Bedroom at the hotel

Verve Resturant

Victory Bar

Why we went:

We had a black tie dinner to attend, and wanted a hotel that was within easy taxi distance. We wanted to stay somewhere nicer than a budget hotel, but didn’t want to spend more than £100.

What did we do?

We arrived at around 2pm for a late lunch and a quick drink, had a late afternoon coffee and stayed overnight – going out for dinner in the evening. Stayed for breakfast the following morning and then left.

Look and feel of the hotel:

On the website the hotel looks very plush and luxurious, and when we arrived, the decor was lovely, although not exceptionally high end – although that’s not the aim of this brand. Well maintained in the public lounge area, and plenty to do, as the Village concept includes (in this instance) a Starbucks and a separate bar, as well as the main restaurant.

The hotel is within a business park, and probably explains the great rate we got (£79 a night per room, including breakfast), as I suspect it’s used more in the week. This actually makes a nice weekend hotel as it’s not too busy. The outside of the hotel is very modern, I suspect to compliment the modern office blocks surrounding it.

When we checked into our room, it was compact (but not overly so) and the decor was very well thought out. A good design touch was the “wet room” style shower, with the controls at the opposite end to the rain shower head, which made it very easy to get the water temperature right. The room was modern, clean and had a good level of amenities.

Amenities

We had everything we needed in the room, tea and coffee making facilities, and there were plenty of things to do in the hotel, 3 choices of where to eat and drink, and a spa.

Eating and Drinking:

Unfortunately for us, there was a major football match on in the bar at the hotel when we arrived, so the bar was packed and noisy – we soon retreated to the public lounge area. We were still able to order lunch, but had to queue at the bar to order, which given the sporting event, took ages.

The food was good and hearty, and despite the wait to order, service was quick and efficient. Having a Starbucks there was a great addition and made a late afternoon coffee a nice treat.

In the morning we had breakfast in the Verve Restaurant, service was a bit patchy, as there was no-one around when we arrived, and we’d been sat for ten minutes before being noticed, given that there were only about six other people in the restaurant this was a little disappointing. They had also run out of food, so we had to wait a while before it was replenished. However when the food did arrive, it was tasty and fresh.

Overall:

At every point, the staff were lovely and helpful, and we were allowed to check in early which was convenient for us. The hotel is a great alternative to the budget brands for a weekend stay, and makes a great place to stay as a base if you have somewhere to go in the local area. Represents great value for money and we would highly recommend it.

devere · farnborough · hotel · review · Venue · village hotel

The Grange Tower Bridge Hotel is the latest addition to the London hotel chain’s portfolio and it opened its doors for the soft opening in the first week of June.  Situated five minutes’ walk from Tower Hill tube station it has some impressive views (from upper floors) across the river and of the nearby Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

Why did we go?

To experience the hotel and see how it feels compared to other hotels in the chain.

What did we do?

We stayed for one night in June about four days after it opened its doors.

Look and feel of hotel:

The ‘soft’ opening means that the accommodation and restaurant are open, with other facilities such as conference space and spa still being completed.  There was also quite a bit of landscaping to be completed outside so the initial impressions are of a building site!

The lobby has a very sparse, almost industrial look, which wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste and is quite different to a lot of hotels we have experienced.  It feels very spacious with lots of open space and high ceilings, but with stones floors and pillars, ‘cosy’ isn’t an adjective that would fit here.

Once up on the 7^th floor, the feeling changes completely and this is the first time it really felt like a 5-star hotel, with deep carpets and immaculate decor.  Our room also felt very plush with floor-to-ceiling  windows, extremely thick curtains and excellent quality furnishings.  The bathroom was also great quality with separate shower and different light settings.

Amenities:

The bedroom had everything you would expect from this level of hotel, including robes and slippers, although we did only have one set.  The media connections are very good with a panel across the top of the desk containing different mains sockets for different countries and connections to all the media in the room (iPod etc) so very good for business travellers.  Interestingly the mini-bar was empty and it wasn’t clear if this was the usual situation or if it had never been filled.

It is worth mentioning that although the hotel pool and spa are not due to open until September, guests are able to use the facilities at the nearby Grange City Hotel for a charge of £10 per person.

Service:

This was the area where it was most obvious that this is a new hotel and they were certainly having their share of teething problems.  Upon arrival there were about six staff behind the check in desk and all seemed busy trying to sort out problems with new arrivals.  We had a bit of a wait but the actual check-in was very quick and efficient.

Breakfast the following morning was a bit of a shambles.  They have a huge restaurant but clearly not enough staff to service it properly, as there was not a single table that had been cleaned when we arrived, despite many tables being clear of guests.  We, along with a few other people, were therefore not able to be seated until the head waiter was able to track down a colleague to clear some tables.

