This is your invitation to The Blend Christmas party at The Eastern on Tuesday 9th December.  It promises to be a brilliant evening. You will enjoy a 3-course banquet with an open bar for just £21.95 pp. 

The menu is a 3-course banquet so you get to try all the dishes on the below menu:

Starters

• PRAWN TAIL TOAST
• YAKATORI CHICKEN SATAY
• SPRING ROLL
• HOME GRILLED SPARE RIBS

Mains

MASSAMAN CHICKEN CURRY (THAI)

Full of lovely spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise, cumin and cloves cooked in coconut milk with potatoes and peanuts always secure its place in the top three curries in the world.

KUNG PAO RED SNAPPER (CHINESE)

Stir fried red snapper with tomatoes, onions, green and red pepper, coriander in Eastern kung Pao Sauce.

BEEF FILLET IN RED WINE SAUCE (MALAY)

Sliced beef fillet cooked with Portobello mushroom and asparagus in Chef Lee’s red wine sauce.

STIR FRY VEGETABLES IN GARLIC AND SOY SAUCE

Mix seasonal vegetables in fresh garlic, ginger and a touch of soy sauce.

PINEAPPLE CHICKEN FRIED RICE

Stir Fried jasmine rice with fresh pineapple, chicken, carrot and peas.

Dessert

MANGO CHEESE CAKE

Light cream cheese cake with a topping of real mango.

The bar will be free for draught beer, house white, red and rose wine, fruit juices (not including J2O) and soft drinks.  Other drinks such as spirits or non-house wines, you will need to pay for should you want them.

It promises to be a great night and we are opening it up to your partners and friends.  There will be the usual 20-seconds at 6:30pm but we will all sit down to an amazing meal at 7pm. 

Please feel free to forward this invite on to your business contacts and associates.

The details are:

Where:           The Eastern Restaurant in Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield

When:             5:30pm on Tuesday 9th December

What:              Open networking with 20-second speeches starting at 6:30pm

Cost:               £21.95 includes a 3-course banquet and free bar

How:               There is plenty of free parking by the restaurant (The Eastern Restaurant, 24 The Lanes Shopping Centre, Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield B72 1YG) or we’re just a short walk from Chester Road train station

Please book on by replying to me at richard@marketing-midlands.co.uk.  I’ll add you to the guest list and you pay for your banquet on arrival.  Please note: numbers are limited and we expect the evening to book up fast, so early booking is advised.

Have a great week!

Best regards,

Richard.

P.S. Reserve your place today by e-mailing me richard@marketing-midlands.co.uk and please pass the invite on to your friends and colleagues. 

© Marketing the Midlands, 2014. Written by Richard Fallon

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Most business owners I’ve spoken to have not heard of the Government’s Growth Voucher scheme.  

Let me put that another way: anyone in business for over 6 months can apply for a Growth Voucher and you get to choose how you spend it. Let me explain.

A Growth Voucher gives you up to £2,000 in matched funding. You don’t have to use your full allowance for example you could do a £1,000 project and get £500 back or you can do a £4,000 or more project and claim the full £2,000. It is up to you how much you want to spend.

How do I get a Growth Voucher?

You apply for a growth voucher on-line and you get a “yes” or “no” immediately. It takes about 10-15 minutes to complete the application. Vouchers are then awarded on a lottery basis with 75% of applicants receiving one.

What can I spend it on?

You can spend your Growth Voucher for support in marketing, finance, improving leadership and management skills etc.:

The two criteria are:

1. It must be spent on a strategic project, e.g. you can’t claim for spend on advertising, printing etc.

2. You must spend the money with a registered Growth Voucher advisor.

Needless to say, Marketing the Midlands is a registered Growth Voucher advisor and we have helped numerous companies to benefit from this grant.  This is the perfect opportunity for you to move your marketing forward for double your investment.

I suggest that, if you are interested, you find out more and apply on-line at:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-growth-vouchers

If you are successful and want to use your growth voucher for marketing then get in touch with me, Richard Fallon at richard@marketing-midlands.co.uk or call me on 0778 9952251.

We can arrange to meet to discuss how your business can make the most of this opportunity!

© Marketing the Midlands, 2014. Written by Richard Fallon

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This month, the prestigious Phoenix lunch takes place at The Oriental.  Guests will enjoy a 2-course Oriental banquet with wine at this popular Mailbox restaurant on Thursday 25th September. 

The Phoenix is the most successful, long standing networking event in Birmingham.  This monthly lunch has been taking place for over a decade with a different organiser and venue chosen each month.  It attracts a wide range of business owners and professionals from well known local companies with a typical attendance of 80-120 networkers.

Marketing the Midlands is delighted to be hosting the Phoenix Lunch Club for September.  I have chosen The Oriental as it is my favourite city center restaurant with great views of the canal, delicious dishes and superior customer service. Unsurprisingly, it is listed as one of the Top 10 Pan-Asian restaurants in the UK.

