Marketing Meanders: The Marketing Podcast for Marketers and Small Business Owners

Inside the Mind of a Marketing Student - Part 2 of 3

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 09:06:40 +0000

Join us for the second of a three-part discussion of learning marketing with student Daniel Honey.

This time, we discuss specialisations in marketing, Daniel's interest in pursuing marketing consultancy, the soft skills that need to be developed in a career, and how the COVID pandemic affected Daniel's A-level studies and beyond.

Whether you're a student, educator, or marketing professional, this conversation offers insightful perspectives on the evolving landscape of marketing education. Enjoy...

Inside the Mind of a Marketing Student - Part 1 of 3

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:54:00 +0000

We're back!! We've gone right back to the beginning, what learning marketing is all about. In Part 1 of 3 we are thrilled to speak with Daniel Honey, a marketing student from Oxford Brookes University. Join us as we explore Daniel's journey from studying architecture to finding his passion in marketing. We delve into the importance of practical application in education, the challenges of entering the job market, and the invaluable skills learned through real-world projects. Whether you're a student, educator, or marketing professional, this conversation offers insightful perspectives on the evolving landscape of marketing education.

What are the sift skills of marketing? - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:58:04 +0000

This time on Marketing Meanders, Sally and Sam discuss the soft skills of marketing. What do marketers need to enable them to be successful in the workplace beyond technicla abilities? Well, we've identified five including communication, creativity, interpersonal skills, adaptability, and analytical skills.

See if you agree with us in part one.

Email marketing with Chris Barnett - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 08:03:22 +0000

In part two of our exploration of email marketing with Chris Barnett from 1973 Limited, we delve into the technical aspects of email marketing, focusing on email design, optimisation, and audience engagement. Topics include the effective use of animated GIFs, the importance of editorial planning for newsletters, and the role of dynamic content. The discussion also covers the significance of analytics in understanding email performance and making data-driven decisions. Pick up some practical tips on maintaining newsletter relevance, segmentation, the use of AI in personalisation, and measuring success. You'll also gain some insights on handling mistakes in emails and ensuring consistent, valuable communication with audiences. Have fun listening.

Email Marketing with Chris Barnett - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 09:26:12 +0000

In this two-part episode, Sally, and Sam are joined by Chris Barnett, founder of 1973 Limited, who delivers a tour de force in email marketing. Chris shares his background and the origin story of his company, which he started with his friend Dave Black. Initially focusing on web development, the company gradually shifted to email marketing, earning a strong reputation in the field. Key topics include the importance of data quality, segmentation, and relevancy in email campaigns. Chris emphasises the skills and best practices required for creating effective emails, including considerations for design, deliverability, and user experience. He also discusses the evolving role of email in marketing toolkits and offers insights into the potential of newsletters for building brand trust and engagement.
We hope you enjoy gaining all the valuable insights!

Marketing agencies - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 15 May 2024 09:46:12 +0000

Sally and Sam are back with part two of their discussion of marketing agencies. This time we explore the nature of work agencies can take on, what you need to consider when writing a tender for agencies or a brief, how you can define and measure the success of an agency working relationship, and we give some examples of agencies providing additional value you'd not anticipated...

We're back, and talking about agencies - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 23 Apr 2024 08:14:22 +0000

We're excited to make our return after a lengthy hiatus! We've been busy with various personal and professional commitments over the last few months, but we're back with a dive on the topic of why businesses might choose to work with marketing agencies. In Part One, we'll cover the symptoms for why your business might actually need an agency, such as lack of time, the need for specialised skills, and the desire to scale marketing efforts efficiently. Then we look at the value that marketing agencies bring, such as expertise in specific areas, the potential to save time for the in-house team, and the strategic advantage they can offer. Finally, we start to set out the importance of briefing marketing agencies properly and setting clear expectations for a successful partnership. Enjoy!

The first of a mini-series, with no name...

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:50:12 +0000

It's a pub in a provincial town, 5:55pm. Two middle-aged professional looking types nurse a couple of drinks, small talking about nothing in particular. Suddenly, one of them clicks their finger and stares intently at the other. 'Hang on. I've got a great idea for a business!'

This is the start of a mini series of Marketing Meanders, but it has no name, yet. That's the point really, we are developing a proposition from scratch, and it doesn't need a name yet.

We're working through an example of setting up a business, or a project from start to finish, and from multiple perspectives. We hope it will prove enlightening and provide a host of useful points to consider, whether you're setting up on your own, or needing to review your proposition and whole marketing setup.

We'll be joined on this merry meandering mini series by a host of experts to provide their insights, from market research, brand development, digital marketing, copy-writing and sales. Why not come along for the ride, ask your questions, or even come on and contribute?
Connect with us on LinkedIn to take part:
Sally's LinkedIn
Sam's LinkedIn

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Timestamps

Starting a Business Proposal [00:00:05] Discussion about the importance of starting a business proposal and the plan to cover various aspects of setting up a new business or proposition.

The Wrong Place to Start: Naming the Business [00:01:07] Exploration of why starting with naming a business is the wrong approach and can waste time.

The Importance of the Offer [00:03:21] Emphasis on the need to clearly define the offer to potential customers and focus on what pain point the business proposal will address.

The importance of a clear offer for SEO [00:09:53] The speakers discuss how having a clear offer and uniqueness in your business proposition can improve SEO rankings.

Testing and researching the proposition [00:10:22] They talk about the importance of testing and researching the proposition to ensure it survives scrutiny and market research.

Caring about the business and customers [00:11:43] The speakers emphasize the need for genuine care and passion for the business and customers, as it drives motivation and success.

The beginning of a proposal [00:20:13] Discussion about the importance of starting a proposal and the challenges of having an idea.

Filtering the concept [00:20:37] Exploring the process of filtering the concept, considering simplicity, market fit, customer needs, and competition.

Scaling and long-term goals [00:23:10] Considering the scalability of the proposal, whether it will remain a side hustle or grow into a larger venture.

The importance of starting with a clear proposal [00:28:00] Discussion on why it's essential to begin a business proposal with a clear offer and target audience.

Evaluating the proposal and seeking feedback [00:28:39] Exploration of the need to stand back, seek feedback from potential customers and others, and assess if the proposal holds up to scrutiny.

Avoiding the risk of wasting money on a flawed idea [00:29:11] Highlighting the potential consequences of investing in an idea without thoroughly evaluating it, and the importance of a well-constructed proposal to avoid financial losses.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Working with me will give you a proper understanding of what does and doesn’t need to be done, how you can measure your success and how to get the best return on the effort you put into your marketing. Working with both large organisations and SMEs, I will help you set achievable goals, create a strategy and develop sustainable marketing plans that will show positive returns on your marketing effort.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

I specialise in higher and executive education marketing strategy, and operational and tactical support. Specialisms include LinkedIn lead generation and conversion campaigns, Persona and Proposition development, Content strategy, Webinar, Interview, Podcast and Video creation.

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Breaking free from the trawler net: a lesson from email marketing - Mini Meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 08:40:00 +0000

In this Mini Meander, Sam shares his experience with email marketing and discusses its effectiveness. He recounts receiving a mis-targeted chaser email that had a slightly terse tone, which made him question the negative effects of mass email campaigns on brand reputation. Sam advocates for a more targeted approach, comparing it to networking events where personalisation and value are key. He also discusses the potential benefits and drawbacks of using AI and sophisticated learning algorithms for marketing purposes. Sam invites listeners to share their thoughts and experiences with targeted marketing campaigns and business development strategies. The episode concludes with a preview of the upcoming mini-series on proposition development and starting a new business.

