100 years of (y)our Royal Docks!
30/06/21

100 years of (y)our Royal Docks!

Even though we haven’t been here as much as we would have liked lately due to lockdown, we feel so proud of our Royal Docks neighbourhood. Every day we are inspired by its proud past and exciting future – and we see signs of both every time we step outside. From the iconic Tate & Lyle Sugar Refinery, to the people drinking cocktails on the deck of the Good Hotel to those grabbing their take-away beers from Husk Brewing, to every other independent business that shares our Expressway home: everyone has a story to tell here. And many of those stories involve diversity, entrepreneurialism, pioneering spirit, innovation and creativity – just like the story of the Royal Docks themselves. So, to mark the 100th anniversary of our vibrant neighbourhood, we thought we’d tell you a little bit about its story and ours in the hope that businesses like ours might follow suit…

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Just how brilliant could your branding be?
22/06/21

Just how brilliant could your branding be?

Regular readers will know that we love a colour inspiration blog here at Marco HQ. Discussing colours for new or established brands is one of the most exciting parts of our job because we know how important it is and the striking difference just one pop of bold colour can make to the way people feel about a business. So, imagine how excited we were about the Naturally Brilliant Colour exhibition at Kew Gardens, which allows people to experience colour like never before…

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Are we really listening?
14/06/21

Are we really listening?

To say it’s been a challenging year for us all is an understatement. Business owners and self-employed people have had to continuously adapt in order to keep going – and they are the lucky ones. Whether it’s the pandemic, our businesses or life in general, things can impact our wellbeing and we all need to offload sometimes. July is The Samaritans awareness month, which culminates in The Big Listen on 24th. And this year they have also released a book called How to Listen – encouraging us all to have better conversations when it matters most. In addition to supporting others, we believe that listening is the key to successful client relationships – and we could probably all afford get better at it …

 

How to listen

For most of us, life is so busy juggling work and family or social commitments that it can be hard to find the time to listen, let alone reflect on how well we are doing it. And for many of us, the pressure to look like we have it all together can make it difficult to talk about our challenges. But these sort of conversations not only create better connections, they can significantly increase wellbeing and – in the case of The Samaritans – literally be the difference between life and death. The How to Listen book is full of tips from trained Samaritans about having difficult conversations but all of them – such as listening to understand rather than to judge or reply – are useful for having better conversations in every area of our lives … including with our customers.

 

Listening to our clients

Many of us spend time preparing our 60 second pitches, presentations or agendas, getting ready to talk-the-talk but how many of us prepare ourselves to listen? In listening and asking open questions we connect better with our clients, creating longer term, more trustworthy relationships with them and we get a deeper understanding of their challenges which enables us to be more competitive suppliers to them.

 

Listening to our target markets

On a wider scale, how often do we send out a print or email campaign shouting about our latest products or services then wait and see what feedback we get? Would it not be better to invest in surveying our target markets before we’ve even developed our product or service to ensure it is exactly what they want and need? Thanks to evolving data collection and management there are many ways that we can do this and produce personalised campaigns that offer people the products and services that most appeal to them. Our team of tech and creative experts can help you listen to your customers better.

 

Helping ensure everyone is listened to when they really need it

The Samaritans are there 24/7 for anyone who just needs someone to talk to – and they are needed now more than ever. They can be contacted day or night by phone on 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org They rely on donations and volunteers and there are many things businesses can do to enable them to continue their work, from making them their nominated charity of the year to fun fundraising events or simply spreading awareness of their work. Get inspiration here.

 

We’re listening …

Whatever your commercial challenges, we are here to listen with an open mind. Whether you need help launching a new product or service, want to appeal better to your target market or simply want to brainstorm ways to get more business through design, print and web, call us on 0208 590 0922 or email us at info@marcomedia.co.uk We’re here for you throughout lockdown and beyond…      

Maskomedia: We’ve got you covered
07/06/21

Maskomedia: We’ve got you covered

At the beginning of the pandemic the idea of wearing masks when we left our homes seemed pretty scary. Even though there is hope on the horizon, we’ve got so used to wearing them that for many people the idea of being in a public place without a mask seems pretty scary now. At the time of writing this there is still a question mark over when the face-covering guidelines will be eased in the UK. But even when that does happen, it’s likely many people will continue to wear them for the time being for added reassurance. So, if masks are a way of life for the foreseeable future, why not consider them as a branding tool?

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Inspiration for the next generation
01/06/21

Inspiration for the next generation

Given what we’ve been through, now is most definitely the time to look towards the future. And the future is in the hands of the next generation. Designers have helped in the effort to bring the pandemic under control more than many people realise and we are always keen to encourage and develop young designers. In fact, over the years approximately 20+ apprentices and trainees have passed through Marco HQ and we’ve been commended for our work in this area. So, we’ve dedicated this blog to some of the people doing incredible things to inspire the next generation…

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