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Sales and marketing

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Latest on sales and marketing

Read our latest features and articles on sales and marketing.
AI fraud and accountants
  • Article
  • 08 Sep 2023
Many predictions about AI taking our jobs have not yet materialised, but the threat of AI-driven fraud is a much more worrying development.
FCA consults on updated social media guidance
  • Article
  • 05 Sep 2023
An explosion in the use of influencers to promote financial products is under the spotlight after the FCA admits current advice has failed to keep pace with the evolution of social media.
New index helps brands avoid greenwashing and greenhushing
  • Article
  • 18 Jul 2023
Minding the ‘sustainability gap’ can help brands realise billions of pounds in untapped value, according to a study of differences between ESG perceptions and performance
Cryptoassets and the case for regulation
  • Article
  • 14 Jul 2023
Crypto regulation needs to focus on risk mitigation and developing trust in the market to encourage a virtuous cycle of adoption, investment and technological development that generates real value, argues Reuben Wales, Head of Financial Services at ICAEW.
Trial for agents to get HMRC’s response to old post
  • Article
  • 11 Jul 2023
HMRC is expanding the role of the agent account manager team, which will now assist with processing post that is more than 12 months old.
Are small retailers drowning in business rates?
  • Article
  • 10 Jul 2023
Retail was one of the industries hit hardest in recent years due to myriad changes, and they’re still struggling. Is regulation holding them back?
Read more

Topics in depth

Designer in studio small business
Brand management
Find out more about brand management, including developing a personal brand.
Woman with calculator
Marketing in a downturn
If the country you are based in is going through a downturn, ICAEW has a range of resources to help you successfully market your business in difficult economic times.
Man with calculator
Pricing
View our latest content on pricing.
Woman texting
Social media marketing
Find out how to use social media for marketing and publicity.

Reports

How directors might use social media
  • Report
  • 2020
This guide provides insight on how directors could start using social media to engage with all stakeholders and yield benefits. Social media attracts an enormous number of users, including company employees, suppliers, and existing and new customers.
Special report - Corporate image
  • Report
  • 2018
Developing and enhancing your branding as a business can greatly enhance your market presence, especially on-line. This report covers the most important aspects to bear in mind when developing a brand strategy.
Exclusive Special report - Pricing
  • Report
  • 2016
This report deals with the practical aspects of pricing strategy for products throughout their life cycle.
More reports

Webinars and recordings

ISSB standards, E-Commerce Trade Commission, and CPD update
  • Podcast
  • 11 Aug 2023
The ICAEW Insights podcast explores the month’s top stories in accountancy.
Business resilience
  • Webinar
  • 23 Apr 2021
This webinar from the Business and Management Faculty will explore business resilience and getting it right.
Modern slavery: how to prepare a s54 statement
  • Webinar
  • 17 Mar 2021
This webinar explains Pentland's approach to preparing the section 54 statement.
Supply chain assurance in the retail sector
  • Webinar
  • 16 Oct 2020
Abigail Harper talks through a risk-based approach to providing supply chain assurance within the retail sector.
Marketing for Finance
  • Webinar
  • 08 Jul 2019
Marketing top tips for finance professionals.
How accountants can become digital leaders
  • Webinar
  • 19 Jun 2019
In this thought-provoking presentation, we will demystify how your future online customer is "thinking" and why every founder, business owner, and entrepreneur can digitally transform their sales and marketing using a proven methodology as a digital leader and utilise disruptive technology effectively.
More webinars

Legal Alert

Legal Alert is a monthly checklist from Atom Content Marketing highlighting new and pending laws, regulations, codes of practice and rulings that could have an impact on your business.

New practice: Risks of ‘offer ends today!’ type advertising highlighted
  • Article
  • 01 Feb 2023
Businesses should avoid attracting the attention of consumer protection regulators by expressly or impliedly misleading consumers - for example, by saying or implying that customers will miss out on discounts unless they place an order urgently.
New guidance: ICO new guidance on marketing by electronic mail and phone
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2023
Organisations marketing by electronic mail and/or live phone calls will welcome new Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) guidances on direct marketing by these means.
New Code: CMA launches Green Claims Code to stop misleading ‘green’ claims by businesses, irrespective of size or sector
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2021
Businesses of all sizes in all sectors, and whether selling to consumers or to other businesses, should review any claims they make about their environmental credentials or risk falling foul of a new Green Claims Code from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
New practice: Employers may need access to employees’ private phones, email, social media accounts, etc to satisfy data protection obligations
  • Article
  • 01 Jun 2021
Employers whose employees are allowed to use their own phones, computers or tablets, private email accounts and messaging services, or personal accounts on social or business media such as Twitter, LinkedIn, WhatsApp or Instagram for work purposes should ensure they are able to require their employees to give them access to personal data held on those phones, accounts etc where this is required to comply with data protection laws.
Case law: Information Commissioner’s Office publishes code of practice for providers of online services which children are likely to access
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2020
Organisations providing online services to children up to 18, or online services that children are likely to access, should consider whether they are complying with a new age appropriate design code of practice published by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Case law: Businesses beware sending service messages to customers electronically that contain marketing messages
  • Article
  • 01 Jan 2020
Businesses should ensure service messages sent to customers electronically do not include marketing messages - unless the recipient consented to receiving marketing communications and they otherwise comply with privacy and electronic communication rules.

