Armstrong Beech Blog

The Truth about Solus Door Drops

Debbie Newman — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:53:27 +0000

Excellent article from The Letterbox Consultancy which is absolutely true – I can confirm from bitter experience, despite taking references from a national charity about the company concerned prior to commissioning the work.

The Truth About Solus Door Drops

If you are seeking solus door drop activity at £40.00 per 1,000 (or less!), don’t call us until you’ve taken time to read the following:

As a responsible and professional door drop service provider, it is our mission to try and make clients understand that, in our opinion, solus door drops cannot be provided at prices of £40.00 per 1,000 (or less) and be expected to provide the response you need to make your business grow.

If the door drop prices you are paying are less than £40.00 per 1,000 and you believe door drops are working for you, we strongly recommend that you test paying a more realistic market rate and then compare the results.We’re confident that you’ll be agreeably surprised at the outcome, because if you simply buy on price alone you may well be sacrificing quality.

The Direct Cost of Door Drops

General industry advice is that an individual distributor, subject to the demographic nature of the area they are covering, should be able to distribute between 700 -1,000 leaflets in a 7-hour working day. We believe the number may be nearer to 700-800, but for sake of the mathematics, let’s agree 1,000 leaflets in 7 hours (maximum volume/shortest time).

Minimum Wage for adults in 2012 was increased to £6.08 per hour
7 hours x £6.08 = £42.56 per 1,000 – i.e. just the direct cost of labour
If it takes 8 hours to distribute 1,000 leaflets, the cost per 1,000 rises to £48.64 per 1,000
If the distributor only delivers 800 leaflets in 7 hours, the cost per 1,000 rises to £53.20 per 1,000
And so on

So how does the company charging £40.00 per 1,000 (or less) exist financially? Out of the £40.00 per 1,000 charged, they should include a payment for some form of management control and/or back checking. Without this you have no guarantee that the households you’ve selected for your door drop will in fact receive your item.

If this is included just how much is left over to pay their distributors? Certainly not the Minimum Wage; and you’re trusting your advertising and marketing to these people!

Check Door Drop Prices & Methods

If you have any doubts about the validity of the mathematics, here are a few tips:

Make an anonymous call or send an email to the distribution company you are thinking about using, pose as a distributor looking for work in the area you are looking to complete your drop in and ask them about their rates of pay. If they come up with a figure of around £30.00 per 1,000 – or less – start worrying! If you really were looking for work, would you accept less than Minimum Wage and could you trust someone earning so little?

Clarify the distribution company’s definition of solus distribution is the same as yours – i.e. your leaflet goes through the letterbox on its own. Some distribution companies will tell you your item is solus, when in fact they are in reality delivering “solus by type”, “solus by nature” or something similar. So your item will be distributed alongside other items and in reality be part of a shared distribution. Some companies may limit the number of items they carry in any “shared” operation and some may also offer brand/service exclusivity, but you need to be asking the right questions before committing your precious budget to these people. The more responsible companies will explain this service to you, but others may not. So don’t confuse “shared” quotations with genuine solus quotations.

One final tip. If your proposed supplier reveals that their £40.00 per 1,000 rate is for shared distribution, ask them what their solus rate is.

Alternatively, you can always talk to us for an honest assessment of what’s best to achieve your objectives. That might not be a solus drop since we will look at many ways to achieve the best ROI on your door drop investment.

You never know, we might even change your way of thinking!

www.letterboxconsultancy.com

New Year Marketing Actions

Debbie Newman — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:08:12 +0000

http://conta.cc/wtUntM

10 Easy wins for the New Year

Who loves your business more than you? Answer: No-one. No-one will ever love your business as much as its owner. Do remember that when delegating your marketing within your company and /or if it’s up to you to ‘do’ the marketing. How much time are you going to allocate yourself each day /week to spend on marketing and all that makes up this wonderful word?

Don’t make working harder on your marketing one of your New Year Resolutions. Statistics show that these resolutions generally don’t last too long! “Marketing is not an event, but a process… It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end, for it is a process. You improve it, perfect it, change it, even pause it. But you never stop it completely.” Jay Conrad Levinson. So a rush of energy into your marketing in January only to forget it for the rest of the year won’t give you the success you want or need.

Focus on what you want to achieve in 2012. Not just “more of the same without a plan”. But make goals. Write them down. Pin up above your PC/laptop where you can see them every day and calculate how you’re going to get there. They won’t just happen.

