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

Here are a few tips to help you get more twitter followers.

1) Twitter Follower Exchange

If you were to follow 1000 Twitter users today, how many would you expect to follow you back? – 60%, maybe 40% or it could be as low as 20%. That said, it means if you follow 1000 new people, at least 200 will follow you back –  and if you were to keep this up on a consistent basis you can have thousands of Twitter followers for free!

2) Website referrals

If you have a website, blog or facebook page which is getting traffic, then now might be the time to begin using it as a means of getting more followers on Twitter. Mention to the readers of these sites that they should go and check out your company on Twitter and become a follower. Also, if you haven’t yet added a Facebook or Twitter button to your website, be sure to do so as you may be missing out on a great deal of traffic and possible followers.

3) Be Interactive

Don’t be a “hit and run” tweeter! In other words, don’t just log into Twitter to tell people what you are doing or link to your post and then leave. Respond to tweets, ask questions, and answer questions. Twitter is a conversation, not a monologue, and the more you participate, the more you will get out of it. For example the more people are re-tweeting you or recommending you to their friends, the faster your community will grow.

4) Optimise your twitter profile page to make it more engaging

Your profile page is the first thing new followers will see and it is your main visual presence on the site. It is important that you optimise this page to its full potential.

Two simple ways to optimise your profile page include:

Utilise your Profile “Bio” to your Best Advantage.
Your profile bio gives you a chance to be clever, be witty, or just be yourself! In a few words, sum up who you are and make it sound interesting. A good bio will help to instil trust in potential followers and inspire them to follow you. This is also a great opportunity to point your audience somewhere else, for example, your website.

Create a Custom Profile Page Background

Since the visual impact of your Twitter background is the strongest tool you have available, customize it to really maximise your promotional opportunity here.

You can use your twitter background to give people an insight to what you do. This can be achieved by including a list of your products or services, adding your strapline and even product images. You may also wish to carry on with the branding from your main website to be consistent i.e. logo, colors, fonts etc. You can also use this space to tell people how best to contact you by including your email address, phone numbers and website url.

You can make your own image on your computer and upload it under Settings – Design – Change Background Image. The first 200-250 pixels width on the left hand side is a great place to put additional profile information and list websites.

Here are some examples of great twitter backgrounds, demonstrating the above factors…

Strapline – http://twitter.com/#!/bickov

Services and contact info – http://twitter.com/#!/heartinternet

Branding – http://twitter.com/#!/sitepointdotcom

5) Content is king

Having great quality content will help to keep your followers interested and feel impelled to read your content and engage with you by re-tweeting etc. This can help grow your following as you will start to get people who like what you say and they may have even found you by searching for related terms/hashtags. If you do not have good content, you may get empty followers who are not actually listening to you.

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.

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.

The press will have us believe it’s still doom and gloom out there and I do believe there is another tough year ahead. However signs are that people are fed up of waiting for things to happen and are getting on with it. It’s what we are good at…

See how marketing trends for 2011 might be able to help your business…

Always in touch

With the explosion of mobile communications we are always in touch. iPhones and Blackberry’s mean that we are online, on email, on Facebook, on Twitter etc constantly. And it’s not just the younger generation. Consider your customers and how you can communicate with them on their mobile devices. Does your website view correctly on an iPhone or Blackberry? Or do you have a product or service that would benefit from an App? If you haven’t considered these options you might need to think about them in 2011.

Over half of mobile phone users (52%) are using their mobile devices to update Facebook and 24% use it to update Twitter.
Facebook traffic surpassed Google’s in 2010!
Skype said it had 25 million users.

Are you social?

