Our new name, Fig Creative incorporates the old (Fig stands for First Impression Group) but celebrates the new. It’s fresh, modern and represents our team of creative sales and marketing professionals. We will still offer the services you might know us for, print and design, websites and email marketing and our customers can still choose that we provide these services.

But, if you are serious about achieving real results you need regular, targeted marketing activities which is why we are formally launching our Marketing Partner Programme.

It’s having incredible results for some of our clients, one has seen a ten fold increase in business in under a year and another has achieved £1 million pounds in just 6 months. As a Marketing Partner with Fig Creative we deliver all or part of your PR and Marketing requirements, effectively becoming your ‘outsourced’ marketing department.

Our newly refreshed website is now live http://www.figcreative.co.uk/ and take a look at the pages on our Marketing Partner Programme and some of the testimonials of customers already benefiting from this service.

There’s some exciting things happening at First Impression and with some of our customers.
Join in our 12 days of Christmas puzzle and find out what’s happening on the 23rd December!

In the meantime, enjoy our top 12 tips… we’re on day four and it’s how email marketing can help your business

But the marketing team at The Old Hall didn’t want to do the usual Christmas brochure this year, they wanted something a bit special, just like their hotel. So, working with their marketing company, First Impression, a special Christmas campaign was created. A whole Christmas experience from the minute potential customers open their Christmas parcel, the magic begins.

The Christmas present entices you to their new animated Christmas site, with hand drawn illustrations by a local student. Father Christmas in his sleigh flies over the roof tops of the distinctive Buxton buildings, leaving you more presents to open. Christmas begins early at the Old Hall Hotel like most hotels, catering for Christmas parties and events and this year there are packages for people wanting to get away from it all. And then of course, there’s the Christmas period itself, from Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve parties through to the festive meals themselves.

With such a marketing campaign interest is expected to be high so they’ve enabled bookings to be made directly from the Christmas site. And what is really exciting for the oldest hotel in England, if you have an iphone, blackberry or android device you can access a special version of the Christmas site on your mobile directly through a QR code on the Christmas present.

For those who still prefer a more traditional brochure, you needn’t worry, The Old Hall Hotel have catered for your needs too, designed in the same format as the Christmas website so the whole campaign works together perfectly.

See the Christmas website for yourself at www.christmasattheoldhall.co.uk

We understand how difficult it is to market your businesses effectively, particularly in the current climate. Technologies are changing; there are new channels to consider, your clients want to engage with you in different ways and what used to work for you doesn’t any more. And of course, no one marketing activity is going to transform your business.

We can help.

First Impression is a highly effective creative, design and marketing company based in the High Peak. We have been delivering successful marketing solutions for our clients across the North West since 1996, from designing and printing leaflets and brochures, to building websites and running email marketing campaigns

The change in the economy affected the way our clients did business. Rather than tactical activity – one off jobs, they needed a more strategic approach. That is why we launched our marketing partner programme earlier this year.

What is our marketing partner programme?

As your marketing partner we keep you ahead of the game, saving you time and money by getting your marketing right first time. We know that successful and cost effective marketing is about a mix of targeted activities. Companies using our partner programme range from sole traders to mid size corporates. No matter what stage your business is at, whether you are a start up, a company struggling to survive, an established business planning for growth or even wanting to build the business to sell, we can help you.

For a fixed monthly fee, (which is agreed at the outset, depending on your budget and what you want to achieve), we take on your entire marketing activity. It means you only have one relationship to manage rather than many relationships saving you time and money. It also means we get the opportunity to understand a lot more about your business and can drive the right marketing activities that are going to get results for your company.

We manage everything from your website, to social media, design and print, to PR and events. And it works. We can provide customer testimonials that show our support has turned their businesses around.

Move your business forward today, talk to Martin Duncan about working with
First Impression on 01457 857111

If your company isn’t big enough for a dedicated marketing person, you’ll find that the marketing often falls on your own shoulders. And then it only happens when you can find the time to do it, or it is reactive in response to competitor activity or when you need to launch a new product.

