Off the Edge : Opinion

When my boss at BT, the Marketing Director, received calls from sales people (mainly marketing agencies) he would always say, "You need to speak to Sharon. She makes those decisions. Here's her number." When they contacted me I knew that my most likely response would be, "Thanks but no thanks". I was open to their approach, would listen and give it fair consideration, but if there was no real opportunity or likelihood that we would give them any business then I would very openly, politely and straighforwardly tell them so.

Why couldn't my boss do this himself? He was an intelligent guy of high integrity, but he was terrible at turning people down. He wasn't really worried about hurting their feelings or not being liked, what he hated was closing down opportunities. He saw the possibilities in everything even when, according to my more pragmatic and realistic view of the world, resources were limited and you can't do everything. 

If resources are limited in a big company like BT now, as a small business owner, they seem even more so - time in particular is a precious commodity. I am dismayed therefore to find so many people who find it difficult to say no - or is it just me that suffers from this problem? (If so I need to know!)

I'm talking about people who don't return personal calls or emails, not people who don't respond to direct marketing. If I'm feeling charitable then I choose to believe that there are lots of people out there who are just like my old boss and who don't want to give up on an opportunity. On my less charitable days then I get angry about the lack of courtesy and respect that one business owner is prepared to show to another.

If you prepare a quote or a proposal for someone and they never get back to you what are you supposed to think?

1. They are too busy?
2. They are too scared to deliver bad news?
3. They can't be bothered?
4. They want you to work harder to get their business?

When we put a proposal together for a marketing programme it entails a lot of work researching the opportunity and tailoring the proposal. It is therefore a costly exercise. I know not all proposals are going to convert to business but getting feedback on why the prospective client is not interested in going ahead, where you failed to demonstrate the appropriate value, or how circumstances have changed is invaluable.

This is a marketing issue - we all need feedback in order to improve the standard of our services and then, hopefully, our conversion rates. 

It is good business practice to follow up submission of quotes or proposals but after how many unreturned emails or calls should I be getting the message (choose which message from 1-4 above)?

I genuinely believe that there are times when it is better to be cruel to be kind - to deliver the bad news to someone quickly and directly rather than keep them holding on, hoping, wishing and wondering!

My personal values (as those of you who know me will, I hope, testify) are to be honest and straightforward with people. I don't like to lead people on and, I know, this can come across as harsh at times. But why waste people's time? Let's be supportive to each other and show appropriate respect!

It was announced this week that Richard Brasher, Tesco's head of UK Business, is to step down. He will be replaced by the big cheese (don't worry this blog will not be littered with grocery references) Phillip Clarke. The news follows the revelation that Tesco was the Christmas turkey (sorry!)  of the supermarkets, posting its worst festive season performance for 20 years and a shock profit warning.

There is, to some extent, an inevitability about the drop in Tesco's performance - you can't be at the top of the pile for ever. In the highly competitive food retail business every player is constantly struggling for an edge. It's possible that Tesco will get their mojo back and resume their place as market leader for growth.

The blame for the poor performance was laid at the door of the economy. Shoppers were moving to economy brands and cutting back on luxuries. It sounds plausible at first but why weren't Sainsbury affected in the same way? Why was Waitrose pulling in the punters hand over fist?

There are lots of opinions flying around about why Tesco has suffered and the reality is there are probably lots of reasons, but I think there are a couple of things that even small businesses can learn a lesson from:

1/ Value does not mean cheap 

In autumn Tesco launched their "Big Price Drop" promotion which was supposed to reduce prices by about £500M. They cancelled double Clubcard points to pay for it. The promotion is widely regarded as a flop. The promotion coincided with general rises in food prices which meant that customers often saw no benefit in their total bill. There were suggestions that quality and customer service levels were not being maintained (according to Kantor retail analysts). So the customers were expecting value but were perceiving similar bills for a worse service.

Value doesn't mean cheap - it means the customer is happy that he gets a good return for his spend. In this respect it seems that Tesco's customers didn't feel that they were.

2/ You can't tell customers one thing and deliver another

Added to the Big Price Drop (or Big Price flop) promotion failure it was reported in the press that Tesco reduced the price of their frozen turkeys by 50% in the run up to Christmas. Sounds great but it was discovered that competitors were selling them for the same price without a big reduction. Again customers were lead to expect one thing but were presented with something very different.

