London, UK ( Fastpressreleaser ) August 7, 2009 – It’s certainly something lots of marketing experts are talking about, but just how small businesses should go about building an online community is harder to understand. Ben Dyer has built a 10,000 member community for his business and he shares the lessons he’s learned in a new article on Marketing Donut.

Dyer says that while a community is a powerful way to engage with your customers, building one requires patience and perseverance.

“For every community I have seen fail due to lack of traffic, two have the plug pulled because of a perceived lack of progress” he says.

Dyer says the other key ingredients of success are: leadership, ground rules, taking criticism on the chin, and making sure the community caters to everyone, not just the “fanatics”.

“Running a community is hard work, but it can be a fantastically rewarding experience for both you and your customers. The reality is that if you have a successful company, product or service, your customers will be talking about you anyway. What you need to decide is whether you are willing to facilitate the conversation.”

Backed by Google and Royal Mail, Marketing Donut is a free marketing resource that’s been developed specially for small business. Practical and no-nonsense, Marketing Donut covers all aspects of small business marketing, from branding through to internet marketing, from direct marketing through to generating PR for your business.

Further information:

* The Marketing Donut is at http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk

Contact details:
Mick Dickinson
BHP Information Solutions
tel: 0117 904 2224
info@marketingdonut.co.uk

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London, UK ( Fastpressreleaser ) July 17, 2009 – Making your most valuable customers feel valued with a carefully-selected gift could deliver the same return as a direct mail to 1000 people or an advert in the local newspaper, says a new expert article on free small business marketing resource Marketing Donut.

“Merchandising might seem like an unnecessary cost during the recession, but if you set clear objectives and select the right merchandise for your target audience, it can generate a valuable return on investment,” says the article on Marketing Donut.

The article says merchandising delivers benefits such as: connecting with customers, raising awareness of the business, and driving sales.

Marketing Donut expert Andy Preston says that with merchandising it’s important to be clear about what you want to achieve. “For example, do you want customers to sign up to your newsletter and communicate with you more, or to drive new customers to your website and increase online sales?”

It’s also important to choose an item of merchandise that’s appropriate for your business.

“So if you’re in financial services you could portray your reliability with something practical, and if you’re in the leisure sector, you should create something fun. For example, a go-kart business could distribute wind-up mini racers.”

The article also has advice about choosing suppliers and methods of distribution.

Marketing Donut is a free marketing resource that’s backed by Google and Royal Mail. It’s got thousands of expert tools and information covering all aspects of small business sales and marketing.

Further information:

* The Marketing Donut is at www.marketingdonut.co.uk

Contact details:
Mick Dickinson
BHP Information Solutions
tel: 0117 904 2224
info@marketingdonut.co.uk

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For immediate release
(Brisbane, Australia. 3 July 2009)

Leica Geosystems launch Leica Active Customer Care programme

Leading global provider of GPS-based mine management solutions, Leica Geosystems, today announce the official launch of the new Leica Active Customer Care programme for their Australian customers. The roll-out will continue globally throughout 2009.

Backing up their leading-edge products and standing by their maxim of “your mining operation – our priority” the new Leica Active Customer Care programme, and complementing Active Customer Care Portal, have been developed to offer an effective and streamlined solution for sites using Leica Geosystems’ pioneering mine management solutions. Providing customers with robust product support tools, site personnel will be able to easily lodge, track, and manage support incidents. The result of this being enhanced workflow and, thus, optimum site operation with minimum downtime.

Speaking of the key benefits that customers can expect from the Leica Active Customer Care programme, Kevin Greenwood (Vice President, Leica Geosystems Mining Systems) stated that: “Our Leica Active Customer Care programme facilitates direct contact and communication between site personnel and Leica Geosystems’ product experts. Not only does this work towards resolving issues—and proactively preventing others— it also provides us with insight into future product roadmaps and solution enhancements.”

Mr. Greenwood continued on to say that, “With deadlines to meet and targets to hit, its essential that our customers have quick and easy access to the expertise of Leica Geosystems’ technical and support teams. The introduction of Leica Active Customer Care, and its portal counterpart, presents our customers with multiple options for engaging with us. No matter which Leica Geosystems Mine Management Solution that sites are running, we can support their investment.”

The Leica Active Customer Care Portal (Leica ACCP) that Mr. Greenwood referred to is an added benefit for customers opting to take advantage of any of the three levels of coverage offered by the Leica ACC plan [Platinum, Gold and Silver]. The peer-to-peer technologies harnessed by the portal enables users to log on to the web-based portal so that they can lodge and track support incidents 24-7. It also allows both parties to maintain key contact records and allows customers to obtain the latest product releases and raise product-related questions.

At the centre of the Leica ACC programme lays a dedicated technical and support team, with extensive expertise. Committed to resolving site issues in the quickest time frame possible (support bases are located in and around mining areas) they can be relied upon to deliver first-rate customer-focussed support.

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About Leica Geosystems Mining Systems

State-of-the-art real-time analysis and reporting software gives entire sites the tools that they need to stay on top by efficiently controlling resources and equipment. The result? Informed decision making, optimised productivity and unparalleled performance for maximum site output: backed up by a reliable global service and support network.

About Leica Geosystems

With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyse, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyse easily, and visualise and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.

Note to editors:

• Interviews are available upon request
• High-resolution images are available for use

For further information, please contact:
Leica Geosystems
Rebecca Sharpe
Marketing Communications Coordinator
270 Gladstone Rd
Dutton Park, 4102
QLD, Australia

Tel. +61 7 3117 8977 (direct) / +61 7 3891 9772 (main)
Fax: +61 7 3891 9336
Email: rebecca.sharpe@leica-geosystems.com

www.leica-geosystems.com/mining