First Impression has launched new retainer marketing contracts to help customer’s spread their marketing spend across a twelve month period. But it’s not just about spreading cost, it’s about making sure that the activity happens and that it just doesn’t end up at the bottom of a very long to do list. And that it is targeted, relevant and part of an overall strategic plan. In our experience although a customer’s marketing spend may increase, so does the return on investment. That’s what marketing is all about; it’s about a return on investment, not a cost.

Bringing on a marketing company to support your marketing activity has many advantages but there are four key ones:

• Targeted activities against a strategic plan
• A better return on your investment
• More creative ideas and structure
• Leaves you free to run your business

A big advantage of working with First Impression is that you have a team behind you – marketing and sales professionals who can help you with ideas and structure the plan, talented graphic designers who can protect and grow your brand, copywriters who can develop your message and web developers who can ensure you are making the most of the internet. But First Impression will also look after all of your marketing needs, from advertising and PR opportunities, exhibition support, social media and internet marketing.

You only have one relationship to manage and we get to understand you and your business. In effect, we become your virtual marketing department, there when you need us, but we are working for you constantly, keeping an eye of your competitors and opportunities to move your business forward.

A retainer contract can start from as little as £800 a month, but for those companies looking to grow their business, they should be spending at least £1,000 a month. Customers also benefit from a free quarterly review to check that their marketing is on course, to review activity and results and agree the way forward for the next quarter.

If you would like to discuss how a marketing retainer could work for your business contact Martin or Helen Duncan on 01457 857111.

Email marketing is still one of the most cost effective ways of keeping in touch with your customers.

It’s quick, responsive, and gives you fantastic reporting of who is interested and who is not.

You can send a HTML newsletter like this one every month using emailshot. You can try it for free by simply completing your details and it will give you access to the system http://www.emailshot.co.uk/free-trial.php?campaignkw=emailshot-for-free

To find out more about emailshot download our  5 minute presentation here> http://www.firstimpression.co.uk/resources/5-minute-guide-to-email-marketing.pdf?campaignkw=emailshot-presentation

Indifference or lack of interest is said to be one of the main reasons a customer will go somewhere else, higher than poor service or cost! And yet we still ignore them.

We all know that it is 8 times more expensive to find a new customer. It is said that only 2% of new sales comes from the first contact with a client and a staggering 80% of new sales comes from the 5th to 12th contact! That proves how much effort is required to win someone round. So let’s not forget our existing clients.

It doesn’t take alot of effort to keep in touch. Here are our top tips to keep your clients feeling loved…

1. Service excellence 100% of the time.

   Sounds a bit obvious doesn’t it. Companies often really pull the stops out with a new client and go that extra mile to impress, but do you keep that level of service up? When that client reorders or wants more from your business, do they honestly get that same level of service that impressed them the first time around? The problem with bending over backwards in the first instance is, you are setting a precedent and you are going to have to maintain that level going forward with that client. If you have reduced lead times or squeezed a customer in last minute to hit their deadlines, or whatever it is that has impressed your client the first time around, make sure they understand your standard terms of operation and that this is unprecedented.

   If you are aiming for service excellence 100% of the time, make sure this applies to your existing clients as well as new ones. They can often fall through the net.

2. Stay interested in their business.

   Even if you haven’t got any work with a client at the moment, stay interested in their business. Set up google alerts or follow them on twitter so that you know what is happening in their business. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to pass on to them, tenders, grants, referrals, other suppliers that might be useful, anything that shows you are still thinking about them, and care about their business.

3. A phone call still works.

   If you haven’t heard from a client for a while, or even if they have been ordering from your business but haven’t been dealing with you, pick up the phone. You don’t have to have a reason, just a friendly, ‘Hi, haven’t spoken for a while, and wondered how things are going with you and your business.’ It’s not a sales call (although never be surprised when a customer asks you for something when you’ve made one of these calls). Your customers will be delighted to get such a call. It makes them feel wanted and that you do care.