You have to live up to your customer promises. If they don't trust you you'll lose them.

Now pretty much all this article was written based on what I've read in the press - I don't shop at Tesco very often at all. In fact I am a supermarket tart (oops!). I'll triffle (yeeks) with all of them and I don't  give a fig (yikes).

With that in mind let me know what you think. Where has Tesco gone wrong and, more importantly, what do you think we as small businesses learn from it?

Before we start can I just say this in NOT a football blog. Thank you.

On Sunday June 27th 2010 England, a team who qualified for the competition at a canter, lost to Germany and "crashed" out of the South Africa World Cup. The hopes of millions of English supporters were left in tatters. The performance of the team throughout the tournament had been lamentable. Public opinion of the team was at an all time low. Lifelong supporters said that England were "dead" to them.

England merchandise plummeted in price. The pubs were empty for the remaining games of the tournament. It was estimated that the cost of England's failure for retailers was around £1.2bn. Alright, the estimate was in The Sun, but I have no reason to believe it wasn't a good one.

England's brand value was at an all time low. Over the last couple of years the FA has been working to retrieve the situation and England's improving results on the field have helped to pull people back round.

Along the way, though, spectacular blunders have derailed the plan. The FA's disastrous bid for the World Cup 2018 and the response to the failure - blaming everyone else for losing out to Qatar - being a prime example.

Now we have Terrygate II. You will remember before the World Cup in South Africa that there were accusations of impropriety on behalf of England's captain that were played out in the press. Terry lost the England captaincy but remained in the team for the tournament. It is speculated that the affair caused a rift in the team that was at least partly responsible for England's poor performances in the tournament.

Reinstated to the captaincy for the Euro Qualifiers all seemed to be going well for Terry and the team. Attendances for the qualifiers at Wembly improved after starting quite poorly. Then came that incident. Following a premier league game between Chelsea and QPR Terry was accused of hurling racist insults at an opposition player. A complaint was lodged with the police by a member of the public and after a protracted investigation the CPS decided there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction.

The FA last week met, without the team coach being present, and decided to remove the captaincy from Terry for a second time. This week Capello has publicly stated that he strongly disagrees with the FA's decision.

Where does all this leave England? A captain facing criminal proceedings. A team split. A coach clearly at odds with his management.

I could (and buy me a beer and I would) talk about the sporting implications at great length, but this is primarily a marketing blog. So let's restrict ourselves to the marketing issues.

What is England's brand value today? Brand value is the amount of extra money a strong brand can extract from its customers. For the FA, the England brand value is realised through TV rights, sponsorship, ticket sales, membership fees etc. How much do you think sponsors would have been prepared to pay to get their name on an England shirt/website/tour bus/kit bag etc just before the South Africa World Cup compared to today? I don't know the answer but I have my suspicions. I notice that match attendances at Wembley for the Euro qualifiers are down on those for the World Cup. I also notice that membership of the England Supporters club is half price on the website at the moment. Coincidence?

I believe that we are seeing a classic example of the difference between what a "company" would have us believe their brand is and what we actually see it to be.

Brand is a short-hand for a whole range of feelings, beliefs and expectations about a company, a product or a team. For a brand to be credible the communication about the brand must reflect our experience of the brand. I don't know what the FA would cite as the England team brand characteristics. Maybe something like :

Pride. Passion. Honour. Teamwork. Strength. Character.

How well are they doing do you reckon?

Now clearly sometimes a company will define brand values that are to a degree aspirational. "We want to be like this and we're trying to become it." The Nat West bank is a well known example. It very publicly set itself the target of becoming the UK's "most helpful bank". It is then incumbent upon the company to  do what is necessary to change the business in a way that will change customers experience and hence attitudes. You can't simply say one thing and do another.

You also have to recognise:

• a great brand is hard to build and easy to destroy  - what is Gerald Ratner doing these days?
• everyone in the organisation has to demonstrate the brand all the time.
• the company has to publicly endorse, and enforce, the brand

Guest blog on the power of video from Iain McBride.