Timestamps

The Problem with Mass Email Campaigns [00:02:08]
The Importance of Targeted Marketing [00:05:42]
Diminishing Returns of Mass Email Campaigns [00:07:52]
The importance of providing value and being transparent [00:08:48]
The challenges of targeting the right audience [00:09:58]
The impact of approach and tone in marketing [00:11:02]

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Watch your tone of voice - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 08:00:00 +0000

We dive into part two of our discussion on tone of voice. This time we explore the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on tone of voice, emphasising the need for clear instructions to ensure desired outcomes. Sally shares her experience as a former marketing director, focussing on the importance of tailoring messaging to maintain a strong relationship with the audience.

Timestamps

AI and Tone of Voice [00:00:59]
Monitoring Audience Tone of Voice [00:05:19]

Customer Tone of Voice and Referrals [00:08:30]
The importance of audience and brand identity [00:09:26]

The impact of brand refresh on tone of voice [00:10:17]

The evolution of tone of voice in newspapers [00:15:44]

Teachers' tone of voice [00:19:30]

Company's tone of voice [00:20:57]

Challenging conventions in tone of voice [00:26:35]

The importance of tone of voice in energy company marketing [00:28:17]

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Watch your tone of voice - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 14 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Sally and Sam discuss the importance of tone of voice in branding and marketing. They emphasise the need for a consistent and appropriate tone of voice that resonates with the target audience. They share their experiences and challenges in finding the right tone of voice, especially when marketing to different segments. They also discuss the impact of tone of voice on various communication channels and the importance of maintaining authenticity.

The importance of tone of voice [00:00:13]

Appropriate tone of voice for target audience [00:01:25]

Challenges of finding and maintaining a consistent tone of voice [00:04:55]

The Importance of Tone of Voice [00:08:58]
The Example of Burberry [00:09:14]
Challenges of Maintaining a Consistent Tone of Voice [00:10:08]

The importance of matching tone of voice with the target audience [00:18:15]

Breaking the tone of voice occasionally [00:19:07]
Having different tones of voice for different platforms [00:21:48]
The importance of testing, learning, and monitoring [00:26:14]

Balancing factual content and brand personality [00:27:00]
Different tones of voice for different products [00:27:57]

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Over-egging the marketing pudding - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 16:19:04 +0000

This time, Sally and Sam discuss the impact of AI on copywriting and the need for marketers to upskill themselves beyond their specialism.
They also stress the importance of communication, collaboration, and a generalist understanding of all aspects of marketing. They explore the need for balance and experimentation in marketing, while also being mindful of the resources and time available. So, perhaps marketers need to take a deep breath, evaluate their strategies, and make adjustments as needed to achieve success.

AI in Copywriting [00:00:24]

Marketing Generalist [00:02:06]

Alignment between Sales and Marketing [00:05:36]

The Importance of Open Culture [00:09:37]

Managing Feedback [00:08:12] Tips on how to manage feedback from different departments and how to filter and prioritize them.

Balancing Specialism and Generalist Understanding [00:07:06]

Over-egging the pudding [00:14:11]

Importance of analytics [00:17:20]
Trying something new [00:19:34]

Take stock of your marketing [00:23:35]

Exploring old marketing techniques [00:22:00]

Challenges of digital communication [00:20:14]

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Over-egging the marketing pudding - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 23 May 2023 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Sally and Sam discuss the importance of having a clear marketing strategy and aligning new ideas with it. They caution against overloading the marketing plan with too many new ideas and suggest going back to the overarching strategy to ensure that new ideas align with it. Have you thought of balancing your approach to innovation, and involving other departments in the decision-making process? Are you evaluating the return on investment of time and resources spent on various marketing activities and ensuring that you align with the overall marketing strategy?

Overloading marketing strategy [00:01:53]

Aligning with sales [00:06:30]

The importance of aligning new marketing ideas with overall strategy [00:07:10]

The need to engage customers and keep them on site [00:10:02]

The importance of being formalized as things get more complex [00:12:59]

Transition to digital marketing [00:13:39]

Learning new skills [00:15:17]

Intellectual property strategy [00:19:42]
Taking Stock of Marketing Processes [00:21:07]

Opportunity to Try New Marketing Ideas [00:20:14]

Importance of Having the Right Balance of Ingredients [00:22:40]

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Pathways into Marketing: The Student Experience - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 02 May 2023 01:00:00 +0000

This week, Sally and Sam conclude their discussion with Lynn McBain, a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University as they continue to discuss the student marketing experience. Listen to find out more about how students and businesses alike can benefit from university marketing courses.

(0:28) Live-client exercises
(3:55) Student placements
(10:32) Student feedback
(12:38) AI and Marketing

Connect with Lynn McBain on LinkedIn

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Pathways into Marketing: The Student Experience - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 01:00:00 +0000

This week, Sally and Sam are joined by Lynn McBain, a lecturer at Oxford Brookes University to discuss Marketing and the student experience. Listen to find out more about how students and businesses alike can benefit from university marketing courses.

(0:42) Student expectations of marketing
(6:08) The generalist marketer in modern marketing
(15:27) Dealing with deadlines
(18:41) Learning skills for the workplace

Connect with Lynn McBain on LinkedIn

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Tips for Successful Paid-For LinkedIn Campaigns - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 01:00:00 +0000

This week, Sally and Sam conclude their discussion on LinkedIn and it's uses as a marketing platform with paid campaigns. Join this meander as Sally continues asking the questions that we all have about LinkedIn and listen on for Sam's top tips for running paid LinkedIn campaigns.

(0:20) The issue with relying solely on LinkedIn campaigns
(3:36) Sam's top LinkedIn advice
(9:40) Consistency within campaigns
(15:36) Campaign calibration

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Tips for Successful Paid-For LinkedIn Campaigns - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 01:00:00 +0000

This week, Sally and Sam discuss LinkedIn campaigns, how to get the most out of them and confront the common concerns that businesses may have when using them for the first time.

(1:44) Is LinkedIn advertising difficult?
(8:05) Using your CRM with LinkedIn campaigns
(9:57) Targeting your audience
(12:29) LinkedIn Campaigns for Smaller B2B
(18:02) The importance of LinkedIn groups

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Micro-Segmentation and Granularity within Marketing - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In part two of their discussion on Micro-Segmentation and Granularity, Sally and Sam discuss the difficulty of personalizing a brand for a large customer base, and the importance of alignment within businesses to facilitate customer segmentation.

(1:19) Segmenting Large Customer Bases
(5:55) Alignment and Internal Insight
(9:22) Brand Establishment
(12:40) Identifying Micro-Segments
(17:53) Using Data to Drive Segmentation

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Micro-Segmentation and Granularity within Marketing - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode of Marketing Meanders, Sally and Sam discuss how to move from segmented messages to personalization and micro-segmentation, with considerations for data privacy, customer data and website infrastructure, as well as discussions on the importance of evaluating the return on investment when segmenting customer lists.

(1:40) Improving Personalisation and Micro-segmentation
(3:51) Why you need to further segment your target audience
(10:15) The impact of micro-segmentation on ROI
(13:34) Considerations of Segmentation

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Imperfect Marketing Campaigns - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Birkett and Sally Green delve into eight common reasons why many marketing campaigns fail. The two also discuss how to identify when a campaign is not going to be successful and the measures that can be taken to make changes to turn it around.

(0:15) Looking at the Bigger Picture
(4:16) Understanding the Customer Journey
(8:52) Marketing Metrics and Gauging Performance
(13:59) Standing Out In Imperfect Circumstances
(17:26) The Importance of Inter-departmental Alignment
(22:14) Positioning and Re-Positioning

Articles discussed in this episode:
8 Common Reasons Why Marketing Campaigns Fail - Forbes

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Imperfect Marketing Campaigns - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 01:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Sally and Sam discuss the concept of imperfect marketing campaigns, exploring how to turn a potential catastrophe into a successful campaign and the importance of setting up a good system for dealing with potential issues.

(0:44) - Understanding where imperfections arise
(8:58) - Imperfections in Modern Marketing
(14:31) - Budgeting and its Effect on Imperfect Marketing
(16:55) - Agile Marketing and Learning from Experience
(20:43) - Communication and Debriefing

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Stakeholder Management

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 01:00:00 +0000

This week, Sally and Sam explore how you can identify and manage stakeholders, from managing expectations to achieving goals that are targeted to stakeholders at every level.

