Lessons from our Founder

Over thirty years of experience in the Direct Marketing industry will teach you some serious lessons about this amazing and dynamic industry. Unfortunately our founder, Ian Geary, passed in September but the lessons he taught us will stay within our company as a foundation for the continued production of the high-quality, deadline-driven work you have come to expect from Computer Facilities (CF). The lessons Ian Geary would share were not only for our staff but also for you. It would take an entire book to share them all with you but, we thought that just a few would do.

Data Brings Life
The first lesson learned and shared is that data is the life blood of any organisation. Whether it is client data or business intelligence data, it has to be treated with reverence and ensured of its validity, as invalid data can harm a business as greatly as valid data can aid the business. Do not sit on your data; exercise your marketing to get the data flowing through your company. Fresh data is great for your company, it feeds it with new ideas and new clients, and it is the basis of opportunities that enable your company to thrive.

Exercise That Marketing Muscle Boy!
Marketing is a muscle that needs to be exercised frequently in order to gain strength and ability; the more regular your marketing, the better it is for your company. However, ‘marketing that does not elicit a response is not marketing, it is simply shouting’. Give the target of your marketing a chance to respond, they should never be short of opportunities to give you new information about themselves. This is the equivalent of feeding your company fresh data that keeps the lifeblood flowing as well as, ensuring it gets that healthy R.O.I. it so badly craves and needs. Use the data to pump those communication channels and get your marketing toned, fresh and sexy.

The Law! The Law! The Law!
It is undoubtedly the most essential part of our industry and the glue that holds us together. Obeying the law is essential to all marketers; you do not owe it only to yourself but, also to everyone else in the industry to obey the laws put in place. We have all seen the consequences of not doing so, where an entire industry can be disliked and disregarded by the public because of Spam, and we suffer these consequences daily. Those who don’t obey the laws in place negatively impact the image of the entire industry: we must hold ourselves responsible for our own actions and ensure that others do the same.

Whilst the man who instilled these high values into his daily dealings, both on a personal basis and through his company staff will be sorely missed, neither he nor the values by which he lived will ever be forgotten.

We continue to learn and work in this incredible industry where new opportunities present themselves on a regular basis and – as Computer Facilities – we will honour the founder of our company by continuing in a manner which ensures the lessons learned are never forgotten and everything we do is done with integrity, honesty and quality.

By Nicolas Marini of Computer Facilities