This is my take on video as a way of getting publicity with videos on the web and Youtube, but first I'd like to add my brief thoughts to the social media debate.

I started as a hack in the days when we all used manual typewriters and, in moments of high stress, these were not only used to bash out copy but physically thrown across the room. Twitter was what the birds did and social media was a meeting of reporters in the pub.

I must admit I've not personally embraced Twitter and Facebook but they are great tools for journalists. Most tragedies now mean a quick search of Facebook for the victim's picture and nine times out of ten it's there in the public domain. I'm happy to argue the morality of it with anyone, but since a judge ruled that once people had chosen to publish these on the internet on an open forum anyone could use them it's been a free for all.

Similarly Twitter is a great way of finding out what some organisations are doing - and in some cases careless Twittering leads to negative headlines. So keep tweeting and facebooking - we love it.

One of my roles now is as a freelance video producer, and one trend that has become apparent in recent months is the growth in demand for Youtube and web videos to draw attention to a product, service or business. Web video boosts a site's rankings on Google and also has numerous spin offs. It can be produced in days once it's been commissioned, and it can also be placed on Youtube for nothing.

I'm obviously biased about their value but one recent example shows, I think, how they can add value. A Kent racehorse trainer recently invented a very simple product and we were asked to produce a video about it for their website, but also with a view to it being used at exhibitions and to show potential sellers at home and abroad what the product does. You can see the video here at http://www.equinedesigns.co.uk/ 

One of the directors told me it's succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. At their first exhibition, at the NEC in Birmingham, people were drawn to their stand because the video explaining the product was showing on a screen and their sales team didn't have to explain what it was all about. Since then they've used it to win distributors in the United States, China and Australia.

If you're thinking of having one then a few words of advice:

• Think pictures - it's got to look interesting. People just talking to the camera are a lazy and fairly pointless exercise. There are always ways of illustrating things and that's where your producer earns part of his fee.
• Think endorsements - nothing is better than a good soundbite from someone who's used your product, business or service.
• Think who's talking on behalf of you - without being cruel some people are best kept away from the camera. Not necessarily because of how they look but because of how they sound or their obvious lack of dynamism. The good news is that a bit of coaching before they're filmed can iron out most problems. Again this is where a good producer stands out from the crowd.
• Think what you want to achieve - what's the aim of the video? Who do you want to interest or convince? If it's very different audiences, for example one with technical knowledge and one without, consider doing two versions.

One word of caution - there are many people out there doing videos and, a bit like wedding photographers, if you want it done on the cheap you can find someone to do it. But beware the £250 web video will look exactly like that - cheap, and is that the image you want to portray?

Iain McBride has worked in newspapers and radio, and was with ITV for 23 years. He was Head of Media for Kent Police for two years and now produces corporate videos and runs media training and press release writing workshops. His website is www.iainmcbride.co.uk

Time to add my two-penneth to the blogs on this subject penned by Debra Andrews and Neil Edwards - you might want to read these as well.

As social networks grow in number and members, so the pressure on businesses grows too. For many business owners, keeping social network profiles updated and regularly populated with stimulating content presents an increasing strain on resources - and sanity! 

Some general points before diving into the specifics of different networks:

• I don't believe social media is transformational for any business - apart from those selling social media!
• Whether something is a luxury or necessity is a relative judgement. If you haven't got the basics of your marketing programme under control then ANY social media activity is a luxury, e.g. don't waste time attracting people to a crummy website!
• Assuming you've got the basics covered, then you have to consider that ignoring anything that has millions of users could be a mistake - but the challenge is for you to work out whether YOUR target audience are active on the particular network and in the right frame of mind to engage with your brand.
• Defining something as a luxury doesn't mean it shouldn't be done - just that it knows its place in your overall priorities!
• Engaging in social media has important indirect spin-offs - for example in improving your website rankings in search. For this reason alone it may be important to have a strategy your organisation can follow

So - here goes, my thoughts on each network:

LinkedIn - Necessity

I agree with both Debra and Neil this is a necessity for all professionals. Whether we are running businesses or looking for employment, our personal profile can be an important influencer in relationships. I do make early judgements based on the way people present themselves online and how up-to-date their information is, and I won't be the only one!

