Twenty Eleven (2011) and beyond

Twenty Eleven (2011)....As 2010 has been an unprecedented year for all of us, who ever would have predicted some 12 months ago that we would now have a Coalition Government in control of our Country?

However the policies and politics of our Country’s Government is set up to work under a framework of several different constitutional strategies under the Monarchy, The Queen is the head  of the Monarch then comes David Cameron, as Prime Minster he operates under his parties manifesto within the constitutional. Under them are a lot of executive groups fighting for power along with our two chambers of Parliament. It is all laid out in black and white for all the parties and personel to follow.

Whether you agree or disagree with who’s in power, all the parties and personel work under a basic strategy of a framework, with the above in mine are you ready for the New Year ahead?   But more importantly is your business strategy ready.

You must have a plan, how’s your marketing strategy looking for the next 12 months! Or more importantly have you got a plan and if so is your plan/strategy up to date and the goals achievable. If you’re unsure to the direction that your business is going or you feel that you just need a little help and advice please do not hesitate to contact us.

You strategy/plan should never be cast in stone, as it should act’s as a rough framework throughout the period set. If we had a crystal ball to map things out by now I would have won the lottery a few times, but I haven’t.

For brand building, marketing, advertising, social media and bespoke e-mail marketing campaigns, please remember we offer big business solutions at small business prices, so why not tap into our knowledge and expertise, time is money so please don’t miss out as before you know where you are it will be 2012 and The Olympics will have started, which is some 18 months away.

A lot can happen in 18 months so where will your business be in 18 months without a plan or strategy.

Wayne Collier

www.waynecollier.co.uk

New Year's Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions, not for us...Because we all do it! Ever since Julius Caesar established a start point for our calendar as January 1^st in 46 BC and then the Romans started the tradition of the New Year’s Resolution along with  the different celebrations and traditions around the world that take place, the one that we all nowadays get hooked into is our personal resolutions.

They are very easy to say and we all do it , get fit, lose weight, save money, stop smoking to name but a few, but like so many of us after a few weeks or months we lose our way and fall back into bad habits.

Don’t get your personal resolutions mixed in with your business requirements, in business it’s so important to have a plan/strategy to work from as we can’t afford to fail or give in, so looking ahead have you got your businesses resolutions in place.

Remember in business you can’t just say we are going to do something you need to be able to carry it out to achieve your goal or goals. You need to be working at your strategy every month not just once a year.

Times are changing along with circumstances, you need to ensure that your business is ahead of the competition, and make your required changes while you’re in control of your own destiny as the year pans out.

In business you can’t look back as you should always be looking forward, because of the power of the internet the future of business changes so quickly don’t get left behind. Ensure that you make the most of your business with a little help from us at waynecollier.co.uk.

Wayne Collier

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Ripping off our Local Community in Maldon, Essex.

Ripping off our Local Community in Maldon....I know it’s been said for years that we all live in rip of Britain, taxed too much and pay too much for some services etc. However I now have proof how some of our major supermarkets price fix to kill off the competition and then proceed to rip of the local community by taking advantage.

In my local town Maldon in the county of Essex a few years ago like a lot of other towns up and down the country we never had a ring road around our town, but now we do and with it at one end we have gained a Morrisons supermarket and small retail park, at the other end a Tesco Extra Superstore and a McDonalds which is the expected norm across the country nowadays and enjoyed by most families.

Personally my family shop in the Tesco store at Maldon for all our food and groceries, we feel across the pricing structure that their food and grocery prices are fair priced against their competition Asda, Sainsbury and Morrisons etc.

Now on to the main important part and the reason for this blog. The price fixing and ripping off the local community in the Maldon area.  Along with the two superstores and large car parking areas both stores have fuel stations. When the stores first opened in and around the area there was a lot of small local petrol stations from St Chad’s, Bates Motors, The Causeway and Holdings of Heybridge and over the years these have disappeared through competitive competition on pricing and the convenience to shop and fill up with fuel at the same time.

Now that the competition has disappeared the price fixing part starts, that the cost of fuel is always the same at both the Tesco and Morrisons fuel stations. The rip off part by Tesco’s to the local community of Maldon area is “Why is the fuel sold at the Maldon Tesco always more expensive than the fuel sold at the Tesco stores in the Chelmsford and Colchester areas,” it can be as much as 2 / 3p a litre.

My conclusion is in the Chelmsford and Colchester area there must still be a lot of competition, but in the Maldon Store due to no competition they now can charge what they like. How many other rural areas is this happening in?

