All Change at Nido: New Services, New Blog, New Website

Over the last few months there has been a lot of changes behind the doors at chateau Nido. With the economic climate having a dramatic affect on purchasing and buyer behavior it became clear that to win business you need to go that extra mile.

There was a frenzy of activity consisting of talking to our clients to find out what exactly they need in order to get themselves in front of the right prospects to close more business. This led to Nido developing a range of new services including:

• Sales & Marketing Audits
• Communications Consultancy & Sales and Marketing Training
• Marketing Database Creation

We are also very happy to announce that Zoe Porteous has joined the team as our Head of Communications. Zoe comes from a proven background in PR, marketing and communications working within a range of industries and will be helping clients to develop PR and marketing strategies and deliver sales and marketing training.

With all these changes taking behind the scene it was time for a new look Nido!

We have launched a new website www.nido-group.co.uk where you can find details of all our new services and the home of the new look Nido Blog.

Let us know what you think about our new site and make sure you subscribe to the new Nido RSS Feed for all our latest news, articles and information from Nido.

www.nido-group.co.uk

Expert Marketing & Sales Support for your business

Award winning B2B business development consultancy Nido Marketing’s next Marketing & Sales Network is focused on how to find the right client. It takes place on 4th November, from 2.30pm at the Lighthouse facility on Kensington Street, Brighton.

This popular event is the fifth Nido has organised which encourages peer to peer learning and support for marketing and sales professionals. The event will consist of a panel of experts including Liz Barnes the Chair of CIM Sussex, Tom Ricca-McCarthy the Managing Director of Suila, Arjo Ghosh the CEO of iCrossing and our very own Tim Misson, Managing Director of Nido. These panellists will share their knowledge on the importance of finding the right client which will then be followed by a question and answer session and facilitated workgroups, ending with informal networking.

The network is a fantastic environment for companies to share experience and learn from each other and industry leaders.

Jacky Misson, Sales Director says: “Finding and securing the right client means long-term relationships, motivated staff, positive growth and greater profitability. If you need to learn how and increase your sales pipeline get yourself to this event.”

The network is just £38.00 (+VAT) to attend, including a glass of wine to celebrate the launch of Nido’s new services. To book your place call Nido on 01273 667979 or email alastair@nidomarketing.co.uk

www.nidomarketing.co.uk

Posted by Nido Markeing at 03:45 0 comments

Latest Updates from Nido TV!!

At out last Nido Marketing & Sales Network in March we were delighted to have Ben Potter from Digital Marketing Agency Leapfrogg giving a talk on tools for online marketing. Our resident film production team of Al Digby (Director) and Tim Misson (Producer) filmed the event and thanks to youtube you can now watch Ben's fantatic talk in 3 parts below.

So grab yourself a cup of tea, sit back, relax and enjoy! (Popcorn is optional)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3




http://www.nidomarketing.co.uk/
info@nidomarketing.co.uk
http://twitter.com/NidoMarketing

We are sponsoring a BAHBA

We are very pleased to announce that Nido Marketing will be sponsoring the “Best Customer Service” award at this year’s annual Brighton and Hove Business awards (BAHBA’s). The awards ceremony takes place on Friday, 9 October 2009 at the Brighton Hilton Metropole and will be attended by the finest business talent Sussex has to offer.

Good customer service is something that we are passionate about at Nido and we recognise that in these tough times having fantastic customer service can really make a difference in helping to retain your clients. Our decision to sponsor this award is a direct reflection of our own values towards this area and we are committed to supporting others that share the same principles.

Nido were lucky enough to win the Best Place to Work at the 2006 BAHBA’s which thrilled the entire team especially Tim and Jacky who had seen the business grow from a spare room in the their flat. We have long been champions of the Brighton business community and feel honoured to be involved in the event which is organised by our friends over at award winning PR agency Midnight Communications.

2009 marks the sixth year for the BAHBAs and it is set to be bigger and better than before with eight new sponsors and sixteen categories. The Awards were officially launched at the Thistle Hotel on Tuesday 16 June at a party that was attended by many of the city’s leading business people including the Mayor, sponsors, judges and last year’s winners and finalists.

New sponsors this year include RedSeven, Kelta HR, Wired Sussex, Veolia Environmental Services, QED, Nido Marketing, Neilson Active Holidays and Absolute Brighton. They join The Argus, University of Brighton, Hilton Brighton Metropole, MDhub, Brighton Primary Care Trust, Royal Mail and Nixon McInnes.

Entering the awards could not be easier. It costs £50 (ex vat) for one entry and £75 (ex vat) to enter as many times as you like. Decide how many times you wish to enter. Address the criteria outlined. And click to pay! You can find more information on entering at http://www.bahbas.org.uk/

We will of course all be attending the ceremony so if you are coming along then come and say hello!

www.nidomarketing.co.uk

Leadership and Management Funding

Leadership and Management Specialist Advisory Service

Receive up to £1000 of funding to help your business grow!

