One of the organisations I recently starting working with has happily been producing communications and marketing material about which feedback suggested was doing a good job. The problem was that no-one had ever really analysed where the feedback was coming from.

As part of a funding audit, I prepared and conducted some market research amongst all the groups that could or did utilise the service and the results were very illuminating. You see, the feedback had always came from larger groups who often used the service and consequently there were more involved and their opinions were  regularly taken on board.

My client assumed that everyone felt the same way.

The research however, showed that there was a large group of people who felt totally disenfranchised and new little about what was going on. We discovered that there  was a growing feeling of resentmant amongst the very groups my client was supposed to support.

Needless to say that this has resulted in a complete overhall of the communication methods and processes ensuring that everyone has a chance to be heard.

This example is based around a support service but applies to any business and organisation. Stand back and ask yourself if you actually know what your customer wants or are you really only assuming you know. Simple market research can make a tremendous difference in helping you get more business.

Get in touch by calling or texting your name to 07790 012893

Alternatively email me david@dlhmarketing.co.uk  

This morning it was reported that Apple Corp. had made £3billion during the past three months. This was despite teething problems and some negative press on the iPhone 4. It got me thinking about how this was achieved and how easily could other, smaller organisations replicate it.

Obviously there are several reasons but what Apple do better than almost anyone else is not provide products we want but products we are willing to pay for.

We all want a mobile phone that works, is user friendly, gives us freedom and looks good. However, with hundreds of models on the market Apple have created a product that many people will pay 2, 3, 4 times as much for to own.

Take a look at your product and  talk to your customers and prospective customers, decide what makes it stand out. We can all provide want the customer wants but are you providing what they will pay for?

www.dlhmarketing.co.uk

Taken fron directnews,co.uk

A new report has revealed that Britons prefer natural search results to paid-for ads – potentially outlining why firms should engage in search engine optimisation.

The Search Attitudes survey conducted by YouGov for Tamar found that most consumers see organic listings as more trustworthy when researching products and brands than pay-per-click ads, with older web users the most likely to hold this belief.

It also indicated that almost half of 18 to 24-year-olds make use of real-time search results from social networks like Twitter, while mobile search is also on the rise.

When it comes to making purchases, reviews and images are becoming increasingly popular among consumers requiring more information about products and retailers.

“Consumers have matured in the past four years in their relationship with search and the one constant progression that the Search Attitudes Report series clearly identifies is the growth in awareness of the differences between natural and paid search,” said Tamar search director Neil Jackson.

Google is the most popular search engine in the UK, with the site accounting for about 91 per cent of the market through both google.co.uk and google.com, according to Experian Hitwise.

Bing is second with 3.25 per cent of searches, followed by Yahoo! on 2.83 per cent.

Interested in having a DirectNews news feed on your website?

www.dlhmarketing.co.uk

Marketing tip for Friday

If you keep your staff happy, they will keep your customers happy and your customers will come back.

SERVICE, SERVICE, SERVICE

During a shopping trip last weekend my daughter was looking for a handbag that would match a pair of shoes she was wearing for a wedding. Easy you would think! Unfortunately the task proved more diffilcult than she had hoped. However, more frustrating was the assistance, or lack of it from the majority of the stores she went into. Either the assistants were more concerned with discussing the coming evening or they weren’t aware of the stock the store carried or couldn’t be bothered to look any further than the shelves. Basically, they couldn’t be bothered, that is except one where the assistant went out of her way to help. Not only looking at her own section but discussing the requirement with other sections until eventually the perfect bag was found at a not inconsiderable price.

As is the case these days, between shops, my daughter was texting her various friends and recalling the experience in each shop. Needless to say the shop and assistant that provided the help got a great sale and some free publicity whereas the others, well…

Secret customer programmes from www.dlhmarketing.co.uk