The New Media Marketing Whirlpool

Posted by Chris on December 9th, 2009

I am always searching for ways to describe how new media marketing works to the business people that I talk to.

My latest thought was that you could describe it’s implementation as a sort of whirlpool effect where your potential customers are out on the calm sea and you want to catch thier attention at  the outer influence of the whirlpool and then draw them gently in and then steadily down towards you – the supplier of products, services or information.

One of the main features of this type of marketing is that it is about ” Pull Marketing ” and not ” Push Marketing “. You are drawing potential clients very gently into the whirlpool and not pushing them in !!

We live in an increasingly self service world: We like to be in charge of who we buy from and deal with and we don’t much like things being pushed at us or people being pushy.

The numbers of people using the Internet to find what they want are increasing all the time. The types of things that they search for are growing all the time.

The old ways of marketing are not necessarily dead but they are suffering from a terminal disease.

Traditional ( Push ) marketing is still happening – advertising, PR, mailshots, telemarketing – it’s all still going on and it’s all still effective to some extent but more and more and every day Internet and Word of Mouth Marketing ( accelerated by the Internet ) are rising to the ascendancy.

I also think that in catching peoples attention at the periphery of the new media whirlpool you think more about people’s problems, needs, desires, objectives and questions and you lead them gently to solutions, fulfillment, destinations and answers. There is tremendous subtlety, patience, intelligence, kindness and humour in this new media whirlpool approach. Generally speaking the ladies are good at it because they often have these traits in spades. It is natural for them to deal with people in that way.

Thinking about the old Features, Advantages, Benefits sales approach you are again thinking about the potential benefits and advantages to people rather than hitting them with almost meaningless features.

You certainly need to have thought through what your core offerings are and who your target markets are. However then, you need to think laterally about what people might be thinking about or searching the Internet for and what might strike a chord with your target market. Definately you need to put yourself in the mind of the person who might be your client.

So, the way that you might attract people at the very edges of your whirlpool might be by posting a video on YouTube. Maybe something funny or shocking or maybe something informative. You might also post thoughts and useful information in  your blog. You might post a Press Release on an Internet Press Release site. ( By the way all the time that you are doing these things you have at the back of your mind the key words and phrases that your target market will be using to find someone like you ). You post things on Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter and again some are funny, some light hearted, some are informative and some are serious. Of course you still try to get into various publications and press ( many of these have online variants now ).  You list on relevant directories. You publish white papers ( as you did before ). You make your products and services clear ( as you did before ). You maintain a clear and consistent brand ( as you did before ).

Floating out at the edges of the whirlpool each of things are having thier own effect in terms of attracting peoples attention and drawing them closer to you. The YouTube video gets it’s own YouTube audience but also signposts the way back to you or your company. The blogs, PR’s, Social Networks etc all do the same.

Each of these things link back to your main website and to your email, phone number, fax number and ultimately to you.

Literally as people come within the sphere of your whirlpool the current gets steadier and stronger. Not in an unpleasant or imposing way but in a friendly and helpful way.

By the time they meet you they know quite a bit about you. They know what you believe, what you stand for and what you believe. They have, to some extent, a relationship with you.  They may even have exchanged Facebook messages with you briefly before they have spoken to you.

Then we consider that when there was only Traditional Sales and Marketing we always did our best to empathise with our potential clients – to make our advertising relevant; to make our telemarketing about creating a relationship; to tailor our mailshots and letters to our target audience; to have our salespeople ask questions and listen.

It always was and is about walking in thier shoes and understanding how they they think and feel and what they are likely to want and need. It is just that now we have this amazing thing called the Internet to communicate with our potential customers in words, pictures and videos.

The Christmas Blog Success

Posted by Chris on December 8th, 2009

I just thought that I would have a quick look to see how The Glan was doing for people that searched for Christmas and New Year in Holywell.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=christmas+in+holywell&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=

I am pleased to say that thanks to NikkiP and her team we have good representation in this and related searches with the Glan blog featuring well

Christmas meal in Holywell – Eat Christmas dinner at The Glan!

and also an old Ecademy blog that I did making a reappearance in 2009/10 clothing

http://www.ecademy.com/module.php?mod=list&lid=73858

Nice to see !!

