The world of marketing

Friday has finally arrived and I am really looking forward to my day at Seaton Delaval Hall. I always enjoy talking to those of you who visit this property. Today is going to be my chance to redress my equilibrium as it follows on from one of the most irritating days I have ever suffered at the hands of companies who insist on forcing their marketing strategies upon me.

Yes, I know that businesses need to make a presence if they are to compete successfully. After all, I'm one of them. So do charities. However, the current strategy of ramming it down my throat is not endearing me to any of them. Ringing my doorbell and then thumping incessantly on the door in a futile attempt to drag me away from my work only serves to irritate me. This happened not once or even twice. I can't remember for sure but I think there were 4 different occasions whereby the battering strategy was applied to the door. When I didn't bite, each one of them blocked up the letter slot with a bag demanding clothes for charity - a different one in each case, and not all of them from actual charities. I just threw the bags onto the pile that has accumulated over the past two years so I can re-use them for other things. Had I not remained vigilant with removing these bags, our mail would never have been delivered. And, had I filled the 100 or so bags that have arrived during the last two years, Hubby and I would now be greeting the world stark naked! Just how much clothing do you think we have to donate to charity? Truth be told, we wear our clothes until they are beyond repair and then they go to the local recycling depot to be used as stuffing in furniture or car seats.


Between batterings on the door came the phone calls. I have to answer them in case they are related to my business. Each claimed to be for market research but turned out to be companies wishing to draw my business away from current suppliers. Two of them were definitely from companies that I have told several times now to remove our phone number from their lists. We registered our number with the TPS 11 years ago so they really haven't any excuse for flouting the law. I've also registered our address so we will receive considerably less junk mail through the door. To say the least, both approaches are failing miserably.


So, what is the upshot of all of this with regards to my business? I definitely do not want to be remembered for badgering potential customers. I absolutely will not spam you if you e-mail me. I will not add your address to any mailing lists as a result of you doing business with me. I will not sell your personal details to third parties. I am happy to release my phone number to people who are genuinely interested in my work but I am not displaying it in this blog because I know it will be abused if I do so. I do give out some advertising materials while I'm exhibiting or selling my work but only to those of you who seem keen to have it. Hopefully you will pass it along when you are finished with it. I know it is going to take longer to get my name known out there as a designer this way, but I'd far rather end up with happy customers who pass my name along to others for the right reasons. I enjoy cross stitching and blackwork... and I want to keep it that way.