The UK economy was at risk of heading into its third recession in four years, according to research by BDO accountants. The economy grew in the third quarter of 2012, but contracted by 0.3% in the final quarter. Speculations of the triple-dip recession were due to concerns of the economy contracting for another quarter, meeting the technical criteria for a recession of six months of falling output. Source Marketing Direct reports that the small growth between January and March was enough to stop the economy falling back into recession. “The possibility of a triple-dip recession was a big concern in the media, in part due to the negative effects the cold weather in Quarter 1 had on the retail and hospitality sectors. The growth we have observed is encouraging, and although the economy has a long way to recover, I don’t believe Britain will sink further into a recession. Both consumers and businesses are far savvier than they were 4 years ago. Better risk analysis strategies have been implemented and the nation as a whole is beginning to spend again,” stated Hector Montalvo, Managing Director of Source Marketing Direct.

Source Marketing Direct is based in London and provides outsourced event marketing services for national clients. The firm considers small businesses to be the key to the country’s future economic recovery. The Federation of Small Businesses states that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for 99.9% of all private sector businesses in the UK and 59% of private sector employment. Small businesses alone – those with less than 50 employees – account for 47% of private sector employment and 34% of turnover. London in particular is a hub for small business, with over 800,000 private sector businesses in the capital. “Small businesses are the lifeline of a successful economy,” says Hector Montalvo of Source Marketing Direct. “They make up a vast proportion of private businesses and provide more jobs than large companies. If we look towards emerging economies like India and Brazil, their growth is driven by entrepreneurship – small businesses drive economic growth by creating competition, which drives standards and trade opportunities. I think the only way for the UK to recover the economy back to pre-2008 standards is by supporting small businesses. Implementing measures such as reducing corporation tax for small businesses and improving access to finance for start-ups would be a great move.”

Source Marketing Direct is among Britain’s SMEs that have grown throughout the economic downturn.  They currently have representation in 5 UK markets and are researching further expansion by July 2013.

http://www.cityam.com/article/business-surveys-suggest-third-recession-starting

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On the 27th April 2013 Source Marketing Direct Managing DirectorHector Montalvo went to the Incipio Academy in London to see renowned speaker Eric Thomas on his UK 2013 tour.  Hector Montalvo was also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet with Eric one-on-one after the dinner.

Hector Montalvo of Source Marketing Direct is an avid follower of the inspiring career of Eric Thomas.  Renowned speaker, educator, author, activist and minister obtained his masters degree in 2005; after formerly dropping out of high school.  And currently, Eric Thomas is pursuing his PhD in Education Administration at Michigan State University.  Eric Thomas is rising to National prominence by delivering high energy messages that encourage people to live up to their full potential by breaking the cycles of crime, hopelessness and despair that many face daily.

After the dinner, Hector Montalvo was able to meet with Eric Thomas. ‘I explained to Eric that I wasn’t there for motivation but to express my gratitude and respect for his accomplishments up to date. I also simply wanted to thank him for reminding me the importance of constantly seeking improvement. As business, and life coaches for that matter, sometimes we get caught up always being the teacher and giving the information that we forget to still be a student and better ourselves. Also, on a personal note, I feel like his values that he shares has helped me put a lot of things in perspective and has help me, not only become a better businessman, but a better friend, husband, and father.

Hector Montalvo established outsourced sales and marketing firm Source Marketing Direct over 11 years ago and the firm now operate in both the USA and the UK. Like Eric Thomas, Hector Montalvo has extensive motivational speaking experience and his sales and marketing company often host business workshops; developed to offer advice and guidance on moving from self-employment to business ownership.

Inspired by the career of Eric Thomas, entrepreneur and small business owner Hector Montalvo was recently guest speaker at a sales and marketing conference in Birmingham and keynote speaker at a business conference held in Glasgow.

Hector Montalvo believes that success is about how people have overcome obstacles and bounced back from misfortune or challenges. The Managing Director of Source Marketing Direct also believes that success through determination is highly admirable, which is one reason why Hector Montalvo feels inspired by Eric Thomas who has knowledge of the pains of like but still continues to inspire people from all walks of life to break bad habitats and reach to new levels of personal achievement.

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Source Marketing Direct’s Managing Director, Hector Montalvo appeared as a guest speaker at the Birmingham Sales Conference this weekend. Held at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, the event saw over 120 attendees take advice and inspiration from the 6 speakers who addressed every-day issues faced by small business owners.  Montalvo spoke of working with the right people as a key area small business owners could benefit from if implemented correctly.

