Bournemouth University invited me to their recent B2B Marketing Colloquium. Along with a fair few professors and more PhD's than you can shake a stick at there were a few of us "real world" practitioners. 

I really didn't want it to be this way, I really thought that academia was much more up to date than it clearly is. Importantly the fundamentals of marketing are obviously still being taught but the delivery has changed dramatically in recent years and I'm really not sure academia realises this. I've recruited many graduates over the years into sales and marketing type roles but interestingly my selection has been more based on personality and attitude than their degree subject. 

The papers that were presented were interesting and I found a fair few nuggets of interest among them but I would like to see all that research perhaps driving some forecasts and predictions for the future. However I guess that isn't their primary role. 

In "the real" world of course the likes of Ovum, Gartner and Forrester interview all their clients, stick their fingers in the air and then sell that information back to their clients. Now that's a clever business model!

In conclusion it was a good event and everyone learnt something. I'd be happy to present in future and its great that these sort of events exist. Yes I want any graduates I hire to know the history of marketing, there was no internet when I started but equally I want them to hit the ground running with up to date methodologies already instilled in their minds. 

I visited the RNLI recently with one of my clients. Having the RNLI as a customer instils a huge amount of confidence in their products and its great that we have emergency controls on their new "Shannon" class lifeboats, as well as the more established Tamar lifeboats. I love this video showing the Shannon's amazing ability to be beached at high speed! As a professional yachtsman this isn't an option open to me! 

Just back from a great 2 days working on the water training skippers for the British Airways Sailing Club. Pilots are always calm in a crisis which makes for an easier training experience although they can "push the envelope" more than others! Back in the office today though and  working on business development for a company selling to the big ships we were dodging yesterday!

I'm delighted to be working again with a client that I last worked for some three years ago, I always think that repeat business shows that the client really appreciated what you achieved for them last time. What is even more gratifying after studying their order book, is how much repeat business they have enjoyed from customers that I identified, and nurtured into happy customers last time, that have then come back time and time again. 
It's good to be part of their senior management team again in an interim role, and to know that the new business I help develop this time round will continue to deliver business long into the future. There is also an element of coaching and mentoring senior directors, something that I find hugely rewarding. Whilst I always try to show an immediate ROI perhaps I should factor in repeat business more into my ROI models. Are your customers giving you repeat business? If not do you know the real reasons why? 

"The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking." - Robert H. Schuller

Sails and Marketing has moved into its new home in the Executive Business Centre, part of Bournemouth University. Situated in the heart of town close to the train station its main draw are the great facilities and some great opportunities to network and meet with other local growing businesses. Our plans are to not only develop a network of new clients to offer our traditional consultancy and interim solutions to but to also develop sales of our own products and services.......more to follow. In the mean time I'm looking out from the sixth floor over a snow covered Bournemouth, not what you would expect in March. The summer will soon be here though and the hard work of trying to keep the staff off the beach and in the office starts in earnest!