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Ok, so probably have too much of a fascination with the Vulcan. Whether it's because it's the last ever flying British designed four engined jet  aircraft, or just a relic of bygone age where Britain seemed to be held in higher esteem, the Vulcan does seem to have struck a chord.

It's been a great PR campaign by the Vulan to the Sky Trust, who have needed to generate incredible amounts of money to restore then fly her for a number of seasons, before it became technically too challenging to continue. I think it was a master stroke naming here "The Spirit of Great Britain" which has does seem to sum up the amazing amount of public support and media coverage.

She will have one more national tour, which is planned for Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th October. Details are yet to be announced so if interested keep an eye www.vulcantothesky.org.

This weekend Clive and myself watched her perform a 10 minute display over the Jaguar Land Rover Gaydon research centre, which was a formerly RAF Gaydon, a V bomber base.

Au revoir Vulcan 

Even the biggest companies make the most basic mistakes 

Here's how a "targeted" email came through today...

So when sending out email campaigns, ensure any automatically populated fields such as name are correctly set up 

Hi Gavin, welcome to the forums. I moved your thread over to the sales and marketing forum as you've asked a specific question. The forum is made up of members from all over the country and beyond, but most people have or have had similar issues, experiences or have advice to offer.

If you're more used to traditional marketing, then online promotion can be daunting, especially when every man and his dog wants to sell you something, badger you or rip you off!

Key thing is to spend nothing initially, ignore everyone who bombards you with demands and promises of lead generation and millions of new customers, and work out what it is you actually want to do.

It's hard to give a meaningful answer from one post, so to target local clients you can utilise social media, organic (ie free) or PPC (pay per click), or via your website if you have one. Or as said above, interacting in online communities (which can also be classed as social media).

So to be a bit more help, any chance you can answer a few questions?

Do you have a website?

Are you comfortable/familiar with Facebook?

Are you happy paying for lead generation, or are you only looking for free advertising?

So did you manage to down tools at the weekend? 

Glad to hear back from you Barney, and the power of cat therapy eh?

It's hardly good news, but it must be a weight of your mind knowing this isn't an isolated incident. I know what you mean about not being for the money, but it sounds like you do need to sit down with a solicitor. You've been through the mill, and deserve compensating. Plus if this isn't flagged to the heating industry or escalated legally, then other engineers could end up in a similar position 

You've done nothing wrong, but it does sound like you need to sit down with a legal professional, if nothing else they can give you some options and likely outcomes.

Clive had one outside his house, albeit man made 

He went on holiday with his missus, and while they were away,the Council dug a huge trench around his house and drive, stranding his good ladies car on the drive. If it had been anyone else, I would have said they were making it up 

Oh gawd, I don't want to be Mr negative  

Long winded waffle full of unsubstantiated claims I can't be bothered to read, assuming I haven't already deleted it.

Based in Liverpool - who cares?

is one of the leading Freight Forwarders - says who? I am the greatest according to me.

with over 23 years of comprehensive.. ..experience - that reads as "we are a new company, but if you add our collective previous experience together..."

The remarkable services we have to offer are.. - remarkable 

IMHO after spending 10 years sending millions and millions of emails (sorry world), keep it short and to the point. You will rarely sell from a first contact cold email, and will annoy more people versus lead generation and reputation. So don't try.

But stand out, be different, analyse your competitors, what are they sending? What are their landing pages like, call to actions etc. Looking at some of your competitors, their sites seem pretty bland in your sector, so there is an amazing opportunity to stand out and own that space. Less is more, be the Google of shipping agents.

Cold email should be just a hook, then send them to a superb and fully optimised call to action landing page.

eg:

<punchy on target subject line>

<short concise punchy sales copy>

<link to super duper landing page>

But I would concentrate on getting your site and landing page ready as this will be your shop window to wow clients, after they have been hooked.

Some things are worth outsourcing or buying in skills (budget depending). In this case maybe look at some web design help or some marketing assistance? 

It has serious implications for all businesses and consumers alike.

The Consumer Rights Act replaces a number of laws with regard to business-to-consumer transactions, including the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982.

As business owners, please ensure you make yourself familiar with the new law.

You can get all the information you need from Business Companion which is produced by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (or select the above image).

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 & alternative dispute resolution: guidance for businesses

Any news Barney? You've been quiet for a while, how you doing mucker?

Although not a requirement, it helps 

Over the last 10 years we've had loads and I keep saying we need to write a book.

Some of the most repetitive ones...

A question that comes up normally once a month in answer to our £50 Lifetime Listing.

"How much is it? How long does it last?"

"Where's my parcel?" No idea, we're not Royal Mail

"I'm really unhappy with my Tax Bill". lovely, now talk to HMRC.

"I need some help to change something on my listing, can you please phone me". This is normally an email, with an address we don't have in our database, with no name or telephone number. You'd be amazed (or not) the number of times this happens.

"I can't login, your system is rubbish, rah rah rah...." Sorry sir/madam, (bit of investigation shows no user credentials) you don't seem to be registered with us? "Listen, I'm definitely a member of TouchLocal/ThomsonLocal/Yell etc etc.." Sorry Sir/Madam you have the wrong company  

Passes the time and keeps Clive smiling