Blog posts now added directly to www.BrandNewWay.com

Please note all my blog posts are now added directly to the web marketing blog section of the Brand New Way website.




Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably. Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Now Google tells you times for sunrise & sunset

Here's a new feature from Google for people who want to make the most of the daylight. Just  search on Google for 'sunrise' or 'sunset' plus your location (e.g. town or post code) and Google returns the correct time for that day. 


OK, not necessarily something that will revolutionise your web marketing but a nice new feature that made me smile this morning.


Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably. Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

New iPad better than expected

I converted to Apple 5 years ago and quickly became an Apple advocate. Over the years I have bought an iPod, an iMac, a Mac PowerBook, 2 iPhones, a MacBook Pro as well as iLife & iWork. 


However, I had a lukewarm response to the pre-launch hype about the iPad. I couldn't see how the iPad could help me: as I always carry my iPhone around and (when working) a MacBook Pro. I just saw it as a 3rd device I don't need and I already carry around too much stuff.


Today, I wandered into the Apple Store at Cribbs Causeway, picked up the iPad and immediately fell in love with the device. It looked great, was very light and given my iPhone experience I was immediately able to use it without much thought.


Web pages looked great on it. Photos were brilliant. The keyboard was great. Even a KeyNote (PowerPoint) presentation looked good and I could imagine using it in a 1 to 1 situation. In a 2 minute scan, some of the apps / games loaded onto the device looked amazing. Reading a book was good too. I couldn't see a downside.


Before launching my web marketing agency Brand New Way, I worked in large corporates and spent all day rushing from meeting to meeting carrying a heavy, slow Windows PC without wifi access. If I worked in that sort of environment today, the iPad would be a brilliant mobile tool with the 'laptop' machine remaining at my desk.


So, having seen the iPad and spent 15 minutes using the device I am very, very impressed. However, given my current usage, I am not sure I could justify buying one today but watch this space...


Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably. Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

When did you last analyse your website content?

Are you sure your web content is working as hard as it could be?

After you launched your website did you immediately move on to other marketing or business activities? I am 99.9% confident that your website could be significantly improved to achieve better business performance. Follow my check list and take a fresh look at your website. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

A great UK web business example - Find a parking space on line

Here is a great example of an innovative web business that brings buyers and sellers together. It reminds me of a web marketing case study when I worked for the RAC in Bristol. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Great email example of timeliness improving open rates

Shortly after the Chancellor completed his budget announcement, The Times sent out an email with the subject line 'Peter, your budget questions answered'. This is a great example of powerful email marketing. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Has Google's new Buzz social marketing service caused it to lose brand 'brownie points'?

Outstanding brands build 'goodwill brownie points' with their customers. With great services like Pay Per Click Advertising or Web Analytics, Google have built a loyal, committed customer base. However, Google's new service Buzz has received some negative reaction. How will this impact the brand? Will people email loyal or become brand terrorists? Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Are you still waiting to SEO your website?

A good Google search engine ranking is a critical success factor for most websites. So why hasn't every website been optimised? What's your reason for not starting? Read more about SEO? 

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Do you measure page exit rates as part of your web analytics?

Any business that wants to ensure that their website is delivering value needs to be doing web analytics. But with so many metrics available in Google Analytics it's often difficult to find the wood for the trees. Should every metric available play an important role in your website analysis? For example, is Page Exits a useful measure? Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Does your web marketing treat all customers as equally valuable?

You can't create value without customers but that doesn't mean that all customers are valuable? Over the past 20 years I have worked with small and medium sized businesses as well as some of Britain's biggest brands including Asda, Egg, ITV & AA. 

Discover how big brands grow customer lifetime value by focusing marketing on valuable customers. Read more... 

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing consultant with UK web marketing agency Brand New Way which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers.

Which web marketing activities perform best: email or Twitter?

How do you decide which web marketing activities to do? 