Eventually we were offered a seat at a dirty table while we waited, which was not a good suggestion.  It would have been better to stand rather than stare at the previous diners’ debris.  However, once we did have a table, the food itself was very good with plenty of choice, although we did have to ask more than once for some tea.

Overall:

This has all the makings of a really good hotel for leisure or business, with a great location, especially for those who want to be close to central London as well as the City.  A lot of the staff appeared to be trainees and they will naturally have a learning curve, however if a hotel markets itself as 5-star it should be able to operate at this level from the outset.  Judging by some of the comments on TripAdvisor, we got off quite lightly!

It will be very interesting to return to the hotel once the conference space is open to see how things have changed and to experience the service levels once the staff and the systems have bedded in.

accommodation · B2B · Event · Grange Tower Bridge Hotel · London · Marketing · review · Venue

Part of the Du Vin brand that includes 14 properties, the Hotel du Vin in Poole is the old Mansion House just off the Old Quay.  Dating from the Georgian era it houses 38 bedrooms and suites, with two event spaces.

Why did we go?

We wanted to find a hotel that is high end, but warm and welcoming. We run many events for very senior business executives, and they are used to a very high standard, but often want a more personal experience home from home.

What did we do?

We stayed for 2 nights in April, with some friends. We wanted to eat at the hotel as well as try out a local restaurant. We ate at the hotel for dinner the first night, and then for breakfast both days.

Look and Feel of hotel:

It’s a classic boutique hotel that has been modernised but in total keeping with the history and style of the building. Tucked away on a quiet street, but only 2 minutes walk from the sea front and the town centre it’s ideally located for both business and pleasure. The exterior is beautifully maintained and the grandeur and warmth puts one in mind of staying at a relatives grand Georgian house.
It’s a bit awkward as you drive up, as the road is narrow and it’s not obvious where to put the car. It does talk about valet parking on the website, and if I was going to be picky I would suggest they let people know before they get there where to put the car.

Reception is welcoming and comfortable, a large mural depicts the different du Vin hotels, and some key du Vin team members (we think!). Calm and quiet, we were checked in quickly and shown to our rooms.

The rooms were immaculate and simply decorated in a modern, boutique style.

Amenities:

In the room we had everything we need…tea and coffee making, mini bar, tv, iron etc…perfect for a long or short stay. Robes in the bathroom confirmed its place as high end, as well as the general finish and level of information in the room. Generally they create the impression that nothing is too much effort.

Eating and Drinking:

Pre-dinner drinks were a must (of course) and we settled down in the snug bar after a short walk along Poole front, before we got changed for dinner.  A sumptuous room, full of velvet couches, long low tables, candle light and all sorts of interesting historical gadgets, pictures and knick knacks. We were almost horizontally relaxed, and the long gin and tonics, served with complimentary nibbles sealed the deal.

After a quick change for dinner, we re-appeared and were offered a table in the bar prior to moving to the restaurant. They handed us the menus and we selected from a delicious, varied (but not too varied) bistro menu. The restaurant was very much modelled after a French bistro, and had a great, lively atmosphere. It wasn’t too big, so avoided that sometime cavernous feeling of noisy restaurants.

The food was a perfect mix of simple dishes with a gourmet touch – which resulted in delicious, filling meals – such as egg mayonaise – bit with tasty duck egg and homemade mayonnaise on the side as well as warm, hearty bread. One of our party had the cheese course, and it was fascinating to hear the background of each cheese before serving – more like a cheese experience than a simple cheese course.

Overall:

Highly recommended for both business and pleasure. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. We felt like old friends every time we went to the restaurant or bar. A great sense of luxury via the decor, level of service, and quality of the food meant we had an enjoyable, relaxing weekend.

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Most B2B businesses would say they don’t have an e-Commerce website … they don’t have a shopping cart and for good reason; B2B purchases are often high value items or service contracts.

I propose that most B2B sites ARE eCommerce sites, it’s just that the final transaction takes place off-line. The site plays an important role in a longer sales process. For this reason research and complex decision-making dominate the B2B user experience rather than a shopping basket and checkout. B2B sites have to offer in-depth information that you’d never normally find on a B2C site.

So B2B sites are just another form of eCommerce, but, there’s one big contrast between B2C and B2B – pricing. You rarely find it on B2B sites. In recent B2B research by the Neilsen Norman Group, wanting to get pricing (or an indication of cost) was rated as the most important information needed by B2B site visitors (29% higher than product/service availability which ranked 2nd).

The research shows that in order to make a decision to further the buying process, B2B visitors want a basic knowledge of products and services from their initial research that includes an idea of the cost.