(0:05) What is Stakeholder Management?
(7:15) Managing Stakeholder Expectations
(9:39) The Importance of Listening
(17:10) Communication and Alignment

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Acceptance of Failure - Mini Meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 01:00:00 +0000

We are all faced with the risk of failure, however through manageable goals and an understanding that failure does not necessarily mean disaster, can we avoid unnecessary distress? This week, join Sam for a Mini Meander exploring the importance of acceptance in the face of failure.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

How Marketers Can Use Podcasts - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 01:00:00 +0000

How and why should you consider creating a podcast? This week, Sally and Sam are joined by podcast producer and founder of Story Ninety-Four, Matt Eastland Jones to discuss the power of podcasting and the benefits that podcasting can have for your business.

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation about Podcasting with Matt Eastland-Jones

(0:18) Can you do podcasting cheaply?
(3:30) Building confidence in podcasting
(9:47) The increase in podcast popularity
(12:57) Advertising through podcasts
(23:17) Matt's top podcasting tips

Connect with Matt Eastland-Jones on LinkedIn
Find out more about Story Ninety-Four

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Marketing into the New Year

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 01:00:00 +0000

With the new year quickly approaching, how can you make the best use of this time to finish up your campaigns for this year and prepare for the next? This week Sally and Sam explore marketing at the year-end and how marketers can get the most out of the holiday season.

(01:13) - Making the most of the end of the year
(08:00) - Planning for the holiday season
(16:12) - Working with your finance team to maximise your budget
(27:58) - Taking the time to look inward
(35:43) - How to improve your client outreach this holiday season

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

How Marketers Can Use Podcasts - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of our conversation about Podcasting with Matt Eastland-Jones

(2:08) Why podcasting?
(7:21) What service do Story Ninety-Four offer?
(12:50) The difference between a good podcast and a bad podcast.
(17:16) Identifying success for your podcast

Connect with Matt Eastland-Jones on LinkedIn
Find out more about Story Ninety-Four

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Marketing as a Team and Learning from Mistakes (Centenary Episode - Part 2)

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 01:00:00 +0000

In part two of the centenary edition of Marketing Meanders, join Sally and Sam as they look back at their past meanders before looking forward to the future.

(00:27) Recruiting a diverse team.
(5:33) Choosing the CRM that's right for you.
(7:30) Gaining insight and solutions from marketers at all levels.
(14:05) Learning from marketing mistakes.
(23:09) Meandering towards the next 100 episodes.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Managing Marketing Budget Cuts and Defining Value (Centenary Episode - Part 1)

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000

In part one of the centenary edition of Marketing Meanders, join Sally and Sam as they look back at their past meanders before looking forward to the future.

(0:23) The humble beginnings of Marketing Meanders.
(9:35) Defining "value" for your business.
(13:51) How marketing has changed over the years.
(19:26) The unexpected benefit of marketing budget cuts.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Aligning, Transforming, and Growing your business with Konnect - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation on how communication can align your business.

Is your business misaligned? How can you identify the problem and ensure your business does not follow a silo mentality? This week, Sally and Sam, along with guests Nick Hughes and Andrew Hancock discuss how to align your departments to enhance your reach and provide the best possible customer experience.

(00:06) What’s the most important thing you can do to improve your business?

(04:57) Why you have to be honest with your business

(09:18) How much does an open-door policy work?

(13:54) What is the understanding of collaboration? What does it mean?

(19:58) The importance of having a common understanding of how the team works

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Aligning, Transforming, and Growing your business with Konnect - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of our conversation on how communication can align your business.

Is your business misaligned? How can you identify the problem and ensure your business does not follow a silo mentality? This week, Sally and Sam, along with guests Nick Hughes and Andrew Hancock discuss how to align your departments to enhance your reach and provide the best possible customer experience.

(00:05) Welcome to the show and Introduction
(05:54) The business cultural change that’s been going on for many years
(11:47) The importance of alignment from the top to the bottom
(16:26) What happens if you’re not aligned behind a purpose?
(21:28) The importance of getting feedback from all levels of the business

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Customer personas and buying behaviour - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 01:00:00 +0000

To be successful in marketing, it is essential that a company has a clear understanding of who its customers are. This is done through the use of customer personas, which are representations of an individual customer and their needs. Customer personas also predict how a customer might react to specific marketing campaigns. However, creating personas can be challenging, and often businesses forget to implement their customer personas in their marketing strategy after creating them.

Meanwhile, buyer behaviour is the process by which consumers make purchasing decisions. Understanding how a customer behaves when they are going through the buying process is one of the keys to increasing the success of your marketing campaign.

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation about customer personas and buyer behaviour.

In this episode, Sally and Sam discuss customer personas, what to do when your customer personas change, and the importance of getting a return on your investment when creating personas.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Customer personas and buying behaviour - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of our conversation about customer personas and buyer behaviour.

In this episode, Sally and Sam discuss building customer personas, the challenges of customer personas and mistakes marketers often make when using them.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Do You Need to Host or Attend Conferences? - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 01:00:00 +0000

After a lengthy two-year drought of physical conferences, they're back with a bang in 2022. But are they essential for your business and marketing?

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation about conferences. In this episode, Sally and Sam discuss conference collateral, do you need merchandise on your stand, and how you get people's attention.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

Do You Need to Host or Attend Conferences? - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 01:00:00 +0000

After a lengthy two-year drought of physical conferences, they're back with a bang in 2022. But are they essential for your business and marketing?

In this episode, Sally and Sam discuss how conferences should fit in with the rest of your marketing strategy, why it's essential to negotiate conference rates, and why you should always aim to create a welcoming shop window.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

Video Production in 2022 with David Camburn - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation about video production with David Camburn, creative director of Swanwood Productions, a video and content production company based in Henley On Thames, Oxfordshire.

Video is widely accepted as being one of the most powerful tools available to marketers to promote products and services. So why do so many businesses not utilise it? Is it too daunting? Too hard? Too expensive?

In this episode, we chat to David about the importance of video, how to overcome the fear of being filmed, why authenticity is key, and how the pandemic changed video production.

Connect with David and learn more about Swanwood Productions - swanwoodproductions.com

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

Video Production in 2022 with David Camburn - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of our conversation about video production with David Camburn, creative director of Swanwood Productions, a video and content production company based in Henley On Thames, Oxfordshire.

Video is widely accepted as being one of the most powerful tools available to marketers to promote products and services. So why do so many businesses not utililse it? Is it too daunting? Too hard? Too expensive?

In this episode we chat to David about the importance of video, how to overcome the fear of being filmed, why authenticity is key, and how the pandemic changed video production.

Connect with David and learn more about Swanwood Productions - swanwoodproductions.com

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

What does it mean to be Authentic? - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Authenticity - one of the most overused buzzwords in marketing. But what does it mean to be Authentic and can we measure it?

In Part 2 of this conversastion, Sally and Sam continue to defining the meaning of the word "authentic".

How does authenticity translate behind the scenes?
How do you measure authenticity?
How important is trust in authenticity?

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

What does it mean to be Authentic? - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 31 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Authenticity - one of the most overused buzzwords in marketing. But what does it mean to be Authentic and can we measure it?

In this episode of Marketing Meanders, Sally and Sam undertake the difficult task of defining the meaning of the word "authentic".

Does authenticity mean being true to yourself, your brand, or your customer?
How far does authenticity go within your organisation?
How important is trust and relationships?

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

The Power of Brands with Andrew Hancock - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 17 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 2 of our conversation about branding with Andrew Hancock, founder of Brand Ayslum a creative branding agency based in Oxfordshire.