Do you try every web marketing initiative out there? I hope not, as even big corporates do not have the time and money to try everything. Should you focus on email or SEO or PPC or Twitter or Facebook or SMS or Blogs etc?

In two recent surveys, senior marketers vote on which web marketing channels perform best and are most effective. The results are revealed along with key learning for companies big and small. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Email and a second bite at the cherry

Even the best email marketing campaigns do not achieve a 100% open rate. It may be that recipients were on holiday or out of the office or just too busy to read the email that day. They may have left it in their In Box with the intention of opening it later but never got around to it. So they may have missed out on reading something highly relevant. However it is possible to increase email open rates and improve marketing ROI. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Case study - the power of joined-up marketing and high Google search rankings

Given Google's dominance, getting a high Google ranking is extremely important for most brands. It can take  from 3 to 6 months to start to see results from search engine optimisation. However, this example from a mid-sized Wiltshire company shows that it's possible to get more rapid results when SEO is part of a joined-up web marketing strategy. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Lloyds TSB demonstrate how sloppy database management could create a brand terrorist

Mistakes can happen in any business which can significantly damage marketing return on investment. It's how you deal with the mistake that is crucial and separates great businesses from the rest. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

UK Companies See Improvement In Paid Search ROI

Econsultancy recently reported that 43% of companies said PPC ROI increased this year. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and keep valuable customers online.

Online search remains top advertising format in Europe

In IAB Europe's recent research survey across 19 European countries, online search remains the top advertising format accounting for 43% of online ad spend. This is up 26% on the previous year. In more mature markets like France, UK, Germany & Sweden, the growth rate was slightly lower at 19%.

Source: IAB Europe

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Online shopping - a star performer in the recession

Verdict Research recently reported UK online internet shopper numbers at an all-time high. They forecast that online spending (in 2009) will be £21 billion up 13.3% on last year. Continued growth is forecast and in 2013, online spending is expected to reach over £31 billion representing 10% of total UK retail spending.

Source: Verdict Research: UK e-Retail 2009

Some questions for you to consider?

• Can your customers buy from your website?
• Are you online sales growing at 13% this year?
• Are you attracting target leads to your website?
• Are you converting web visitors to customers?
• Are you growing your customers' lifetime value?

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Does your brand give a strong first impression?

What do you do to give your prospects and customers a great first impression? If you want to convert web visitors to valuable customers, get inspiration from one of the world's coffee giants. Read more...

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

BBC's Strictly Come Dancing To Introduce Twitter To The Masses

The BBC is a very strong brand and has helped niche innovations become mass. Their use of the red button during the Olympics encouraged many people to view alternative sports.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing launches mid September and this time the series is also on Twitter. Twitter is clearly the most talked about marketing strategy this year and knowing how loyal Strictly's following is and the promotion the series gets, I expect the programme to introduce many new people to twitter.

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.

Does Borders email marketing walk the talk?

I normally like emails from Borders but this one disappointed me.

Although the copy refers to 'used' books, my overriding takeout from the headline and opening copy is that Borders can now help me find rare book favourites and out of print copies.

However, the images on the email of their top used & rare picks included Harry Potter, Delia's How To Cook, Dawn French's Dear Fatty, an Oxford English dictionary and books written by Barack Obama & Bill Bryson. I hadn't heard of the 2 remaining books featured, but both are available new from Amazon.co.uk.

They featured books may well be used but I wouldn't consider any of them rare. If Borders are promoting that they sell rare books, they should have included some examples in the email.

Instead of engaging me and attracting me to browse and buy, the email actually resulted in a negative impact on my perception of Borders.

So to walk the talk, make sure that your supporting copy actually supports the headline: otherwise it's just spin and these days consumers are better than ever at spotting spin.

Remember...web marketing is about solving customers' problems profitably.

Peter Hawtin is an internet marketing specialist with Brand New Way, a UK web marketing agency which helps companies to attract and retain valuable customers online.