December 17th, 2010
This week Apollo’s blinds were featured in the Daily Express’s Hot Hints section.
In a typically festive feature the newspaper had a collection of ‘must have’ home interior items for this Christmas and our energy saving Duette blinds got a lovely plug (BTW for silly legal reasons we can’t show you the actual article).
In the feature it explained that:
“A fifth of all heat lost from homes escapes through window panes and frames. Apollo Blinds’ energy-efficient Duette Fixe blinds help cut heat loss during winter with their patented air pocket honeycomb texture. Or for even better insulation values, try the blackout range using a metallised film. Blinds can be fitted to any size of window or door and come in a choice of 14 colours. All are made to measure.”
As you can imagine everyone at Apollo HQ was delighted with the coverage and the fact the Express mentioned our website address as well so readers could go and get more information on energy saving blinds.
The only fly in the ointment was that they didn’t use the right picture but we’re not going to look a gift horse in the mouth as all publicity is good publicity. So here’s a picture anyway.
So the combination of millions of people seeing the Daily Express feature and plummeting temperatures this weekend will hopefully see our team of experts around the UK taking a flurry of enquiries for our blinds that keep the warmth in.
Tags: Daily Express
Posted in Energy saving blinds | 6 Comments »
December 12th, 2010
Our newest franchise owner got a taste of what it must be like for the stars of the TV show Dragons’ Den this week.
Paul T, who is planning to launch a new business in West Yorkshire in the New Year, invited all the main local advertisers to come in and meet him at our head office in Liversedge. Paul, along with our communications manager Paul Kirby, listened to pitches of the different representatives from local radio, newspapers and other media to find out how they could help him promote his new business.
As you can imagine each advertiser had compelling reasons why he should spend the lion’s share of his launch budget advertising with them. They were all focused on helping raise the profile of Paul’s new business and get the phones ringing with new customers wanting to make appointments to see his new collections of window blinds, awnings and shutters.
Paul is a lovely chap so he isn’t as bullish as Dragons such as Duncan Bannatyne so he didn’t utter those famous words ‘I’m in’ or ‘I’m out’ on the spot. Instead he has sensibly opted to study each proposal in more detail over the next week or so. And, with guidance from the Apollo team, a plan will be drawn up which is right for him, his business and his franchise area.
Tags: Dragons' Den
Posted in Discovery Day, Launching a franchise | No Comments »
December 3rd, 2010
Apollo Blinds franchise owner John Youle is gearing up for some van-tastic publicity to promote his business on the Isle of Wight.
John’s business is booming and son Ben has joined the family firm – which meant they needed two new vans. So when the local dealership asked if they could publicise Apollo’s new acquisitions John didn’t have to be asked twice.
John and Ben posed for photos collecting their new vehicles and the PR team at the dealership will now pass them onto local newspapers. The expected free publicity should be great news for both Apollo Blinds and the dealership.
But the good news doesn’t stop there as there are two distinctive Apollo Blinds vans driving around the Isle of Wight so it’s double the opportunity for people to see them.
John is clearly taking a leaf out of the book of other great marketers in the Apollo Blinds network such as George Stewart who doesn’t miss a trick when it comes to publicising his business in Hamilton, Scotland.
Tags: Apollo Blinds Isle of Wight, PR
Posted in Local experts, Sales and marketing, local service, marketing and business training, www.apollo-blinds.co.uk | No Comments »
November 26th, 2010
George Stewart’s eye-catching publicity for his Apollo Blinds business in Hamilton near Glasgow has certainly been attracting the attention of new customers. It has also prompted other local traders in the town who have been begging him to share his secrets.
The phoneline at his showroom lit up as soon as the latest edition of his local magazine landed on the doormats of homes across the area. On Monday alone this week he took four big orders as a direct response from the article about him. He is delighted at the reaction of his latest article which focuses on his great customer service and not directly flogging blinds – as you might have expected.
In between a raft of appointments with eager customers George attended a meeting of other traders to talk to them about how he markets his business and gets free publicity. He revealed his secret weapon – the ghostwriter who drafts all his articles for him as part of the ongoing free support provided by his franchisor.
George’s business is booming and he very graciously tells everyone he meets why being part of the Apollo Blinds franchise is helping him be a success.
Tags: Apollo Hamilton, PR
Posted in Blinds, Facebook, News, Sales and marketing, Twitter, www.apollo-blinds.co.uk | No Comments »
November 19th, 2010
A new supplier got more than they bargained for this week when Apollo Blinds turned up mob handed to inspect products that we are thinking about stocking early next year.
As well as hosting all the key decision makers from head office, a number of our franchise owners were invited to the supplier meeting to give their feedback on the products.
It sounds obvious but our franchise owners are the ones who sell the products so their attendance was vital to give valuable input in deciding if we were going to go ahead and carry these new products.
And, as we expected, the franchise teams that descended on Chester from all over the UK gave an expert appraisal of the products lines.
