Marketing Matters Magazine - March Edition 2017 by Fill the Gap Marketing

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A note from the editor Welcome to the seventh issue of Marketing Matters Magazine, a monthly online magazine that is full of practical marketing advice from specialists across the UK. In this edition of Marketing Matters Magazine, we have some fantastic advice from experts across the UK to help you jumpstart your marketing, including a great article from William Smith from Kingswood Continuity about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 2018 and how it will impact your marketing when it comes into effect next year. Stay tuned for the next edition of Marketing Matters Magazine, which will be released on the 28th April 2017. We hope you find it just as useful. Wishing you every success,

Rachael Smith Managing Editor

The Editorial Team

Editor-In-Chief

Managing Editor

Joanne Wilson 01522 581 911

Rachael Smith 01522 581 911

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GDPR: How will it impact your marketing? William Smith, Kingswood Continuity The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has highlighted that among the top ten perceived threats to all businesses and organisations are those from Cyber Attacks, Data Breaches and also New Laws or Regulations. The BCI Horizon Scan report states that “Data protection is a growing concern for businesses…there has been an increase in the number of both large and small organisations experiencing IS breaches, with a staggering 90% of large organisations and 74% of small firms suffering a breach in the last 12 months. These findings clearly suggest that being subject to a breach is no longer an ‘if’ proposition but ‘when’.” Readers may be already aware that there are many headline stories in current circulation about data hacking and the misuse of marketing and customer data. Organisations that fail to adopt high data protection standards are therefore often viewed with suspicion and, in the event of an incident, could very well suffer severe reputational damage. In May 2018 the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) from the European Union will come into force and will apply to the UK as the country will not be due to leave the EU until around March 2019. However, the Government have already stated that the UK’s Data Protection regulations will continue to fully comply with GDPR even following Brexit. Should you fail to comply with GDPR you could well find yourself under investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), who if they discover a

breach can currently impose a maximum penalty of £500,000 on companies that fail to adequately protect their customers' information. Under GDPR, if an organisation is found to be in serious breach of the regulations - be it from a cyberattack or human error - the penalties increase in severity and you could be fined of up to €20M (around £17 million at the current exchange rate) or 4% of your turnover, whichever is larger. GDPR has been designed with the objective that organisations will be better able to manage, protect and administer their data - including marketing data. GDPR will apply to all organisations and this means compliance with its requirements no matter what the size of your company or the number of employees who work for you. GDPR rules about data security will affect both your existing and future customers and the way in which you process their data. Although the need for “opt-in consent” to send marketing messages will probably apply mainly to future customers, should that customer subsequently buy a product from one part of your firm you should be aware that it will not necessarily mean you have their consent to send them any marketing material from another part of your business. However, to be on the safe side and ensure compliance with the regulation marketing consent will, for the most part, need to be sought on an “optin” basis. Marketing consent must therefore be unambiguous and made very clear to clients what information they are agreeing to receive from you as either marketers or a company’s

marketing department. In other words, Marketing Consent must be the result of a positive action and the agreement of those individuals being targeted. GDPR will apply to both Business to Business (B2B) marketing and Business to Consumer (B2C) marketing as GDPR makes no distinction with regard to the use of personal data. Such items ofdata will include not only an individual’s personal information but also such things as their workplace email addresses, workplace direct dial numbers, a person’s name, job title and even their workplace postal address. In B2B and B2C telemarketing, organisations will still be required to ensure that the telephone numbers held within their CRM databases are checked against the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) registers. It is worth noting that TPS is not just for individual consumers but also applies to prospects such as sole traders and partnerships many of whom may have opted out of receiving marketing material by being included in either of the TPS registers; this information could also include their personal mobile telephone numbers. The ‘Right to be Forgotten’ / ‘Right to Erasure’ enables individuals to request the...

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...removal of their data from your CRM database in certain circumstances. However, under GDPR you do not have to delete that personal information if you need it for accounting, tax or other regulatory purposes. It is worth noting that if data is not deleted from your systems that you could run the risk of mistakenly sending an individual unsolicited marketing materials in the future which could possibly constitute a breach. Under GDPR the automated processing on personal data (which is also known as profiling) allows individuals the right to opt-out of direct marketing. However, it should be noted that the individual cannot opt-out if holding their data is required with regard to a contract between them and your firm.