Start a Marketing Calendar. Doesn’t have to be complicated. I can send you a very simple excel one if you’d like – just email me. I’ve added most of the ‘national’ dates for 2012, then you need to add your local industry dates, look at your peaks and troughs, add specific dates for the business, eg birthdays/anniversaries, milestones. Then think broadly about the marketing activity to support what you’ve written

So for lawyers and accountants, what new legislation is coming in that you need to communicate to your clients and prospects, and how are you going to do this? If say you produce a quarterly hard-copy newsletter, how about introducing an email update between times – especially useful for prospects.
If you’re into hospitality jot down all the key dates throughout the year including the special ‘food ones’ and see how imaginative you can be
And for a florist, with so many dates throughout the year, it’s easy to find a new reason to keep in touch.
does your business have a ‘big’ birthday this year you can use to gain some PR?
will you be involved with any of the ‘fun’ fund raising campaigns you can post to your web and use social media to talk about?

Show your customers you ‘love ‘em’ - with Valentine’s Day coming up next month – and being at the beginning of the year, it’s a great way to show your customers you appreciate their business and support and that you look forward to a great ongoing relationship. What are you going to do to demonstrate your customer/client is important to you? Being ‘unique, special and different’ doesn’t only apply to you and your own business but also in what you do. Think what impact a New Year or Valentine’s Day thank you could have on your clients. Far more powerful than something in December. And I’m not necessarily talking about ‘gifts’. A tasteful hand written card from the ‘boss’ can be very powerful.

How effective is your Data Base? Such a hugely important asset to your business - and yet some businesses don’t think that ‘a data base is for them’. There’s no excuse at all for a customer not to know all your offerings and services, but it is down to you to tell them. Your communications don’t have to be intrusive or pushy, in fact they mustn’t be either of these, but it is down to you to keep in touch and not for your prospects and clients to be experts on your business and all that it offers.

How far have you got with Social Media presence? All professional business owners must have a proper LinkedIn Profile with a professional photograph (not of you with your kids/skiing etc.). The scope of LinkedIn is growing all the time. This really isn’t an option any more.

Then you need to consider which of the others is right for you, decide how much time you’ll spend each week and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be hours, but you do need to get started. A blog, using info from your newsletters is easy, Tweeting and using something like BufferApp so all your tweets don’t appear at once is neat and Facebook for Business if appropriate. There are manyothers including those location based but start with the basics and grow when you can.

Free Business Directory listings are also a valuable way to raise your web presence. I’m compiling a list of the ‘best’ out there. If you send me your most effective ones, I’ll send you back the complete list in a few weeks when it’s got most of the main ones. (starting of course with Yellow Pages – which doesn’t count as a contribution!))

What Testing and Measuring do you have in place so you can check the effectiveness of your marketing? Renewing ads ‘blindly’ is not great, even if you’re pushed for time. Before you place any ‘hard copy’ ads you need to be sure they’re going give you a return on your investment (ROI) . Look at the size of Yellow Pages now v what it was years ago. If you attend an exhibition or run a specific promotion, you want to be able to trace response to these efforts. If someone wants to consider using you or your services, they won’t be guided by the copy in any ad; they’ll Google you and see what others have said, or they’ll ask friends for a referral. It’s all about customer engagement nowadays. Are you up there on the first Google pages? Or are you getting left behind?

“Marketing takes a day to learn. Unfortunately it takes a lifetime to master “- Phil Kolter

So what’s the best way to get additional marketing help if you need it? 1. There are many subscription schemes out there which offer you lots of marketing info in return for a monthly fee. This is great for the organization producing the info as it provides a residual monthly income. Traditional marketing information is very much standard and it’s just a question of presenting it ‘differently’. There’s nothing really new. These schemes can generate a huge amount of data, often daily emails as well as hard copy information, and it wouldn’t be geared to you and your immediate needs to follow your plan and goals. You may find that you end up putting the info to one side because you just don’t have time to go through it just now. Their goal too is to upsell to you, and on the one I joined some years back (out of curiosity to see how these do work) it was all I could do to ‘fight off’ the increasingly regular emails (often several a day) sent to join the next ‘masterclass’ held in XXX at quite an investment to ensure I was on track.

2. You could invest in a marketing book(s) and follow through ideas here, chapter by chapter to suit you. Would this in fact be any different to (1) above? If you take traditional marketing, whilst there are new approaches you can take, the basics are the same, so it’s just the way it’s presented, isn’t it? Thoughts?

3. Use a marketing professional on an ‘as you need him/her basis’ – It’s funny if you take the analogy with, say, a legal practice drawing breath in horror, I imagine, at some of the unregulated will writing services out there which don’t have the formal expertise or knowledge to think around all the potential pitfalls which may occur. Is there such a difference in this principle with marketing when done in house by a non-professional? “Oh, XXX looks after our marketing” – and often XXX also does 101 other jobs and isn’t trained in the subject. Answers on a postcard, please! I am biased of course, but surely far better to invest time & money in what’s right for you, here and now?