Connect with Andrew and learn more about Brand Asylum - brandasylum.co.uk

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

The Power of Brands with Andrew Hancock - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 03 May 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 1 of our conversation about branding with Andrew Hancock, founder of Brand Asylum a creative branding agency based in Oxfordshire. We chat about the importance of creating a stong brand based on values, why a brand is so much more than a logo, and why we align with the brands that we like. Andrew also shares with us his mantra - KISS, which stands for Keep it Simple, Stupid when developing brands.

"The best suff works, when it's the simplest and purest" - Andrew Hancock

Connect with Andrew and learn more about Brand Asylum - brandasylum.co.uk

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

Podcasting as a Marketing Tool - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Part 2 of our Podcast on Podcasting. In the first part of this conversation we discussed why have podcasts become so popular, how can they help us as marketers, and what makes podcasts so unique and compelling? In Part 2 we covered:

The difference between video and podcasting
Who can benefit from a podcast
Overcoming the fear of failure

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

Podcasting as a Marketing Tool - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 07:22:38 +0000

In 2021, Brits consumed almost 60 million hours a week of Podcasts. This was a 50% increase since 2020, and a whopping 1600% increase since 2015. But what has accelerated this interest? In this meta episode, we talk all things podcasting!

Why have podcasts become so popular?
How can they help us as marketers?
What makes it a unique and compelling form of communication?
Who can start a Podcast, and why should you?

Have a listen to help answer some of these many questions! Stay tuned for Part 2 of the conversation which will be published on the 19th of April.

As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences so please share!
Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Connect with Sally
Connect with Sam

Should we aim for Perfection or Good Enough?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 10:25:29 +0000

Does perfection exist? We don't think so, and certainly not in marketing, but where are your marketing efforts between perfect and good enough? Does it matter how many times you've edited a social media campaign or blog? How much time should you spend on that infographic to look just right?

Does your approach to how thoroughly a campaign is researched and drafted depend on the audience and the overall purpose of the work?

Have a listen to help answer some of these many questions!

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Reflections on 2021 - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 09:14:22 +0000

In this episode we continue our reflections from last year and look ahead to ways we can improve in 2022. In particular, we discuss flexibility in the marketing team, how you need to put in place contingencies for absences and sudden changes in direction. What are the processes and technical systems which support contingency planning, and what the human elements? How do automatic fog lights in cars relate to marketing? Plus, have you been joined by anyone new to the workplace, starting their career since 2020, what 'normal' have they experienced, and can we learn from this?

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Reflections on 2021 - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 18:25:48 +0000

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Sally and Sam. In our two part episode we provide our reflections and

lessons learnt from 2021. What have we learnt from a year of more COVID pandemic,

the Great Resignation, new technologies and much more.

So, settle down in a cosy corner and have a listen to our meander through the year.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

How to spark Creativity as a Marketer - Mini Meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:39:35 +0000

Do you sometimes struggle to 'switch on' your creativity? As marketers, most of us need to be creative quite a lot of the time, whether in planning, writing, briefing, presenting or coming up with data visualisations. However, it can be a challenge to slip into a 'creative mode' in your head. In this mini meander, I share something that has helped me add more of a creative spark as a freelancer. I'd love to hear what others think, the techniques you use to be creative, and whether you can test some new ways of working to make your creativity flow more effectively.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Balancing Style and Substance in Marketing - Mini Meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 18:06:38 +0000

Can you strike the right balance of style and substance in your marketing?

When you create a sequence of communications to an audience are you clear on how you hope they will consume the material? Particularly with products, services and research which are more complex, are you revealing enough, or too little in terms of the messaging you are trying to get across? Perhaps there are some good examples of others who get this balance right most of the time, what can we learn from them?

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Writing Marketing Copy for Humans - Part 2

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 12:56:36 +0000

We welcome back Hilary Nightingale from Carbon Copy Social for part two of our discussion, Writing for Humans. This time we tackle the questions:

Where do you start when commissioning a website homepage?

Keywords, how do you use them, where do they go, why are they still important?

Why is accessibility important in marketing, and how can it bring down all your hard work?

Why write certain types of content, how do you write content that provides value to other humans?

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so please share! Tweet us at @meanderspod, message us on Facebook, or email meanderspod@gmail.com

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.

Writing Marketing Copy for Humans - Part 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 15:02:58 +0000

We were delighted to be joined by Hilary Nightingale from Carbon Copy Social to discuss the art of writing marketing copy for humans beings first and algorithms second! It was a truly fascinating discussion which meandered around compelling writing and user journeys, answering questions such as:

Where do you start when writing engaging content? Has this changed in recent times? How can you best connect with your audience by being yourself?

How do you focus on writing for your audience whilst allowing search engines to find? When consume a marketing message, what sparks the brain to respond in the same way as seeing a lethal threat?

As ever, we'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Back to basics - Part two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 08:53:52 +0000

In our second foray into getting back to basics we look at avoiding vanity projects, adapting your basic marketing according to the current environment your audiences are living through, and learning the lessons of which marketing approaches actually work, and why.

There's also a little bit about beard oil.

Keep an eye out for our birthday special as Marketing Meanders celebrates a whole year with you lovely people!

As ever, we'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Back to basics!

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 10:42:42 +0000

Well, it's been a long summer, and we have been very busy either working hard, or playing hard, hence the lack of episodes! We apologise for this absence and decided to make it up to our dear listeners by providing you with a two-parter on getting back to basics in marketing.

This week we discuss what the basics of marketing planning are, and where we should be focussing after a period of upheaval. How you can we put in place the right mindset to learn lessons quickly and act on them. When should we spend budget and measure our return?

We will also be following up with fresh content around the importance of marketing to human beings, lessons learnt from the pandemic, looking after yourself and your team, and much more.

As ever, we'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'On brand' - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 14:29:57 +0000

It's part two of our conversation on branding. This week we discuss thinking of brand as a person, why we shouldn't over complicate our brand and how can subverting a brand help with a campaign?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

'On brand' - Part one

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 13 Jul 2021 08:49:02 +0000

This week we are looking at brand and branding. What is a brand? Who owns the brand? How is brand manifested, and can you control it? Listen to these questions and many more in part one!

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can we align Sales and Marketing Teams? With special guest Nick Hughes - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:27:47 +0000

We pick up the conversation about Sales and Marketing teams with Nick Hughes, Director of Dynamic Coach Group.

This time we discuss whether marketing and sales teams can complete the feedback loop to help each other delivery on the joint strategy? Nick also explores the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni, and we ask whether sales and marketing will morph into one some time soon?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Can we align Sales and Marketing Teams? With special guest Nick Hughes - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 09:21:03 +0000

This week we were delighted to talk with Nick Hughes, Director of Dynamic Coach Group. Nick has a wide range of experience in the sales arena, and through his current businesses he is intimately involved with helping people and processes to improve, delivering better performance.

We explored the evergreen topic of the relationship between marketing and sales with Nick.

Do marketing and sales teams operate on different timelines, what problems can this create?
How aligned are sales and marketing goals?
Can marketing and sales team work in an agile way, can their customers?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Culture influences practice or practice influences culture? Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 10:23:50 +0000

After a long half term break, Marketing Meanders returns with part two of our practice and culture conversation. This time we explore these questions and more besides:

How can you stop a practice that is influencing your culture in a negative way?

Can dysfunctional practices thrive in a positive organisational culture, are there warning signs?

How do training and systems support good practice and free you up to sustain a positive culture?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Culture influences practice or practice influences culture?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 28 May 2021 12:59:12 +0000

Do you know if your marketing practice is being shaped by the culture of your company, and team, is this a problem? Are you developing a culture or sub-culture from the way you operate? Can one change the other and vice versa? See what we have to say about this, and let us know what you think too!

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Do you help people as a marketer? Mini Meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 21 May 2021 07:04:55 +0000

If you had to describe what marketing is in a just a few words what would they be? Would one of them be 'help'? Perhaps as we pursue our campaigns, relentlessly driving greater efficiencies, achieving greater ROI, engagement and conversion; we should focus on helping our audiences. Have a listen and see if you agree...

