Autumn

XpressNews™ Service

Business Fitness Test

Online Live Research

FREE Downloads

Client Press Office

Collaborative marketing

Social bookmarking, in an age of ‘digital natives’

Joinedupthinking

Blogs: to Twitter

Social PR: we can influence & engage but not dictate

Scrabulous

I was reminded just how powerful case studies are recently and have just renewed all ours. They can really make a case for why your organisation should win new business! (pl. forgive the pun) Ask for relevant copies from us at info@marketingprojects.co.uk
or test out the web page selector here.

Lowering prices: a sign of weakness or a smart move?

Marketing PRojects was recently asked to contribute online for this topic.
As in most answers it depends how it is done. Convey the message that you are thinking of the customer and responding to their needs and you win all round. But if it is the reaction to falling sales and looks like this, other negative effects come into play.

Price is only one component of value. Heinz soup tins used to be slightly more expensive but the tins now only feed one. The reduced price was promoted, not the reduced size of the cans. Two months sales is worth less to you compared with a discounted price for 3 months sales, but worth more to the customer if he is committed. Try bundling deals.

I would not discount if there is no opportunity to explain why something is priced the way it is and there is no opportunity for a dialogue to negotiate.

We've just done a special offer package for a controlled number of contacts where I know we can deliver a value service to more people with similar needs.

Breath of fresh air, really got to know our business quickly, fun to work with, help & support on strategic issues as well as great coverage ......... cont.  

Chester & District Housing Trust

Having been in business for more than 18 years, Marketing Projects is the best public relations company we have used. Marketing Projects gained more coverage for us since we started using them, than we have had in the past five years.

The Business Connection

Thanks so much for your efforts, I was very pleased – we’ve received quite a few positive enquiries and new interest from the Independent and Daily Express.

Grand Tourist

Recession-proof marketing & PR...

Back in May last year we issued an E-news entitled “marketing in a recession” and some hints and tips to help. We received a number of comments saying we were premature. The comments turned to ‘thanks’ in October and ‘it really helped’ in December. Here at MP we have always seen marketing’s role with an organisation as navigator - predicting the route, charting the course and assisting the person steering.

We don’t just deal with facts but perceptions too and the effect of image on performance. This effect is even more critical in a recession when you are relying on 110% from everyone. Organisations, seeing a gap between what people say about them and reality, need to assess how much this is having a negative affect on performance and balance this with the cost of putting it right. Many never see the gap because they don’t, or think they can’t, measure the difference. You can, and often the best people to spot this are outside the organisation.

If you need a compass, some help with navigation or to review some perceptions, you know where we are…

Jane Harrad-Roberts, Managing Director

Hot Topics

What they don’t teach you at Business School

Marketing a business should be a crucial part of any organisation’s growth strategy even on a limited or zero budget. Here is a check-list of over 12 ideas and ‘refeshers’ to help: What they don't teach you at Business School.

This article also appears alongside Marketing PRojects’ new ad in the 2009/10 Chester Business Directory on page 3. If you would like a copy of the directory please contact info@marketingprojects.co.uk.

STOP PRESS:

Marketing PRojects has just been shortlisted to four agencies as ‘Small PR agency of the Year’ and to five in the ‘Best low budget campaign of the Year’ by How-Do, the North West’s media web site. For more info, click here.

New account wins for Marketing PRojects in the last few months: aerospace and high-tech consultancy, Agile Business Solutions, the Chartered Inst. Of Management Accountants in the North West, the Mill Hotel & Spa Destination, RentSmart and Stillmuchtooffer, a new recruitment consultancy for the very able and talented over 55s. We were so impressed with the technology that we are now a reseller for and helping Videotile Ltd. based near Burnley.

Following the work last year for NorthwestFoodLoversFestival, for the Chester Food & Drink Festival from 2001 and for a wide variety of food and drink related organisations, Marketing PRojects is pleased to announce as of 20/01/09 it has been selected for Food Northwest’s Supplier Framework in the following categories: Project Management, PR, Marketing Services, Events Production, CSR, Food and Drink Marketing, General Food and Drink Industry Support.

Marketing PRojects has recently signed an agreement to use Knowat for market and audience research. Knowat enables immediate audience, visitor or customer feedback using handhelds and is a cost effective way of getting fast survey information on key questions to aid marketing.

The Northwest Regional Development Agency has awarded Marketing PRojects an Innovation Voucher to help develop marketing planning and resource tools for public sector organisations.

Chester & District Housing Trust’s new web site, www.cdht.org, features an innovative new technology sourced by Marketing PRojects. You can see the same technology in use on the site at www.businessnorthwest.co.uk where the video there shows Jane with PR guru Max Clifford.

Thanks ...

A regional publication thanked us recently when their emails went down before an urgent deadline. Because all our press releases and key photos (many taken by ourselves) are posted on our web site in relevant press offices for clients on release, they were able to complete to deadlines.

Spin or skillful presentation?

There are always a range of alternative ways of presenting facts. To illustrate this, take something relatively simple like car crime in Manchester and Liverpool.*

Thefts of a vehicle? More in Manchester, followed by Merseyside – note that I meant Greater Manchester. The city of Manchester’s figures aren’t that different to the whole of Merseyside. Present the data as per population and it changes to Manchester with the highest number, then Greater Manchester followed by Liverpool, then Merseyside. Thefts from a vehicle see the same pattern, but for ‘interfering with a vehicle’ you see Greater Manchester fall below Manchester, Merseyside and Liverpool. The fact is that Greater Manchester has over 3 times more ‘offences against motor vehicles’ than Merseyside.

There are at least three variables here; the definition of car crime, the area considered and the way of presenting the data. Manchester politicians will always talk about improvements to car crime levels, with more room for manoeuvre!

Our role at Marketing PRojects is not to spin facts but to look at them, assess the information and present it in the best way for the audiences you want to communicate with – cost effectively!

*Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/soti.html and special thanks to Mark Bangs at The Home Office RD&S.

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