My Work Experience at Enterprise Marketing Solutions

As passionate believers in work placements and work experience, this week we have been joined by Alex, to show him the wonders of the world of marketing and why we love it so much. I thought it would be interesting for him to tell you in his own words how it went:

My Experience at Enterprise Marketing Solutions 

During the introduction of my first year at John Hampden Sixth Form, I had to dive straight into sorting out an activity for personal social development week.  4 Days, straight after our summer exams, to complete something productive and relevant to our future course at University.  After covering Marketing throughout my Business Studies AS course, I developed a key interest into its shear importance with modern-day businesses (and my 15 mark exam essays).  Considering my choice of university course is German with business studies, I felt it would be ideal to obtain work experience in my favourite business field.  After some Google browsing and website reviewing, I found Enterprise Marketing to be the perfect place to contact.  With Karen’s experience with working in Germany and developing a fluency in their language, as well as Andrew currently being at University, I was inspired to get my work placement sorted immediately with them.  Naturally, with Karen’s goodwill and keen interest to help others out through work experience, I found myself to be accepted for the required dates with all forms filled out in under a week. 

Exams were finished, revision was over and work experience was waiting in the wings.  I was nervous yet somewhat excited to both be away from exams and to have first hand experience at the Enterprise Marketing firm.  As the days went by and the week progressed, I found myself presented with brand new experiences each day.  From understanding the contents of marketing plans, to being toured around a major printing company – Spot On.  It was this variety of events that truly defined the value of work experience and the importance of spending time in different fields.  Even minor details such as learning about SWOT analysis and how to professionally interact with clients, have all combined together to prove the importance of my time with Karen and Andrew.   

After reviewing my personal social development week with my school teachers and friends, it became clear that my experience was something to be admired.  When listening to what others had done with their time, it merely strengthened my overall satisfaction with Enterprise Marketing Solutions.  With my friend Jack revealing he just browsed the PC on BBC Sport for the majority of his time at his work placement; and Usman explaining his shear disappointment with the lack of activities during his week, I realised just how grateful I was to spend my time with such amazing and helpful people. 

My thanks go directly to the supreme team of Andrew and Karen, for accommodating me for a week in both June and August, and delivering a host of tasks and objectives that made up one incredible experience at Enterprise Marketing Solutions.  I have learnt so much in terms of practical business skills and knowledge that will only benefit me in both the working environment and with my university application.  You truly are superstars and I wish you the best of luck with the future of your business and everything else outside of that.  I can only recommend you continue to take on work experience placements, so others can live the same experience which I was so fortunate to receive.

http://www.enterprisemarketing.co.uk/testimonials1/giving-back/

We really enjoyed having Alex with us; he was extremely helpful, willing and we enjoyed sharing our knowledge with him. And we've got some yummy choccy biscuits to enjoy as a parting present for us!

Karen

Getting Better Results from the Right Communication

I read the article in FM World this morning 'We asked 100 FMs how much time they spend on their email accounts'. With some interesting statistics the point that I found most interesting was the comment from one interviewee saying that it irritates him when his team have simple questions and they email him, rather than calling him for a speedier response.

With so many different methods of communication these days, it is even more important to know which method of communication is preferred when dealing with clients, suppliers, or your teams, in order to firstly establish the best levels of communication, and secondly to ensure things happen as a result of those communications, otherwise nothing happens because you're waiting for a response!

One of our clients will never answer texts as in a previous role, text messages tended to convey bad news and this mental association has stuck. So if we need a response from her, the best method for her is to call her on her direct office line, followed by her mobile, followed by emailing her, in that order.

Similarly, I was looking at changing accountants and asked 2 accountants to call me to discuss my requirements. One sent me an email with a questionnaire / form to fill out and send back to them, the other called me. Guess who got the business?

If you ask the question at the outset of a relationship what their preferred method of communication is, not only will it improve your relationship as you are communicating in the way that THEY want you to, you will have better responses and, if you are selling to them, better sales from them.   

If you need help communicating with your contacts, whether clients, suppliers or your teams, give me a call 01296 584834. www.enterprisemarketing.co.uk

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.