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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How much marketing training do you need?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:09:43 +0000

Many marketers don't train as marketers when they set out. Most of us complete formal degrees in a multiplicity of fields, it is only after we become marketers that we spend time, and money on specific training. Diplomas, Masters, specialist training courses, online education and executive education all provide options for us to enhance our abilities and skill base. However, how much training do you feel you need at each stage of your career? How does this differ on the career path you take? Is there a minimum level of training that is essential to compete for marketing roles?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Can we learn more from failure? Mini Meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 14 May 2021 14:49:37 +0000

Should you spend a little more time analysing and sharing your failures, as much as your successes? We all know that we learn through 'failing', but how deep do you, or your team go to examine why something failed, or is failing? Adopting and embedding more widely a culture of examining failure in a constructive way is perhaps something to consider?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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What impedes your lead conversion? Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 05 May 2021 10:38:01 +0000

In part two of this episode we tackle questions like:

What are the similarities between lead nurture and networking?

How much can you know about leads in your audience who are outside of your conversion funnel?

What are the benefits to getting everyone round the table to recreate a highly simplified model of your lead conversion process?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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What impedes your lead conversion? Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 11:40:51 +0000

What are the main elements that make up your lead conversion? We tackle the four elements we think are the most important, People, Processes, Systems and Trust. We examine the ways in which these elements interact, and how each can impede your lead conversion strategies.

Small competition - count the number of analogies that we bring into this conversation. Ever lasting glory to the winner!

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Do you speculate to accumulate with your time?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 06:30:33 +0000

If you could have more time or more budget which would it be? Why do we struggle to ever have enough time to carry out our work and how can we find more time? What difference can this make to our marketing activities?

Sam shares a few thoughts on this in our Mini Meander. His poll worked out at 77% to 23% by the way, have a listen to find out what this means!

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Fancy making a video? - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 10:07:28 +0000

It's part two of videos!

This time we touch on neuro marketing and the calls to action we can use in your videos after we have provoked certain emotions in media. Should you follow the crowd with your video or be different, and how can you be?

How is media creation the very frontier of the art and the science of marketing?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Fancy making a video? - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 12:46:13 +0000

We're back after a little Easter break!

This time it's videos. Why do we use videos? Why don't we use videos? How do we plan creating them? How can they be edited and what are the skills of the editor? Do we understand how and where to use them? Do we know the format to use? What is the shelf life of our video?

So many questions, that's why this is another two parter, and we're going to interview a video production expert in the weeks ahead, so watch this space.

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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When will the end come? Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:51:02 +0000

We continue the conversation about when marketing strategies and campaigns end, how you can plan their lifecycles and how do you learn from these cycles? Specifically in part two we consider

Knowing your sales cycle, product and audience
Understanding your conversion funnels
When to stop testing and implement lessons learnt
Should you follow a process in your marketing like this - end point, review, decision making?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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When will the end come?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 12:20:25 +0000

Do you start more than you stop your marketing campaigns and strategy? When does marketing strategy end? Have you defined measurable intervals and review points, or in constant evolution? How organic should your strategy be?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Mini Meander - Being original in an age of noise

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 09:00:55 +0000

How can you be original in your campaigns, is it as important as we think to help 'cut through' to our audiences?

Where do we need to focus our efforts in order to stand out in our campaigns? Where does testing come into this, and knowing your audience?

We'd love to hear your experiences and thoughts on this one, so please share Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Marketing Skills : The next generation - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 16:23:23 +0000

We continue the exploration of marketing skills required by the next generation of marketers with Dave Heywood from Bovill and OX7 Partners. This time we focus on the skills you ask for, and look for at interview, the responsibility of managers to help nurture new skills in their teams and playing the long game with skills.

If you'd like to join the conversation you can find us on Twitter @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Marketing Skills : The next generation - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 10:38:19 +0000

We are joined once again by the splendid Dave Heywood from Bovill and OX7 Partners, to discuss the skills new marketers need.

What are the most important skills for new marketers to develop?

Where do they acquire these skills, from training or on the job?

Has the advent of ever improved marketing technology changed the skills required or marketers?

Is the generalist marketer skill set dead?

Are you a marketing leader who is recruiting new people, are you someone joining the marketing profession? Let us know what you think about marketing skills... Tweet us at @meanderspod message us on Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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It depends...Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 15:04:38 +0000

We continue the discussion around 'it depends' in so many aspects of marketing. In particular we consider:

Do your reports give you meaningful insights?

Are your marketing campaigns really performing how you need it to?

Is something that worked really well for someone else, bound to work for you?

Have a listen to part one here.

Let us know what you think contact us @meanderspod on Twitter and Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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It depends...Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 15:22:10 +0000

Do you ever get pieces of advice from marketing articles and videos telling you to 'do this and watch the success roll in'? Are there times when you apply a model for achieving your marketing goals but it doesn't seem to work out the way it's supposed to? Have you often entertained the idea of trying out a new strategy but your resources don't meet ambitions?

This episode is all about, perhaps an unsatisfactory saying, 'it depends'. When we are looking for advice and ideas for our marketing work we like to have definitive answers, but as we address in this podcast episode, we really need to accept that all the things we try depend on your context, resources and many other factors.

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Are you a cost or benefit personality type? - Mini meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 10:13:12 +0000

In this Mini Meander Sam considers the two types of people you come across when considering the cost benefit analysis of launching an idea. The 'cost' people perhaps put up too many hurdles to actually getting their vision in action, whilst the 'benefit' people perhaps charge in too quickly and risk making more mistakes.

How can having a plan help to unite these two personality types, and help bring a great idea to fruition? Have a listen and see if you can diagnose yourself into one of these two types, and let us know if you think this makes sense. Contact us @meanderspod on Twitter and Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Sales + Marketing = a match made in heaven? - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 15:14:37 +0000

In part two of our discussion into the relationship between sales teams and marketing teams Dave tells a true story of a trade show nightmare which demonstrates the damage that be caused when this crucial relationship isn't working well.

We also explore the incremental, everyday ways to work at optimising the sales and marketing team relationship, and examine what role leadership plays in harmonising the relationship.

You can find part one here, and we'd love to hear any of your stories about times when relationships weren't firing on all cylinders, and more importantly remedies you know of to improve the situation. Contact us @meanderspod on Twitter and Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Sales + Marketing = a match made in heaven?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 16:04:56 +0000

The relationships between sales and marketing teams can be rather turbulent at times, they can also be pretty well functioning. However, as a sales person, or a marketing person, you've probably experienced at least some tension between these disciplines in the past, but why? We try to uncover why issues can flare up, what are the barriers that can lead to dysfunctional relationships, and most importantly what can be done to help teams all row in the same direction?

We're joined in this two part discussion by, now regular, contributor Dave Heywood from Bovill and OX7 Partners. See if you can identify with any of our stories and tell us what you think. @meanderspod on Twitter and Facebook or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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CONTENT! What is it good for? - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 09:36:54 +0000

The content conversation continues! This time we move into the areas of achieving the content nirvana of user generated content, when you should curate content, and what sort of content should you curate? Are there secrets to making your content relevant and how can you find multiple uses for your content?

For the full discussion you can listen to part one here.

Do you agree with our thinking on content, disagree? Let us know, Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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CONTENT! What is it good for?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 25 Feb 2021 10:13:59 +0000

We're all told to create content, especially in B2B marketing, but why do we create? Do we know who it is for, what its purpose is, where we're going to use it, how we're going to monitor its performance?

Have a listen to some practical examples and ideas to help you get more out of your content.

Let us know what you think, Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Measuring the three dimensions of Marketing Success - Mini Meander

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 10:17:10 +0000

How do you typically measure success in your marketing campaigns and overall strategy? Do you measure by tactical metrics alone? Perhaps there is more than one dimension to measuring success that will help to align all your activities?