If your business involves the ‘regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale’ then the chances are you will need someone in the role of the Data Protection Officer (DPO). This has nothing to do with how many people are employed in the firm but on the amount of data held. Many marketing and other organisations, even if physically small in size, will hold large amounts of personal and other data on their prospects and existing customers. Whoever you appoint as the DPO, be it an existing member of staff or an outside consultant, must have “expert knowledge of data protection law and practices”. This is vital as they will be responsible for GDPR compliance, advising the firm with regard to its obligations and be able to act as the contact point for enquiries from the ICO or to handle requests for

information from individuals as to what data you hold on them. GDPR will also apply to any country that wants to sell to EU citizens and this will include firms from trading countries such as the China, India, Australia, the USA, and (when Brexit is completed) the UK. Therefore UK companies, in order to be able to operate and compete with other foreign firms, will still have to fully comply with the requirements of GDPR. The regulation will also apply if the data you hold includes any information about EU citizens or any other EU based trading arrangement. Data Protection will, therefore, still be a large and important part of any customer and marketing relationships.

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Our Experts

Band of Bosses

Kingswood Continuity

Fill the Gap Marketing

Hil Gibb 01526 830687

William Smith 07792 331752

Rachael Smith 01522 581911

Fill the Gap Marketing

Jo Wilson 01522 581911

Sarah Wisher 01522 581911

Perfectly Apt

Succeed at Selling

Naiomi Grant 01526 341339

Susan Marot 07831 973522

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Are you a business leader in denial? Hil Gibb, Band of Bosses Denial Ain’t No River In Egypt Baby! Although I may joke about with word-play, denial ain’t no laughing matter; especially for leaders and managers. Denial is that stubborn refusal to acknowledge how things really are. Denial in leaders, managers and leadership teams risks many, critical and damaging things such as… - Warped decision making - Poor judgement - The sugarcoating of reality and the dogged adherence to actions

that, while they worked in the past, may not be appropriate for the current situation

- Low morale

- The emergence of a blame culture; blaming external factors or making excuses rather than owning mistakes

- Increased stress - all round

- The shutting down of debate and truly exploratory discussion - Loss of trust in the leadership and management - Wavering hope for the future of the organisation - Increased frustration within those not in denial - Reduced ability to respond and adapt for the organisation to positively move forward

- Increased staff churn

- Poor performance and results So, it’s true…”denial ain’t no river in Egypt, baby!”. Rather, denial is an insidious and poisonous state of mind that disempowers us and potentially cripples ourselves, our workforces and our organisations. So, how are you working to ensure that denial doesn’t go viral in your mind, your teams or your organisation? For more advice on developing yourself as a boss, please visit www.bandofbosses.co.uk

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The 7 ‘must know’ tips for planning your event . . . Naiomi Grant, Perfectly Apt Local, national or global, a wellplanned event can do wonders for your business. When executed meticulously, an event such as a ‘meet and greet’ or a product launch can give your brand the wow factor to stand out from competitors. That said, many businesses shy away from event planning due to the costs involved; but events are definitely a worthwhile investment for those who know how to make their money go further. Here are 7 insider tips from events and venue find expert, Naiomi Grant at Perfectly Apt: 1. Ask yourself why? Events without purpose are doomed for failure – and they can be a waste of your time and money! Discuss the objectives of your event with your team and be clear what your end goal is. 2. Set a timeline (and a budget) Once you have established targets, it’s time to create a timeline. An

invaluable tip from the professionals is that “it’s never too early to start planning”. You also need to create a realistic budget so you know what funds are available to you from the get-go. 3. Use a venue finder If you want an insider tip to save money, use a venue finding service – they’re free of charge! They bill the venue, not you! They will also free up your time so you can focus on more important aspects of planning. 4. Always visit the venue Whether you use a venue finder to handle your search or you stumble across the perfect venue yourself, always do a recce. This is crucial if you want to avoid those frustrating ‘on the day’ hiccups. 5. Watch the guest list

ineffective whilst an empty venue reflects poorly on your brand. 6. Ask for recommendations Suppliers know suppliers, so don’t be afraid to ask. If you need furniture hire, flowers, catering, signage, lighting, transport or anything else, it’s likely someone you’re already dealing with knows someone who can help. They may even be able to help you get a discount! 7. Check and check again An event planner can never have too many lists. It’s important to check that you have everything coordinated on the day. And always double check prices and small print before signing anything over.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on your guest list. Capacity can be a big problem when managed badly. An over packed venue makes face-toface marketing

