I have often mentioned it in blogs, that whatever you are planning from the marketing side, you should always start with the customer, understanding their needs and then shaping the marketing you do based on that. I have come across one of Forrester’s analysts, Anthony Mullen, who has a good blog that mentions this too. So I thought I...

Over my career, in those “What do you do?” chats, it has so often been the case that people align marketing with advertising and creative, wacky ideas – and big budgets! Not so, I’m afraid. So much of marketing is about fundamental business concepts. Very logical, procedural thinking. Yes, the creative angle needs to be there, but it is...

More and more technology seems to be coming out that supports the idea that in the future – and possibly not so distant future, we will move from smart phones to smart glasses or ‘wearables’ as they can be referred to. The BBC reported yesterday about the ability to use glasses to look at a menu in a foreign...

As many of the people reading my blog are involved in small businesses and often founders, I thought I’d draw your attention to the topic of ‘Founderitis’ – a serious ‘illness’ associated with certain symptoms which even those not in small businesses will recognise. Some of the symptoms are the inability to delegate, anger when left out of a...

I was having a recent discussion with a client about flexible working for their business – and the marketing needs they have on a part-time, not full-time basis. I see a growing interest in this area with the people I work with – where there is a recognition that different people have different skills and so it is better...

Pause. Think. Post. According to some new research, referring to social media usage in the UK, whereas we may have been forgiven for thinking that if we do social media, our customers will forgive small errors, that is not the case. I think many of us have assumed that social is a different media, with a different expectation on...

“It’s a boy!” It is all over the news, all over the world. It was even before the baby was born. Whatever your personal views on the royals and it is quite an emotive topic that calls for strong views, they are a brand for Britain. The way I see it as a marketer, the Royal Family – in...

And the future is here now. I have mentioned it before about engaging with your customers and interacting with them. I read an article last week that I wanted to share with you all as it is very true. Marketers are constantly seeking new ways to interact with their customers/fans/user base – particularly in consumer marketing, but it spreads...

Marketing and your brand is as much about the culture of your organisation – including internal productivity, employee education and motivation, as it is about growing your external customer base. We often hear about workplace stress and an article in the WSJ has given some suggestions about the causes and some fixes which I will summarise. The three causes...

Is the idea of ‘Crowdfunding’ going to be one that takes off and is an option as part of the funding mix, for future businesses looking for investment? Interesting article on this today about a middle eastern firm looking to get investment from ‘the crowd’ in order to grow his business. He is looking at customers, friends, supporters rather...