Blog

SPAM – Do You Comply With Legislation?

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I seem to be receiving an increasing number of emails recently that not only constitute SPAM, but in doing so, fall foul of Legislation surrounding the topic. This last week alone, I have received emails that have:  CC’d numerous other contacts, whose details, including mine, have been visible to all recipients (instead of BCC) Failed to include the simple ability to “Unsubscribe” Received emails from a company that I have unsubscribed from on more thanRead more…

Congratulations –

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Congratulations to both Steve and Joanne who have completed this years Pedals for Pounds #P4P4 Challenge! Cycling 240 miles around Yorkshire in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Huddersfield Town Academy Here are some photographs-   Training before the start       The Brown Team ready for the off !!!..   Up the browns !!   Meeting some great friends on the way Finally Finish… shattered and very proud!!! Circuit of the stadium VeryRead more…

Negative Marketing

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Is it me or has there been an increase in the use of negative marketing recently? Negative marketing is simply marketing yourself by making your competition look bad or inferior. It’s an interesting way of promoting yourself, for sure, and carries a not insignificant element of risk with it. Whilst the depth of the derision of the competition may well vary, it’s a proven way of marketing with success. For example, politicians use negative marketingRead more…

You Never Know When An Opportunity Might Present Itself

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I remember a long time ago, being told a story of someone who went into a famous German car showroom, only to be frowned upon and not taken seriously by the sales person because of how he was dressed.   As it happens, he was a multi-millionaire looking to purchase a new top spec top of the range car for himself, as well as a new fleet for his sales team – he happened toRead more…

Mission Accomplished……Well done Steve

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I mentioned a few blogs ago that Steve had entered a triathlon for the first time ever – this weekend gone, he completed it!   It was a “sprint” triathlon apparently, although an hour and a half of constant swimming, cycling and running doesn’t constitute a sprint in my books!! Nevertheless a 400m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run is what it entailed and Steve, along with 900 or so other brave souls, completed theRead more…

How Are You Managing Your Customers and Prospects?

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We’ve recently adopted a new CRM (Customer Record Management) system, replacing the previous one which had proven to be unreliable.   We’ve used a CRM system for some time as a database marketing tool, as from it we conduct email broadcasting, telemarketing and other ways of direct marketing to our contacts. Predominantly though, it’s a means of data management, containing all our contacts’ details, retaining their information centrally, making it easier to serve our customersRead more…

What’s your motivation?

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I read an article in a magazine recently – it was a sports magazine and the article was regarding how to get over the motivational dips that we all get from time to time.   Whilst some of the tips were aimed directly at the issues faced by athletes, such as cold weather outside, dark early evenings etc, many issues were general and even those directly related to sport could be easily tweaked to fitRead more…

Take Advantage Of Opportunities Presented

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I often wonder how many opportunities I lose by not knowing that something is happening. I also wonder how to prevent missing such opportunities – is it possible to find out in advance of an upcoming event, for example? Let me explain…… Last week was National Apprenticeship week. Luckily, we found out about it, although purely by chance as it happens. However, as a list broker, it paid us to know about it, because whatRead more…

You Cannot Be Serious……. How To Lose Newly Won Customers!

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A couple of weeks ago, we changed our company’s telephone supplier. The catalyst for changing was simply a cold call I received (proof in itself that a) telemarketing companies still works and b) we practice what we preach), during which the salesperson promised cheaper bills, based upon our consumption. We weren’t looking for a new supplier, we weren’t unhappy with our existing supplier, we simply received a call from someone who promised cheaper bills. NowRead more…

Be Prepared!!!

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Puncture

This weekend, like many others, I went for a ride on my bike. Whilst ordinarily, I am with my hubby Steve, he was otherwise engaged this time, so I was alone. As I was merrily riding along towards Keighley, I hit a pothole which sent that knowing shudder down my spine – knowledge that I had suffered a puncture!!!   After the usual cursing of both my bad luck and the state of the roadsRead more…