideas and want direction and advice on implementation then come along to a Kingsley Green Marketing workshop. As an added incentive there is funding available to qualifying companies.

“I found the marketing workshop run by Kingsley Green both interesting and useful. There was a good balance between learning and information sharing amongst the attendees and this resulted in some excellent discussions. I left the workshop knowing the key issues that I need to think about for my company and having had a thought provoking and enjoyable day.”

– Gill Jeffries Bartram Hollins

Marketing Grants

2010-07-23T06:11:00.001-07:00

Good news if your business is based in any of the following areas:

Cheshire

Warrington

Merseyside

North Wales

Greater Manchester

Lancashire

Wirral

Kingsley Green has access to a number of streams of funding to support our marketing mentoring services.

If you need professional help to improve your sales and cashflow but need support to fund the project, then now is the time to take advantage of the funding. Quite possibly with the new government determined to reduce spending then a lot of the funding could disappear fast! So if you want it - act now and contact me at ray@kingsleygreen.com and I will be happy to discuss the funding opportunities.

Marketing Funding

2010-07-23T06:01:00.001-07:00

Kingsley Green has access to a number of streams of funding to support our marketing mentoring projects. Funding is available in the following areas: Cheshire Warrington Greater Manchester Lancashire Merseyside North Wales Wirral The funding packages come from a number of providers. If you need professional help to improve your business but need support to fund the project, Kingsley Green can help.