I always look to read Gideon Spanier’s advertising & marketing column on a Monday in The Evening Standard, but last week, yet again, it dealt with the rise of social media and its increasing importance in the business world. Slightly disheartened with the progress in this area galloping well ahead of my understanding of it, after a few flicks of the page I hit on an article entitled:

“Steve Jobs and other movers and shakers say it by phone”

What a breath of fresh air. When I joined Alchemis in July 2000, I feared that traditional telesales was on borrowed time. Earlier barriers such as voicemail were still there, but the internet was taking off as a marketing tool and everyone wanted to receive emails rather than actually talk. That fact still remains, but now we also contend with tweets and pokes and every article is pushing home the potential benefits of social media as a business tool (a fact that I find ironic since many companies banned Facebook due to decreased productivity at its inception). However, Alchemis has gone from strength to strength utilising the phone. The survival of our competitors and the rise of numerous start up new business agencies gives me real confidence that the phone based new business industry is a resilient one and that the phone, whilst maybe not having the potential quick reach of other mediums, is the most powerful and effective tool when selling your business, service or product.

The article quite rightly points out that when your creditors want payments they don’t send emails, they use the phone. It goes on to say that as many “retreat behind the walls of electronic communication, the advantage only grows for those ready to make phone calls”. A statement I wholeheartedly agree with.

· The phone allows you to quickly react to a person’s mood or persona – something email does not

· Email content and tone is open to damaging misinterpretation by the recipient

· “The phone is the best medium to find out things you may not have anticipated”. Absolutely!! A good telesales person will find the issue and opportunity

· As more and more people use the phone as a secondary communication tool, the cards are stacked in favour of those who have the skills to use it effectively

· You can get your point over in one clear concise message, which is not fragmented by a traffic of related emails sent hours or days apart

I do appreciate the value of new communications tools and ways of working, but I firmly believe that the humble phone will continue to play a key role for a long time yet and should remain a part of any integrated sales/marketing strategy.

Well here we are, the end of another Alchemis year. As I sit here shining my baubles ready for the festive break, I look back at a year of winning new business and what has been pushing prospects’ buttons.

It’s been a good all rounder, with my clients winning business at a steady rate. Across the board most marketing disciplines have been successful in securing new clients, but the unique and still relatively untapped area that’s been winning new business has been social media marketing.

Social media marketing is as hot a topic as it was a year ago, but you would be amazed at how prospects in all sectors have yet to realise what can be done. It’s not all about a fan page on Facebook but what you do with it that matters.

The great thing is that a vast range of clients in the marketing services sector can help companies and brands to harness social media successfully; micro sites, viral campaigns, search marketing, and even market research can all be applied.

I will certainly be pushing this angle next year, as there are significant opportunities as more marketing budgets are being shifted towards social media.

One of my favourites of 2010, was the Marmite Bars Facebook campaign.

The campaign asked the public to become part of a travelling video diary, and were given samples of the cereal bars to have their reaction videoed with some funny results. Brave move.

Another interesting advertising and marketing column in the Evening Standard (25th October 2010).

The piece comments on the benefits of real time feedback through digital technologies and social media, enabling real engagement with consumers and allowing brands to react to feedback and messages immediately. The example cited is that of Gap and the feedback the company received when they announced a new brand logo. The company binned the logo almost immediately based on the Facebook postings.

Clearly, the capacity for big brands to focus their efforts in the digital world and use social media to gather quick feedback enables them to adapt campaigns in real time. Indeed, research agencies such as You Gov are developing specific products and services to cover this responsive research channel. It has fantastic potential for large brands in terms of consumer involvement and engagement as well as campaign management.

Social media is the new medium for achieving that end result, but actually speaking to consumers or potential consumers for your brand/proposition has been a successful and often underrated and/or under utilised tool for years. The phone is not just about slick sales people chalking numbers on a white board. It is about using each and every call and conversation to learn more about your market and how your offer is perceived.

Alchemis has been doing this successfully for the past 23 years. OK, the brands we represent are marketing agencies and not large consumer brands, but what we are able to do through actually speaking to people is gather a true response to a proposition on behalf of our clients. Based on the feedback we provide, we are able to work with our clients to adapt or focus on part of their offer as well as test new propositions.

We collect some valuable quantitative data through our bespoke software, and this, combined with the qualitative insights gathered by their New Business Manager is the added value our clients buy into when choosing Alchemis to deliver an effective business development campaign on their behalf.