Great to know the system works !!

Posted by Chris on December 6th, 2009

I was up at The Glan Yr Afon Inn last week and the manager, Ian, was telling me that we had some new customers.

They had just moved to the area and had Googled ” Restaurants near Holywell ” to see what was around.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=restaurants+near+holywell&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=lw

I am pleased to say that we come up on the first page for this search a couple of times.Once because of our entry in Google maps and once because my daughter Claire did some SEO work on the Glan website and it comes up top of the natural listings for this term. ( Thanks Claire ).

That’s all you need really isn’t it !!

I was a bit amused by the other restaurants that appeared on the front page : The Springfield Hotel have someone working for them who does a lot of work getting them found on the Internet; McDonalds;Two Indian restaurants;The Little Chef up on the A55; then it goes a bit weird – a chain of restaurants in Ireland ! ; a pub in Somerset; something in London etc etc

I am not complaining – it’s a great position to be in !!

e police take down xmas websites

Posted by Chris on December 4th, 2009

I thought that this official press release from the Met Police and Nominet was interesting !!

http://cms.met.police.uk/news/policy_organisational_news_and_general_information/mps_e_crime_unit_takes_down_scam_websites

Berkshire Hathaway Stock Split coming

Posted by Chris on December 4th, 2009

The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704007804574575481948503664.html

and Harry from Laidlaw & Co.

http://laidlawholdingsplc.wordpress.com/

are saying that Berkshire Hathaway are going to do a stock split later this month.

Could be a safe investment bet ??

Promoting IT Managed Services and Computer Hosting

Posted by Chris on December 3rd, 2009

The news that 365iT recently acquired IT Managed Services and Computer Hosting company 7 global gave us the opportunity to experiment with getting listed on Google NOT for the names of the companies eg 365iT, 7 global and 5i, but for the products and services that they offer.

As we have mentioned before the only people that are going to search on 365iT, 7 global and 5i for news about this acquisition are the people that already know about it ( because they have been told about it in some way and just need a bit more information).

Actually what we want is for people that are searching for terms like ” IT Managed Services Provider ” or ” Computer Hosting Services ” to come across the news that eg there is an IT Managed Services company that has just become a sister company to a unified communications company and could therefore provide a managed hosted unified communications solution as a ” one stop shop “.

This is actually what the potential customer wants ( assuming that this is what they were looking for ) and what the supplier companies involved want aswell ( ie they are looking for potential customers who want a combination of IT managed services, computer hosting and unified communications ). So, this is truly a win-win situation. In addition since Google wants to provide it’s searchers with the most relevant information for thier search it is a win for them aswell.

So, the first thing to understand is that we are not seeking to promote the company names involved in the acquisition but what the acquisition does for the potential clients. This leads to a re-prioritising and re-wording of the Press Releases and other communications  and it assumes that we have already worked out what keywords and phrases we want to promote. 

In this case for example 365iT, 7 global and 5i make way for IT Managed Services, Computer Hosting and Unified Communications. THESE are the things that we want to promote into the search.

The original Press Release

http://www.365itechnology.com/images/content/press_releases/365_iT_plc_acquires_7_Global_Group_Ltd.pdf

is therefore modfied to this Press Release

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/365-it-plc-acquires-it-managed-services-and-computer-hosting-specialist-7-global-group-ltd-127184.php

http://www.prfire.co.uk/press-release/365-it-acquires-it-managed-services-and-computer-hosting-specialist-7-global-group-4212.html

 

where one emphasises the names of the companies and the other emphasises what they do. ( This thinking reminds me of the Feature, Advantage, Benefit sales philosophy – a Feature is like the company name, an Advantage is something that the company can do and a Benefit is something the customer needs and the supplier can provide and will lead to a cost saving or improvement in service ).

