I read this in an article by one of my clients, Molly Harvey. Out of all the things in the article this was the phrase that stuck in my mind. Molly writes and speaks so brilliantly well it's hard to single out just one thing but this phrase shouted at me.
I suppose it made me think about our own branding and what it is telling and more importantly are we living up to the expectations the brand is setting. I hope so - I've always thought of myself as a bit of a perfectionist. In fact my work experience boy, Sean, described me as just that. He considers my standards are very high and aspires to be the same when he enters the real working world.
So what does your branding say about you and are you delivering on it's promises? Does it promise quality? People make a very quick judgement as to what they think of you - is your branding letting you down? Maybe it is time to take a fresh look at how other people see your company. And make sure you deliver on those promises.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Meerkats
The current advert 'Compare the Meerkat' seems to be gaining a huge fan base. Alexandr Orlov even has his own facebook account and a there are such a lot of blogs and articles mentioning the ad. The people behind this sure have a hit on their hands and it's a brilliant example of simple but effective marketing.
We could all do with learning a leason from this - stand out from the crowd. A client of mine once gave the advice "Look at what your competition are doing and do something different." Simple but effective advice. We should examine our own business and look at what we do that is different from our competitors - then highlight that point to our prospective clients.
For example, Your Natural Beauty Store are not only cruelty free but operate in as ethical a mannner as is possible in business. They try to keep packaging to a minimum and use recycled paper and card where possible. One of their closest rivals delights in using lots of fancy packaging and including unnecessary marketing leaflets in every package. Not exactly a 'green' policy. So Your Natural Beauty Store need to highlight the 'ethical' in their business!
And to return to our Meerkats you can buy your very own stuffed meerkat from Great Toys 4 U along with other, more unusual teddy bears and soft toys made by the quality manufacturer Keel Toys.
So take a look at your business today and see if you can tell what's different - can't find something? Then talk to us!
We could all do with learning a leason from this - stand out from the crowd. A client of mine once gave the advice "Look at what your competition are doing and do something different." Simple but effective advice. We should examine our own business and look at what we do that is different from our competitors - then highlight that point to our prospective clients.
For example, Your Natural Beauty Store are not only cruelty free but operate in as ethical a mannner as is possible in business. They try to keep packaging to a minimum and use recycled paper and card where possible. One of their closest rivals delights in using lots of fancy packaging and including unnecessary marketing leaflets in every package. Not exactly a 'green' policy. So Your Natural Beauty Store need to highlight the 'ethical' in their business!
And to return to our Meerkats you can buy your very own stuffed meerkat from Great Toys 4 U along with other, more unusual teddy bears and soft toys made by the quality manufacturer Keel Toys.
So take a look at your business today and see if you can tell what's different - can't find something? Then talk to us!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
What a 'European' Result
And I'm not talking about football either. One of the youngsters from my Taekwondo club has just returned from Belgium with a wonderful addition to his growing collection - a European ranking. Having got a silver medal in the Belgium International Open 2009, and at only 16, Ryan can now add a European medal to his existing British Medals. And next week he will defend his British National Champion title at the British Nationals in the Manchester Velodrome for the second year running. We wish him, and the other team members the best of luck.
What has this got to do with business? Well Ryan showed how determined he was to achieve his goal. He stayed focused and kept a positive outlook. He trained hard and equipped himself with the skills to win. That's what we should be doing in business. Are you focused and positive about your business goals? Have you allowed yourself to do the right training to equip you with the right skill set to succeed?
What has this got to do with business? Well Ryan showed how determined he was to achieve his goal. He stayed focused and kept a positive outlook. He trained hard and equipped himself with the skills to win. That's what we should be doing in business. Are you focused and positive about your business goals? Have you allowed yourself to do the right training to equip you with the right skill set to succeed?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Disgusted of Wirral writes......
I was chatting with one of my clients the other day and was horrified to learn of the animal cruelty that still happens today as part of the beauty industry. With the advances in technology you would think we could find a way to test new products without the need to torture innocent animals.
I'm being a lot more cautious as to what brands I buy now as a result and will be switching a lot of the shampoo and conditioners I buy for my family to brands who don't test on animals. I think I'll be trying the John Masters Organics range from YourNaturalBeautyStore.com next. And I'll be looking for a new moisturiser too.
I'd love to know what you think about testing on animals - is it right or wrong? Please post your comments.
I'm being a lot more cautious as to what brands I buy now as a result and will be switching a lot of the shampoo and conditioners I buy for my family to brands who don't test on animals. I think I'll be trying the John Masters Organics range from YourNaturalBeautyStore.com next. And I'll be looking for a new moisturiser too.
I'd love to know what you think about testing on animals - is it right or wrong? Please post your comments.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Eventfull days
What a day,
Yesterday was an eventful day. I had a job to go and photograph an engineering firm that makes screws. This involved being there from about 9am BST. The day started with me asking the director what he wanted me to shoot. (I had already asked him in a email) he said your the creative one I will leave it to you.. Bugger I thought no direction being given, what shall I do? So I just wandered around the factory looking and talking to the staff. Eventually I got my lights out and set them up and found out where all the wall sockets were. I started to take some pictures of the machines that were making the threads, on speaking to one of the men working on a machine I found out that the threads they were making were not being cut as I thought they were but they were being impressed and squashed to form the heads and threads. These all come from a roll of heavy guage wire that is fed into a machine at one end and at the other end they come out as threads. Truly a clever stuff. I had to spend the day here shooting anything that looked interesting. It's amazing how dirty I got while walking around and shooting. This is a company that sells all over the world even to China (Wow) and they were saying that things were quite for them but they had plans to market in a much larger way. This is definitly a company going places. At the end of the day as I was putting my gear away I found it was very mucky as there was grease on the wires. I asked for a cloth and was wiping my kit down with it to see loads of grease come of the wires etc. Prior to doing this shoot I had been shooting the threads etc in my studio for the websight and publicity.