The figures continue to grow. 2010 was definitely the year of social media and 2011 will be no different. Amazingly there is still a lot of uncertainty about how to channel social media in your business. And there’ll be a lot of wasted time and possibly money in 2011 trying to find out what works. My advice is to treat social media as any other marketing tool. Does it help you to communicate with your clients? Are your clients using social media and which ones? Once you start, make sure you have a strategy and understand what you want to achieve, don’t just fall into the trap of Tweeting… “having a busy day, going to a meeting now” just to have something to say. Make it useful, interesting and share information, that’s what will get you noticed. Do not underestimate the amount of time you can spend on social media. It can be addictive and eats up a lot of time if you are not careful. Like email you should schedule pockets of time set aside to deal with it. If you find you are reacting to Tweets every time they pop in you will find your day will soon disappear! So do your research in 2011, find out if it’s right for your business and control it and be targeted like any other marketing activity.

We want content

Good, relevant content is still highly regarded by Google. But remember your audience too. Those businesses with websites that make it difficult for us to navigate and find the information we are looking for are doomed in 2011. We want content, but we want it now, faster and with less clicks. We want answers to our questions very quickly. We don’t want to have to wade through reams of text to find it either otherwise we will be off to the next website. Take a good hard look at your website content. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. What do they want to know and do you make it easy for them? Or do you hide those benefits behind all that waffle about how good you are and how long your business has been running. Get it sorted, you see a dramatic increase in enquiries or potential sales from your website.

Email marketing end of an era

Email marketing has had a lot of bad press in 2010. Everyone seems to be doing it don’t they? And aren’t we all getting fed up of those newsletters that we get all the time? No, everyone isn’t doing it, and many of those who are doing it, are doing it really rather badly, which gives everyone else a bad name. A very targeted, relevant newsletter is still one of the most cost effective, efficient and timely ways of communicating with your audience. It’s not a hard sell, in fact it’s not a sell at all, it’s a drip, drip, drip reminder that you are there. An opportunity to get your brand out in front of your audience, to remind them about your products and services and how you can help their business. Done badly, it is junk mail, seen as trying to catch you out or get you to sign up to something you don’t want. Email marketing should be part of your marketing mix but you need to do it well.

Protect your brand at all costs

Now there are so many different forms of communicating, on and off line, we have to be even more careful about protecting our brand. What I mean here by brand is not just your logo. Your brand is everything to do with your business. How your business is viewed, what you say, your ethos and your actions. It becomes much harder to control your brand on Facebook and Twitter, the rules are suddenly very different. We have less control and we sometimes forget who we are and that we are talking socially. You are still fronting your business and there are many examples of the ‘wrong thing’ said by business owners or employees that can damage a reputation very quickly. Equally, the way your branding is viewed on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Does it reflect the colours, the language, the fonts etc from your website? You can personalise all of these pages to a certain degree and if you are going to use social media, do it properly and make it look professional. Brand your email marketing newsletters, in fact every opportunity you get to communicate with your customers or potential customers is an opportunity to showcase your brand – who you are and what you are all about – don’t waste that opportunity but equally, don’t damage it either.

If you need help about any of these marketing trends for 2011 give First Impression a call on 01457 857111 or email.

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.

I think, like anything new, you need to find about it, but just like every marketing tool you apply the same rules, do your customers use social media, can you reach them using social media, and are the customers using social media interested in your products and services? Jumping right in without thought can cause alot of wasted effort and in some cases damage. I suggest you find out more about it. Do your research first and if it is appropriate for your business, go for it.

Here’s a good starting point if you simply have no idea what it’s all about  http://www.firstimpression.co.uk/resources/social-networking-unravelled.php

The site features a vivid colour palette/design which reflects the personality of Manjir herself. From the home page you can access 3 different micro-sites, each of these micro-sites details the books that Manjir has launched or is due to launch.  The site features, youtube players, latest news articles, links to Manjirs social networking profiles and a blog. All being powered by a powerful Content Management System (CMS) which allows the client to change content and pages whenever required.

Screenshots

Paradigm Revolution - Home Page

Genius Groove - Microsite

Punk Science - Microsite

You can view the Paradigm Revolution website here.

Interested in having your own website?

If you liked the Paradigm Revolution website and want to find out more about having a bespoke website which allows you to change/add content when required – give First Impression a call on 01457 857111

You can view the full presentation here