I chose a paid ( I paid $20 ) Press Release through 24-7 Press Release.com particularly because it is one that I have had a lot of positive experience with and I know that not only does it rank high but also it lasts some time in this ranking. ( Some Press Release sites posts appear briefly and then disappear ).

24-7 PR is also easy to upgrade so that, for example, you improve the SEO and the analytics as you go. I noted that PRFire was one of the websites that got good rankings when we were investigating boiler room brokers in an earlier post.

So it was a calculated assessment that by using the right PR sites with the right wording we would get appropriate rankings and this has indeed proved to be the case ( at the time of writing ) with the search as follows

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBR_en&q=IT+Managed+services+computer+hosting+&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=

 achieving a top of Page 1 listing and another front page listing

and subsets of this search eg

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBR_en&q=computer+hosting+services&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=

also getting onto Page 1.

It should be noted that this is within hours of the Press Release actually being released ( it was released today ).

As soon as it was released we have supported the PR with comments and posts on eg Facebook and Twitter and links from these sites.

It will of course require further work to maintain these Page 1 listings but ” Objective achieved ” for the moment.

Anderson Munro invests in Internet veneer of respectability

Posted by Chris on December 2nd, 2009

Lets look at how the “boiler room stockbroker”  Anderson Munro achieves a veneer of respectability on the Internet to prospective investors .

If we Google Anderson Munro as follows

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBR_en&q=anderson+munro&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=

we can see that the website comes up at the top followed by the use of various press release sites which promote different investment themes like investing in Verizon, A.T.&T, o2, Intel or car battery manufacturer BYD.

Anderson Munro selects these ” bait ” themes because of thier brand and respectability.

BYD, they will tell you, was invested in by Warren Buffett – which is actually true.

As we know most people only look at the at the first page of Google and mainly at the top few natural listings. So the aim of the person at Anderson Munro who is posting all of these themes on press release sites is to dominate the front page and as many following pages as possible and to get free, natural listings as far as possible.

There are no Adwords posts so this is a possible area for someone else to get on the front page of Google and interrupt Anderson Munro’s false veneer.

This was pointed out as a possibility in the stumbleforward blog here

http://stumbleforward.com/2009/04/09/readers-story-milton-hayward-scam-ripping-off-people/

So, the Anderson Munro internet promotion approach is to set up a website and then surround or support it with Press Releases via Free Press Release sites. These Press Releases will pick up the various themes promoted by Anderson Munro’s cold callers when they call the database of prospects that they have.

The Anderson Munro press releases can also be further promoted through sites like Digg.

This is a simple but effective Internet promotion technique. Promote the name Anderson Munro and then the theme.

Other companies employing a similar approach include

Westernfield Holdings who are discussed here:

http://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16737

http://www.englishforum.ch/finance-banking-taxation/61492-investing-carbon-credits-cold-calls-westernfield-holdings.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090524212659AAhtZaF

http://migger.net/2007/05/31/unicorn-ventures-advarsel/

for example or just Google

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBR_en&q=westernfield+holdings+scam&meta=&aq=0c&oq=westernfield+scam

and also check out

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBR_en&q=macmillan+frasier+scam&meta=&aq=0&oq=macmillan+frasier

and

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1R2ADBR_en&q=milton+hayward+scam&meta=&aq=2&oq=milton+hay

M&A Technology Reviews talks about 365iT

Posted by Chris on December 2nd, 2009

This is an interesting review from Icon Corporate Finance of Q2 M&A activity and mentions 365iT as being on the acquisition trail which it is for selected companies that fit the portfolio, such as the acquisition of 5i earlier this year and the very recent acquisition of 7 global.

http://www.iconcorpfin.co.uk/NewsEvents/M&ATechnologyReviewQ22009.pdf

Unified Communications specialist 5i becomes sister to IT Managed Services company 7 Global

Posted by Chris on December 1st, 2009

The news that 365iT has acquired IT Fully Managed Services company 7 Global this month along with 5i earlier in the year is a Christmas present to all those involved with 365iT, in my opinion!