‘Investing in relationships with suppliers and contractors to grow your business is more cost-effective than trying to buy in skills and talent’ states Hector Montalvo.

Source Marketing Direct has representation in 6 UK markets and is in the process of targeting a further 2 locations in the coming months. Their growth throughout the UK recession has been attributed to Hector Montalvo’s investment in people and business strategies.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development state in a recent case study, (http://www.cipd.co.uk/binaries/5938%20LTW%20employer%20leaflet_WEB.pdf) recruiters advise attitude rather than experience should be the priority for companies. They claim if candidates have the right attitude, motivation and work ethic, the rest can be taught on the job, including technical skills. Source Marketing Direct’s MD agrees ‘It’s time for small businesses to emerge from the economic downturn with a fresh mentality where harnessing the benefits of a truly diverse workforce, through ambitious freelancers and suppliers is an everyday business practice’.

Hector Montalvo promoted the benefits contact workers can offer a business in his speech on Saturday. He stated ‘Freelancers can instantly provide advanced sales skills while being very cost-effective for a small business. Investing in the right freelancers can be hugely beneficial for sales growth and business development.’

Source Marketing Direct business partners attended the conference to see Montalvo speak and reported the information covered by all 6 speakers as ‘insightful’ and ‘progressive’. Overall feedback from the event suggests it provided relevant information and evoked excitement among the attendees.

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Hector Montalvo is a distinguished public speaker in the sales and marketing industry; so it comes as no great surprise that he was chosen as guest speaker at this quarter’s sales conference held in Birmingham on 20th April 2013.  As an entrepreneur and Managing Director of Source Marketing Direct Ltd, Hector Montalvo is a wealth of information and experience on identifying key drivers in sales and how best to invest in those key people.

Hector Montalvo will speak to some of the top entrepreneurs and self-employed sales professionals within the direct sales and marketing industry at the event held at the Hilton Metropole on 20th April 2013.

‘I am delighted to be invited as a guest speaker for the conference in Birmingham’ said Hector Montalvo.  ‘Every conference that I am invited to speak at is just as significant as the next, and I am proud to be able to share my 12 valuable years of practical business ownership with other entrepreneurs’added Hector Montalvo, Managing Director of Source Marketing Direct Ltd.

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Brand positioning is the placing of a product in the marketplace, in order for it to have a specific place in the consumer’s mind. The Management Study Guide article ‘Brand Positioning Strategy’ describes brand positioning as “creating points of similarities and points of difference” between separate brands. Brand positioning can involve areas such as target audience, price, context (e.g. time of day) and function. Brand positioning allows products to create a niche in a crowded marketplace where consumers are faced with a vast array of choices.

Source Marketing Direct is following the example of several high-profile brands that are sharpening their focus on brand positioning in order to increase consumer engagement and widen their target audience. The MarketingWeek article ‘Brand potency lies in the power of the people’ describes how Blossom Hill noticed a gap in the wine market which was positioned solely towards high-value ‘connoisseurs’ or price-conscious customers, by focusing on consumers’ attitudes and emotional responses towards the product. Hector Montalvo, managing director of Source Marketing Direct, agrees that the customer experience should lie at the heart of a brand positioning strategy: “What I find interesting about the Blossom Hill example is that they are targeting consumers based on their emotional experiences of the brand, rather than using a straightforward pricing strategy. From our experience dealing with consumers directly over the last five years, we understand that customer service is crucial not only to acquiring, but also retaining customers. Our strength as a direct marketing firm is that we can engage with prospects on a personal level, allowing a greater degree of emotional involvement and interaction with the brand. ”

Source Marketing Direct considers the ‘consumer experience’ as essential to their ability to gain and maintain long-term customers. The firm recently reported an increase in customer acquisition of 5% following the implementation of new customer care policies. Managing director Hector Montalvo explains: “We believe that focusing on the customer’s experience at the point of sale makes the customer feel valued by the brand, which creates more brand loyalty and ultimately more long-term customers.” Source Marketing Direct currently boosts a customer retention rate of 76%, a figure they aim to exceed 80% by the 3^rd quarter of 2013.

Source Marketing Direct in the last five years has expanded into Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Scotland; international expansion is planned within the next 12 months.

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Hector Montalvo, CEO of Source Marketing Direct stresses the importance of customer care as a business owner of an outsourced event sales company. ‘Customer service is an essential part of running a business and it will help differentiate a company from its competitors’’ says the CEO of Source Marketing Direct.