So what’s your excuse for hiding your price?

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Our new weekly spot!

Each week we highlight an interesting piece of technology we’ve come across, which we think could be life-changing, a bit useful, or just a bit of fun!

Any suggestions? Add a comment to suggest a piece of tech you’ve come across that’s worth sharing.

This week: Prezi

What is it?

Prezi is a great tool for jazzing up presentations and avoiding “death by powerpoint”

What does it do?

Essentially the love child of powerpoint and flash, it enables you to create presentations that look like flash animations.

Why should I care?

It’s easy to use, and looks really impressive – you can look like a creative and technical whizz quickly and easily!!

Where can I find out more?

http://prezi.com/

By the way, we are not linked to any of the products we mention, nor do we receive anything for featuring them, it’s just genuine feedback from genuine techies!!

B2B · Marketing · powerpoint · prezi

We’ve all seen them, the square box, with some random black squares arranged within – gradually beginning to appear on consumer products and advertising.

We’ve been thinking about how to use them in a B2B environment.

The most obvious one (to us anyway) seemed to be to pop it onto our business cards:

Business Card with QR Code

All you have to do is download a Barcode Reader app to your smartphone of choice, then use that to take a picture of the QR Code, and your phone will automatically register the contact details and should prompt to save as a V Card.

From a B2B perspective, we think it would work well in the following scenarios:

1. Email marketing & Events – include a QR code image in HTML emails that people can scan to download event venue details, someone’s contact details, special offer information etc ( as they can be scanned from on screen as well as in print)

2. Include a QR code in print ads – really handy for tracking responses as you could share a “secret” URL only accessible by scanning the code

3. Include a QR code in printed direct mail – especially great if marketing products – if you go one step further and develop your own app (if relevant) you can integrate the two to enable product reminders and ordering.

4. Web – using QR codes on the website can be a great addition to a contact us page, or to share URLs

5. Well, that was the business card idea

Want to know more about they work? The below link takes you to a great blog that has the top 14 things you should know about QR Codes:

http://searchenginewatch.com/3642255

If you’ve any other ideas for use in a B2B environment, please comment below!

B2B · business cards · direct mail · email · Marketing · QR codes · web

From the 1st March 2011 the Advertising Standards Authority will be regulating all ONLINE advertisements and other marketing communications – a power they didn’t have before. I’m sure there’ll be load of Web Freedom Fighters screaming about this one with shouts of “Free Speech” but the reality is that many claims made on the web probably do need regulating. There’s still an ongoing mistrust of online shopping that this will only help to improve.

Importantly, the regulation will cover advertising and marketing messages for ALL businesses in the UK regardless of type or size of the company. It will also cover all related communications under the control of the business including social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as well as email and text messages.

This new regulation adds to the Disability Discrimination Act and Companies Act that already make requirements of companies to show certain company information and make their sites accessible by special needs users. The downside of course is that the ASA only has jurisdiction in the UK so consumers and business users will still have to use caution for non-UK sites.

Don’t think it’s just consumer sites that are affected – B2B companies are covered by this regulation just as much. Over the coming months, as the ASA starts to “name and shame” businesses, I expect we’ll see many business owners and marketing directors taking a closer look at what’s being said on their sites and in their electronic communications.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/gK7dfV

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The one group  of businesses I expect to have their unsubscribe process spot on are retailers – especially online retailers.

I don’t think I’m being unreasonable, they are completely customer focused, familiar with technology and have been using the internet for some time now!

I think someone needs to let play.com in on the secret – sorry guys!

In a New Year clearout I decided to purge my personal email of subscription emails….it’s a dumping ground email address for me when I buy things online, but I finally tired of all the scintillating offers and decided to decamp. This soon became an odyssey of critiquing Unsubscribe processes – teensy bit relevant to me as we run many email campaigns for our customers, and frankly, I’m a bit nosy.

Firstly, the myth of bigger companies and retailers being more on the ball – how wrong could I be!

Art.com impressed me the most, not only was the process painless and quick, they’ d taken the time to create an appealing page that said how sorry they were to see me go. Very sweet (didn’t stop me, but I would still buy from them, which is the point).

A few sites from very small retailers impressed me with their painless unsubscribes..and then I clicked on the Play.com one.

Step 1: I was presented with a login screen – well if I’m unsubscribing, I probably haven’t bought anything for ages, and I’m damned if I can remember that password!

Step 2: Yup, you guessed it, so then I had to go through a multi-step forgotten password process (I won’t bore you with that one)

Step 3: (Correct, I am persistent) finally get logged in and am presented with an Account Settings page.  The Unsubscribe feature is in a box called Change Newsletter Settings, placed at the bottom of the page, below the fold.

