“The Energy Secretary should be sacked”, said consumer champion Martin Lewis in May 2017[1]. This wasn’t about smart meters though. Greg Clark had told breakfast TV viewers that switching energy suppliers is “quite a hassle to do”. It isn’t, even for your gran, as explained on Lewis’s MoneySavingExpert site [4].

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Will anyone be sacked over the decision to roll out smart meters?

We’ve all done it haven’t we, become convinced that the expensive new gizmo will make our lives better. After a few hours of the kids shouting “Hey Google”, we start to wonder. It’s expensive for sure. Householders will be paying £11bn for the rollout of smart meters and even this is set to rise [2].

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Well before UK government took the plunge with smart meters, the Germans had already decided that they were too expensive, compared to the savings [3]. So why did the UK go ahead?

The main reason cited for smart meters was that householders would be able to see their energy usage, and cost, in real time. That’s fair enough, but which householders were they targeting?

– The money saving experts who had already switched suppliers? They were already clued up about not leaving the TV on standby and buying A+ rated white goods.
– The ones who hadn’t bothered to switch? Would they take any notice of a box that you can’t shout “Hey Google” at?

What’s worse is that the SMETS 1 boxes will “go dumb” when switching supplier! Householders will still be able to see usage (if they are interested) but not the cost. Penalising the people who actually care. The final straw is that, according to the BBC, smart meters will cut annual energy bills by just £11 – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44903471.

So, what are the benefits? Energy companies won’t have to read meters. Great. Householders won’t either. Yay. A side benefit might be that they can replace that broken gas meterbox and make the outside of the house look more presentable, see here https://www.meterbox.co.uk/.

Love ‘em or loathe ‘em smart meters are here to stay. We’ll see whether the SMETS 1 boxes can be upgraded. Greg Clark is still the Secretary of State for Energy, and you can bet no one will be sacked for the decision to roll out smart meters.

[1] https://inews.co.uk/news/martin-lewis-calls-energy-switch-minister-sacked/
[2] https://utilityweek.co.uk/smart-meter-rollout-costs-1bn-higher-expected-2016/
[3] http://stopsmartmeters.org.uk/germany-rejects-eu-smart-meter-plan-too-expensive-no-payback-in-savings/
[4] https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/cheap-energy-offline/

Defining a buyer persona helps you to identify the attributes of your ideal customer. This will be based on your industry sector and data regarding your current customers and aids in understanding the demographics so that the content and campaigns you create are engaging and effective.

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Why are buyer personas useful?

Buyer personas can help you to understand what your customers want, what concerns them and whether there are any factors that could prevent them from buying your product or service. In digital marketing Manchester could be said to lead the field. Knowing your customers and being able to create a strong relationship with them gives you a definite advantage over other companies.

Creating a buyer persona

The first step towards creating a buyer persona is to research your existing customers. This can be done by various methods including interviews, polls and surveys. Social media now provides very effective ways of conducting surveys and polls, but face to face and telephone interviews are still popular, so the choice is yours.

If you feel you need professional help with the process, contacting a company such as https://htpdigital.com will provide the solution you need.

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Using a template to record information can be very helpful. The fields included can be varied depending on your individual business and your customers. Basic information for a B2C persona template would normally include name, age, gender, marital status and occupation. Other fields might focus on education, location, income, family size and less concrete items such as interests, lifestyle and personality traits. According to Marketing Week, Sainsbury’s increased sales by using location to deliver personalised offers to customers.

If you are selling to another business rather than to consumers, a B2B persona template might have additional fields such as whether the person is a decision maker in their company and their job title.

Using a buyer persona

A buyer persona can be used to increase traffic and target your advertising to where it will be most relevant and effective. Content can be created for the personas you have identified based on what the customer engages with and is interested in. This can be presented in the format they prefer whether this is through blog posts, an eBook or a video guide.

Negative buyer personas are also useful to identify customers that are not a good fit with your business.

January can feel like a pretty blue month without returning to a grubby and messy workplace after the Christmas festivities. While it’s currently the time for planning the office Christmas party, you should spare a thought for the aftermath too. Once the tinsel has come down and the tree stripped of its baubles and lights, it’s time to set to work cleaning the office and making it welcoming and attractive for returning staff. There’s nothing quite as depressing as the sight of withered decorations and empty bottles.

Declutter

It is time to stow the tree, decorations and lights for another 365 days until the festivities return. In addition to the parts you will keep for next year, there will be multiple one-time use items that will need to be discarded of accordingly such as cups, plates, napkins, food and drink etc. Remember to make sure to recycle anything that can be and reuse whenever available. By tackling the party bits and bobs, you will create a clear space to then clean thoroughly.

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Disinfect all surfaces

Now the areas are clear, you can implement an intense cleaning schedule to ensure the office is brought back to efficient levels of cleanliness and sense of professionalism. A standard clean will not suffice, you will need to use disinfecting cleaning products to ensure all germs and bacteria are removed. Due to there being a variety of people, a variety of germs would have been deposited within the office, therefore, ensure anyone who visits the office after the party is not left contaminated. For help with this and ongoing tasks, consider Office cleaning Gloucester and Click here for more information.

Clean bathrooms

As well as the office itself, the bathrooms will also need a thorough clean to ensure all germs and bacteria are removed and the toilets become safe to use. They will visually need a spruce up as well as require a deep clean of all surfaces. Items to clean include:

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Light fixtures

Vent fans

Sink taps

Sinks

Hand dryer

Soap dispenser

Countertops

Walls

Toilet and urinals

Floor

Fixtures

Drain caps

Handles & knobs

Mirrors

Empty bins

Now the office is clear and clean, ensure you empty the bins so that they are not an eyesore and produce an odour into the office. Also, by having a bin filled with waste for long periods of time they become a breeding ground for aggressive germs. Some of those germs could become a risk to staff if not properly disposed of and washed, therefore ensure you are thorough with your post-party cleanup schedule.