Take control of your profile - try and see it from someone elses shoes. My favourite game is to spot the howlers - people who say they have an excellent eye for detail but can't spell, for example.

LinkedIn also presents a great way to keep in touch with people you meet at face to face networking events - and it's always a disappointment if I can't find someone that I think should be there!

It doesn't have to take a lot of time - the most distracting thing is the emails from the various discussion groups but I've solved that by having them automatically moved to a different folder that I can review just once or twice a week.

Twitter - Luxury

Agreed again - a luxury. Very valuable if you want to learn about different topics, but terribly time consuming as you can easily end up following one interesting lead after another and before you know it hours have passed! It is possible to search on topics and organise lists and favourites, but even then you have to keep those up to date!

I dip into Twitter most days but very briefly so it really depends what catches my eye. I keep my own posting score boosted by bulk scheduling of 3-4 weeks of tweets, then when I go on live I can post about something I have just found or done or just look to engage with others.

I confess that I found Twitter fascinating to begin with but its appeal has somewhat faded - and I am always suspicious of the people I meet who are tweeting everything they do (even while out at meetings). Slightly needy don't you think?

Facebook - Luxury

I agree with Debra on this one - a luxury for B2B. Neil, on the other hand, sees it as a necessity. Maybe this reflects the effort that Neil has put into building up a significant following. I think 952 'likes' for a marketing agency is a fantastic achievement - congratulations Neil! Neil says investing in Facebook advertising worked for him, and the fact that this following results in traffic back to his website is also excellent. However, he still seems to have difficulty getting people to engage actively by commenting on his page and I think this is generally true for B2B.

Although I put more effort into keeping our Facebook business page up to date (important for the brand), I think posting on my personal site is more effective at making connections and building relationships - which of course leads to a conflict between business/personal for many people.

Google+ - untested!

I confess this is has not even made it to the luxury list for me - only the bottom of the 'to do' list! I know I will probably have to get round to it but the thought of filling out another set of profile questions and building another set of connections currently fills me with dread. Maybe when I feel I've got all my marketing basics right I'll get round to this one!

And we've not even started on YouTube ...

Time is our most valuable resource and we need to be spending it wisely - social media can be fun, can be educational and can be distracting. But it can also be useful and positive for B2B marketing. The fact that opinions from marketing experts differ reflects the huge variation in circumstances that lead to success with any particular network. My best advice is to be informed and make your decision for your specific business based on knowledge rather than prejudice/assumptions.

And if in doubt master LinkedIn first!

What do you think?

Image: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It's a good thing Santa doesn't rely on Google to get to every house on his round - he'd spend most of his time driving around lost I reckon. In my last rant of 2011 I am asking why so many businesses are relying on Google to help customers find where they are - without checking whether Google has it right!

THREE times in just this one week I have struggled to find businesses by following the directions on their website. This is 100% down to their laziness and incompetence in checking that, when they refer people to Google for directions, that Google is getting their flag in the right place. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but sometimes you have to tell it like it is!

Customer experience is an essential part of getting your marketing right. Sending customers on a wild goose chase does not make for a good customer experience! This is not hard or expensive - but can make a big difference.

Here's a little challenge for you over the Christmas break. Use Google Maps to try and find your business:

1. If the directions and location of the little flag are 100% accurate then pat yourself on the back and go and relax.
2. If you have a Google Places entry and the flag is not in the right place then correct it!
3. If you don't have Google Places shame on you - that needs sorting out asap! It's a free listing for your business so worth making the most of.
4. If the Google Maps entry is wrong and you can't work out how to correct it then make sure you have good written directions on your website, along with an accurate map.

Marketing is often about paying attention to little details to make your service the best it can be. If being found (in the physical world) is important to your business then you absolutely have to make sure you make it as easy as possible for your customers. There can be no excuse for getting this wrong.

Santa has magic to help him out - most of your customers won't be so lucky so don't let them down!

It's true that things seem to change more quickly these days - or is that just a sign of my age? No sooner have 'expert' writers denounced old-world marketing in favour of new media, than the latest studies show that customers are not so keen on being marketed to using social networks. What the hell is going on?