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has been providing Leadership and Management funding to businesses for several years.

The programme has now evolved as a Specialist Advisory Service with new eligibility criteria that opens up the offer to previously ineligible organisations. Now even more employers will have access to funded training that enhances their leadership and management skills and in turn nurtures business growth.


What is the Leadership and Management Programme

The programme, funded by the Learning and Skills Council, is specifically aimed at business owners/managers responsible for the direction of an organisation, including private, franchise, public and voluntary bodies employing between 5 and 249 staff.

Each employer can benefit from up to £1,000 of grant support. The first £500 does not require a contribution from the employer and should be used for key directors. If you want a further subsequent £500 it must be ‘match funded’ by the employer and is available for key members of management.


How to qualify

To be eligible for the programme your organisation must:

- Employ between 5 to 249 people
- Not already have received Leadership & Management funding support (under Train to Gain)
- Must be from an EU country, or have lived in an EU country for the last 3 years

NOTE: Funding was previously unavailable to businesses that had attained the Investor in People standard. Now funding is available irrespective of whether you have the standard or not.


How it works

A Specialist Adviser will carry out a free impartial Individual Needs Analysis and help you develop a Personal Action Plan which clearly identifies your requirements. Together with your Adviser you will agree on the best solutions to meet the development needs you have identified.

When you have undertaken your training you can apply to have the costs reimbursed up to a total of £1000 (including VAT).

For more info contact Clive Bonny clive@consult-smp.com telephone 0208 876 4211 or on his mobile 07973 799153.

Clive designs and delivers programmes for clients onsite to avoid costs of absence and can refer you to a broker for your grant.

http://www.nidomarketing.co.uk/

May News Letter

Welcome to the Nido Marketing May Newsletter

Welcome to the May edition of the Nido Marketing Newsletter. We had some great feedback from our March newsletter so thanks to everyone who responded and we hope you find this edition as enjoyable and informative.

This month Nido's managing director Tim Misson shares his thoughts on engaging your team to build your business, award winning digital marketing agency Leapfrogg talk about how to make your website work harder for you and we bring you details on the forthcoming annual Nido Fun Day in July.

We also bring you all the latest news from Nido HQ and a telemarketing training offer for all of our newsletter readers. Finally we catch up with Dee Blick from the Marketing Gym following the launch of her fantastic debut book, Powerful Marketing on a Shoestring Budget: For Small Businesses.

See you next time!


Employee Engagement

We often get asked how we have created such a unique company and atmosphere at Nido Marketing. Well there’s no secret - actually it’s quite the opposite. We believe our people are our greatest asset and by engaging and empowering them to get involved in all aspects of the business we become stronger and work more effectively as a team. Tim Misson, Nido’s Managing Director reflects on the path we took and the obstacles we overcame to get us where we are today. Read Full Article »


Nido Fun Day

July the 17th sees the return of the increasingly popular charity event the Nido Fun Day! Now in it’s 4th year the event takes place in the serene surroundings of Stanmer Park in Brighton and kicks off at 14:00. With over 50 local businesses invited this year looks set to be the best yet.The event is a great way for local businesses to do some informal networking, have a team-building day out, raise some money for a local charity and of course play games in the glorious sunshine. Event Information »


Is Your Website Working Hard Enough?

Ben Potter from Brighton based digital marketing agency Leapfrogg highlights some key areas to help you win more business from your website. Leapfrogg were recently named by New Media Age as one of the top 20 search agencies in the UK.If you are looking to grow your business the Internet offers a highly targeted, measurable and cost-effective means to do so because you are placing your message in front of a qualified audience. ‘Qualified in the sense they are actively looking for your product or service online through a search engine. Read Full Article »


Nido News

All the latest news from Nido HQ.In April we are happy to announce a promotion for Ollie Wickham and Sarah Esterson returned to the office after being out on maternity leave.We also have details of Frank and Al's efforts to raise some cash for good causes. More Information »


Telemarketing Training Offer

How to find and convert more of your ideal clients

Nido Marketing Workshop, June 1st, 9.45 – 4.30pm

This practical one day workshop will help you to find more of the clients you want and have sales conversations that result in business. Experts from Nido will be sharing advice on how to get in front of the people you want to do business with by:- Profiling your ideal client- Finding a relevant database of these companies- Structuring calls to help you ask for the business

By the end of the day you will know where to source a relevant database of on profile clients and have a tailored call structure to help you make effective sales calls that get results.

Readers of this Nido Newsletter will benefit from a special offer price of £250 + VAT per person for our June 1st Workshop (usual price £350 + VAT).