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Why good content is important for your website . . . Joanne Wilson, Fill the Gap Marketing Your website content is not just for your current and potential customers. It should highlight, to anyone who reads it, exactly what it is that you do. If you are taking advantage of social media and are using channels such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube to direct traffic to your website – you need to make sure that there is something worthwhile for them to read when they get there. Good content will engage your customers, attract search traffic and help build your business, you will lose visitors without a clear and effective message. Content pulls your knowledge together and makes it accessible to your customers – give people useful, interesting information that helps them solve their problems and they’ll be more likely to buy from you. Imagine yourself in the shoes of your visitors – is the product or service that is being provided clear

and obvious? If you are a potential customer, do you know where you need to look? Are they here to make a purchase? Do they need advice? Where are the relevant contact details? Make it obvious what you expect from them, once they have arrived at your website. You should aim to make every page accessible in the fewest clicks possible, which means limited amounts of text and visible links and buttons, so find a way to condense everything you need to say. No one is going to read a novel, no matter how good it is. Make sure content is up to date, try and upload new content as regularly as possible and teach search engine spiders that there’s always something new on your site; they’ll visit more often and as a result you’ll find your rankings start to outstrip your competitors. However be cautious about when and where you use flash and images, because according to search engines, flash is not content.

As well as demonstrating your expertise, a blog can also be an excellent way to include key words on your site as and when necessary – who wants to go to a website that has many photos, graphics and designs but no content? Use an analytics tool to gather information about the traffic patterns on your site. Remember – the longer someone stays on your site, or the more times that they return, suggests that something about your website, your content, is getting their attention. The more time a visitor spends on your site, the more likely they are to do business with you!

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How to improve your sales process and get paid on time . . . Susan Marot, Succeed at Selling The cold hard truth about selling is that money is involved. A fatal error that many sales people make is to believe that an order is a sale. It’s not. You have not sold anything until the money is in the bank. I can prove it too. What is selling? The definition of the verb “to sell” is an exchange of a seller’s goods or services for a buyer’s cash, or something of equal value. A handshake is not a sale. A paid invoice is. See…even the dictionary definition of selling supports my argument! So how often do the following scenerios happen to you?

- It takes too long to receive money from your clients. - You get a lot of invoice queries. - Struggle to negotiate fair prices for long term contracts. Here are my top 7 sales tips for getting paid: 1. Invoice promptly – May sound obvious, but I am still waiting to be invoiced a year later from one supplier! 2. Contact your client if they are past the payment due date – If you don’t ask, you don’t get. 3. Aim for payment in advance – Or at the very least a deposit. 4. Advertise short payment terms - So, if you want to be paid in 14 days then advertise 7. 5. “I can’t pay in 7 days” Respond with “That is what the price

is based on. If you want different payment terms, then the price will be different too.” 6. Advertise payment terms everywhere - Always, always, always put your payment terms straight after your price so they can’t miss seeing it. Proposal or invoice, make sure your payment terms are clear. 7. Make friends with accounts payable - Make sure they know who you are and how to pay you. For me the sale doesn’t end until the money is in the bank, so neither should your sales process. Prompt payment of your invoice is as important as the written order confirmation. Remember you can’t spend what you don’t have!

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5 ways to ensure you are making the most of your Twitter account . . . Sarah Wisher, Fill the Gap Marketing With over 316 million monthly active users, it is no wonder that Twitter is a great platform for businesses to grow their brand and help engage more with their customers. Typically, there are 3 reasons why a business might use Twitter as part of their marketing strategy: - To interact with customers - Support lead generation - Engage with influencers If your business is already using Twitter and updating it regularly, that’s great, but are you using it properly for it to fully benefit your business? Here are 5 tips to making the most of your Twitter account: 1. Have a strong bio It is vital that your Twitter bio represents your business in order to attract the right people. Take advantage of the 140 characters available, make sure it links to your website/blog and that appropriate hashtags are used.

2. Follow the right people

4. Use visuals

In order to achieve your marketing goals, you need to speak to the right people. It is important to remember that quality is better than quantity when it comes to your Twitter followers and you should strategically select the people you want to follow and do business with.

On average, 6,000 tweets are tweeted on Twitter every second. This makes standing out as hard as finding a needle in a hay stack. However, many people get into the habit of scrolling until they find something interesting; mainly from an image that gets their attention. Therefore, adding visuals to your content will make your followers stop and get them interested in what you have to say.

3. Determine your content strategy It is important that you post on Twitter relevant content that your followers want to see and read, such as industry news, useful advice, business updates and occasionally information about the products/services you offer. You don’t want to bombard your followers by constantly selling as it will likely turn them off and cause them to unfollow you. We recommend dividing your content up into 3 categories: 50% interesting, 30% useful and 20% sales. This way you are getting your business noticed, however you’re not constantly forcing and boring your audience with sales.

5. #YourContent Using hashtags can be a great way to reach a larger audience. However you need to make sure that these hashtags are relevant to your target audience and to the content you’re sharing. Tools such as Hashtagify and RiteTag can help you determine what your audience is interested in and which hashtags should be used.

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