Segments – Not just for Oranges!

Wednesday, 1st October 2014

Categories: Analysis
There is something rather nice about oranges and citrus fruit in general. You can with a bit of care and patience divide them into nice segments, to enjoy in bite size pieces. You can do the same with your customer data.

Gamze Bilgili

What can the Great British Bake Off teach you about creativity?

Wednesday, 1st October 2014

Categories: Creative
On the face of it it’s pretty clear that most of the bakers are highly creative. Given the same task, same time scales etc. they know they have to be “different” in order to win. Creativity is judged by its output – you can describe your cake but frankly the proof of the cake is in the eating, and so it is with an advertisement, or brochure or website.

Gamze Bilgili

What can “Strictly” Teach Us?

Monday, 8th September 2014

Categories: Analysis
This is reference to the BBC Strictly Come Dancing programme for those not familiar with UK television. The programme is well worth viewing if you like lots of sequins and a tried and trusted format of B class celebrities trying something very difficult and in many some cases achieving amazing results.

Gamze Bilgili

Do you have a single customer or prospect data protocol?

Monday, 1st September 2014

Categories: Data
There are very few successful companies or organisations that overlook the importance of creating and maintaining accurate records of their customers and prospects. Some even have strict data entry practices and regularly update and cleanse the data so it’s always as up to date as it can be.

Gamze Bilgili

Words you can use in your email subject lines

Wednesday, 27th August 2014

Categories: Creative
The subject line of your email should be regarded like a headline of an ad. Take time to craft and test different headlines and track response rates. A good place to start is to review the sort of subject lines you have opened from total strangers and ask yourself why?

Gamze Bilgili

How much does is cost to send a letter?

Tuesday, 19th August 2014

Categories: Analysis
Many companies and organisations when considering the cost of undertaking a mailing focus on the cost of postage. That’s fine but it’s only part of the overall cost. Others recognise that in order to post you have to have envelopes and paper for letters or flyers. So now we have postage and materials to consider.

Gamze Bilgili

Royal Mail AMU has so much more than PAF

Monday, 11th August 2014

Categories: Ideas
If AMU, PAF®, PIF™, Alias™ mean very little to you, your business could be missing out on some very useful information that other companies use to improve their business data, find new customers, and improve customer relations.

Gamze Bilgili

The Colour of Success

Monday, 4th August 2014

Categories: Creative
Talk to your designer about colour and why it’s important and hopefully they will keep you entertained for hours. Studies over many years have been made on the impact colour has on how businesses and products are perceived.

Gamze Bilgili

Focus on Outcomes

Monday, 4th August 2014

Categories: Ideas
Focus Groups, Strategy Sessions, Blue Sky Thinking are all part and parcel of day to day life in businesses of all sizes. You have to have a nice quiet room, preferable “off-site” away from the office environment and then someone to lead and get things going armed with post it notes and Blue-Tak to stick things on the wall. A couple of PowerPoint presentations go down well, and if possible try and fit in a couple of “break out group” sessions.

Gamze Bilgili

Are you having fun with fuzzy when looking for duplicate records?

Thursday, 24th July 2014

Categories: Data
Poor contact data that includes duplicate records costs companies and organisations thousands of pounds every year. Duplicates records come from many sources that include:

Gamze Bilgili

What the World Cup can teach us about the importance of visibility

Monday, 14th July 2014

Categories: Analysis
Well it’s over. For some a blessed relieve, for others it’s time to review past matches on You Tube or DVD’s. But there is a really powerful lesson that can be learnt from this World Cup, especially if you supported England.

Gamze Bilgili

Everyone agrees that data is important -BUT

Monday, 7th July 2014

Categories: Data
Most of our clients can appreciate that having accurate and complete client contact and purchase data is a real asset. Most of them smile nicely and nod in agreement when we mention improved postage rates, minimum duplicates being mailed out and not upsetting the relatives of those who have died who still receive mail for their loved ones.

Gamze Bilgili

When is a great idea a liability?

Monday, 30th June 2014

Categories: Creative
Whatever the message or media, a great creative idea will always out perform a run of the mill campaign that has a weak or inappropriate creative theme or concept. But there are situations when caution is advised:

Gamze Bilgili

How much is too much to spend on marketing?

Monday, 23rd June 2014

Categories: Analysis
This is sometimes answered as a number based on a fixed budget created historically as a % of turnover. There is a better way which makes the calculation easier to justify - it’s related to the cost of acquiring or keeping a customer. You need some basic information including:

Gamze Bilgili

Social Marketing is not new it’s just changing

Monday, 16th June 2014

Categories: Ideas
For the past decade it's all social this and social that and there seems no sign of it going away. No-one can deny the impact of social media marketing and communications. You can't move for emails, white papers, free guides and "social" events all pointing out that without a strong social media presence you are doomed.

Gamze Bilgili