Please email Jacky for further details mailto:jacky@nidomarketing.co.uk


Dee Blick and Her Best Selling Small Business Book

We have always been advocates of sharing information to help ourselves and others build and develop business acumen. With this in mind a part of our website dubbed the Knowledge Hub includes a section of recommended reads where you will find a range of books we have found extremely useful in business. Chartered Marketer Dee Blick from Horsham based marketing consultancy the Marketing Gym recently released her first book called Powerful Marketing On A Shoestring Budget: For Small Businesses. We caught up with Dee to find out the inspiration behind her book. More Information »


01273 667979
http://www.nidomarketing.co.uk/
info@nidomarketing.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/NidoMarketing

Nido Marketing's Company of the Month - Propellernet

At Nido we like to big up companies who excel in their respective field and draw attention to the wealth of talent that Brighton and Hove boasts. This month we are delighted to feature Brighton based online marketing agency Propellernet.

If you want to find out more about what Propellernet do and how they stand out from the crowd then read their profile www.nidomarketing.co.uk/profile.html to see what makes them different?

If you would like to be featured as a future Nido Marketing company of the month then please contact Alastair Digby: alastair@nidomarketing.co.uk

http://www.nidomarketing.co.uk/

And the Winner is........

Congratulations to Ann Dieckmann, Managing Director of Brighton based medical communications company Facilitate, who was the lucky winner of a Nintendo Wii after taking part in our customer satisfaction survey.

At Nido we like to practice what we preach so back in January we conducted a customer satisfaction survey to gain valuable feedback from our clients on the services we offer. We have learnt from experience that your customers can be instrumental to adapt and improve your service and therefore retention rate.

As part of the survey clients could win a Nintendo Wii if they gave us a testimonial, all the companies that took part were put into a hat and the winner drawn at random by Jacky Misson. Luckily for Ann her name emerged as the winner and you can read her testimonial on our website: http://www.nidomarketing.co.uk/facilitate.html

Thanks to everyone that took part in the survey, your participation is much appreciated by all the Nido Marketing team.

www.nidomarketing.co.uk

March Newsletter

Client Retention & Customer Satisfaction

When times are tough, it is more important than ever that businesses provide the best possible service to their customers to ensure they don’t lose them to competitors. Research has shown that 80% of companies believe they provide a superior client experience but only 8% of their clients agree*.Finding out how our customers feel about us means that not only can we adapt and improve our service and therefore our retention rate, it can also give us the chance to up-sell or cross-sell to a marketing that already knows and trusts us. At Nido we have seen a growing number of companies approaching us to help discover their clients’ perceptions of their service and delivery levels. Finding out weak spots, areas for improvement or what clients really value about them can all help to reduce attrition or defection to competitors. Read Full Article »

Nido Marketing & Sales Network lands in Gatwick

Nido Marketing launched in March 2008 a quarterly learning and networking hub, aimed at sales and marketing professionals. Branded "The Nido Marketing & Sales Network", the purpose is to bring together sales and marketing professionals in an informal and engaging setting so that they can network, share best practice and learn from each other. Previously this event has been held at the fantastic Lighthouse in Brighton but due to popular demand we are launching an event in Gatwick on March the 19th. Event Information »

Train to gain funding available

Did you know that you could qualify for £1000 worth of Train to Gain funding to spend on our Strategic Sales Training? Nido Marketing provides interactive workshops to help you or your team improve your telemarketing and client retention skills. We also provide consultancy and training for those companies looking to set up their own in-house telemarketing teams. More Information »

Line-up Changes at Nido

February saw some changes within the Nido Markeing team, we have gained a new member of the team, lost an old one and are happy to announce a promotion! Following a rigorous interview programme worthy of a Dragon’s Den audition, Nido are delighted to welcome new member Jon Prince to the team. Jon is a family man who brings with him a long and highly successful background in business to business sales, marketing and client liaison and is a fantastic addition to the company. More Information »

And finally

Jacky Misson founding director of Nido Marketing appeared on the hit CBBC show Beat the Boss on Thursday 26th of February. Beat the Boss consists of a team of three children going head-to-head with three top business people to create a new product for the children's market. If you missed the show you can now watch it again on the BBC iPlayer. More Information »

01273 667979
www.nidomarketing.co.uk
http://twitter.com/NidoMarketing

Nido Marketing Sponsor DiMAS Awards

Nido Marketing as part of their continued support of the Brighton Digital Marketing community was proud to be a category sponsor of the first ever Digital Media Awards South or DiMAS.


We sponsored the Digital Collaboration Award, this award is about the motivation and purpose of a collaborative project. What had to be overcome and why was it successful. Specifically hoping to find collaborative projects that may have have broken new boundaries in digital media. The award went to Blast Thoery, so many congratulations to them and all the other nominees.