Wayne

www.waynecollier.co.uk

High Street, Maldon

Maldon, High Street...From time to time you hear people locally saying that the high street in Maldon is dead, killed off by likes of Tesco and Morrisons on the edge of the town. The town has just become a ghost town too many shops have closed or in the process of closing down and never enough car parking, so what are we left with. A high street just full of Banks, Building Societies, Solicitors, Charity Shops and Estate Agents.

Well my local high Street like a lot of other high streets across the country this is not the case, yes we have our fair share of Banks, Solicitors Estate agents and Letting agents etc, but we also have a wide cross section of dinning establishments, coffee shops and public houses along with a few well know high street brands, MandCo, Boots, Superdrug, Iceland, Marks and Spencer Food hall, Dorothy Perkins, Pound Stretcher, WH Smiths and Peacocks to but name a few.

Then we have the SME, small and medium local business enterprises that make up the rest the local community of the high street as I call it. The hair dressers, nail bars, taxi companies, florists, sports shop, shoe shops, ladies and gents clothing, electrical supplies, tool hire, bedding, carpets, fire places, sunbed, fishing tackle, jewellers, travel agents, art and framing, gift shops, dental practices, health and beauty and wedding dress supplies the list is endless.  

On the outskirts of our town we have the Superstores Tesco and Morrisons. If I take the Tesco for instance they are a global grocery retailer ranked 2 or 3^rd in the world so they should know what they are doing by now.

Over the years the major superstores chains have also taken in-house some different sections and set up small shops like the Morrison dry cleaning service or the Tesco Mobile phone Centre, Tesco Opticians along with the Pharmacy departments etc.

So the trick for any business is to specialise and try not to compete head on with the Tesco and Morrisons of this world. They have great brands built up over years with the help of endless national marketing and advertising budgets that no one outside the major companies can even think about competing with.

Well I came across such an instance the other day by chance it’s not usually a man thing to buy flowers or not in my case anyway. I needed some flowers and yes both the superstores do sell bunches of flowers etc, I have seen then in the entrance areas, I just wanted it to look a bit special, I don’t mean cost a fortune but to look as though I had taken pride in the purchase and not just grabbed the first bunch of flowers that I came to as I passed through Tesco on my weekly shop.

That’s when I found at the very top of the high street in Maldon, number one in fact the high street Maldon, a recently opened new business called “Stems” flowers for all occasions it said on the door, a small bespoke flower shop offering great service with a smile. The two young ladies were very helpful and the advice given about my requirements and the presentation of the product the flowers was truly amazing, and it didn’t cost me a fortune.

Living proof that if you company services are a little unique or you offer a bespoke service, along with being able to specialise away from what the major superstores offer, your rewards through hard work offering a quality bespoke service with a smile, value for money, your business can and will succeed against the big boy’s.

It certainly has changed my outlook about my local high street and I would certainly recommend anyone to visit businesses like Stems if you require flowers, and in future I would also suggest in the future that you don’t neglect your local high street, trust me you will be pleasantly surprised at what’s on offer.

Wayne

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Motorway Service Stations

Motorway Service Stations...Ok before anyone starts I know a lot has been written on how much a rip off the food and drinks are but being that I am a frequently motorway driver I feel they are a must and as a service to the motorist we need more of them across our motorway network.

The reason for my writing today, I have found a very good way to find out if it’s a good services before you pull in and stop, because I am a caring soul I will let you all in on my findings.

Dating back to our first motorway the M1 and then in 1976 the number 4 hit single “CONVOY” by ex Radio One DJ Dave Lee Travis (DLT) or “The Hairy Monster” now I am showing my age. As the song went along the lines off “Newport Pagnell, Toddonigton and even Watford Gap etc, etc,”.

We have always had a great regard for our motorway services, we all moan about them but really we love em with a passion, like a lot of folk I have visited my fair share over the years and as I get older I seem to be having to visit them more and more but that’s a different story, all to do with my age so I am told.

Listed are seven of what I personally feel are some of the better one’s. I know once you look and read the list you will say straight away, all right then some of these are newer services stations and that’s why the facilities are better but I have found out another way of checking.

M6 Toll Road Norton Canes, M6 Stafford North bound, M1 Northampton, M4 Reading, M3 Winchester, M27 Rowehams Southampton and M25 Clacket Lane Kent.

Because of large format advertising and marketing opportunity at the side of a motorway on the entrance slip way into the Motorway Service station area, my conclusion is, if the motorway services sign out on the motorway has got a Costa Coffee logo on it, the chances are the facilities inside should be ok as the seven above are.

