What We Do

Fundamentally, we're here to provide advice, to provide an alternative experienced viewpoint on marketing issues and subjects, to be your "part-time marketing director". But as well as advice, we can handle and coordinate the implementation of your marketing campaigns as well, if you want. Our approach is very flexible; no two projects are the same for us, and our approach will therefore differ from one project to the next.

Areas in which we specialise

This is a menu - you don't have to eat it all! Determining which items will be of most help to you will come out of an initial meeting and conversation, to try to understand the issues and opportunities you are facing. We offer all potential clients an initial meeting free of charge (see How We Do It for more information on how we work).

• Marketing Strategy
  
  • Understanding the problems you face and the goals you have for your business
  • Helping you to "see the woods for the trees" on complex business issues
  • Suggesting alternative solutions and ideas from a fresh perspective
  • Working with you to develop marketing strategies specifically designed to help achieve your objectives
  • Helping to write marketing and/or business plans
• Brand Positioning
  
  • Reviewing your "competitive landscape", so you understand clearly how your product or service compares with your competitors in terms of:
    • Price
    • Choice/variety
    • Customer Service
    • Distribution/availability
    • Communications strategies
    • Quality
    • Image and customer perception
    • Etc
  • Analysing the areas in which your product or service is better (or is perceived to be better) than your compeitors
  • Distilling this down into a "brand positioning statement", encapsulating what your product or service has to offer, and how and why it is different to its competitors
• Marketing Communications
  
  • Weaving the brand positioning into all the tools you use to communicate with your customers:
    • Your company logo, letterhead, business cards
    • Your company web site
    • Sales brochures, flyers, prospectuses
    • Press releases for local, national or specialist media
    • Direct marketing materials
    • Advertising
  • Help in writing your marketing communications materials, to find a clear and concise message written in a style and tone that is appropriate for your "brand".
  • Help in choosing and sourcing the right media to help you reach your target audience as cost-effectively as possible.

Full list of services we can offer

For a more detailed list of the skills and services we can offer, either in-house or through partner agencies, please see below:

• Customer understanding
  Who are they? What do they buy? Why do they buy it? Why don't they buy more or more often? What are their thoughts and feelings about the products or services you and your competitors offer? What other potential customers might there be?
• Market research
• Competitive landscape mapping
  Who are the competitors? What are they selling? Where are they selling it? How much does it cost? How are they marketing their products or services? Are there "white spaces" on the map, areas where no competitors are operating?
• Idea generation
  What other products or services could your brand possibly "stretch" into? What other channels or geographical areas are worth looking into? Are there groups of potential customers that you haven't yet fully capitalised on?
• Marketing Strategy Develpopment
  A strategy is a specific plan to achieve a specific objective. We specialise in marketing strategies, using the marketing tools and experience at our disposal to help you achieve your business objectives.
• Branding
  Defining the "essence" of what your brand stands for, how it is different from its competitors, and in the light of these things, how it should look, feel, sound, how it should communicate with its customers.
• Advertising
• Web design, search engine optimisation
• Graphic design
• PR, press releases
• Help with writing business and/or marketing plans

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How We Do It

There isn't a simple answer to that question. Every business faces different issues, different opportunities, has different goals and objectives. We therefore approach every project or brief with an open mind, ready to listen, and ready to develop an action plan that is tailor-made to the business needs (and budget) of each client.

We always start with an open mind and an introductory chat over a cup of coffee or whatever. To try to understand what the specific issues or opportunities are, to listen to you and understand the goals you have for your business, and to ask lots of questions. This costs nothing! We thought you'd like that bit!

We'll then go away, think about the challenges you've thrown at us, and come back with a written proposal, outlining the steps we think need to be taken in order to meet your objectives. Where we can, we will outline costings for each stage of the project, although this may not always be possible for every stage if there are a lot of "unknowns" that require further research or analysis before decisions can be taken or action plans agreed. So far, it still hasn't cost you anything, and you're free to walk away with no obligations at all.

Once you give us the "go-ahead", either to the whole project or on a "step-by-step" basis, we will then start work, using our internal resources and/or working with partner agencies, depending on the scope of the project. We will invoice you at the end of each stage, keeping you up-to-date with progress and meeting as often as you feel is necessary in order to keep you fully informed and involved.

What happens from there will vary so much from one project to another that it's not really practical to outline a process here. Take a look at some of our case studies for examples of how our approach has worked for clients in the past. Or better still, contact us to arrange a free introductory discussion. It's good to talk!

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