John Tshohl, a recognised customer service expert, explains the value of aligning service strategy with customer expectations. ‘Getting to know your customers will add more value to your business as anybody can lower prices’, says Josh Tshohl. Source Marketing Direct has done precisely that; investing in personalised service has lead customers to purchase on the spot and has also improved loyalty to the brands they promote at events throughout Greater London, Bedfordshire, the Midlands, and Scotland.

Source Marketing Direct recognise the benefit of their customer care strategy as essential to the growth of their business. Source Marketing Direct will differentiate themselves from their competitors but also acquire repeat business from customers. Consequently, the company will benefit with greater sales and profits. Contrarily, companies with poor customer service may lose customers which will have a negative impact on business. The efforts that go into maintaining quality customer service pays dividends over time as according to www.businessfast4ward.co.uk acquiring a new customer can cost 6 to 7 times more than retaining an existing customer.

Hector Montalvo, CEO of Source Marketing Direct says ‘’A Customer care strategy plays an important role in building customer satisfaction, which helps our company to retain loyal customers and increase levels of repeat business’’.

Source Marketing Direct, outsourced sales specialist, focus area for 2013 to constantly look for ways to improve the level of good customer service has certainly paid off. Source Marketing Direct every day focus is on trying to satisfy customers with the right products and services supported by the right promotions and making it available at the right time and location. Hector Monvalto of Source Marketing Direct explains further that in a tight economy this is even more important as every producer is looking for a competitive edge. ‘Long-term client and customer loyalty is a long-term challenge that you must strive for every day and with every transaction no matter how big or small’.

Sources:

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/customer-service-important-organization-2050.html

http://www.businessfast4ward.com/small-business-marketing-strategies-customer-retention-vs-customer-acquisition/

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Source Marketing Direct attended a quarterly campaign meeting to review results from their newly upscaled reporting processes.

Each brand holds a quarterly review to determine the success of the event marketing campaigns carried out by partner Source Marketing Direct, and outsourced event marketing firm.  Discussing results to date, objections hindering further growth, resolutions, brainstorming, and projections were the key areas reviewed at the meeting last week.

‘These reviews are fantastic for both ourselves and our clients. We choose to collaborate in order to take advantage of each others business strengths, meeting on a regular basis allows us to all remain on the same wave length and ensure sales growth is on track and we are resolving any issues that may interfere with the development of the event campaign we are providing’ states Hector Montavlo, Managing Director at Source Marketing Direct.

Source Marketing Direct recently introduced a ‘Real-Time’ tracking software which has proven a success.  Projected growth for Quarter 2 is estimated to exceed 6%, the firm credit their ability to decipher market changes and improve customer retention to their new streamlined reporting process. ‘To help drive profitable growth, reporting must be efficient and accurate.  This reporting enhances the value of our service by producing increased return on investments by monetizing data on the back end of the traffic generated’ adds Hector Montalvo.

Data was presented to the firms business development team and assistants at the Campaign Review.  Source Marketing Direct were asked which areas needed improving on the brand’s back end to help them further.  ‘Every clients objective is to grow.  It is great to be asked how our clients can improve their services to better serve our event marketing strategies. We love being able to tweak back end processes to ensure the information we are collecting is being managed effectively’ continues Hector Montalvo.

Source Marketing Direct have formed strong partnerships with the brands they represent.  The outsourced event firm believe relationships play an important role in sales and marketing not only with their clients but also customers. An outcome from the campaign review was to further improve customer satisfaction, Source Marketing Direct’s MD Hector Montalvo believes in addition to the projected 6% sales growth, the firm will also improve customer retention and satisfaction by a further 4%.

The next quarterly review is scheduled to take place in late June, 2012.

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The launch of a new test campaign is to be carried out the week commencing 11 February 2013 by Source Marketing Direct for a growing Gaming and Film brand. The specific company cannot be named so early on in the test phase of the campaign but Source Marketing Direct express their excitement with working on a new project ‘Rolling out a new event marketing campaign for clients is always fun but this particular campaign means moving into online streaming, gaming a film rental industry which opens up the opportunity to expand into a thriving sector’ says Hector Montalvo.

Source Marketing Direct is keen to quickly prove their outsourcing event services will improve ROI for this client. The London based firm currently generate over 800 new customers per week for clientele and reduce marketing expenditure on average by £36 per new customer acquisition. ‘Digital streaming is at the height of popularity following the fall of Blockbuster and HMV so we are very keen to make this transition as soon as possible. The test phase of this campaign is expected to last 6 weeks and will involve up to 10 event locations’ added Hector Montalvo, Source Marketing Directs Managing Director.