Personally speaking I prefer the taste of Starbucks coffee when I am out on the road, however experience over the years has shown and taught me that the coffees as always have a great taste but the surroundings around the coffee shop areas aren’t that great in my opinion at other motorway service areas.

I might be wrong about this, have you got any thoughts on this or is it just a strange coincidence that the seven service stations that I visit regularly have a Costa Coffee Shop within them.

Wayne

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Value for money..

Value for money, It’s not often you can say or hear people say that’s value for money but I can about my company’s website. It’s essential in today’s market to keep your costs to a minimum and for once we did just that and I can prove it.

We needed what I call is a business card on-line just an information page about our company, just contact details and our services etc, but also I wanted the use of a blogging platform and we found it all in one place.

We chose a wordpress.org site template because it’s FREE yes free to use for all personal or commercial websites and blogs. Wordpress is I am told an open source software that’s free to download.  The only costs involved to us for our site was the purchase of the Domain name and a Hosting package a total out lay of just less than Fifty pounds.

So for just Fifty pounds we gained a presence and a voice online for 12 months along with my blogging platform so that can’t be bad can it, the only requirement for us was that we needed to be able to update and change some of our information instantly which we can.

What value for money as I think you can see, so please remember you need not spend the earth to have a professional on-line website, all it takes is a little time patience and the ability to type and read.

Please check on-line about wordpress along with other companies who offer value for money websites. All the information required that you ever need to know about free templates can be found on-line it just takes a little time but I am sure it will be worth a look.   www.wordpress.org

I hope this will save you some time and money like it did us, and just think for only fifty quid you gain access to a worldwide audience.

Wayne.

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Wait! Why would you.

Wait! Why would you.....Don’t wait for business to come to you. As you need to always market yourself to others first. Remember if you don’t someone else will jump in ahead of you.

Marketing is your strategy for allocating resources in order to achieve your objectives and a good planned strategy will focus you on your objectives which should be to reach your intended customer with a message.

Your long term strategy will source the message that you require to deliver. Your plan must take in market research, the cost of the campaign and the last part which is the important one is your plan must be realistic and viable to achieve your success, as it’s no good spending loads of money if your plan won’t work.

Marketing is one of the most important parts of any business, however sometimes it’s overlooked, undervalued or just badly implemented. A fact is that having an effective long term marketing plan and strategy will add profit to a business by increasing brand awareness, enquiries and sales.

Don’t get left behind looking down an empty platform thinking I should have done that yesterday so not to miss the train today. We are committed to provide our clients with a professional service to help you realise your full potential and requirements.

Wayne Collier

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Why use e-mail marketing

Why use e-mail marketing.....E-mail marketing is definetly the way forward and should always be included in your long term marketing plan. However I don’t mean spam or spamming people I am talking about a bespoke e-mailer delivered direct to the required inbox.

If done correctly e-mail marketing is the cheapest way to go forward, it’s by far the most versatile way of communication, which enables you to gauge a response to any campaign almost instantly. One of its main advantages is that you can analyse what your customers are reading or not reading as the case may be on each campaign.

What’s the point of sending something out time and time again that nobody’s interested in or reading?  With the help and use of a campaign audit system you can always fine tune your next e-mail campaign to target the best options for your required results.

When used and set up correctly e-mail marketing is extremely professional tool that can significantly increase your brand awareness and put your services directly on a desktop in front of your correct target audience.

It is the cheapest way to directly target your customers. With a professional campaign in place it’s very important in today’s market place to ensure you have constant contact with them, so what better way to keep in touch.

Time is money, you can’t be personally in front of a customer 24/7 nor can you be on the phone direct to them all the time, so e-mail marketing is another way to back up your professional services direct to their inbox.

If you want to learn more about a bespoke e-mail system and be made aware of all the options along with the best routes to take, please contact us to discuss more.

Wayne Collier

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Infectious disease.

Infectious disease.  Ok let’s get it straight Viral Marketing is not an infection, illness or disease it’s a major player in the aid of Brand building and product marketing and development.

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism, and to diagnose viral marketing it’s one of the new techniques to increase brand awareness.

By far the best form of marketing is by word of mouth however this can be a very slow process.  All viral marketing is doing is speeding up the process via the internet. So let’s start spreading the virus together.

 Marketing and brand building is the art of getting people to change their minds and only think of you and your products. Recommendation and word of mouth does this very slowly that’s why it’s crucial to have long term strategies for your business to build on.

Viral marketing is made up of several key components that when used in conjunction can help speed up the process.