The Oriental serves beautiful Thai, Chinese and Malaysian cuisine.  So that you will have the opportunity to sample a number of different dishes, lunch will consist of an Oriental Banquet.  Please let me know if you have any special dietary requirements or require the vegetarian banquet.

Starters

• Vegetable spring rolls

• Prawn spring rolls

• Chicken satay

• Spare ribs

Mains (served with jasmine rice)

• Thai Green Chicken Curry

• Sweet and Sour Pork

• Sirloin Steak in Teriyaki Sauce

• Stir fried vegetables in Satay Sauce

The event costs £24 per head and includes 2 glasses of red or white wine.  Doors will open at midday for networking with lunch being served promptly at 1.

If you would like to attend then please download, complete and return the booking form indicating the number of places you require, along with a cheque for the full amount made payable to Dr R W Fallon (or e-mail me at richard@marketing-midlands.co.uk for my bank details to do a BACS transfer). 

Please be aware that places are limited and will be booked on a first come basis.  Your place will be reserved on receipt of your payment.  Booking forms and cheques must be received no later than Monday 22nd September.

If you decide to join us, I look forward to welcoming you to the event on 25th.

© Marketing the Midlands, 2014. Written by Richard Fallon

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Telemarketing is not dead!

I always find it odd when people declare a long-established marketing channel as dead.  This seems to happen when a bright, shiny new channel comes along. 

In the noughties, we saw the advent of social media with the birth of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

In the nineties, we had the development of the internet and the rise of web sites and e-mail marketing.

In the eighties, we saw telemarketing come into its own.  It had started in the 70s but only really took off in the 80’s.

Prior to this direct mail and radio advertising were the primary channels and before that hand delivered advertising sheets (i.e. large flyers promoting multiple products) and door-to-doo the main marketing route (along with door-to-door salesmen).

The thing is that all of these channels are still with us.  None of them have been replaced.  None of them are dead.

I have met a few social media gurus who think that it is all people respond to these days.  This is utter rubbish.  A recent survey showed that of all the marketing channels Facebook and Twitter were the least trusted.  People just don’t believe what they read posted on them.  Incredibly, the survey showed that people trust e-mail about twice as much and this is a channel which has been greatly abused over the years with various scams involving inheritances that a “down on his luck” prince will share with you if you just give him your bank details.

In reality, there is no such thing as an ideal channel.  This is simply because different people respond to different channels.

Take telemarketing for example.  It is still a very effective way of getting in front of people and making direct sales.  Why?  Well people buy people for one.  More importantly, you can deal with the person and their objections, live, as an individual.  You can’t do this through an e-mail, web site or letter.

Telemarketing like all marketing channels requires skill, persistence and patience.  It is also one of those activities that most business owners and professionals hate.  The average business owner or even sales person would rather go through hell then do their own cold calling.

This is why rallying cries like “Telemarketing is Dead!” is so attractive to them.  It gets them off the hook of having to make cold calls.  These people would much rather tweet, post updates on LinkedIn or send out an e-mail or letter than pick up the phone and make a call.

Unfortunately, the problem comes with the results.  An average response rate for a cold letter is 2% for a cold e-mail (where you have bought the address) it is about 0.005%.  Note, if someone has opted in to get your e-mails the response rate is about 2%.  A good way of increasing your opt-ins is through telemarketing!

To be fair, social media is a PR channel rather than a marketing one.  It helps to increase your profile and engage with your target market but rarely does it create direct business

The response rate for telemarketing to a cold, but targeted list, is 5%- much higher than other channels.

To be honest, telemarketing isn’t right for every business as different people respond to different channels but then this is true of any channel.

Telemarketing is still very much alive in both the B2C and B2B worlds.  It is so effective that, if you don’t want to do it, then it is definitely worth outsourcing it to a telemarketing company.  

© Marketing the Midlands, 2014. Written by Richard Fallon

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Just before the Easter break, I co-hosted the second networking evening at the new Pan-Asian restaurant in Wylde Green.

The evening was loud and lively.  It is the first time I’ve seen someone start a speech by playing a set of bongo drums.  It was probably best summed up by Joan Goodger as “Brilliant night, brilliant food, brilliant laughter!”. 

A number of people said to me afterwards that they had never been to a networking event like it.  Thankfully, they also said that they would come to the next one.   

So, with that in mind, you are once again invited to join us for an evening of networking.  

Where:           The Eastern Restaurant in Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield

When:            Tuesday 20th May

Time:              5:30-7:30pm

What:              Open networking with 20-second speeches starting at 6:20pm

Cost:               Free with a complimentary glass of wine or orange juice and Eastern canapés.

How:               There is plenty of free parking by the restaurant (The Eastern Restaurant, 24 The Lanes Shopping Centre, Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield B72 1YG) or we’re a short walk from Chester Road train station

Our target is to get 100 attendees (in April we fell just short with 88 guests) so please feel free to pass on this invitation.