The event was held at All Saints Church in hove on the 27th November and was attended by the cream of the digital community from the South.

Well done to all the team at Wired Sussex for organising this fantastic event! We all look forward to next year’s awards and the work that will be produce in 2009 that continues to put Brighton on the map as the premier creative hub of the UK.

www.nidomarketing.co.uk

Is this a good time to talk?

We’ve all had the dreaded call from the contact centre, the monotone voice reads through a lengthy script down the phone, disengaging the recipient and ruining any chance of them buying into the idea, in some cases even damaging the brand.

The worst tend to be inflicted on the consumer by loan companies who advertise in the back of The Sun.

“Hello my name is Derek from ABC Finance, part of the Yabber Yadda group of companies regulated by the Financial Services Authority, I’m calling today because you’ve been selected blah blah blah…”

Then about 3 minutes later you finally get the chance to say “no, thanks”.

Ultimately, there has been no attempt to relax the recipient or let them speak, creating immediate barriers and adopting an obvious carpet-bombing approach.

What if you were fork-to-mouth about to take the first bite of your favourite meal? In the middle of a meeting? Rushing to finish before leaving the office? Would you stay and listen to 3 minutes of dour drivel?

Surely it’s more likely that you’d interrupt and get them off the phone ASAP.

One controversial idea is the use of “is this a good time to talk?” Some use this phrase whereas others view it as a loss of the control in the conversation.

5 reasons to apply this:

 

1. It helps establish interest immediately.
2. It aids intelligent conversation rather than reading from scripts.
3. You can get a set time to call back when the prospect is readily available for a conversation on the matter.
4. It is the difference between a cold call and permission marketing.
5. It embraces basic manners.

How to Lose Potential Business and Alienate Yourself

Nido had a chat with Shelley Fagence-Traynor to find out what makes her blood boil when she receives a cold call.

Given Shelley’s company First Time Response answers many calls every day for clients, she’s in a great position to pour scorn on the more abrasive elements in the industry…

As a person who receives sales calls on average 20/30 times a day my feelings are mixed.  This is mainly due to the incompetence of the companies employing the 'wrong representatives' to do the calling. 

I have experienced some wonderful sales calls and have complimented the person on the other end of the phone for their polite approach.  This hits the nail on the head!  If the caller is prepared to be polite, understanding and willing to listen then they have succeeded in getting my attention. 

When they demand to speak to the person in charge and then hang up when the information they are given is not what they wanted to hear, then they fail. 

When it takes a minute to actually hear another voice on the line which is crackly and distorted making them incomprehensible, then they fail. 

When they call politely and befriend, listen and adhere to advice given then they succeed!  I myself have been in the shoes of the sales person calling companies to promote services which gives me an understanding of the reaction from the recipients. Taking notes of names, times and who you spoke to when and about what is a major asset when calling back. 

Makes the follow up much more personal and on a friendly level.  Just what the business asks for.

Shelley Fagence-Traynor is MD at First Time Response in Crawley. She can be contacted on 01293 565520, or info@firsttimeresponse.co.uk

"Robocalls" – The New Evil

First New Labour, then The Lib Dems, and now the US Republicans are using automated calls to shout about their bile-driven policies to consumers.

Robocalls are the new evil, but are they a necessary evil? We don’t think so – blanket calls lacking in interactivity are a great way to irritate your target market.

October has shown a 4% jump in the polls for Labour, but a drop for the Lib Dems suggests that Gordon Brown’s financial clout is the reasoning, rather than a practise that the information commissioner considers to be “direct marketing”.

Tell us your thoughts… aidan@nidomarketing.co.uk

Indians Abandon Call Centres in Droves

Hardly surprising I think you’ll agree, but as this BBC article shows, the Indian call centre market is rapidly losing valuable, educated labour.

In short, the honeymoon is over. Here at Nido we’re almost a free-range pet rescue centre for undervalued telemarketers to work their verbal communications magic, so we know a bit about this.

Brand

On one end of the phone, the customer hears a dull, hazy message delivered with little enthusiasm and ultimately gives the wrong impression of the brand. Bad for customer experience.

Employee Engagement

On the other receiver, the telemarketer is mentally exhausted from reading the same script 200-300 times during the day. With little prospects and poor working conditions, the employee will want to do as little work as humanly possible and go home.

Ethics

Many UK-based outbound call centres don’t pay very well (we’re talking £5ish per hour), subject people to cramped conditions on automatic diallers, and employ job-lots of staff from agencies to keep those pesky little employment laws at bay.

So it’s not difficult to establish why call centres embrace a ‘revolving door’ staff retention culture, and why they are a breeding ground for the worst examples of telemarketing practice.

Coming soon: We’ll be slating the worst cold calls we’ve received at the Nido office. Have you had any howlers recently? Tell us about them - aidan@nidomarketing.co.uk