Have a listen to this mini meander and let us know what you think, Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Marketing as an entrepreneur with Mike Foster - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 13:11:53 +0000

In Part Two of our conversation with Mike Foster, from The Entrepreneurs Mentor, we address the questions: How much should you do things yourself? How do you attract the customers you want and ensure your proposition is consistent? How do you define success in your marketing as an entrepreneur when you have few reference points? How many new businesses survive the first few years, and what are some of the ways you should look after yourself when pursuing success?

Listen to part one, and let us know what you think, Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Marketing as an entrepreneur with Mike Foster - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 10:00:00 +0000

We were delighted to be joined by Mike Foster, from The Entrepreneurs Mentor, to discuss marketing within entrepreneurship. Mike has a broad and rich background of experiences across entrepreneurship matters, and he helps entrepreneurs and business owners develop their plans, and grow their businesses with sound advice, which we were fortunate to access in this two part podcast.

We focussed on why does marketing matter to start ups? What are some of the practical ways to start your marketing approach as an entrepreneur, the timings, priorities and planning? Who should you bring on board with marketing? How do you establish and build your brand? What are things you absolutely should, and absolutely shouldn't do when starting out? Plus much more.

We hope you enjoy the episodes. Please let us know what you think, tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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Building a marketing team and gaining buy in from others - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:55:17 +0000

We continue our conversation about ways to gain buy in from other teams, covering: Why it's so important to establish a healthy working relationship with the finance team. Ways to harmonise the metrics of success in the organisation. Developing an internal marketing plan and being empathetic to other teams and how can Captain Subtext help you?

Please let us know if you plan to try out any of these suggestions, we'd love to hear how it goes!

Listen to episode one, and please let us know what you think about this subject, Tweet us or email.

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Building a marketing team and gaining buy-in from others - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 11:04:37 +0000

Firstly, what is buy in, why is it important when building a team? Does it help to see your internal teams as a marketing audience? What are some of the ways to make your marketing work relevant to others? How do you build alliances to deliver on your strategy? What are the practicalities of establishing a two-way communication between your team and you, you team and the organisation? How do the most effective managers 'clear a path' for their teams?

We discuss how you, as the marketing manager, can select the skills you need to build your team, how to establish trust within the organisation, and enable your team to perform to the best of their abilities. Let us know if this is helpful, if we're speaking some sense, talking rubbish, or if we've missed something important.

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Automation with Dave Heywood - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 10:30:25 +0000

We continue the discussion on marketing automation with Dave Heywood, digital marketing specialist at Bovill. This time we discuss feeding the automation machine, understanding and applying realistic customer journeys to automation, taking time to measure success, how to optimise, and what sort of timescales and limits should you set yourself after you've installed marketing automation.

You can listen to part one to catch up.

Please let us know what you think about this subject, and if you've had any similar experiences, tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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44. Automation with Dave Heywood - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 09:20:04 +0000

In this special meander we talk all things automation with Dave Heywood, a digital marketing specialist at Bovill, and owner of OX7.

We had a glorious two-part conversation about what marketing automation is, when you may or may not need it, how to prepare for its implementation. How do you know if it's working, and assessing whether an unhealthy culture has emerged around it.

Let us know if this has raised any questions for you on automation, tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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43. Are you the only marketer in the company?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Mon, 01 Feb 2021 16:15:31 +0000

We've had a nice long chat through some of the challenges of being the only marketer in an organisation, and more importantly some remedies.

Do you agree with us? Sound familiar? Sound unfair? Let us know.

Listen to part one here and part two here.

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42. The challenges of being the only marketer in the company - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 11:17:24 +0000

We pick up where we left off in part one. In this episode we address building relationships, gaining resources, justifying what you do, taking on board suggestions about marketing from others, whilst delivering on your agenda, and the fine art of saying no!

If you are a lone marketer, let us know if any of our solutions resonate with you, and if you've been in this position previously, why not let us know what worked for you...Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com.

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41. The challenges of being the only marketer in the company - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 12:31:29 +0000

Are you, or have you ever been the only marketer in an organisation? If you are, you'll know of the particular challenges this can present, the expectations placed upon you, the evangelising you need to carry out, feeling a little lonely, and having to cave out marketing's niche. We discuss both the challenges and a number of solutions in our two part episode.

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40. The politics of marketing - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 15:48:19 +0000

What are the warning signs of a looming political battle and how can you head it off? How can the budget help to unite teams and unpick competing political viewpoints in the organisation? Why should you establish networks within your organisation an work hard at transparent communication of your plans to as many people as possible?

You can listen to part one of The Politics of Marketing here.

Are there other important considerations to keep in mind? Let us know Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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39. The politics of marketing - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 16:59:06 +0000

We talk about the sometimes exhausting world of the politics involved in marketing and organisations generally. the politics which influence the strategy you're able to set out, the operational resources you can utilise and the tactical campaigns you are able to deploy. What are some of the typical political battles marketers encounter? How can we try to get decisions made without the political arguments? How do you face political obstacles and gain agreement? Where and when should you make your boundaries clear, and how can we elevate internal discussions to what matters to the customer?

Are there other important considerations to keep in mind? Let us know Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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38. Budgets, budgets, budgets - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 12:11:35 +0000

In part two of our budgets episode we take a look at these questions: When will you look forward to setting up a budget and managing it? Have you considered the human resources you are using? How can you get inventive when budgets are cut and how do budget cuts focus your marketing?

In case you missed part One, you can listen to it here.

Are there other important considerations to keep in mind? Let us know Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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37. Budgets, budgets, budgets - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 13:45:17 +0000

We need to find some savings in the budget...this is something most of us have heard before, but how do we deal with it? Why is marketing budgeting so important? How do you budget effectively? Who should you be communicating with to produce your budget? What are some of the ways to defend your budget, especially through difficult times? What opportunities can you find when having to be more stringent on your marketing spend? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/marketingmeanders/message

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36. Happy New Year and Outsourcing

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 09:31:15 +0000

Well, as we all settle in to the latest COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, Sally and I are talking about outsourcing in marketing, and in small businesses. When should you consider outsourcing, what should you perhaps outsource, who should you outsource to, and how do you decide between providers? Most importantly, how do you brief suppliers for outsourcing, and how can this represent half the battle won in outsourcing?

Have a listen and let us know your experiences of outsourcing. Have you got examples of when this has gone particularly well, or not so well? Are there other important considerations to keep in mind? Let us know Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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35. PR with Toby Roe - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 13:38:58 +0000

And today we pick up where we left off last year with Toby Roe of Roe Communications with our meander on the subject of PR in part two of our episode we touched on these questions: Where is the boundary between PR and content marketing? Can you prove the ROI for PR and what does media training entail?

If you missed Part One you can find it here.

Enjoy!

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34. SPECIAL CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR COMPILATION

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 20:25:16 +0000

Welcome to our bumper Christmas and New Year holidays compilation, featuring all of our special guest interviewees from the last few months. Gain some top tips and insights from our array of specialists in one episode. Why not enjoy by the fireside whilst sipping a favourite drink, or on a long winter's walk.

Hear from Toby Roe on PR, James Holden on websites, Hugo Pickering on Marketing Analytics, Emma Wyatt on LinkedIn, Amanda Claesens on Market Research, Barry Clark on Sales Conferences and Stefan Thomas on Networking.

Access the part one of their two part episodes here:

Enjoy and a Happy 2021 to everyone!

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33. PR with Toby Roe - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 09:06:13 +0000

Join us for a two part episode exploring PR with Toby Roe, who is co-founder of Roe Communications with his wife Victoria. Their PR company specialises in PR for Executive Education providers including business schools and leading academics, and they've picked up a host of fascinating insights on PR, organisations and the work between PR and marketing. In part one we look at:

What is PR? How do you plan an effective PR strategy? How does PR differ from marketing, where is the interface, and how do you get marketing and PR to work together? How can PR work most effectively, and why is it so important for organisations to be aligned?