The New Year is a great time to start with an ‘audit/health check’ of where you are now – and ensuring you and all your colleagues have a professional profile on LinkedIn. Would be delighted to work with you on both or any other aspect of your business growth.

High Growth Coaching
Delighted to announce I’m now part of the High Growth Team in Wiltshire and Swindon for marketing. See here for full details
There are three areas where support may be available:
Coaching for High Growth
Starting a High Growth Business
Understanding Finance for Business
Please talk to me if you would like any further details and to see if you may be eligible for funding to grow your business.

“Marketing on Call” support for businesses: Just want to check out something? Happy to take ad hoc phone calls as/when needed. No commitment, just a call personalised toyou and your business, covering what you want to discuss. Please email mefor further details.

Persistence
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of education derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race” Calvin Coolidge, 30th US President 1872-1933.
Marketing is an ongoing process without a beginning or end; persistence is key!

Thank you for reading; another nugget in a fortnight. Please do call if there’s anything you’d like to chat over or clarify. www.info@armstrongbeech.co.uk
PS Please could you follow me on my company LinkedIn profile? and

‘like’ me on my Facebook for Business page (hope glitch here last month is now fixed – and apologies for this). It’s the “thumb up” at the top of the page, and you should then see the counter on the left increase by one! Thanks so much!

Armstrong Beech web site

LinkedIn tips to get you started – and finally…

Debbie Newman — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 11:00:35 +0000

Be patient and take the long-term approach

Try to keep the same tone when you leave messages as this will be your ‘voice’. Whilst you don’t want to waffle, you also don’t want to sound curt. Follow new groups first before you contribute, so you get the feel of the group etc.

Be constant – try to allocate some time daily and keep to that. Half an hour would be great, particularly when starting, as there’s a lot to do and learn.

Don’t just ‘broadcast’ your offers; LinkedIn, as with all Social Media, is about building relationships. Therefore consider following this ‘rule of threes’:

one message about your business but not a ‘sales’ message.
the next about something relevant in the industry, eg accountant and budget; new industry guidelines in XXX; etc.
something personal about you/your business colleagues;/ something random, but always professional. This keeps the interest. If you are ONLY in ‘broadcast’ mode, you’ll soon be ‘hidden’ from view more than you’re read.

I hope this has been helpful. Here’s LinkedIn’s own link to its learning pages: http://learn.linkedin.com/training/

Debbie Newman

Armstrong Beech Marketing

www.armstrongbeech.co.uk

If you are running a business within one hour’s drive of UK BA15 2 , and need some support in getting your LinkedIn started, why not use my ‘Getting Started on Linked In’ service – see the Armstrong Beech Marketing website on the right under ‘Marketing Projects’.

LinkedIn tips to get you started – 13 – Use the applications

Debbie Newman — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:00:10 +0000

13. Use its applications…

Go to ‘More’ at top of home page > drop down… or some of the key ones are below ‘experience’ in your profile.

Lots of social networking…
Show, don’t just ‘tell’: Applications give you the chance to show what it is that you do… You can post a power point or keynote presentation (slide share or Google presentations), add a video (slideshare or Google presentations), feed into your blog (word press and blog link) and add PDF files or word documents (box net), announce and RSVP events, conduct polls, share the books you’re reading (Amazon) and Twitter (you can link Twitter to your Linked In account – really useful. Currently this is not poss with Facebook (April 2011)
Believe http://www.jingproject.com good if you want to add a video (free software). It will allow you to record a 5 minute screen capture as a video.
If you’re running an event, send invitees the link for them to confirm on your LinkedIn event. Again good for SEO etc. and to show others what you are doing.

LinkedIn tips to get you started – 11 & 12 – Don’t sell overtly and Advertising

Debbie Newman — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:00:17 +0000

11. Don’t sell overtly and Advertising

1. Don’t sell overtly

Rather, think about how you can communicate by helping/giving; trying to ‘sell’ won’t help you/your brand on LinkedIn in the long term.
Start a discussion thread about something topical within your industry and to which people will contribute – see the sort of discussions that attract a good following
Or maybe something challenging!

2. Advertising – you can select a ‘pay per click’ option rather like Google Ad words, with the plus that you can be very selective about your target market (not free).

As with everything on LinkedIn, things change all the time, so do check out latest situation with advertising etc.

