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I’m not a betting woman but if I were my money
would be on Ali Bastian to win Strictly Come Dancing
this year. She’ll certainly be getting my
vote.
Yes, I’m one of the 8 million dedicated viewers
of the hit TV dance show, which has now become part
of our Christmas tradition. I vote regularly, watch
the spin-off weekday programme with Claudia Winkleman and just love the
glitz, glamour and splendour of the ballroom.
Saturday nights in the run up to Christmas see me
prancing around the sitting room with my daughter
demonstrating that we are far superior to any of the
celebs and know far more
than any of the judges!
We’ll be sitting down to see who lifts that
glitter ball trophy on 19th December,
completely oblivious to the XFactor parade and which
celebrity is being released from the
jungle.
Achieve great things with the help of a
pro
I’m just amazed at what the celebrity dancers
achieve with the support and guidance of the
professionals. The transformation from Week 1 to the
Final is phenomenal, in terms of skill and
performance. The results are not achieved
easily – there’s plenty of hard work and
commitment required. And through it all some strong
lasting partnerships.
Strictly Come Marketing
I would liken this process to an SME owner starting
out on the journey to marketing success.
They’re often really skilled at what they do
– just like the celebs
who come as actors, athletes,
and performers – but often lack confidence in
marketing and feel lacking in the know-how they need
to make it happen. However, with the right coach
I’ve seen many grow into effective, competent,
creative marketers.
This is what excites me and what I’m looking
forward to doing more and more in 2010, through our
new programme of interactive marketing
workshops.
Start training for 2010
If you feel that your marketing is lack-lustre,
ineffective or even intermittent join us in the
training room and take the first steps to improved
business performance in 2010.
Whatever you do, as the presenters on Strictly say at
the end of the show, ‘Keep
Marketing!’
Carolyn Page
5 things you
can learn about marketing from Strictly Come
Dancing . . . .
1.
Rehearsals and training
Quite simply, you won’t get the
results unless you put in the hard yards.
You need to acquire marketing skill
through training and put it into
practice.
2.
The costumes
Don’t you just love the floaty hems, the
fringing and the sequins? These are the
attention grabbers which create
anticipation and interest. Just like your
marketing materials. They also highlight
the features of the dance – fringes
accentuate bounce in the jive and
detailed hemlines mimic the rise an fall
in the waltz. Do your materials create
the wow factor, generate interest and
highlight your key
features?
3.
Timing
This is critical in dance – if you
go off the beat the whole thing falls
apart. It’s the same in marketing.
You have to be timely in your
communications. You can do too much
marketing, waste money and turn off your
prospects, by bombarding them with
promotions when they’re simply not
ready to make a purchasing decision. If
your product or service is bought
infrequently choose your moment to make
your next approach.
4.
The Judges
On Strictly impressing the judges is the first
step to winning. They have a huge impact
on the outcome. They each have their
agendas, likes and dislikes. This reminds
me that most businesses have key
influencers – people who influence
how their prospects and customers act.
And we need to market to them so that
they recommend us to our customers. Key
influencers might be spouses, doctors,
business advisers, school teachers
– anyone who influences your
prospects to buy, not to buy and what to
buy.
5.
The Champion
It’s the last show of the series
and you all sit down to watch the final.
Tonight someone’s going to lift
that trophy. What makes a winner? Well it
seems to be the one that gives the best
all-round performance. They have
personality, great choreography, good
technique,
they deliver great entertainment value
and have that little extra sparkle which
elevates them above the rest. Marketing
is like that – to make it work you
have to bring lots of things together.
You have to have the right product, at
the right price and have the right
promotions. It’s not just about the
frock!
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Happy Christmas
Everyone
at Colporteur wishes you and yours a very
Happy and Blessed Christmas.
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Need a marketing plan for 2010?
Our
interactive marketing planning workshops for
SMEs in January and February will help you
create a simple plan for your marketing in
2010, so that you stop wasting money and
start doing marketing that works.
One SME
owner attending this workshop said the main
benefit was:
‘Being able to take away a working plan
relevant to moving my business
forward.’
Another
said it made them realise
that:
‘Marketing is important, very doable,
and can be within my
budget.’
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Georgina Kirby
recommends . . .
Our
client Georgina Kirby of
The Village
Apartments says this is a
great book for the novice marketer, and the
perfect follow-up to our marketing planning
course.
Read
her review here and order through our
bookshelf at Amazon prices.
Colporteur
Bookshelf
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Don’t miss the post!
Last
posting dates for UK mail:
First
class
21/12
Second
Class 18/12
Get your
Christmas cards and mailings out in good time
so they don’t arrive when people are
closing for the holidays.
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Become a fan on Facebook
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Christmas holidays!
Our offices will be closed for the Christmas
holidays from midday on 24th
December until Monday 4th January
so that we can recharge the batteries for the
New Year.
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Would you
like a free PDA phone?
Tell us
about your marketing needs and you could win
a PDA phone. It takes less than 5
minutes.
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0845 4 300 900