Every time I read another book or article about the death of marketing (usually delivered in the same breath as extolling the virtues of the new digital age over the old dinosaurs of print or other 'traditional' media) I get increasing irate. When will everyone learn that marketing is not about one or other promotional tool?

Mind you, the other day I also read that segmentation is dead. Marketing segmentation means splitting the market into more manageable groups with common characteristics so that you can be more effective in targeting your propositions. Can that really be passé?

No, it was a classic ‘emperor’s new clothes’ article – dressing up a particular standpoint to sound more controversial and/or radical. What the writer was really saying was that characteristics to do with attitudes or behaviours are more meaningful segmentation variables than the classic demographic or geographic variables such as gender, age, location.

This is hardly new thinking – I teach my marketing students about psychographic variables each new year, just as I learned about them in my marketing studies way back in the 80s. The difficulty has always been the practicality of finding out psychographic information and using this to target marketing activities effectively. This is definitely becoming easier with the opt-in approach enabled by digital media – people can identify and associate themselves with things that interest them.  

So despite the headlines I think that the fundamentals of marketing are far from dead.

Marketing has always been and still is:

• Right product in the right place at the right price at the right time
• Satisfying customer needs profitably

Nevertheless lots of things have changed, and continue to change, including:

• Customer expectations and behaviours
• Technology
• Economic conditions
• New tools and communications methods

Marketing is critical to gaining customers and building value in a business. And as marketers we have to keep abreast of our complex and ever-shifting environment – just as we always have. The fundamentals of marketing are not about being prescriptive – you must do this in this way to be guaranteed results (because we know that is nonsense, don’t we?). And they are not just about promotion. But even when you are thinking about the value of promoting yourself on Twitter or in The Times or wherever, the question remains the same:

“Is this a cost-effective way of getting my message across to my target audience?”

So don’t fall for any hype about ditching the old, dead ways and embracing the new if you want to be successful at marketing. Pay attention to the basics and get the foundations of your marketing strategy right and it will lead you in the right direction naturally.

This week a guest blog from QJ, The Inspirationist. Please read and add your comments as always!

Here’s the Video that goes with this Blog

Most of us, when we step outside our front door, are going off to meet with people and create some sort of impression.

Whoever we meet in the course of our day, we want things to go well, (in the way that we want), which means that we will need to communicate in a way that causes ‘the right’ things to happen.

Your idea of ‘the right things’ may be different from mine, which is why I didn’t say ‘good things’. Some people actually want bad things to happen: things like complaining, telling someone what you really think of them, stirring things up, or simply making a point that will unsettle people.

But for the sake of this article, let’s focus on making ‘good things’ happen. Things like making a good impression, getting someone to like you, getting someone to buy from you or buy into you. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this.

I have a reputation for being remembered, but this hasn’t happened by accident. I am an expert (and modest) in the effect that different actions have on other people: I’ve studied this aspect of human behaviour for more than thirty years and I try to put into practice the things that work all the time. I don’t always get it right, by the way. Last week I really screwed-up at an important presentation: but hey-ho!

When you take control of what you do deliberately to cause a specific effect in the other person or people, your powers of influence can really start to escalate the results that you get.

But I want to give you the technique straight away. You don’t need to study and learn this entire vast subject, so I’m going to be telling you what works. Then, if you want to use it (you’ll still need to practice, don’t forget) you can get started immediately.

If you want privacy, that’s one thing, but in business, most of the time, you want to be highly visible, especially in your market place. In fact, being invisible can be one of the most painful, frustrating and downright unhelpful things to be when you’re in business.

So here’s the technique for getting people to remember you and what you do when you meet them for the first time.

When someone asks you what you do, most of us say, ‘I’m an accountant, photographer, bookkeeper or business coach’ for example, which is fine if your objective is to be polite. But these answers do nothing to grab the other person’s attention, and worse, they do nothing to start building a potential with this person for reciprocal business benefit.

It’s your job to be liked, noticed and remembered whether you’re out networking, or marketing your business more generally. And the quickest way to get this process started is to grab the other person’s attention. The word grab is important here because it implies ‘speed’ and being a bit ‘provocative’.

