This is the second post following my interview with Bev Barnfather of Ladybird Gifts. Today we’re looking at effective business gifting throughout the year, rather than just at Christmas. (Read the first post for Christmas gifting tips.) We’re going to use real estate
“Strategic gifting”- Bev Barnfather used the phrase when she introduced herself recently and it piqued my interest. I caught up with her to find out more about the effective use of business thank-you gifts. Top three mistakes in business gifts Bev identified three
If word of mouth marketing is the best sort of marketing, using reviews and testimonials is the second best! They basically pump up your word of mouth. Now somebody is talking not only to the people they know, but also to other people
Surveys are quick, easy and (with tools like SurveyMonkey) easily affordable for small to medium businesses. So how do you use them effectively? Let's look at four key benefits of surveys - plus hints on how to implement effectively in your small or
As you probably know, I'm a passionate believer in email marketing. Having your own email list and communicating regularly is a simple, low-cost way to build reputation and trust - so people approach you when they're ready to buy. I've written before about
Why do you need an email newsletter? Who reads them anyway? You know you don't read all the email newsletters that turn up in your inbox. Why waste time and effort on something people will just ignore? Reasons why you need an email newsletter
Where do your best leads come from? The image above is part of a neat infographic based on CRM data from hundreds of B2B companies. (See the complete version at the bottom of this post.) It tracks how leads from different lead sources convert to opportunities,
Recurring revenue is not a new concept, but it is getting a lot of attention recently. The whole 'Software as a Service' industry is based around the recurring model. Monthly or annual payments for a service delivered online, with no technology, upgrade or
The term ‘marketing automation’ has been around for some years now, but it’s still not widely understood or implemented. Smaller businesses have been especially slow to adopt, which is a shame since overworked small business owners are some of those with the most
'It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.' So writes Ruby Newell-Legner in 'Understanding Customers'. Well, I had a negative customer experience today. There were two particularly frustrating things about it, which I want to examine later in