Enterprise alive and kicking in junior school

As part of my CSR I spent yesterday supporting Walsall Education Business Partnership working with a group of 10 year olds on an enterprise activity. I have normally done this with 15 year olds so this was a first and was I surprised.

The main activity was based around an IT project where the individual groups (of 4/5) had to come up with a new technology based product, create dummy version and then put together and deliver a presentation in a Dragons Den style way. I have to say that shyness apart these children were great. Polite and well behaved off task and really focused when working. Several business supporters were there to assist their individual team and I was really impressed with the questions I was being asked and how the answers were used. The creativity was realling surprising and they really seemed to grasp the direction that technology is heading.

Kids are always getting the brunt of negative press – sometimes justified- but if this group is anything like the norm we don’t really have much to worry about. Credit must go the staff of the school for the work they are obviously doing.

Interesting article from Marketing Week

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/3012392.article?cmpid=MWE01&cmptype=newsletter

Are British cafe bars the real deal?

Taking advantage of a rare warm sunny day yesterday my wife and I were walking around a popular canal area of Birmingham and decided to stop and have a coffee at an outside table of a well known cafe/bar chain. The time was 11.50 am. As we got to a table we were immediately blocked by a waiter who proceeded to ask if we were eating. We said that we only wanted coffee for the time being and was told that he could only give us a table until 12.10pm. Somewhat taken aback we left and went to another establishment who were only to happy to let us sit and drink coffee which led to us staying and having lunch.

We said that we only wanted coffee and were told that he could only give us a table until 12.10pm.

I raise this because had we have been in mainland Europe or USA there wouldn’t have been an issue, as customers we could have sat all afternoon and drank coffee without eating. Perhaps cafe culture is still misnomer to our so called cafe bar chains. I would ask the marketing team at Red Pepper to take a look at how Bar Epenay are customer focussed - you could learn a thing or two.

DLH at Gone Fishing 4 Business

Just back from the Walsall Gone Fishing 4 Business networking breakfast. It’s so good to see such a diverse range of people and organisations supporting each other and offering advice with this social networking event. From those just about to set off on their own to the ones who are well established and looking for that next growth stage everyone has something to share. It’s also good to see that the local authority are taking this seriously as a way of communicating with local business. 

For those who missed it, I have a customer satisfaction survey on my web site that you can copy and paste onto your own stationery. It will provide some useful marketing information for you.

www.dlhmarketing.co.uk

Advertising on Twitter

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/3012157.article?cmpid=MWE01&cmptype=newsletter

The two-minute customer satisfaction survey

Knowing why a customer buys your goods over a competitors is valuable information. Not only can it help guide your marketing messages to increase your sales but it can also aid in reducing costs,and focus areas of investment  in what people appreciate about your product or service.

Visit www.dlhmarketing.co.uk/usefulinformation  for a simple easy to use customer satisfaction survey that you can copy and use.

Inbound Marketing

Potential customers are bombarded by marketing and sales messages on a daily basis many of which are filtered out before being seen or heard by the recipient. The alternative is to get them to come to you (Inbound Marketing). The internet is used constantly for aquiring information and your job is to ensure that you provide the information potential customers will want. Blogs and social networking sites are easy platforms that provide you with the tools to communicatre your companies expertise and also help with your search engine ranking. A supplier/customer relationship is all about building trust and confidence so make sure the content is relavant, helpful and up to date.