4. Keep in touch with a newsletter.

   It’s a well known fact that companies who keep in touch with their clients with a regular newsletter retain their customers better than those who don’t. Make sure your newsletters are full of interesting topics, relevant and useful so that customers want to receive it. Never underestimate the power of your newsletter to spread brand awareness and keep in your customer’s mind. If you are not communicating with your clients, be sure your competitors will!

5. Make time for your clients.

   Make time to meet your clients on a regular basis. Listen to what they have got to say and understand what is happening in their business. Don’t always be too quick to suggest your products and services. Clients will trust you a lot more if you are not always trying to sell them something.

6. If it goes wrong, resolve it fast.

   Things will sometimes go wrong, this is life after all. But when it does, be quick to accept blame and a resolve for your client. Clients will rarely move away because of a mistake if it is dealt with efficiently and to their satisfaction. It’s a good test of any company’s customer service of how they deal with complaints, so make sure you have good systems in place to resolve issues quickly.

7. Deliver on time, on budget, every time.

   Doing what you say often doesn’t get you any rewards but if you don’t hit a deadline, you’ll know about it. I’m often amazed at how many companies fail to deliver what they say they are going to do. So there is definitely an opportunity for those of us who do deliver to maximise our opportunities!

8. Use your marketing tool kit to best advantage.

   Think how best to communicate with your clients. In truth a mix of marketing mediums is going to work best. As a marketing company ourselves we use most methods, we blog, we twitter, we use email marketing, we use our website, we network….and we still use those more traditional methods of direct mail and telephone. All work. But as long as you are staying in touch, keeping in front of your customers, they’ll still think of you when the next piece of work comes along.

If you need help keeping in touch with your clients First Impression can help. Give us a call on 01457 857111 to have a chat about your business.

You can see the HTML newsletter online here http://firstimpression.co.uk/communicate/dec10/

And if you want to subscribe to future issues just email contact@firstimpressionco.uk

What used to work, often doesn’t work any more, or you have to combine a mix of different communication methods – direct mail, email marketing, social media and telephone marketing – which often makes the cost of sale more expensive. It means you have to think harder about who your target market is and what is the best way to reach them. And standing out from the crowd is really important, making sure you don’t just look and say what everyone else is doing. Find out what your differentiator is – what makes you different – and shout about it!

Take a look at our website www.firstimpression.co.uk to see how we help our customers stand out from the crowd and win more business.

We live in a world where technology is advancing day by day, and with that our marketing activity is following the online trend. Social media, email marketing and online activity is becoming more and more dominant across all market sectors, but surprisingly, traditional direct mail campaigns are making a strong comeback.

In a recent survey carried out by Marketing Magazine, they found that direct mail activity grew by 1.5% in the last year, but instead of blanket mailing to their entire database, companies are being much more strategic about who they send their campaigns to.

Businesses are combining their direct mail campaigns with email marketing and social media to boost their results, for example Cadbury sent a direct mail campaign to 300 fans that had interacted most with Cadbury online. They sent a direct mail interactive challenge that required the fans to blog about their activities and post photographs on Facebook. The campaign resulted in the brand making 31,500 new friends on Facebook and increased their site traffic by 442%.

What this shows is that businesses shouldn’t put all of their eggs in to one ‘new media’ basket, instead it is important to mix traditional marketing methods such as direct mail with more modern methods to reach their target market in a variety of ways.

Here at First Impression we have the knowledge and experience to provide your business with a full service marketing solution. Our in house team of creatives; including graphic designers, web developers, copywriters and marketing professionals can help you to pull all of your marketing methods together creating highly effective and measurable campaigns.

By working with First Impression you will save time and money as you only have to deal with one company, meaning you only have to manage one relationship.

If you would like to discuss your marketing ideas with First Impression no matter how large or small, call us today on 01457 857111