Marketing & Sales
Organisations
bCentral — information and resources for marketing your business, including online marketing ideas and e-business.
www.bCentral.co.ukBusiness Link — an easy-to-use business support, advice and information service managed by the Department of Trade and Industry. The website has useful information and interactive tools to help you with marketing and sales.
www.businesslink.gov.ukBuilding Brands — an excellent site by a UK company to help you learn about the benefits of building your own particular brand. Free e-newsletter, Branding Tips.
www.buildingbrands.comThe Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) — a membership organisation for marketing professionals. However, their website is a useful resource with downloadable documents on topics such as copyright, data protection, and so on. An online marketing plan ‘tool’ takes you through the creation of your own marketing plan.
www.cim.co.ukData Protection Registration — Information to help you achieve compliance with the legislation.
www.dataprotection.gov.ukDirect Marketing — UK directory of direct marketing companies.
www.b2bindex.co.uk/index/Listings/14/Direct Marketing Preference Services — allows consumers to register
their wish not to receive unsolicited direct mail.
www.mpsonline.org.ukThe Email Preference Service — allows people to register an email address in order to not receive unsolicited sales and marketing email messages.You can find information about having your email lists cleaned, or subscribe to this service at
www.preference.the-dma.org/productsExperian Business Strategies Division - Mosaic UK is the latest version of a market-leading consumer segmentation product. It classifies all 24 million UK households into 11 groups, 61 types and 243 segments, and is updated each year. Click on ‘Mosaic’.
www.business-strategies.co.ukThe Fax Preference Service — allows consumers and businesses
to register their home or business fax number in order to not receive unsolicited sales and marketing faxes.
www.fpsonline.org.ukMarket Research Society — a membership organisation for professional researchers. You can search online their Research Buyer’s Guide — a directory of market research providers/support services.
www.mrs.org.ukMarketing Law — regularly updated information for brand-owners and marketing professionals, including marketing and brand law issues, case reports, legislation affecting marketing, as well as legal checklists and template agreements.
www.marketinglaw.co.ukThe Telephone Preference Service — allows businesses and consumers to register their telephone numbers in order to not receive unsolicited sales and marketing calls.
www.tpsonline.org.uk
Essential Business associates
AMA — They say: 'Experts at communicating complex messages, simply and engagingly'. We say: 'Experienced, talented and professional specialists in multimedia presentations for web, CD and DVD. One of the partners, Richard Wolfströme, is an award-winning creative with over 20 years’ experience. Design to die for…'
www.amauk.tvAmicable Business Coaching — They say: 'Effective business solutions — How to increase profits and grow your company'. We say: 'Although we have not experienced their service personally, we hear good things about them.'
Brand Group — They say: 'A design and marketing agency offering creative, effective and reliable marketing solutions across all media'. We say: 'A team of design and communications professionals who live and breathe marketing for businesses of any size. The company is owned by the lovely Ed Carr, Creative Director — a man with a marketing mission: to make marketing understandable and reachable for the rest of us.'
www.brand-group.co.ukDoor 22 — They say: 'We are a Brighton based graphic design agency who quite simply love what we do. We specialise in big ideas without the big attitudes and big fees.' We say: 'A great group of people — led by the wonderful Emma Nicol — who design with wit, flair and sheer professionalism. (We're a tiny bit jealous.)'
HirschWorks — They say: 'Whether you're commissioning your own new media project, or developing one for a client, a small investment in our time can help to ensure that your project is successful.' We say: 'With a mind like a razor, Jon Hirsch brings intelligence, experience and sheer common sense to new media project development. (Warning: Make sure you've drunk plenty of Red Bull to keep up!)'
Nido Marketing — They say: 'Brighton based business-to-business telemarketing consultancy. We help our clients grow by increasing sales, market presence or market knowledge.' We say: 'We hear great things about award-winning Nido and everyone says how good they are to work with. It must have something to do with being led by their inspiring Founding Director (and Entrepreneur of the Year) Jacky Misson!'
Web Positioning Centre — They say: 'I believe we have a rare, if not unique, blend of well honed technical knowledge and proven copywriting abilities that do not compromise the way sites interact with human or spidering visitors.' We say: 'Within weeks of David Rosam writing the copy for our site, we had zoomed up Google. We sometimes pass on to David the many compliments we receive about our site. (Not always, we don't want him to get big-headed!)'
White Hat Media — They say: 'A professional web design agency that specialises in SEO services and online marketing.' We say: 'With their years of web experience and expertise, Jem Spiller, Kevin Elliott and their team make web design, development and SEO and online marketing a pleasure, not a pain. (And Kevin's patience is legendary.)'
Design resources
Fonts
Font Pool — search by category and type in text so that you can look at the words in any of the available fonts. A very useful resource.
www.fontpool.comFonts.com — a wide range of PC & Mac fonts.
101 Free Fonts — offers, a large selection of freeware and shareware fonts for the PC or Mac. Search function available.
www.1001freefonts.com
Photolibraries
There are a large number of web sites from which you can search and download photo images and we list a few of them here. Most sites offer royalty-free and model-released images which you can download singly for a fee. Some sites offer a subscription service where you make one payment for a specified period and then make unlimited downloads during the time of your membership.
Comstock Images — a very wide range of images.
www.Comstock.comEye Wire — portal site to Digital Vision, Image Club, Rubberball, Photodisc. You can do one search across these sites.
www.eyewire.comGetty Images — a very wide range of high quality images
John Birdsall Photography — An excellent UK site offering
realistic images of ordinary people.Photos.com — One payment, unlimited downloads. A very popular site.
Rubberball — a stylish and unusual mix of images.