The digital streaming industry has already seen dramatic growth in recent months; Amazon’s digital media selection has grown to over 23 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, books, audiobooks, and popular apps and games in 2012, an increase from 19 million at year-end 2011. The company expects that revenue will grow by 14% to 26% in the first-quarter of 2013 versus the same period next year to between $15 billion and $16.6 billion.

Source Marketing Direct feels confident they will reach the targets set for their 6-week test campaign. The firm announced earlier this year their plans to branch into new UK markets in the first 2 quarters of the year, extending market reach for their clients will likely add further value to their event marketing services.

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Read More: http://www.pressat.co.uk/releases/source-marketing-direct-runs-test-campaign-for-gaming-film-giant-e49df5cba5838c889a2ff1ecabe3569a/

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Hector Montalvo is a renowned public speaker on the topic of Entrepreneurship. As owner of successful small business Source Marketing Direct, he not only brings extensive motivational speaking experience, but 11 years of practical business ownership and management knowledge to the event.

This premiere event aims to bring together over 400 self-employed contractors, professionals, consultants and administrative personnel within the sales and marketing industry. Montalvo will speak on ‘Leadership Skills’ – how to develop essential management skills in 3-4 weeks and developing successful a successful sales pitch in new markets. ‘I will be travelling up to Glasgow on Saturday in time for the Conference which is scheduled for the full day on Sunday 17th February. I am honoured to be asked to speak to such an exciting group of people. I am passionate about building businesses and love advising budding entrepreneurs in the early stages of their start-up companies’ says Hector Montalvo.

The event is expected to attract individuals who are in the early stages of developing a business plans and those that are looking to strengthen their network of like-minded business professionals. Other topics covered at the Glasgow Business Conference include; Small Business Fundamentals, Time Management, Marketing, Strategic Selling Techniques and Business Growth.

‘I am looking forward to collaborating with the other speakers and discussing their business objectives for 2013’ adds Source Marketing Directs, Managing Director Hector Montalvo.

Montalvo demonstrated the power of mentorship and importance of business relationships in a recent Business Coaching Tutorial held at Source Marketing Directs offices in Waterloo earlier this year. His sales and marketing company hosts regular business workshops which were developed to offer individuals education on moving from self-employment into business ownership. This year’s schedule consists of 6 tutorials on a range of business subjects.

Hector Montalvo travels internationally to speak at Business Development and Entrepreneurship events. For more information on his next speaking engagements contact info@sourcemarketingdirect.com.

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Source Marketing Direct announced in early January their plans for a series of seminars throughout 2013. Managing Director and Host, Hector Montalvo is committed to fostering entrepreneurship and initiated these business seminars to assist with boosting overall performance in small businesses. ‘I’ve owned my company for close to 12 years and something that I found very challenging at the beginning was accelerating performance on a consistent basis. This seems to be an issue many business owners face as in the early days you are pulled in so many direction that focusing on business growth is often faltered’ says Hector Montalvo. ‘What I plan to offer in the seminars we have set up this year are simple and easy to implement steps that will build value in a business. Our ‘Driving Sales Productivity Workshop’ will be held next week and covers tried-and-tested strategies can help any business boost performance by 20%’.

Source Marketing Direct attendees will gain a level of confidence when dealing with customers. The workshop will address common objectives and teach advanced sales skills, which will facilitate overcoming challenging moments in the sales process. This will allow salespeople to win more business and build long-term customer loyalty.  Businesses who can communicate in a persuasive and customer friendly manner through their sales force always have the advantage in a competitive market. Armed with the advanced skills of this course, business owners will have the confidence to drive sales, reputations and market share by winning and retaining more customers.

‘We received fantastic feedback from our last seminar, ‘Business Coaching’. It has been great to hear how our advice has helped in redefining business strategies. My administration have advised me that we already have many of the same attendees booked in to attend this next workshop on Driving Sales which is very positive’ adds Source Marketing Directs MD, Hector Montalvo.

Topics covered bt Source Marketing Directs in other seminars throughout 2013 will be ‘How to leverage systems, technology and marketing’. ‘Business Development and Growth for Start-Up’s, ‘Recruit, motivate and retain a winning team’, ‘Multiply your customers, revenue and profits’, Leadership – ‘A Necessity for your Business’ and ‘Entrepreneurship’.

Contact Source Marketing Direct on info@sourcemarketingdirect.com for details about this Workshop.

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