🎈 It’s my birthday! To celebrate, I’m giving away 3 copies of the second edition of Watertight Marketing to any marketing manager, head of marketing or business owner with responsibility for marketing who can guess the right number of pieces of cake in this jar. Answers in the comments. The nearest 3 will be sent a copy of the book with my compliments. (I am doing more than this to celebrate, you'll be pleased to hear..... 🎂)

👇 This is a career high for me. You know how sometimes we find ourselves at a cross-roads, a career inflection point? That's where I found myself when the remarkable Bryony Thomas asked if I wanted to join Watertight Business Thinking full-time to work alongside her. There were all sorts of things I needed to think over but when I said 'yes' it felt completely the right decision. - I'm working with someone whose values align - Our skills and attributes complement each other well - We're working at the point where business strategy meets strategic marketing, long the area that most interests me - It's developing my knowledge and skills that both builds on what I've been doing and stretches - It's fun! We announced it earlier this week - thank you to all those who've made such kind and encouraging comments. That collective support means alot. Look out world, here we come! #thankyou #careergrowth #businessgrowth

>>Marketing in tough times - a roadmap to navigate the route ahead<< It's ready! A few weeks ago I shared some thoughts on a webinar on how businesses might approach their marketing in the short term and then plan for the longer term. Having been 'road-tested' on this webinar with the CEOs and MDs that attended, and further developed in conversation with others, I've just finished a written version of the guide. It sets out: - the actions and tactical responses appropriate for the short term - what planning for the longer terms entails - the 3 key elements of your marketing strategy and plan As businesses start to look beyond lockdown and think about how they need to adapt their marketing and business development, this roadmap will guide your thinking and planning. Let me know in the comments if you'd like a copy of it. I'd be delighted to send one to you. #marketingplanning #futurefocused

Good heavens, what’s happening? Yesterday I received emails from: > A US pizza chain asking if I’d be interested in buying into their franchise 🤔 (not an obvious marketing strategy for us) > Someone selling order fulfilment and shipping services (we send out a few books a month at most) > A recruitment agency asking if we’re evaluating our software development team (we don’t have one) > Another recruitment agency if we want tech or IT people (nope - too small to in-house this) Obviously a lot of people seem to have woken up on Tuesday morning thinking: I know, I’ll do a bit of marketing today! Nothing like a bit of carefully thought through, relevant engagement with ideal potential clients. I don't mind cold approaches - I recognise we're all making a living. But 'spray and pray' doesn't work. I do sometimes go back to these people and point out how they could improve their marketing. I often reply to say no thank you (politeness never goes amiss). I NEVER go from not knowing someone at all to a ‘yes’ to talking about something that’s completely irrelevant. I *might* respond if we had a need at that point and they had done a good job in positioning themselves credibly and written a well-worded email. What approaches have you received recently and how have you responded? #bettermarketing #marketingthinking #marketing

🏆 Well, goodness me, we won an award! Last night I attended the Growing Business Awards for Watertight Business Thinking. We were one of 3 finalists in the Triumph Over Adversity award. And... I'm proud and delighted to say we won. This is testament to Bryony Thomas vision and determination. The judges were impressed with this and staying true to her values. They couldn't speak more highly of her. This is a big spur to us as we go into 2023. And a recognition of what we've achieved so far. I also want to thank our team whose hard work supports the business and makes it happen so a big thank you to them too. We feel it's all our triumph, thanks to Bryony. Laura Irwin Charlotte Kaszubski Cheryl C. #thankyou #celebratesuccess