Our role is to make sure that entries are kept up to date, are topical and interesting.  If you’re interested in learning how we can manage a blog for you then give Nick Brooks a call on +44(0)1296 660080 or email marketing@4cm.co.uk.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to see the first entries on the new Citizen blog please click here.

Although we’re working from an extremely low base, with a thirty year low, at least the key figures are beginning to move in the right direction. 

For example, of the 439 firms surveyed, 34% said the volume of total orders rose, while 23% said they fell. The resulting rounded balance of +12% is the first significant growth since January 2008.

The CBI reports that the improvement in total orders was driven by strengthening overseas demand.  A third of firms (33%) reported a rise in export orders, and 12% a fall, giving a rounded balance of +20%. That is the strongest balance since July 1995 (+21%) and was better than expected (+13%).

Additionally, a modest rise in home-grown demand also contributed to the rise in total orders. 30% of firms said domestic orders increased, and 25% said they decreased. The resulting balance of +5% marks the first growth since October 2007 (+5%), and was better than the flat performance that had been predicted.

The CBI report points out, however, that output price inflation is rising and profit margins are coming under renewed pressure due to increased costs – an indicator that companies are going to be looking for ways to maximise the value from their investment in marketing activities in coming months, and to make their agencies truly accountable. 

At 4CM our focus has always been to deliver the best possible value for money, with a simple and transparent method of charging and processes for measuring the return from all activities.   Just as importantly, we’re constantly looking for ways of adding value, through measures such as more comprehensive client reporting, maximising the reuse of press materials in sales and technical literature, and in company Blogs, and through even greater input in campaign planning and management.

If you feel that your marketing and P.R. activities would benefit from our proactive, cost justified and added value services then put us to the test.  Contact us on +44 (0)1296 660080 or email marketing@4cm.co.uk

To read the full press release from the CBI please click here

Annual growth in the USA on online B2B marketing spend is forecast to rise by 8% in 2010, with 14% growth by 2012 and total online spending reaching 12% of the marketing mix by 2013.

Although these figures cover the US market, it seems reasonable to assume that other western economies will follow a similar pattern.

Interestingly, this particular survey also highlighted the fact that around two thirds of marketers believe that online needs to be supported by traditional marketing activities to be successful.

We’re seeing a similar pattern emerge among our clients: there’s a lot of interest in online P.R. and advertising, which is tempered by continued support for the print media. In many respects the view is that coverage in the trade and technical print media still represents an important part of the marketing mix, continuing to deliver strong and credible messages.

Where online scores is in its immediacy; it’s ideal for urgent product launches or for covering corporate news stories. Conversely, the B2B print media – at least those that have not sold out entirely to the god of colour separations – provide an increasingly valuable platform for addressing subjects such as longer term industry issues, technical subjects and the impact of legislation.

Although the shift from print to online will inevitably increase in the next few years there will be an important role for both – something that offers excellent opportunities for building market profile and, through careful use of dedicated online tools, the generation of sales enquiries.

At the same time, after growth of 0.1% in the UK economy during the last quarter of 2009, and gloomy talk of a double-dip recession, we’ve had the Bank of England’s quarterly Inflation Report predicting growth of 3.2% by the last quarter of 2011 – so that’s something to look forward to!

The bottom line is that although nobody really knows what’s likely to happen in the coming months, the consensus is that there is likely to be a slow (although not necessarily steady) return to growth in 2010/11.

At 4CM we’re already seeing signs of optimism, as clients start to remove the budget constraints that have been in place since early last year. As a result, we’re now working on longer term marketing and media campaigns that will strongly position our clients and enable them to capitalise on their target markets as growth returns to the economy.

One of the challenges, especially within larger organisations, is that much of the information collected either remains locked in silos, so is rarely reviewed alongside datasets from elsewhere in the organisation, or focuses simply on short term requirements – column inches, web page impressions, site visitors, sales enquiries and so on.

Although all of these metrics – and more – are important for monitoring the performance of suppliers or individual marketing tools, they do not, in B2B circles at any rate, appear to be generally used as part of wider business analyses.

Take sales leads, for example. It’s established practice to define the success of campaigns in terms of the number of leads generated, for example from trade exhibitions. All well and good in so far as it goes, but shouldn’t the value analysis really look at the lifetime worth of each customer, combining data from multiple sources and departments to establish the real return from each activity or, better still, each set of integrated sales and marketing campaigns?

Taking a holistic view of each customer, or even groups of customers, helps to strengthen customer relationships through improved ongoing communication. It also allows cross selling techniques to be applied and enables the reasons for customer defections to be identified and remedied; all of which increase customer value and long term ROI still further.

The CMS is an internationally recognised public relations standard, used in 11 countries around the world.  In the UK, the CMS is administered through the PRCA (Public Relations Consultants Association) and essentially combines elements of ISO9001 and Investors In People, with criteria specific to public relations consultancy.  Of the 2,000 or more P.R. agencies in the UK only some 10% have so far achieved the standard.

Being accredited to CMS is therefore a significant achievement and we’re thrilled that we’ve passed through our first CMS audit with flying colours.

The accreditation is essentially about best practices and covers eight key business areas, ranging from leadership and communications, to business planning and improvement, campaign management, client satisfaction and people management.

We also recognise that we can’t afford to rest on our laurels and are keen to improve still further our business, client and communications process.  Continuing to implement the CMS procedures will be important but we’d also welcome your help; if you have suggestions or ideas that would enable us to deliver an even better standard of service then please let me know.

For more information on the PRCA or the CMS standard then please click here.

Published in this Month’s Management Today magazine – and online at the link below – this article takes a look at some of the changes that we might see in the future, with predictions from ten leading futurologists.

From technology that enables you to chat to your TV, microwave and garage door (devices that I hadn’t previously thought as great conversationalists), to video visors and systems that will allow you to microchip children and receive scents through your computer, there’s an intriguing range of suggestions.

Here’s where you can find the full article:

http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/975308/tomorrows-world-future-technology/

Commercial Vehicle Engineer is written for transport engineers and fleet managers running UK-based fleets of trucks, light commercial vehicles, buses and coaches. 

Editor David Wilcox and Managing Editor Tim Blakemore are prominent road transport journalists who also have extensive experience of commercial vehicle engineering and operations. 

According to David Wilcox the online magazine will provide a unique combination of news, analysis and comment on commercial vehicles and  aftermarket.  

To see the launch issue please click here: www.cvengineer.com

Needless to say at 4CM we’ll be doing our best to ensure that we achieve editorial coverage in Commercial Vehicle Engineer for our clients working in the transport sector.

The Marketing Trends Survey, conducted by Ipsos MoRI, shows that business marketeers are beginning to adopt a more positive outlook for 2010.  This may be contrary to what many in the B2B sector are feeling at present, especially with several inches of snow disrupting the UK, but apparently 51% of those surveyed feel that prospects for the coming year will improve; this is up from just 29% who thought things would get better when the last survey was carried out in Autumn of 2008.

Although the survey covers companies in both the B2B and B2C sector, there’s an interesting finding in that respondents rated CRM, online advertising and P.R. as offering the best return on marketing investment.  On the page advertising was rated as offering the worst ROI, which perhaps raises some concerns for the long term future of the print media on which, of course, much P.R. depends.

To read more please click here:
http://www.cim.co.uk/news/pressrelease/newsreleases/2009-12-03.aspx