NO MORE STAMPS

Those of you who have worked with redyellowblue in the past will not be receiving an official corporate Christmas card this year.  In fact, no one is.  Not friends, not family, not colleagues, not clients or random people we have met in the course of doing business this year.  Instead a small village in Madagascar will be a couple of feet of pipeline closer to having fresh water in their village.  We have chosen to take the cash we would have usually laid out on fancy schmancy cards and festive stamps, and give it to Kitchen Table Charities Trust which makes grants to tiny charities around the world run by volunteers.  And our money is going to the village in Madagascar.  I have been quite surprised at how controversial the decision not the send cards has been.  A real 50/50 split.  Some people have been impressed and touched, especially as I have sent an email to everyone who would expect a card and attached photographs of the village.  Others have been mildly affronted and have viewed it as a bit of a cop out - "If I have to spend hours signing 200 cards then so should everyone else."  But I have been very excited by our choice this year and I would challenge anyone to visit the Kitchen Table Charities website and not be moved by the incredible things which are achieved all across the globe by volunteers on a shoe string:  www.kitchentablecharities.org.


Let me know if you have also chosen the charity route this year through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz


Lindsay

NOT JUST A PRETTY FOLDER

I sent a colleague of mine off this week to find out how we can improve the way we present our final document to our clients.  It is quite an impressively weighty thing which includes industry analysis, trends, competitor research, audience identification as well as a thorough review of our client’s business and that’s before we’ve even started on our recommendations for strategy, messaging, activity and a timing plan.  When we were smaller and our offering wasn’t quite as comprehensive as it is now, then a spiral bound document was great.  However, we now spend a lot of time doing quite valuable primary research which has a massive impact on our recommendations and how effective they are.  I didn’t feel we were doing all our hard work justice so I decided I wanted to get the whole thing designed properly.  Once my colleague had begun to brief the designer though, he came back to me with loads of questions and queries and when I began to think about it more, I realised the issue was more than just a couple of pretty, printed front and back covers.  If I wanted the finished document to be a true representation of the value I know it had, then I needed to invest time and budget into it.  PR and marketing isn’t just about media coverage and leaflets, it is about every single communication with your customer from documents, to letter heads to how you talk to people at networking meetings.  I am going to meet the designer next week to do the whole thing properly.  It is going to cost me more than I was hoping but I am sure that it will reap me more rewards than I was expecting.


Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz


Lindsay

CHILDREN, CHARITY AND GETTING COVERAGE IN A LOCAL NEWSPAPER

I have recently started doing some work with my daughters’ primary school specifically to generate coverage in the local media.  There are lots of newspapers and glossy magazines where we live and most are quite well read so for a school it is a fantastic tool for generating awareness and showing potential parents what you do.  Everyone knows adverts are expensive, so editorial is a brilliant way of securing space which is not only  free but is also much more likely to be read than ads ever will.  However, when you are a small business it is sometimes really hard to summon up regular stories to tickle the imaginations of the busy reporters on the local papers and this is where children and charities can come in.  A quick glance through your local paper can be very revealing, although you would be amazed how many businesses who are hoping to grab some column inches just don’t do it.  Amongst the serious crime stories, court reports and planning battles will be plenty of lovely photographs of smiling children doing funny things or of smiling grown up raising money for charity – they may or may not be doing something funny.  So if you have a regular programme of rolling news out to the local media and have a couple of gaps, then consider linking up with a local charity to offer your services in a fund raising capacity or contact your local school to see if you can get involved in some way.  The school or the charity will be delighted for some support, you will feel much better for having supported a great cause and I bet you will get a lovely smiley photo which will secure you some of that much needed coverage.

Email me with any of your stories which have generated some local newspaper coverage, I would love to hear from you through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz


Lindsay

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS AGAIN?