LinkedIn tips to get you started – 10 – Recommendations

Debbie Newman — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:00:39 +0000

10 Recommendations

Ask for one/two liner recommendations for you/your business-service – explain that you are building your ‘on line’ brand and that if they felt that the work/service you provided for them exceeded their expectations, then you’d really appreciate them writing a brief recommendation on LinkedIn.
You want them to be balanced views giving good endorsements but not too OTT.
These also show up in summary on the weekly LinkedIn update
Personally I always think it looks ‘contrived’ when you see two people recommending each other at the same time! (but that’s only a personal view)
Take time to give recommendations as well
Where someone gives you a reference but doesn’t want their name/ business name attached, it can still go onto your website, but it doesn’t carry the weight if you just put DN or ‘company from Bath’….

Linked In tips to get you started – 9 – Check out the Answers

Debbie Newman — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:00:28 +0000

9. Check out the Answers (Q&A) – go to the More…. tab along the top

If you can offer help and advice to a question it creates a relationship with that one person and also endorses your expertise to everyone else who reads
Answers are linked to your profile
Make sure you give quality information
Especially powerful if you have specialist knowledge in ‘techy’ areas.
If you have an answer which is more fully dealt with on your website or blog, then link to this.
People can vote on answers, which counts towards your ‘expert’ rating
Great forum if you need specific feedback on some research or a topic you’re investigating or you need external expertise?
Even if the person asking the question is the other side of the world, if you’re able to help then that’s great in itself, but also your answer may be viewed by someone in your target area who may become interested in you as a result of your expertise.
Most categories also have a RSS feed which you can set up using the Google RSS reader, so you can be aware of new questions in your area.

LinkedIn tips to get you started – 8 – Groups

Debbie Newman — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:00:08 +0000

8. Groups

Find those groups which are relevant to your business – go to the groups directory and search – they may be groups that are alumni, industry, local business groups,
Look for the groups people have joined within your business type and see if they look appropriate; ditto people with whom you work;
Look for groups for the business segments where you want to sell. Join appropriate ones and enter discussions and be seen as the professional.
If you offer a service or product locally, check out the local business/chamber type of groups – such a good and easy way to get your name known locally
Share information to links eg podcasts or if your company is hosting a webinar
When someone invites you to join them on LinkedIn, see to which groups they belong and see if appropriate for you
Join in on the discussions – great way to promote your name out there, but remember this is not a ‘selling medium’ though there’s quite a lot of people out there who don’t seem to understand this concept. By ‘giving’ information and advice you are promoting yourself without directly ‘selling’. Keep it brief and to the point. Don’t waffle.
Great place to show your expertise in your field by linking to a ‘white paper’/e-book/article on your website about the very subject under discussion!
BUT when signing up to belong to groups, consider how many emails you want popping into your inbox – daily or weekly? It’s easy to change though!
If you need ideas/suggestions then this is also a great forum to receive help.
Why not start your own group?

And why If you are running a business within one hour’s drive of UK BA15 2 , and need some support in getting your LinkedIn started, why not use my ‘Getting Started on Linked In’ service – see the Armstrong Beech Marketing website on the right under ‘Marketing Projects’.

Linked In tips to get you started – 7 – Sales Acceleration

Debbie Newman — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:00:46 +0000

7. Sales Acceleration

If you’ve got a meeting with a new client, see what you can learn about them – do you share any connections? What are their hobbies or interests? Show that you’ve done your homework.
With existing customers/clients, see who they know and ask for a referral if appropriate.
You could search for people in your prospect’s company who are not involved directly in what you do. If they are a 2^nd degree contact, ask for a referral and this is where trusted relationships count for a lot. You could forward your contact an email asking him/her to on-forward it to your ‘wanted’ contact with a request that they call/email you. If such a request for contact came from a few sources, then it would be powerful – too many and annoying, though!)
If you have a really good solution/referral to a true ‘friend of a friend’ then it’s a win-win.

LinkedIn tips to get you started – 6 – Who’s viewed my profile?

Debbie Newman — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:00:44 +0000

6. Who’s viewed my profile?

a. Half way down on RH side on home page; some give a person’s details, other’s will just give you the business category, but you can usually click through on that and have a choice of people who may have looked at your profile.

b. Full details aren’t necessarily available as it depends on individual’s own privacy settings. How did you set up your own settings? Go to Account Settings>right hand side under Privacy Settings > Profile Views > choice of 3.

c. Ok, so now you know some of the people who have viewed your profile. What are you going to do to follow up? Some you’ll know maybe checked you out having just met them; but others maybe new and you have no idea why they’re “looking at you”. Maybe it’s a mistake, but just in case it’s not, pick up the phone and have a chat if it’s the type of person you’d like to be doing business with. If you would hate to pick up the phone, send an email, but the power of a conversation on occasions like this is very great.