To put it more clearly: Do something that is UNEXPECTED.

The unexpected gets remembered – remember Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent? – what happened there was this: By her appearance – the way she looked and the way she dressed- a particular expectation was set up, but when she sang, that expectation was shattered – in a good way of course, which is why that moment was so powerful and remembered by millions. So, in the same way, you can use that same principle to be remembered, too. Most importantly, people’s reaction to your unexpected communication can give you MASSIVE clues about whether or not they are on your wavelength!

I go so far as to say, ‘Polarize people’. Give them the chance immediately to vote for you or against you. Give them the chance to opt-in or opt-out as quickly as possible. The word ‘Marmite’ springs to mind, though I realise this might be a bit strong for you, at least to get started.

Why give them this chance? Because you don’t want to waste time, do you? And the other person will thank you for this as well, because they don’t want to waste time either.

Now you might be thinking that this advice ignores social convention and business etiquette and even goes against your values, but I’m not talking about being impolite or uncaring or rude, in fact if done well, most people will enjoy your ‘performance’ and see it as creative and innovative. It’s the sort of thing you might use on Twitter.

The thing is always to try things out – usually taking you a bit outside of your comfort zone – but all the time you need to be looking for the result of your trying it. What happened when you did it? Did it work? Did it produce a different result? Because it’s only by paying attention to the response you’re evoking in the other person that you can gauge how effective you are being.

So, how are you going to choose what to say?

Use the magic of metaphor, or benefits instead of features, or the ‘I need to find out more’ principle.

Here’s an example: The man who kept the runway clear of dirt and debris at Cape Kennedy Space Center in the USA, when asked what he did said, ‘I help to get rockets into space’: Brilliant!

Here’s another: One of our Make Big Money Networking seminar delegates, who sells self-storage, when asked what he does, now says, ‘I’m the Spaceman!’

And another delegate, ‘I’m the accountant that speaks your language’.

Now these three are working on slightly different levels, but all achieve a level of Intrigue or Curiosity that a straight answer wouldn’t. They all take the conversation forward. In effect, they are cliff-hangers, which is what you’re really after.

Let’s analyse this in case it helps.

The first example (rockets into space) is a straight forward ‘benefit’ of the work he does. It’s the end result of a process that he is only one part of. And in that sense it’s not really a metaphor: it is actually what he does or helps to make happen. What does your work help to make happen as a final result for your client, fan or follower? Could you open your conversation with that?

Whereas, example number two (the space man) really is a metaphor. He isn’t really a spaceman in the literal sense, but he uses the term because it slightly shocks the other person and begs the question, ‘what do you mean?’

As does number three, of course. But in the case of ‘I’m the accountant that speaks your language’ you are immediately drawn away from the ‘normal’ accountants’ image of being dead straight, and some people would find this more interesting.

The real point and power of this principle is that ultimately we will do business with, collaborate with, partner with, and align ourselves with like-minded people, and the polarization technique I’m proposing here, helps you to identify those most likely to be in ‘rapport’ with you.

Obviously there are times when you will do business with people who really are very different from you, but when you apply the 80/20 rule, I believe that it’s really not worth worrying about the one that might have got away because you didn’t see eye to eye.

And, if you’re that kind of person, you probably won’t even try this anyway. You might not be on my wavelength!

If you’ve enjoyed this article, then you’ll love following my other blogs at http://www.inspirationist.co.uk/

You can follow QJ on Twitter, like his Facebook page, or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Some people claim to find marketing a bit of a mystery - assuming it takes some special powers of creativity and wizardry to make it work. Others believe it's a bit of fluff - not entirely necessary in their business world. But, I can't say often enough, all businesses are doing marketing - you wouldn't have a business if you didn't have an offer to a customer that you were charging for - the question is how much better could you be doing it? And does it require inspiration or perspiration?

Many businesses are short on time and are looking for the great marketing idea that will bring in loads of business with the least effort.  Unfortunately good marketing is rarely achieved without hard work.  The bottom line is that inspiration or creativity in marketing is of no use without the hard work and application to put it into practice - hence the perspiration! Ultimately it will be the more boring sounding 'marketing systems and processes' that will bring you results - not the flash in the pan big idea.