I have just come back from a meeting in Chiswick with a very successful design and print company.  They called us in because they don’t feel expertise of their design studio has a strong enough profile and want to encourage more customers through the door (don’t we all?!!).  When I asked them about their marketing activity to date it was no surprise that direct mail was a real hit with them, and they had piles of wonderfully glossy postcards and creative mailshots which all looked lovely.  But when I asked them what response rate they were getting (with direct mail it is usually 2-4%) they didn’t know.  They said that the reason for sending out this regular communication was raising awareness which is very commendable and more than lots of businesses do.  However, even for a print company, churning out hundreds of pieces of full colour direct mail collateral is still expensive and if you are going to invest in any kind of marketing or PR activity you need to know whether or not it is working.  Always begin with a method of evaluation in mind – be ready to judge anything you do on the results it brings you.  Often this is as basic as creating a customer profile form which includes a couple of questions about where they heard about you and why they chose you over competitors.  But, and this is crucial, make sure you use it and use it for every single customer.  Unless you have deep pockets and can afford the kind of big impact marketing activity which is likely to net instant results, your successes are likely to take a little longer to manifest themselves.  Therefore it is vital to keep an eye on where these lovely new customers are coming from so you know what is working and what is not and therefore what to continue to invest in and what is a waste of your money.

Let me know what evaluation methods and tools you find the most effective and easy to put into practice.  I would love to hear from you via the reader comments or email me at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay

MINING FOR GOLDEN NUGGETS

One of my first questions to any prospective clients is:  “What do you do?”  I am always hoping for an inspiring, succinct and interesting answer and am frequently disappointed!  First impressions are not just about how shiny your shoes are but are about those first couple of sentences you use to describe your business.  People have to get it straight away or they will shortly be mentally wandering off to that smart lady on the other side of the room who looks like she is having a good time.  I go to a lot of networking meetings and just last week was chatting to a gentlemen who was very enthusiastic but determined to list the entire features and benefits of his company in response to a simple question about what he did.  Take the time to compose a couple of Golden Nuggets about your company; chunks of shiny information which give a flavour of what you do and will tempt the listener in, leaving the conversation open for questions.  Now you have a conversation going and who knows where that might lead …? 

Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay

PEEPING OVER THE HEDGE

I was working with a local restaurant recently who let out a confused sigh when I asked who their competitors were.  “No one does what we do,” is another old chestnut and even if you occupy a real niche there will always be alternatives for your customers’ cash. An hour or so browsing competitor websites is always a happy time!  You will either find that their marketing is so spot on that their website is fantastic and it will trigger off all sorts of inspirational ideas for your own business.  Or else you will find yourself slowly puffing up with pride (and relief) that they appear to be in even more of a confused state than you are.  Search those sites to find out how the competition talk about themselves, what words they use what key phrases crop up again and again.  See how they show testimonials, quotes or case studies from satisfied customers.  From there you should be able to identify the areas in which you differ, the things you do better and the areas where you might lag behind.  Peeping over the hedge to look at next door’s washing is always worth it!

Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay

IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS HOW WILL THEY KNOW YOU?

To my question: “Who buys your stuff?” The answer seems to always be: “Everyone.”  I have worked recently with a florist, a photographer, a physiotherapist and a financial advisor and they are all so lucky to have all the people in the world as potential customers!  However, unless you have pockets as deep as Richard Branson’s you will never be able to tell every single one of those people what you do.  When you are short on time and money ‘focus, focus, focus’ should be your mantra:  really narrow down on who are the people spending the most money with you or are your more regular customers.  These are the people you should be spending your limited resources on because they are the quickest route to increased turnover.  Take a bit of time to really look at who comes into your shop/buys from your website and it will soon be obvious who your customers are.  Once you have done that you will be able to pick out the activities from your long wish list which would be the most appropriate.  Focussing on these core customers does not mean everyone else will stop buying but it will help bring some clarity to what you do and means that your time and your money are well spent.

Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay

SIPPING PIMMS ON THE YACHT IN CANNES

We are hearing the patter of tiny feet in our household, really tiny feet.  We have just acquired a hamster.  She goes like the clappers in her little wheel most evenings hardly stopping for breath and sometimes she reminds me of me, diligently racing onwards who knows where.  But this final resting place is a question I always ask my clients and in the quest for orders and sales it is often something they haven’t asked themselves for ages.  Where you want to end up should be lasered onto the inside of your eyelids because it ought to seep into everything you do as a company.  There is no point driving blindly on for enormous corporate orders when in fact you want to keep the business small and manageable. This is true for your PR and marketing of course.  If selling up in five years is your dream don’t spend time and money building yourself up as the figurehead for your business.  Some of my clients are almost embarrassed to confess their dreams but I say shout them loud and proud.  They are the reason you are working for yourself and they get you out of bed in the morning.   I will see you on my yacht in Cannes Marina – mine’s a large Pimms.

Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay

QUICK! QUICK! QUICK!

I love it when I am chased by clients.  It means they have been paying attention!  It means I have made some sense.  A recent client of mine worked in network cabling and we spent quite a long time looking at how the company could win new business by creating a reputation for themselves within this niche and quite closed market.  When we analysed the competitors and I asked why and how these companies were winning business it became very obvious what my client needed to do to compete.  It wasn’t down to spending lots of money but was about waving the flag a bit more and letting people know they were there and were good at what they did.  “That’s so obvious!” was how she greeted my recommendations but I often find myself stating the obvious with my clients.  However, when you are up to your armpits in order processing, sourcing materials and paying suppliers, the obvious isn’t always easy to spot.  You sometimes need a fresh pair of eyes to look at things differently and to encourage you to take a step back and look at the business as a whole rather than just the next thing on the To Do list.  Once I had emailed my recommendations through to my client I then found myself being chased and hassled for the final document because she was so keen to get going once I had brought a bit of focus and clarity. That made me happy!

Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay

PUT THE KETTLE ON – CHATTING IS GREAT BUSINESS

When I tell my clients they need to set aside three or four hours for our meeting you can see them stagger slightly and hold on to the wall for support as they think about their packed diaries.  However, when you get them going, there is no stopping them and I am a really enthusiastic listener.  I love hearing my clients talk about their business and I haven’t found one yet who didn’t love talking to me about it. But it is once we are all talked out about customers and clients and the economic climate that the real interesting stuff emerges, things they might not have thought about themselves for ages, it is the stuff that they really love, the things about their businesses that get them excited and the things they would love to do more of if they could.  And that is often where we find our strategy.  The unique thing about small businesses is that they are driven by one person with a vision or a passion or a skill and sometimes that can get shoved to one side once the company is up and running.  But when you uncover that pearl, all covered up by sand and silt, you find the essence of the business and the light that shows you the path to follow.  I had a long meeting recently with a company which hires out crew for exhibitions.  We chatted for ages about the business and the services she provides and I scribbled down notes as she talked and I could soon see that the words which kept cropping up again and again were ‘attention to detail’, ‘caring about the staff’, ‘making sure the staff are OK’.  When I pointed this out at the end of the meeting, she was quite surprised and hadn’t realised how important it was to her and how it had become a pillar of the business.  That extra level of care became the core of our strategy and is at the heart of all the PR and marketing activity that the company now does.  It all begins with a cup of tea.

Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay

A BRAND NEW BLOG

As if there weren't enough blogs out there already, I am now adding a new one.  However, I am hoping that this one will  be really useful if you run your own business and want to learn about doing your own PR and marketing successfully.  At redyellowblue I work with lots of businesses in many different sectors so in my regular posts I am planning to share my expertise and offer advice and information about how you can have a crack at  your company's PR and marketing so that it has a positive impact on your turnover, making your business dazzle and shine.  Often it's not about spending loads of money but is about investing time, little and often.  I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have found my advice inspirational and more importantly, that it has helped.


Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz


Lindsay

TRIED THAT – IT DIDN’T WORK

By the way, one ad in the local paper slipped in on deadline for a bargain price is not PR and marketing!  


The meeting I had today reminded me.  I was sat across a desk and watched a potential client fold his arms, sit back in his chair and declare that PR and marketing doesn’t work because he put one ad in the Informer and the phone didn’t ring once.  The chances of a potential customer picking up the paper and seeing your ad at the exact moment they are looking for your services are slim, and that’s being optimistic.  PR is not a magic bullet.  It is about building trust and loyalty amongst your customers; it is about what they think about you and what you want them to think about you.  And as we all know when it comes to getting people to like you it takes a bit of time, charm and persuasion.  


You don’t have to spend loads of money on PR but you do need to commit time as it is much better to do lots of little things regularly then go all guns blazing and showgirls dancing and then do nothing else for six months.  One ad in one week won’t make a difference.  A series of ads, with support on the website, an associated advertorial, a couple of editorial pieces and sponsorship of the paper’s small business awards over the course of four months will however.  


So don’t show me one newspaper ad that didn’t work otherwise I will have to roll the paper up and bash you over the head with it!

Let me know how you are getting on through the reader comments or via email at lindsay@redyellowblue.biz.  Don't forget to visit our website:  www.redyellowblue.biz

Lindsay