Since Peter ( Howells ) and I were at Voyager Networks where we had a national IP network to complement our data networking and Internet skills and expertise we have long harboured the desire for 5i to work closely with a forward thinking Managed Services and Hosted Communications provider.

The areas of ICT that 365iT covers include IT operations and management,IT Managed Services, Unified Communications, Business Continuity, Data Backup, IT Security, Virtualisation, Networks, Storage Solutions and Infrastructure Solutions.

These are some of the hottest areas in the ICT world at the moment and for the near future. They encompass other hot sectors like ” Cloud Computing ”  and ” Software as a Service “.

One of the great attractions to 5i of being involved with 365iT and Peter MacLean was his experience of putting together powerful, advanced communications companies. Don’t forget, he is doing this in one of the most difficult economic periods of our lifetime.

Where there’s a will there’s a way and now LMS Capital is also an investor in 365iT.

The story unfolds …….

365 iT plc acquires IT managed services and computer hosting specialist 7 Global.

Posted by Chris on December 1st, 2009

365 iT plc has acquired the IT managed services and computer hosting specialist 7 Global Group Ltd (7global) from LSE Listed ,LMS Capital plc and LMS have taken a 12.5% equity interest in 365 iT.

 

 

7global, based in Liverpool, was originally formed in 1999 and has

developed a portfolio of fully managed IT services specifically aimed at

software vendors and end user organisations that wish to take advantage of Software as a

Service (Saas). The acquisition strategically enhances 365 iT’s capabilities in the fast evolving IT

managed services sector. It also strengthens 365 iT’s business relationships with key global IT

providers which include Microsoft, Cisco and Citrix.

“This acquisition is an excellent fit for 365 iT” said Peter MacLean,

chairman and chief executive. “It strengthens our strategic position

within the IT managed services sector, whilst also extending our product

portfolio, our client base and our geographical presence. The combined

focus of the enlarged 365 iT Group will enable us to further develop our

strategy of rapidly expanding our revenue and market share.”

MacLean concluded; “The Group’s capabilities are further enhanced by

the substantial technical talent and strong customer support attitude

that is prevalent at 7global.”

“We remain positive about 7global’s prospects as a leading Saas

infrastructure provider in the UK. 365 iT is well positioned to accelerate 7global’s growth,

thanks to its scale and complementary service offering. Therefore we are delighted to become

a shareholder in 365 iT in order to share in the profitable growth of the combined business”

said Pieter Hooft, MD UK Investments LMS Capital plc.

“This acquisition is an important development for all our customers and employees” said Chris

Bithell, Managing Director of 7global. “I am personally very excited about the opportunities

the future holds for us and am very confident that 7global will play a major role in the

development of 365 iT.”

 

Notes to the Editor

1. 365 iT plc was founded in 2005 and now employs over 85 people. Through its wholly owned

subsidiaries (365 iTechnology Ltd, 5i Ltd and 7 Global Group Ltd), the Group provides an

extensive range of IT services and solutions that address the nine strategic functional areas in

IT operations and management: IT Managed Services, Unified Communications, Business

Continuity, Data Backup, IT Security, Virtualisation, Networks, Storage Solutions and

Infrastructure Solutions.

2. 7global will continue to operate under its brand and name and will trade as a wholly owned

subsidiary of 365 iT plc. All 7global’s executives and employees will remain with the enlarged

365 iT group. 7global provides a range of support services and IT managed services including

hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM, software and server hosting and Software as a Service (Saas)

delivery from its data centres including its ISO 27001 registered data centre located in the

former bullion vaults of the Bank of England in Liverpool.

3. LMS Capital plc is an international investment company whose shares are listed on the

London Stock Exchange. The investment portfolio comprises investments in both the US and

UK, with a spread of early stage and second round technology investments, development

capital and mature company buy-outs.

 

Enquiries:

Stephen Bean

Marketing-Alliance,

Tel: +44 (0) 7747 100000

www.365iTechnology.com

www.7global.com


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