I need a gold medal.  I have just spent a marathon 35 minutes trying to get a straight answer out of my utilities supplier, whom shall remain nameless.  Not only has it been an exercise in endurance and super human patience, but also a nice earner for the company as I was calling 0845 and

Are your customers talking about you?  Are they willing to recommend you either when friends or family ask or even proactively sing your praises?  The value of a good referral is priceless and to this end, you will see ‘friend get friend’ campaigns trying to prompt this, or in the online world, Facebooks ‘like’ is

Value the customer, even if you think they are a tyre kicker. Picture the following scenario……you have been looking for new kitchen units.  You’ve found a local kitchen company who gladly comes out to give you a quote and options, but upon visiting the showroom, you’re not 100% with the suggested door fronts, so go home

First things first.  Have you got a marketing plan?   It doesn’t need to be all singing and all dancing, but it should give you an overview of the activities you have planned for the year, what you expect to spend and what you expect to get in return.   This plan will also allow you to

Acquisition vs Retention – where do you spend your money?  Do you spend as much time and money looking after your current customers as you do looking for new ones?   A classic error for many businesses, large and small, is to only focus on getting new customers, often at great expense, with little consideration to