Step 4: Radio button located, I selected it. Sentence appears confirming update (but no acknowledgement that I had unsubscribed, or would be missed – sniff)

Then to top it all off, the next day, guess who I received a newsletter from? Yup, you guessed it, my good friends at Play.com!

This isn’t a diatribe against Play.com – they do the selling bit very well!

But, it is just lack of attention to detail- Unsubscribe is not something that’s hard to get right – just place what the customer wants at the heart of the process, make it easy, make it fast and tell ‘em you’ll miss em!!!

B2B Marketing · customer service · play.com · unsubscribes

When you need a plumber – who do you call? Probably not Ghostbusters (am I showing my age?)…but probably the last person you know that ended up with water in places it shouldn’t have been.

The plumbing industry is a bit  like the marketing industry – very few barriers to entry – and a monstrous variety of quality, skill, price and scale. Although white vans tend to be a lot less prevalent in marketing.

There are also lots of stories of being charged too much for too little, or for shoddy workmanship – and plumbing can be pretty ropey too.

When choosing a plumber, your needs are the same as from a good agency:

- prove to me you’ve achieved my objective

- challenge me if I’ve told you to do something that will undermine my objectives

- suggest things that I might not have thought of – after all, you’re the expert

- sort what needs sorting in the way that is suitable for my particular problem, not just what you know what to do

So, when I need a plumber, I talk to people with values and plumbing issues similar to mine and find out who they rave about.

What I find interesting during the marketing selection process are two common things:

1. Nobody ever takes us up on the offer of chatting with one of our customers – nope, not one (although I like to think this is because they are bowled over by our charm and expertise)

2. We often get push back on reducing planning and briefing time (bit like giving the house keys to the plumber, no instructions, and uttering the words “off you go – do what you will!”)

So, you know what to do, next time you need a plumber, write up a brief and invite six of them in to explain how they will fix the problem, and next time you need an agency, ask someone you respect for their opinion and talk to the agency’s customers.

agency · agency selection · B2B Marketing · briefing · Marketing · pitches

I took part in a recent survey for the Soil Association – despite the fact that it was clearly the most biased, marketing driven survey I’ve ever come across.

The questions were so leading as to make objectivity impossible, such as:

“Annual reports from the Pesticides Residues Committee regularly show pesticides showing up in non-organic food. 150 of the 311 pesticides commonly used in non-organic farming have been identified as potentially causing cancer. Do you think this is cause for concern?”

Well, how would you respond? Oh no, I’m fine about eating potentially cancer causing pesticides…(and don’t even get me started on the word “potentially”), so, it fails on one of the most primary quality control checks for surveys: maximise objective assessments, and reduce subjective ones.

Surveys are also supposed to be balanced – otherwise what is the point? With surveys that contain leading questions such as the above, you’ll only learn what you already think you know – which may well have been their objective, who knows? And if the Soil Association (who I don’t have issue with as a whole) wants to back up their marketing messages with data from this survey (I can see it now: 97% of people think non-organic food causes cancer), then that’s up to them and their conscience.

Which is my point here….surveys are most valuable in situations where you don’t know what you don’t know. Validating a marketing message, or an assumption about a marketplace for example, and the quality of surveys should be tightly controlled to ensure objectivity and balance. Why? Well, if you’re planning on using the results for marketing/messaging purposes, you don’t want to be caught out with inaccuracies that have come about through leading questions. At best, your messaging could be based on non-existent industry needs, at worst, your reputation could be impacted negatively.

I am guessing that actually what the Soil Association were trying to achieve was to get my contact details, and given that it was presented to me after completing my shop on Ocado, they probably figured I fit a certain profile, and these statements would be what I wanted to hear. Which is all fine, but don’t dress it up as “one of the most important debates of our time” (their words, not mine), a more credible approach would have been “if you agree with these statements then support the soil association”

So what would a non-leading version of that question above have looked like? How about:

Are you concerned about pesticides in food? If so, please state your reasons:

- because the media tells me I ought to be

- because I have heard that they may be harmful to people’s health

- I don’t know

- I just don’t like the idea of eating chemicals, but don’t know what effect that has on my health

That way, if you wanted value from the survey, you would understand if people are actually concerned in the first place, then you would see what’s driving that concern.

Putting time into planning the questions properly, and avoiding the temptation to slant them to your solution, will ensure that not only do you get the most value from the results, your subsequent actions are based on real fact, and you will have established credibility with your audience.

Another good article, from the US, on this subject, is available here. This article also has some good specifics around how to measure the quality of your surveys.

B2B Marketing · soil association · surveys