If you would like to join us for dinner after the event, then the manager has kindly agreed to extend the Early Evening Menu for us.  You can enjoy 2-courses of the finest Thai, Chinese or Malaysian cuisine for £10.  The menu includes classics such as Sweet and Sour Pork and Thai Green Curry as well as Beef Rednang and Chicken in Teriyaki Sauce.  You can find the menu on the web site at http://www.theeastern.co.uk/. 

To register for the networking, please e-mail me (richard@marketing-midlands.co.uk) and I’ll add you to the guest list. 

I hope to see you on 20th May!

Stay successful,

Richard.

P.S. Reserve your place today by e-mailing me richard@marketing-midlands.co.uk and please pass the invite on to your friends and colleagues. 

© Marketing the Midlands, 2014. Written by Richard Fallon

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Marketing the Midlands is pleased to announce that we will be co-hosting the “Helping Tiny Hearts in Birmingham” networking event on Wednesday 11th September from 5:30pm at The Oriental Restaurant in The Mailbox.

Heart Research UK is sponsoring a project at Birmingham Children’s Hospital to help closely monitor babies when they return home after they have had complex heart surgery. This project will fund the purchase of vital monitoring equipment which will allow families to be more involved in their recovery.

This is an important project to support babies and their families in Birmingham. All the profits generated from the evening will go towards this work at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Cardiac Unit.

This “networking for charity” event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday 11th September. The cost of a ticket is just £20 and includes wine, canapes, an auction, raffle and entertainment as well as plenty of networking opportunities.

If you would like to come along and support this worthy cause then you can buy your tickets by calling Heart Research UK in the Midlands on 0121 454 1799 or e-mailing them at midlands@heartresearch.org.uk. Places are limited so early booking is advised.

If you would like to take part, we are also running a competition to help mark the event. We are searching to find the best/ most unusual photo of you on holiday or a day out with a favourite childhood toy or book. All you need to do is snap a digital photo of yourself and e-mail it to us at midlands@heartresearch.org.uk by Tuesday 10th September. The winner will be announced on the evening.

We hope to see you there on 11th September.

Heart Research UK

Heart Research UK is a national charity founded in 1967 by heart surgeon David Watson MBE, who realised that patients were dying unnecessarily because of the lack of research into heart disease, especially surgical techniques.

He was frustrated at having to tell heart patients that there was little he could do to help them and wanted to do more, so he set up the charity to make it happen.

Having paid for six of the first eight successful UK heart transplants, Heart Research UK still funds ground-breaking medical research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease.

Over the last 10 years the charity has provided over £10.6m to pioneering research projects in hospitals and universities across the UK.  Current projects include research into improving rehabilitation for children leaving hospital after heart surgery, and providing funding so that the parents of child heart patients leaving Birmingham Children’s Hospital can have vital equipment to monitor their health when they get home.

Our work also includes prevention, and we’ve given £1.2m in the last 10 years to community-based lifestyle projects that aim to help people to reduce their risk of heart disease by improving their lifestyle habits.

We’re a national charity that thinks “local” – everything raised locally is spent locally.

© Marketing the Midlands, 2013. Written by Richard Fallon

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Today, I wanted to show how you can take the principles I discussed and use them in any business.  Let’s have a look at them in turn:

1.  T M Lewin’s only promoted this event to their existing and previous customers.  

This type of VIP event strategy works far better for people who have already had an experience with you rather than for getting new customers.  So step 1 is get a list of your existing and old clients contact details.  It is interesting to note that the main reason for losing clients or customers is simply because they have forgotten about you.

2.  T M Lewin’s created a VIP event as a reason to contact existing and lost customers and get them back in the shop. 

It’s always good to have a compelling reason to contact someone.  This doesn’t have to be an event.  For example a client review session would work well for B2B businesses.  Not only does it keep the communication going with them but it also shows that you care about them.  It also gives you the opportunity to ask for referrals and highlight any new services you are offering.

3.  T M Lewin’s VIP event was for people who came in to the store- there wasn’t an on-line option.

This is a key point; this strategy to work required a face-to-face interaction rather than being on-line.  Research shows that still the most effective way for B2B companies to win business is through face-to-face meetings.  You need to ensure your reason for contacting them includes an actual physical meeting whether it is you visiting them or vice-versa.  

4.  T M Lewin’s offered an incentive.

An incentive, if appropriate, can greatly increase your response and take up.  The incentive itself must be appropriate (In other words it must dovetail with your marketing and sales process) and it must be appropriate to the situation (e.g. I would not offer an incentive for a client review).

5.  T M Lewin’s gave a deadline

 In other words, the incentive was only available that weekend.  If you are offering an incentive then you MUST, must, MUST have a deadline!

6.  T M Lewin’s gave their VIP invitees a timely reminder.

They sent out a reminder to everyone over the weekend of the event.  This is a very important point.  The key to marketing is repeating the message to your target market.  I was interested in their event but had forgotten about it and had they not reminded me then I would have missed it.  I can guarantee that I wasn’t the only one in this position!

A timely reminder or reminders will great improve your response!

All of these points can and should be applied in the marketing of any business.

© Marketing the Midlands, 2013. Written by Richard Fallon

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