The View From Space

Great to hear about the amazing pictures that Commander Chris Hadfield has been taking for the last 6 months while staying at the International Space Station. To view his amazing pictures on his Twitter feed, click here @Cmdr_Hadfield and to watch his cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity, here http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/13/commander-chris-hadfield-space-oddity. Fab! Love it!

I'm also delighted to launch our own view of our own space of the Marketing Universe. With intelligence driven marketing strategy that drives the 'Big Idea' it enables companies to 'get their house in order' with branding, websites and printed materials before starting the promotional activity to drive customers to them.

If your marketing is a little lost in space, we'd be delighted to welcome you to our universe and deliver marketing for your business that is out of this world. Call Karen now on 01296 584834 or email karen.moule@enterprisemarketing.co.uk. www.enterprisemarketing.co.uk

Re-marketing for New Income Streams

With the great news that the Star Wars Rights acquired by Disney from George Lucas means that we'll have new Star Wars movies from 2015, it got me thinking about how businesses can revamp, repackage and re-market old, out of date products and services.

Star Wars came out 36 years ago, yet the strength of the brand will ensure sci-fi fans will be rejoicing with new films and spin offs featuring specific characters, (as they did with the Marvel character-specific movies) as well as generating multi-million pound revenues for Disney.

So, depending on how long you have been trading, which products / services could you revive to meet the demands of this modern world? I would love someone to fill my car for me and clean my windscreen at the same time, when I'm at the petrol station, especially when raining, like they used to do when I was a kid.

If you're not sure if some of your older products / services can be revamped, or would be relevant for today's market, you can easily find this out. Simply conduct some market research, perhaps initially among your existing customers. The feedback may be enough to establish a desire for it, with some design / functionality modifications.

The proposed updated model / service could then be tested with some focus groups to establish the reasons why the product or service would be desirable and identify the key messages that will engage with the ideal audience.

Too often we're so focussed on the next bright shiny thing, that we can forget some of the great things we already have and only need to apply some creative thinking to make it relevant for today.

And I'll be first in the queue for the new Star wars movies - the first one was the one that made me the sci-fi fan I am! Can't wait.

http://www.enterprisemarketing.co.uk/market-research/

Out of this World Ideas for Easter Marketing

If you want to leverage the Easter bank holiday weekend to promote your business or specific product lines, to increase your sales, win new customers and keep existing ones, why not take a look at our '12 Top Tips for Easter Promotions' here http://www.enterprisemarketing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/03-25-13-Easter-Top-Tips.pdf and/or listen to some ideas from my video blog here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VI3OImL4-g.

Wishing you an eggcellent Easter with lots of great Easter promotions. :)

Cultural Relevance

After finally getting round to reading the Guardian's supplement on Superbrands from the weekend, I was left feeling that this is a supplement that all companies should read, to ensure they 'get' the key message of what these Superbrands have been doing to make them superbrands.

They have all been really clear on what they stand for, been distinctive in their markets and managed to stay that way by constantly moving with the times, as new technologies and trends emerge, to stay relevant to their customers.

Relevancy is always key to your marketing approach, however what's even more improtant for any business is to be 'culturally relevant'. So being aware of new trends, new ways to engage your customers, new technologies that will enable them to engage more easily with you, are opportunities for you to grasp. Believe me they're coming and some are already here.

So if you want to find out how Future Trends will affect your business and give you the foresight to be prepared to have products and services ready to meet them, then attend our Future Trends presentation on Thurs 18th April in Bicester and Thurs 25th April in Milton Keynes.

Click here to book your place http://www.enterprisemarketing.co.uk/seminars/   

Direct Mail that Goes Straight to the Heart

My daughter is dog mad. She begged me to sign up to sponsor Charlie, a rescue dog, one Saturday morning when the Dogs Trust were outside our local supermarket. I can honestly say that for the £1 a week that we donate it is worth every penny.

Since the summer, when we started this, my daughter has received a couple of personally addressed messages from Charlie, to say thank you for sponsoring him and how well he's being looked after. Today she recieved a Christmas card from Charlie, which she so enjoyed reading, she decided to write back to him and wish him a wagtastic Christmas too.

Marketing is all about relationships and The Dogs Trust are not only building a great relationship between Charlie, the dog, and my daughter, who also wants to go an visit him next year; they are also building a relationship with me, because the joy that my daughter gets every time she receives a letter from Charlie, is worth its weight in gold.

I love great examples of marketing communication and this is truly great. When marketing creates great emotional connections with your customers, patients, donors or members, you receive the loyalty and the income that goes hand in hand with it. Well done Dogs Trust and I think you can safely see your donation level increasing next year.

2020 Vision

Great news that Curiosity can expect a twin in 2020 to accompany it on the red planet. That's a vision and I'm sure a plan is well and truly in place to ensure the destination is reached.

Do you have a plan in place, not for 2020 (or maybe you do), but for 2013? With all the good(!?) news about the economy today, if ever a plan was required to reach the goals you have for your business, now is the time. It's not easy running a business, it's not easy keeping the team motivated, sometimes the end game gets a bit blurred, however you stand a better chance of thanking your lucky stars and reaping the benefits once you get to that goal, if you have a plan in the first place of how you're going to get there.

We're all about planning here, and we already have BIG plans afoot for 2013, so if you want to join our mission to obliterate bad marketing and generate great profitable marketing that works, you better plan a call to me now! 01296 584834.

Set Sail for Successful Marketing in 2013

Gustav Adolf, King of Sweden (1594-1632) commissioned the building of Vasa, the flagship of a new and improved Swedish Navy in 1625 as a way of communicating to the world that Sweden was a strong and growing power on the world stage.

The ship took two years to build, was due to have 72 guns, carry approx. 450 men and was the biggest battleship with two gun decks in the world at the time.

The maiden voyage was sadly to be her last as a gust of wind upon leaving port on 10^th August 1628 caused her to lean, and as the lower gun ports were open, the inevitable disaster was over in minutes, leaving the ship upright on a 30 metre deep sea bed with topsails still above the water line.

Following an investigation where shipwrights, carpenters, officers and crew were called to give testimony, the outcome blamed someone who died on the ship.

The moral of the story is that if you have a vision, ensure you have the right team aboard to make your vision a reality – from conception through to the final end game.

We are great at strategic marketing planning, so if you have ambitions to take your business to increased success in 2013, we will not only provide the direction to sail in, but when implemented appropriately, will steer your course true to the desired destination.

Call Karen now to discuss your marketing plan for an even more successful 2013, now on 01296 584834.