Kevin Harrington

Beadle and Crome Miss the Boat

Beadle and Crome sale

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Kevin Harrington

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Every year Beadle and Crome, the interiors business in the Oxford Road, Reading, send me a Christmas card. This of course has little to do with Christmas and their good wishes to me and my family (they don’t know us from Adam and we’ve never bought anything from them) but is more focussed on telling me about their January sale.

I was amused to receive their 2010 Christmas card today, 11 January 2011. Inside was the flyer (pictured) telling me the sale started 15 days ago. I guess the bargains have all gone now then.

Additionally they tell me that if I go back in time and place an order before 2 January 2011 I can get an extra 5% discount.

Direct mail, is it so difficult to get it right?

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Kevin Harrington
I’m a UK-based B2B marketing consultant, specialising in strategic advice for SME business owners. I bring extensive hands-on expertise to every client engagement. Senior leadership roles across technology, media, payments, and publishing have shaped my practical approach. Highlights include serving as Chief Marketing Officer at The Panoply plc (now TPXimpact), Chief Commercial Officer at Tungsten Network, and Global Marketing Director at BBC Worldwide. Over the years, I’ve guided numerous SMEs through transformation and value creation. Helping businesses evolve and thrive is a genuine passion. Practical marketing insights and succession planning strategies are at the heart of what I do, as I believe growing a business’s asset value should be a rewarding and positive journey for every entrepreneur.
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Comments

2 responses to “Beadle and Crome Miss the Boat”

  1. Andy Litton

    Kevin,

    The next time you feel inclined to publish your views please ensure you have all the facts.

    Beadle & Crome’s Christmas Card is only intended to be sent to existing customers. If you appear on the database in error this can easily be rectified.

    Your cynical view that it has little to do with Christmas is incorrect. The business has sent cards to its customers for many years as a genuine expression of Christmas wishes. The sale message is a recent addition designed simply to inform.

    The late delivery was due to the Royal Mail delaying this mailing during the bad weather. It was actually posted via Mailsort 3 on 8th Dec with most arriving in the following week.

    Blogging. Is it so difficult to get it right?

    Regards

    Andy Litton
    Managing Director
    Air Creative Marketing Ltd

  2. Kevin Harrington

    Hi Andy.

    Thank you for your comment and thank you for explaining the reason for the late arrival of the Christmas card and its contents.

    As I have never bought anything from Beadle & Crome I guess neither of us know how I come to be on their mailing list.

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