In approaching the marketing for your business there are 3 critical things that you must get in place to have any chance of success - barring pure luck of course!

1.  Know your customer

Without customers you have no market, and all customers are not created equal. Understanding as much as you can about the particular group, or segment, of people that you are targeting with your product or service is where you must start. What problems are they facing that you can solve for them? What do they need? How do they behave? Where do they live?  How many of them are there? What options do they have? With this understanding you can make decisions and judge the likelihood of your inspirational ideas producing the desired results.

2.  Make a plan

Dull though you may find it, you will not get the great results you hope for without a plan. Hoping is not enough! A key element of the plan, particularly difficult for many clients, is setting a budget for their marketing up front. What is reasonable or affordable for you to be investing if your target is to make £100,000 or even a £million? Knowing the budget you have, and the goal you are aiming at, are critical factors in making choices and decisions about which marketing activities you then detail in your plan. It doesn't matter if your plan is only a page long - just make sure you have one and that you refer to it often.

3.  Test, measure, adapt

No matter how many year's experience you have in marketing there are few dead certs when it comes to delivering success. What works today may not work tomorrow, what works for one company doesn't deliver for another.  It is impossible to control all of the factors that influence that elusive purchase decision, so you must gather information, look at what it is telling you and act promptly to stop what isn't working and do more of what is. Marketing is not something you can do once every few weeks - you need to be on top of it all the time: building your reputation, generating awareness, interest and ultimately sales.

Sorry to have to break it to you - there is no magic wand in marketing, but getting the fundamentals right through hard work and perspiration means that you create the right environment for your inspiration and creativity to flourish.

Adapted from a blog first published in 2009.

You can't shift these days for people exhorting you to join the social networking bandwagon. Everywhere you turn there are offers of advice and training on how to get your slice of the action. We've even launched our own training course  to help people effectively implement social media as part of an overall marketing plan.

And yet, confusingly, I'm also starting to read about how Facebook is on its way out. That users are switching off, and that it could be dead in the next 5 years. What is going on? Most people I know haven't even started yet and it may already be too late!

Apparently in May 100,000 British users kicked their FB habit, and 6m did the same in the USA, as a reaction to the most famous social networking site becoming too commercialised and mainstream. And my own friends have talked about "culling" their accounts to get rid of the clutter.

In Real Business magazine this month (the offline version) there was a debate for and against the statement: "Will Facebook be dead in 5 years?". Actually, it seemed to me that neither writer really thought it would die because what they violently agreed on was the incredible pace of innovation and change in the online world. So whatever Facebook is now, chances are it will be different next time you look at it. And it may even be replaced by a completely new phenomenon. Just as Google out-platformed Microsoft and Facebook aims to do the same to Google, so will Facebook meet its nemesis.

What does this mean for the vast majority of us? Do we care who or what is leading the way? I don't think so. What we do need to understand and care about is how the way we (and our customers) access and consume information, and how we form and nurture relationships, has fundamentally changed. Because the choices of when, how and if to communicate have never been so great.

Don't worry that you may have missed the boat. Every UK SME still needs to be actively considering if they should and how they can use Facebook (and/or Twitter/LinkedIn/Youtube) to engage prospects and customers. Each network has their own strengths and weaknesses and you need to work out the right combination for you. For example, I was recently co-presenting a seminar on social media and I was discussing opportunities to exploit social networking with a Foster Care Agency. For them LinkedIn was a great way to engage with their public sector customers, while Facebook could give them a more human and accessible front to find new foster families.

From our experience at The Purple Edge, and from talking to many fellow networkers, Facebook business pages can be hard to make work effectively, unless you are a major brand, as they lack the personality and human face of an individual. Stimulating interaction can be tough. But social networks have an increasing impact on search rankings, so for that reason alone every small business should have a presence that they can maintain with minimum effort.

One word of warning though, this is not a magic bullet and is not free - it will take up your time. You must make sure that your strategy for using social networking is linked back to your overall online strategy, aiming to drive traffic to your website where you have most influence and control. If your website is not up to scratch then don't get diverted into social networking - you'll be throwing good money after bad!

We'd love to hear your experiences with social networking - good and bad! Leave your comments here.