Yesterday was an eventful day. I had a job to go and photograph an engineering firm that makes screws. This involved being there from about 9am BST. The day started with me asking the director what he wanted me to shoot. (I had already asked him in a email) he said your the creative one I will leave it to you.. Bugger I thought no direction being given, what shall I do? So I just wandered around the factory looking and talking to the staff. Eventually I got my lights out and set them up and found out where all the wall sockets were. I started to take some pictures of the machines that were making the threads, on speaking to one of the men working on a machine I found out that the threads they were making were not being cut as I thought they were but they were being impressed and squashed to form the heads and threads. These all come from a roll of heavy guage wire that is fed into a machine at one end and at the other end they come out as threads. Truly a clever stuff. I had to spend the day here shooting anything that looked interesting. It's amazing how dirty I got while walking around and shooting. This is a company that sells all over the world even to China (Wow) and they were saying that things were quite for them but they had plans to market in a much larger way. This is definitly a company going places. At the end of the day as I was putting my gear away I found it was very mucky as there was grease on the wires. I asked for a cloth and was wiping my kit down with it to see loads of grease come of the wires etc. Prior to doing this shoot I had been shooting the threads etc in my studio for the websight and publicity.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
What bugs me most about....
OK, so I've been really slack and not kept this blog as up-to-date as I should have but I've been soooo busy.
Something that has really bugged me this week is yet another example of small businesses being ripped off by other small businesses. You think we'd stick together but oh no. Some people prey on the naivety of others. We can't all understand everything.
As an IT bod I feel it's my duty to educate those who don't understand IT. They should be given the facts plain and simple. All the facts. They should end up with enough of an understanding to make an informed choice.
They don't have to be able to do it themselves - just understand what the options are. If somebody doesn't understand something I've explained then it's my fault for not explaining properly not theirs for being a bit dense. Nobody is totally stupid but some people need a simpler explanation.
Telling your customer that you need to take over hosting of the site to make changing it 'easier' is a whole load of hogwash. Then charging an extortionate price for the privilege is just plain theft.
It doesn't matter where a website lives so long as the servers it lives on support it and you have access to it. Those servers could be in Outer Mongolia or in a bedroom in Brimstage - it really doesn't matter.
SO the lesson for today is find out as much as you can about what you want to do before you let others advise you into expensive decisions. Ask around. Ask what your friends and business acquaintances are paying for their hosting. Look on the Internet and see what the mainstreams are charging. Then you'll have an idea if what you've been quoted is reasonable or not. Don't take anything at face value.
Ask us and we'll give you an honest opinion - no charge.
Something that has really bugged me this week is yet another example of small businesses being ripped off by other small businesses. You think we'd stick together but oh no. Some people prey on the naivety of others. We can't all understand everything.
As an IT bod I feel it's my duty to educate those who don't understand IT. They should be given the facts plain and simple. All the facts. They should end up with enough of an understanding to make an informed choice.
They don't have to be able to do it themselves - just understand what the options are. If somebody doesn't understand something I've explained then it's my fault for not explaining properly not theirs for being a bit dense. Nobody is totally stupid but some people need a simpler explanation.
Telling your customer that you need to take over hosting of the site to make changing it 'easier' is a whole load of hogwash. Then charging an extortionate price for the privilege is just plain theft.
It doesn't matter where a website lives so long as the servers it lives on support it and you have access to it. Those servers could be in Outer Mongolia or in a bedroom in Brimstage - it really doesn't matter.
SO the lesson for today is find out as much as you can about what you want to do before you let others advise you into expensive decisions. Ask around. Ask what your friends and business acquaintances are paying for their hosting. Look on the Internet and see what the mainstreams are charging. Then you'll have an idea if what you've been quoted is reasonable or not. Don't take anything at face value.
Ask us and we'll give you an honest opinion - no charge.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Photographic Expeditions around Liverpool
Hi I am about to launch Photographic Expeditions around Liverpool. The tours start from 1 hour duration. To join me please phone or email 0151 708 7392 Mobile 07761 725 932 colin@colinsphotography.co.uk
You will be needed to use your own camera and perhaps a tripod especially for evening photography. I will take out a maximum of 6 people. If you have a larger group then do please contact me to make arrangements. I can organise a whole days shoot if needed but you will need to book with me in advance.
All the tours are walking.
Example:- the tours can be the two cathedrals along Hope Street stopping on route for pictures. This tour will take an hour. The idea for this is that I can help you to learn how to use the manual part of the camera and to get you off using automatic. It's more technical than just showing you places to take pictures.
You will be needed to use your own camera and perhaps a tripod especially for evening photography. I will take out a maximum of 6 people. If you have a larger group then do please contact me to make arrangements. I can organise a whole days shoot if needed but you will need to book with me in advance.
All the tours are walking.
Example:- the tours can be the two cathedrals along Hope Street stopping on route for pictures. This tour will take an hour. The idea for this is that I can help you to learn how to use the manual part of the camera and to get you off using automatic. It's more technical than just showing you places to take pictures.
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