Advertising & Trade Shows

Our first visit into this area, this ad was placed in the Planning Convention 2012 Catalogue for all delegates along with our standard flyer.  We now have our fingers crossed as to whether this will prove to be a worthwhile exercise.

Regardless of the outcome this will not be our last visit into this area, and we are currently in the process of placing an advert in a national Architectural publication, feel free to play spot the difference on the advert - no prizes I'm afraid.

Construction Expo 2012:  Perfect an event just up the road, and targeted at the right audience.  A quick e-mail later and we find out we are not allowed to sponsor the event or hold a stand because a competitor has got in first and made it a condition of their support that we (or a number of other Land Surveying firms) not sponsor or have a stand.  Odd for an Expo that is 'open to all'.  So the wheels get moving just to find out the details, and eventually the Expo organisers call our competitor for their permission to give us the option to attend with a stand.  Brilliant move by our competitors (hearty pat on the back), but a sad state of affairs that the organisers are willing to agree to such demands to get people on board.  Whatever the outcome we will be at the Expo at the very least as a visitor, so we look forward to seeing some of you there making it an enjoyable event for all, and I'll make sure I book early for next year.

As well as the Expo we'll be on the road a fair bit in the next wo months, so wherever you might find us either exhibiting, learning or just visiting - feel free to say hi.

Eco Driving Lesson - 26th September in Canterbury
Portakabin Open Day - 27th/28th September in Ashford
KCFG Breakfast - 2nd October - in Canterbury
STEM Silver workshop - 9th October in Maidstone
Construction Expo - 11th October 2012 at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham
myWorld Roadshow - 18th October 2012 at the Emirates Stadium

Not sure when I actually get time to work, but it's all about getting the brand out there in the public eye, and gradually people will remember us and, fingers crossed send us some tenders to bid for.  In this day and age, public image & branding is extremely important and social media enables a product/company to get into peoples lives & business more than ever.

For more details of the services we offer, and examples of our work, please visit www.rlsurveys.co.uk, or you can keep in touch with us on LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter (@RLSurveys).

Benefits of Social Media & Networking

As a new start business it's not as simple as it used to be - before the age of the internet (a time I am aware of but never experienced in business ;0p) it was a case of picking up the yellow pages and start dialing - or better still travelling door to door. Now it's all change, whilst the old methods still remain and are by far the easiest and most direct methods they are not necessarily the most effective, consider these new methods:-

1) Networking - BNI, Tweet Up, Chamber of Commerce, Business Events,

2) Social Media - LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Blogger

3) Internet - Website, E-mail & Social Media

But which method is the best, and does the same ring true for all businesses - or even the people behind the business. From a personal stand point I hate networking or active marketing of any sort, it is not something I am comfortable doing but I know it is a means to an end, and if there was one element of my business I could farm out this would be it. However this is the one element of the business that I need to commit to to achieve the long term business goals.

So which is best - all of them - sorry but each has its place and you need at least a presence in all of these places. The internet is not the future it's the now so get on board, you don't need to pay out large sums of money to get yourself high in the Google listing you just need to do your home work and spend a lot of time - but it will pay dividends eventually. Facebook/Twitter etc.. again you need a presence but don't go mad people don't want pointless comments it's better to say nothing than say something stupid people will start ignoring you and stop following you which is the last thing you want! I'm guessing if you're reading this you've thought about Blogging, o idea if it works but it is a forum to get ideas out there, and release your frustrations - clears the head to concentrate on business.

Finally active networking, my only suggestion is try before you buy! Everyone will find their niche, but until you try you'll never know. I think the nature of the networking will depend on the level your business is at, and confidence you have in that situation, and cost. If you are interested in more I'll be happy to take you along to a few of the networking events I attend as a taster.

Hope that little bit of info helps, certainly concentrate my mind - not everyone is a nature in the marketing environment, those that are are lucky, the rest of us can get their in the end.

More details of the services we offer, and examples of our work can be found at www.rlsurveys.co.uk, or you can keep in touch with us on LinkedIn, Facebook (www.facebook.com/rlsurveys) & Twitter (@RLSurveys).