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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32. Christmas Compilation Trailer...

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 16:41:12 +0000

Hello All, We'd love you to listen to this one, but also, if you like the podcast, to share it. We've refined down the best of the advice from our guest experts into this special compilation. We'll be releasing it over the Christmas period for you to savour after a festive meal, or perhaps whilst going for a wintry walk. Enjoy, and please do share the podcast with your friends! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/marketingmeanders/message

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31. Networking with Stefan Thomas - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 12:48:39 +0000

We pick up the conversation with Stefan Thomas, best selling author of 'Business Networking for Dummies', 'Instant Networking' and 'Win the Room'.

I this instalment we covered How do you get started with networking? When and how can networking pay off? How do you make the most of networking with people right in front of you, even if they don't seem to be your ideal target market?

If you missed part one, you can listen here.

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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30. Networking with Stefan Thomas - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 13:13:38 +0000

We were privileged to have a two part conversation about networking with Stefan Thomas, best selling author of

'Business Networking for Dummies', 'Instant Networking' and 'Win the Room'.

We had delightful discussion around what the real meaning, and practice, of networking is. Why building trust and maintaining relationships is so important. The joy of getting to know people. Why you should identify the networking you are already doing in your life. Making the most out of virtual networking, how do you need to prepare differently to in-person events, what's the same and what are the opportunities? Plus Stefan gives you one simple exercise you can do today to help improve your networking opportunities.

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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29. All about websites, and much more with James Holden - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 14:58:51 +0000

We pick up part two of our conversation with James Holden, founder of Wolf Productions. This time we consider questions such as is your website working for you? What are you measuring the success of your website against? How should you maintain your website? Why is it important to invest adequately in the web presence you own?

Listen to Part One here if you missed it.

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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28. All about websites, and much more with James Holden - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 12:04:24 +0000

Why do you need a website in the first place? What is your website there to do, and how do you know if it's doing it? When are chat bots a good idea, and why should you be different to get noticed in your marketing?

We discuss these questions and much, much more with James Holden, founder of Wolf Productions, the bespoke website design company, which he started in 2001.

Listen to part one of our absorbing meander with James. If you're interested in how to make the most of your website, you'll find this useful!

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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27. Mini Meander 8 - The sales process an example

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 03 Dec 2020 10:21:38 +0000

Here Sam discusses an example of a the selling process, what he liked and what he thought could be improved about a recent sales call he heard. See if you agree, and let us know of any interesting sales stories you've experienced.

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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26. Marketing analytics with Hugo Pickering - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 16:57:14 +0000

We pick up the fascinating conversation with Hugo Pickering into the world of analytics in this episode.

Walk with us down the riverbank meanders of marketing and explore all these questions...What should you be looking for from analytics consultancies you commission? Can you decipher their reports, are they too long, too short, too unfocussed, too clinical? How can you decipher changes to make based on what the analytics are telling you? Are them some examples of organisations that understand and measure their customer journeys well?

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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25. Online overload in Q1 2021

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 13:52:48 +0000

We recently hosted a small poll on the most pressing challenge for marketers in Q1 2021, we gave four options, and the winner by a country mile was audience online overload. So we decided to talk about this as the major issue for Q1 2021 in this episode, amongst other pressures we can see, like budget constraints. We ended up having quite a deep and meaningful chat about how online overload is effecting most of us, both in our personal and professional lives, so we thought of some ideas to try and address this.

Have a listen and see what you think. We'd love to know any of your thoughts about the subject too. Do you agree, disagree, or have you got some additional ideas? Let us know Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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24. Marketing analytics with Hugo Pickering - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 13:42:00 +0000

As we know, analytics are an essential part of marketing, but so often analytics systems and reports can be slightly hard to interpret, and to draw useful insights from, if you're not sure what to measure, and why. It can be all too easy these days with obliging platforms to produce lots of lovely colourful charts, but what are the sort of fundamental considerations you need to have in place to create meaningful data insights?

We discuss all this and much more with our special guest, Hugo Pickering. Hugo is a marketing and communications specialist and entrepreneur, take a look at his website for more information. His digital marketing credentials are formidable, and we question him about all analytics over our two podcast episodes. Enjoy.

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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23. Mini Meander 7 - Project Management Systems, and six ways they will help you

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 10:29:00 +0000

Sally takes a highly practical meander through Project Management, answering a host of questions in under 10 minutes! What should effective project management achieve? How can it work? How should project management systems be set up, and what are the crucial work processes they can help you with?

P.S. As a quick challenge for our Twitter followers, see if you can hear Sally's cat purring during the episode, Tweet us the timecode if you hear him!

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22. LinkedIn with Emma Wyatt - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Welcome to part two of our LinkedIn special with LinkedIn strategy consultant Emma Wyatt.

In this episode we dig deeper into the professional network and explore some more questions, and provide, what we hope are helpful answers. Questions like, how often should we post on LinkedIn? Why should you interact with other post on LinkedIn and comment on them, and what sort of paid campaigns should you launch on the platform?

Needless to say we've only managed to fit so much into two 30 minute episodes. So if you're interested in making more of your LinkedIn profile, strategy for business development and promoting on the platform, why not find Emma and connect.

If you've been spurred into action, or have any questions for us that you'd like explored in a future Meander, feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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21. Marketing at the Strategic, Operational and Tactical levels - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 09:44:14 +0000

"A strategy makes it easier to make decisions, and it means you'll make better decisions more quickly" Sally Green, 2020

In part two of our strategy episode we talk about aligning strategy to roles within teams and marketing job descriptions, great people's thinking about strategy, organisational mission statements, and how organisations truly live their strategy, both in terms of what they do, and how this compares to their brand proposition.

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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20. LinkedIn with Emma Wyatt - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000

How do the most effective users of LinkedIn operate? What should your profile look like? When should you post, what should you post? What does a connection strategy look like? Our guest Emma Wyatt has answers to these questions and more, in this special episode.

Listen to Part One today, with Part Two following hotly on its heels. Once you've listened, why not let us know what you think, and take a deeper look at the LinkedIn strategy and coaching work Emma helps her clients with, you can find her, on LinkedIn!

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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19. Marketing at the Strategic, Operational and Tactical levels - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 07:00:00 +0000

This is a real cracker! It features deliciously practical observations and helpful tips from Sally, and sneakily smuggled in military history references from Sam.

What do the different levels of marketing really mean, and how does this matter to you and your team? How does it affect your planning and decision making? How do you make meaningful links between the levels, and how does this impact your organisation and resourcing? Why do so many people overuse of the words strategic and strategy?!

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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18. Mini Meander 6 - The One Page Marketing Plan

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 10:48:33 +0000

How long is your current marketing plan? How long does it need to be? Does a one page marketing plan sound crazy? Have a listen and see what you think...

Feel free to get in touch with your thoughts: Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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17. Sales Conferences with Barry Clark - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 11:33:16 +0000

In this episode Sally and Barry discuss feeling safe to share your concerns, sales and marketing teams utilising CRM systems effectively, finding and sharing meaningful reporting data, and reimagining reporting relationships and performance assessment.

Our special guest is Barry Clark, Managing Director of Dunedin Consultancy Ltd.

If you have any questions or feedback for us, or Barry, please tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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16. Customer Journeys Part Two - This time it's personal!

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 09:11:31 +0000

Where do customer journeys actually start, how do we know if they're optimised, what's our customer lifetime value and how can you get the most out of CRMs?

In Part One we discussed funnels and nurturing, buying presents, marketing automation, and of course handbags!

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15. Sales Conferences with Barry Clark - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 11:24:13 +0000

A number of us will have been to sales conferences in the past, and no doubt have memorable stories of them to share. However, when you take a deeper look, what are sales conferences actually for? Who needs to be at sales conferences, and how do you facilitate meaningful conversations at them?