·         TEXT and SMS messaging

·         E-mail campaigns

·         Display Advertising

·         Blogs

·         Social Media Platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube)

·         Street Marketing Leaflets

So don’t think like a casualty if you want to grow your business find more customers, increase profits and build your long term brand, that’s why you should be thinking about identifying viral marketing strategies for your business and start spreading the virus around as soon as possible.

Wayne Collier

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Brand Building..

Brand Building.

“Why should we bother to build our brand, we already have business cards  a web site, and along with all that we advertise in the local paper some weeks. Plus we have no budget for more advertising this year”

Brand building or Brand management is more than just advertising it should be the vital part of your company’s strategy and act as the long term perspective of your company’s image. Branding is not just a modern buzz word and should never be treated in that way your “BRAND” is the one thing that your competitors can’t take away from you, as it’s unique to you and you alone.

You branding is your only way to create a difference away from your competitors and to build a brand doesn’t have to cost a small fortune anymore. The on-line trends have made it more accessible way to build your brand backed up with conventional media.

Once you think you have got your Brand sorted then you need to maintain its equity. You can read all the books go to all the seminars but at the end of the day it’s you and only you who has to build and maintain your brand.

Listed are a few key words that a brand can offer:

·         Awareness

·         Credibility

·         Communication

·         Quality

·         Image

·         Service

·         Reputation

If time is an issue let us help! Don’t miss your target goal or an opportunity to stay ahead of the competition as you may only get one chance to score and get your point across.

Wayne Collier

wc@waynecollier.co.uk

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Lost your directon..

Lost your direction. A big fact of life and you and your business needs to be part of it, yes your business and you need to have your say. Whether you like it or not technology is a now the front runner of the future and your life. Everything we do and say will be, if not already be on-line, it’s that fast.  I am very, very sorry to say if you don’t change your ways and views you will be left for dust.

Social Media provides the way to communicate to the MASSES. The internet is such a great phenomenon which is sweeping everyone up as it powers through the Universe, as it goes you need to ensure that you are part of it. Make sure you have your say before it’s too late.

The internet is a bit like a wheel rolling down the hill the further it goes the more momentum it gains and the harder it is to stop, but unfortunately this wheel is not going to stop rolling and rolling on.

Don’t be shy and don’t hide away as all you need to do is step up to the platform and have your say, join the wheel before you get left behind, the choice is yours.

Just remember social media, it’s not just for kids!

Let us advise and help you forward.

Wayne Collier.

wc@waynecollier.co.uk

www.waynecollier.co.uk

Maldon, Essex, England.

Maldon is located on the east coast of Essex situated at the head of the River Blackwater estuary. I was born in Maldon and have so far lived all my life in and around the Maldon area, overtime my home town has become very special to me. As the years have passed it has taken me personally a while to appreciate some of the great things around my local area.

For the historians out there Maldon is steeped in history and is listed as one of the oldest recorded towns in the County of Essex as the records date back to Saxon times. The Battle of Maldon in 991 AD when the Vikings raided the East Coast, along with a mention about Maldon in the Domsday book.

All of the above has never been much of an interest to me, as history was never my subject however the estuary, port and promenade park area has always been a special place for me with great memories from a young age.

Personally I view the Hythe Quay area and Promenade Park all as one, over the years the only real change has been the refurbishment and removal of the salt water swimming pool and its replacement with an ornamental lake and amphitheatre.

The park apart from its formal gardens and many sports pitches it plays host to a variety of different events throughout the year. The park is maintained and managed by the local council to a high standard.

Now on to why it’s special to me, I love the part that links them all together, the Blackwater Estuary and more importantly for me the walk along the river from Tesco stores car park at the Fullbridge across the main road and then back along the river bank past the Hythe Quay and the Promenade to the Yacht Club.

The walk will take you less than an hour depending if you stop at any of three public houses on route, (The Welcome Sailor, The Jolly Sailor and my favourite The Queens Head). Along with the business premises and numerous residential homes some renovated and a few new builds makes a nice mix of properties along the river walk until you get to the Hythe quay area.

At the quay area you can see many barges moored up, some which have been lovingly restored, the sailing barges or “Thames Barges” as I am told to call them. Some of the Thames Barges are still in use today to carry cargo goods and a few are used for chartered boat trips.

The continuation of your walk will take you through to The promenade park area which has a host of Ice cream hut’s and kiosks to choose from around the lake area or visit grass area for ball games and picnics’ etc before you make you way to end of the sea wall at the Yacht Club.

So if you are looking for a day out or just a short walk why not come to Maldon and see for yourself, don’t just take my word for it. 

Wayne.

www.waynecollier.co.uk