It was fascinating to watch them in action inspecting the products in fine detail and asking very searching questions. It made us realise just how much knowledge we have within Apollo Blinds and this is one key of the reasons why we stand alone in the marketplace.
Product development is just one of the areas where we continually consult our Apollo Blinds franchise owners as part of our commitment to being the best company we can be.
Tags: British manufacturer, window blinds
Posted in British manufacturer, Local experts, World class products | No Comments »
November 12th, 2010
It’s always fascinating to spend time talking to the people who attend our Discovery Days and find out why they are considering becoming part of our franchise network.
We thought we’d heard everything in meetings with people from all walks of life but one fella we met on Tuesday stood out.
To say this guy’s CV was impressive is an understatement. He has been a big hitter in corporate telecoms and has set up huge operations in Europe, Asia and America.
So it did rather beg the question why Apollo Blinds? He said he was coming back to the UK to be with family and saw the way the wind was blowing with the UK economy and realised window blinds was his opportunity. This, he explained, was because whatever the state of the housing market homeowners will always need blinds. If homeowners don’t move they improve and if they do they make their new home their own.
He also explained that the strength of the brand and the quality of the products (see pics) was what sets Apollo Blinds from national and local competitors. And that’s why he was talking to us.
We can’t deny it was music to our ears but we also saw it as a huge compliment to our network of Apollo people all over the UK. Our teams have already recognised the opportunity to build prosperous businesses with us to help homeowners right across the UK make their homes beautiful with affordable window blinds from Apollo.
Tags: Discovery Days
Posted in Discovery Day, Launching a franchise, New franchises, World class products, www.apolloblindsfranchise.co.uk | No Comments »
November 5th, 2010
Apollo Blinds is only successful because of our network of brilliant people. Which is why we are as keen as mustard to ensure everyone sees these shining stars.
We’ve just uploaded more photographs of Apollo peeps onto the individual store pages on our website and it now features, stars such as Gemma in Stirling, Kwasi in Watford or Christine in Leeds Cookridge.
Having these pictures online enables customers to see who they will be dealing with and this is vitally important because it does influence whether people who find Apollo Blinds online then pick up the phone to make an appointment or visit a showroom to see the stunning array of blinds, awnings and shutters.
We are seeing results that indicate this approach is working big time. Our Apollo teams are reporting that new customers talk to them as if they’ve known them for a long time and they can only put this down to is the fact that customers have seen their picture and feel they know them.
And it’s this simple reason which is helping our Apollo teams set themselves apart from local competition.
The internet is proving that being the face of a business is good for business.
Tags: See who you are dealing with at Apollo
Posted in Expertise of service, Local experts, free no-obligation home visit, local service | No Comments »
October 29th, 2010
This week the Daily Mirror launched a child safety campaign to highlight the problem of unsecured window blinds cords and Apollo Blinds is right behind it.
It’s an issue we have been banging the drum about over the last couple of years and it’s long overdue that a national newspaper has started such a campaign.
The red top tabloid is giving away 60,000 Make It Safe packs which contain leaflets and free safety devices.
Free safety devices (as demonstrated by Alan from Apollo Blinds Borders) are also available through the Apollo Blinds network and our teams across the UK can also provide expert advice on child safety issues and how to help people make their homes safe. Click the link to find your nearest Apollo Blinds.
We spoke to the Daily Mirror and praised them for their stance and asked them to continue driving the message home about safety to their readers. We pointed out that all Apollo products come with safety devices as standard but there remain lots of homes where the cords from window blinds still hang freely and this is a potential hazard – particularly for toddlers and young children.
Join Apollo Blinds and the Daily Mirror in taking simple steps to Make it Safe for any window blind.
Tags: Daily Mirror, Free safety devices, Make it Safe
Posted in Child safety is paramount | No Comments »
October 16th, 2010
This week our newest franchise owner has had all his expectations realised as to why he joined Apollo Blinds rather than setting up his own independent blinds company.
Neil Redpath, who owns Apollo Blinds Lancaster, has only been trading a couple of weeks but he’s been racking up the orders – even in the face of stiff competition – and it’s all because of one simple thing.
He is using our customer care pack as the vanguard of his sales strategy and it’s the first thing he shows every customers. The pack covers the guarantee on all our products, advice on how to maintain our blinds and details of all the safety features available – which are of particular interest in homes where children play or visit.
And simply by showing them the pack first, Neil is securing orders because customers are so impressed with the level of professionalism of his franchise company in comparison to local independent companies and they want the peace of mind that only a brand like Apollo Blinds can offer.
It’s such a simple but powerful example of why Apollo blinds stands out from the crowd.
Tags: Customer care pack, The Apollo Advantage
Posted in Customer care pack, Expertise of service, National brand, New franchises, Sales and marketing, World class products, www.apollo-blinds.co.uk | No Comments »