We explore all these questions and more with our special guest Barry Clark, Managing Director of Dunedin Consultancy Ltd. Part Two will be coming your way soon!

If you have any questions or feedback please tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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14. Customer Journeys - touchpoints, tills and tiaras (well not tiaras!)

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 14:55:21 +0000

Do you truly understand your customers' journeys?

If we were to compare your customer touchpoints to a shop, have you thought about the conversations that are taking place outside the shop window, who meets the customer at the door? Are you hassling customers too much as they browse, or not checking in with them enough? Can your customers find the items on the shelves clearly marked, and do they know where the till is What's your follow up with people after they've left the shop, will they recommend your products, and how will you get them to return?

This and much more in our latest Meander!

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13. Market Research with Amanda Claesens - Part Two

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 15:34:01 +0000

What do data visualisations, practical steps for consuming market research data and learning from 'negative feedback' have in common? The second part of our Marketing Meander with Amanda Claesens of course!

We hope you all managed to listen to Part One, if not, hit the link subtly included in this sentence, and then join us back here for Part Two!

If you would like more detail on Amanda's work, check out ACE Market Research, or follow Amanda on Twitter.

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12. Mini Meander 5 - How much of your job is spent doing you job?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Do you know how much time you spend fulfilling the key functions of your job? Do you know how much time you need to spend on these key functions? How much time is spent on less productive, or unrelated areas? How much time do you spend working on tasks which you aren't best placed to complete in an optimal way, tasks that someone else might be best to complete?

If you haven't done this already, you'd probably be surprised how you actually spend your time every day, or every week of every year!

Do you recognise this in your working life? What other techniques can you suggest? Let us know. Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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11. Market Research with Amanda Claesens - Part One

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 09:04:05 +0000

What is market research? How much does it cost? When should you use it? How do you act on its results?

We explore all these questions and more with our special guest Amanda Claesens, owner of Ace Market Research. Part Two will be coming your way soon!

If you have any questions or feedback please tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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10. Market Research Meander with Amanda Claesens Trailer

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 08 Oct 2020 16:21:18 +0000

Want to hear more about market research? What is it, how does it work, what are the pitfalls, how do you make the most of research projects and act on the results?

We'll be exploring all these questions over two podcasts with our special guest Amanda Claesens, owner of Ace Market Research.

Download from Friday 9th October wherever you access your podcasts, and let us know if you have any feedback @meanderspod.

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9. Has your marketing budget been slashed? - A call for your advice

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 12:23:06 +0000

As the economic impact of the COVID 19 pandemic bites our marketing budgets are starting to suffer. These are horrible times for so many, and we'd like to try and help facilitate the sharing of advice and support amongst marketers and small business owners. A way of doing this sharing experiences, tips, advise and moral support; you're not alone in having to be creative when 60% plus of your budget is cut!

So this is a call out to anyone who wants to share their tips, advice and experiences of working through times of meagre budgets. How did you adapt expectations, build a case to defend your budget, make the most of organic campaigns, build strengths for the future recovery, support your colleagues experiencing this situation for the first time, and help keep them motivated?

Please get in touch with your advice and stories, and if you've got particularly strident thoughts, we'd even like to have you as a guest on the show. Let's try and help each other through these times. Tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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8. Mini Meander 4 - To do it yourself, or not do it yourself?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 08:36:29 +0000

Should you attempt to do ALL marketing activities yourself? What are the pitfalls of trying to be a jack of all trades when it comes to marketing, and how can you harness the skills of others?

We'd love to hear what you think about this subject, and any other bend in the river of marketing. Please send any questions, episode suggestions, queries, faint praise or criticism, by tweeting @meanderspod or email us at meanderspod@gmail.com

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7. Audiences - Part Two - The meander continues...

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 08:49:37 +0000

Once we have our personas researched, tested and agreed, how do we work at relationships with our audiences so that 'they end with a smile not a slap'?

Take a listen to Part 2 of our audiences podcast to see if you agree with our thinking.

If you have any observations please tweet us @meanderspod or email meanderspod@gmail.com

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6. Extra Mini Meander - Are you boggled by marketing innovations?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 09:42:11 +0000

Please let us know how you process the constant deluge of new concepts and technologies of marketing. Are you one of those who needs exposing to a new ideas multiple times before investigating it, or do you jump in quickly? Do you refine down your notes from education courses into three relevant concepts that you will actually deploy in your marketing? Do you 'manage' your consumption of new marketing ideas from particular gurus that you admire? How often have you actually persuaded others in your team to take on a new approach?

We'll be covering ways to survive and thrive the incessant stream of marketing innovations in a future podcast, and we'd love to have some of your examples and questions on the subject.

Email us at meanderspod@gmail.com or tweet @meanderspod

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5. Audiences - Part One - Who, what, where, how?

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 21:05:51 +0000

What do handbags, ravenous hyenas and Percy Pigs have in common? Our latest Marketing Meander about audiences of course. We've split this one in two digestible chunks, as there is so much to explore, and questions to ask, questions like:

Who are my audience?

What do they look like?

What motivates my audience, and what do they need from me?

Where do I find them?

How do I communicate with them, and inspire them?

What do I do with them once I've got their attention?

Any many, many more, just sit back, relax and have a listen to see how many of these areas we've meandered through, enjoy!

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4. Mini Meander 3 - Once upon a time...

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 13:48:44 +0000

How can you harness the power of storytelling? Where do you start? Is it time to revisit the 'about us' part of your website, does it say why you do what you do? Does it tell your story? How do stories in your marketing really make a difference? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/marketingmeanders/message

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3. Mini Meander - Anxiety, hope and purchasing a product.

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 16:02:51 +0000

According to a new study from Imperial College London, anxiety makes people more likely to buy a product. This doesn't mean we should frighten our prospect customers into buying our products, or increase their anxiety, but we should be clear, helpful and hopeful. I've tried to make sense of this from my point of view, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. Send me any ideas @meanderspod. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/marketingmeanders/message

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2. A Mini Meander - Machines and humans

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 14:38:51 +0000

This is a quick meander about machines, data and the human being. Where should marketing focus, or be led? Do we sometimes forget about the human being consuming our campaigns, and our own humanity when making decisions on a strategy to pursue? Have a listen an let us know what you think.--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/marketingmeanders/message

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1. What's this campaign thing anyway? Marketing Meanders - Episode 1

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 17:00:00 +0000

Hooray, it's the first episode of Marketing Meanders with Sally and Sam, a foray into marketing at the coalface. In this episode we're discussing what a marketing campaign is. We will ask all the questions you'll want to ask yourself and your team before, during and after running one.

Questions like: What sort of campaign(s) do we need? Who are we targeting? How do we create something to fit our budget? How do we launch our campaign, and where does it live? How should we monitor it, manage it, and mitigate failures? How does it come to an end?

Remember, it's a meander, filled with personal examples and pondering. Have a listen and let us know what you think.l. Enjoy!

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Marketing Meanders Trailer

Sam Birkett and Sally Green — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 01:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Marketing Meanders with Sally and Sam, the fortnightly podcast with over 50 years of marketing experience squashed into each episode.

We discuss the many aspects of marketing, emerging trends, and challenges we all face in marketing our businesses, sharing our own experiences and advice from industry experts. If you're a marketer, you'll recognise some of the stories we tell, and if you are a small business owner, hopefully, we'll answer a question or two.

Marketing Meanders is hosted by Sally Green, Partner at YMS and Senior Marketing Consultant, and Sam Birkett, founder of Amiable Marketing and Specialist Marketing Consultant.

Sally Green:

I am an experienced marketing consultant who loves helping people plan and implement successful strategies, creating campaigns that both strengthen the brand impact and increase revenue streams.

Connect with Sally on LinkedIn.

Sam Birkett:

My consultancy works with institutions and organisations both in the UK and internationally, and over the last 16 years, I've been fortunate enough to work for world-leading organisations.

Connect with Sam on LinkedIn.