If the forecasts are right and the half-full glass is about to get full again very quickly, then SMEs need to be sure they have all their marketing tools in place to take advantage of the recovery. If you want sales results in six months then we need to start your marketing now.

There is much debate about whether the UK economy is set to grow amazingly this year from a combination of Covid and Brexit – or completely tank from a combination of Covid and Brexit.  Which sets me thinking that the marketing environment will also be very lively – so isn’t it time to plan how best to work with probably the most active trade and tech media in the world?

Industrial PR is a great start – Social Media is a strong second.

Interesting to hear Joe Biden talking recently about the job creation possibilities of a green agenda and of making medical care more widely available. It used to be said that what America does today we will do tomorrow – so let’s hope the government can get on board with this program for job creation in UK manufacturing industry where we promote with industrial PR.

Every now and then we all need to take a good look at ourselves and I guess this is one of those times – we all need to reinvent ourselves to cope with the turmoil of the world today. Reinventing a business is a complex cooperative thing to do and I imagine that for most of us the process is already well advanced – if not, then now is an excellent time to begin.

So how are you getting on with re-invention and do you need help? – after all, that is what we do – here!

For any industrial company out there who does not have a marketing plan including PR – may I suggest you regard it like any other investment – and now is exactly the right time. Taken over the long term of economic cycles a PR profile represents capital to rely on for support in difficult times – in times of growth it represents investment paying off by enabling faster recovery, faster growth and slower downturns into the next recession. It lengthens the positive times and shortens the negative ones.

Contact me – Ian Deavin – here

Are you making the most of all directory opportunities at your disposal?

We pose the question because of the key role directory entries can play in helping your customers find you – and vice versa.

Thanks to the internet, directories have become vibrant, ever-evolving documents which provide a wealth of invaluable links.
Here’s how to make your directory entries the hard-working and effective tools they should be.

Why do they want our entries?
All directory publishers want their publications to have a huge audience, so they’ll do all in the power to be the most comprehensive authority in their field.
The larger their reach the more they’re going to impress potential advertisers, so they need your entry to add volume and build respect among their audience.
For this reason they want you on board, so the big benefit to you is that they’ll usually offer a basic entry at no cost to you.

Paid for or free entries?
Don’t be too quick to pay, even if a paid-for option appears to be attractive. Yes, the directory will want you to cough up for an enhanced presence or featured status with an eye-catching image, but try the free option before splashing out.
You can always upgrade later, after evaluating the results of your free listing.

Keyword-rich product information
In addition to basic information such as company name and contact details there will often be room for a products and services summary, even in a free entry.
Use the keywords which are already working for you on your website, and if you are offered the opportunity to add tags and there is only a limited number available, focus on those that are going to be most relevant to people using that particular directory.

Which directories?
It’s tempting to say ‘all of them’ but a directory focusing on businesses in your geographical location won’t necessarily benefit you unless people who want your products and services are on your doorstep.
If you sell nationwide or internationally as opposed to locally, seek out niche market directories.
There might be fewer people seeing your entry, but if they are using the long-tail keyword search that you have so painstakingly researched and opted for, then they are more likely to be serious about buying from you.

For further information call us here or see our Top Tips For Directory Management (free entries)

I came across an e-mail recently that humorously defined things like sales, marketing etc in terms of a woman at a party promoting the virtues of her best friend to various men. So how about this:

Assume you are a woman – you and your friend see a rich attractive guy at a party – you write about your friend’s attributes in glowing terms with her phone number and references to previously satisfied boyfriends – you pass him the note with a smile.

That’s PRESS RELATIONS!

My guess – still there, we’re doing it. In short, when times are hard we switch from turnover growth to growing market share. That may well mean 10% or even 20% down on last year is a good result – achieved by running hard to stand still. However, if it results in greater market share then as we climb out of this recession we can expect to see the benefits of our hard work. One thing’s for sure, if we wait until we see the upturn then it will be too late to join in. The results will come from what we are doing now. So, let’s be happy that web traffic/enquiries are high – they represent business waiting to happen.

Doing the job properly – at the end of the day the whole industrial PR process – with or without search engines – is about getting genuine information to places where it can reach serious potential users/buyers. These are willing buyers – if they don’t buy then their business will not exist, but they must buy knowledgeably. Do that job right and it is worth doing from everybody’s perspective.

Search engines in their own way are only trying to facilitate the same process – so we are all working toward the same end – there is no need to try to manipulate the search engines – do the job properly and they will put an enquirer together with the information they are seeking. Although it does help to be able to think like a customer and to set up ones information and it’s distribution to fit that enquiry process i.e. understand the information that is important to a customer, how they may go about finding it, what form they may find it easiest to digest and how to make their life easy in progressing their enquiry. This is not “rocket science” but it does require a measure of knowledge, understanding, skill, experience, flexibility, balance and judgment – sound like any PR agency you know?