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive 101 marketing strategies for accounting, law, consulting, and professional services firms
  • eBook
  • 2004
  • Troy Waugh
  • John Wiley and Sons
A guide to marketing, selling and persuading.
Exclusive Advising the wealthy client: a handbook for working with the ultra wealthy
  • eBook
  • 2020
  • Barbara R. Hauser
  • Globe Law and Business Ltd
Countries are racing to disclose bank accounts to garner more tax income from the ultra wealthy and the politics of being in the “1% club” are not always positive. Yet these are important clients with important needs.
Exclusive Blog marketing
  • eBook
  • 2006
  • Jeremy Wright
  • McGraw-Hill
This book looks at the impact that blogging can have on business.
Exclusive Branding your business
  • eBook
  • 2008
  • James Hammond
  • Kogan Page
A practical guide to creating and managing successful brands.
Exclusive Building a marketing plan: a complete guide
  • eBook
  • 2011
  • Ho Yin Wong
  • Business Expert Press
A practical guide to developing a marketing plan.
Exclusive Business to business market research
  • eBook
  • 2005
  • Ruth McNeil
  • Kogan Page
Designed to help the reader develop core business-to-business market research skills and to apply research effectively.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

More eBooks

Business press

The ICAEW Library provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Death bells? Branding in the age of smartphones and AI
  • Article
  • 21 Nov 2023
  • Peter Horst Robert
Branding has arguably been the most crucial marketing pillar in the twentieth century. This article examines the role of branding (and brand loyalty) in the past and how it has been disrupted recently by smartphones and AI, and makes recommendations for marketers to modify how they manage brands proactively. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to focus on the implications of changes in the marketplace driven by smartphones and AI on the future of branding.
Exclusive What works for today's rainmakers
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2023
  • Rory Channer, Matthew Dixon, Karen Freeman, Ted McKenna
Business development at professional services firms is outdated, say the authors. Clients are no longer defaulting to established relationships with premium-priced providers and now often ask a range of service providers to compete for business. They share three behaviours which are core to a successful business-development approach. In their research, 'Activator' personalities build robust networks of clients, prospects, and colleagues through a proactive approach which shows a positive impact on revenue.
Exclusive Don't focus on likes
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2023
The article focuses on social media engagement and how it impacts marketing for businesses, as reported by the research 'Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About: Which Social Media Engagements Predict Purchase Frequency?' by Timothy J. Halloran and Richard J. Lutz. The research found that of the four emoticons studied (Like, Love, Wow and Haha), only Love was associated with more-frequent purchases (an increase of 16%).
Exclusive A guide to real-time pricing
  • Article
  • 01 Nov 2023
  • Marshall Fisher, Santiago Gallino, Jun Li
How to implement computer models that analyze historical sales data, capture crucial patterns, and consider not just competitor pricing but also product availability and customer behaviour to recommend optimal prices in real time. The authors share their seven-step process, which retailers can use to unlock the full potential of their own dynamic pricing system.
Exclusive At the crossroads: generative AI and corporate risk management
  • Article
  • 12 Oct 2023
  • Peter Buell Hirsch
This study aims to identify the risks to corporate reputation presented by deepfakes and how to manage them. While deepfakes have been the subject of intense interest, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first attempt to look at the problem from the perspective of corporate enterprise risk.
Exclusive Making tech the basis of a better experience
  • Article
  • 01 Oct 2023
  • Angela Hanson
Convenience store retailers are investing in various technologies to enhance their customers' experience, despite facing resource shortages and deployment challenges. The article takes a look at the most popular additions, from consumer-facing technology like social media, digital loyalty programs, and petrol pump digital monitors to backend improvements such as enhanced inventory management and better use of loyalty data. Graphs are included showing the percentage uptake of key technology investments and those which stores plan to add.
More articles

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Online magazines

The following online journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use. If you have any difficulty accessing these resources, please see our online resources troubleshooting page or get in touch.

Exclusive Adweek
  • Adweek, LLC
Magazine covering the latest news and developments in the advertising and marketing industries.
Exclusive Journal of Marketing
  • American Marketing Association
Bimonthly journal from the American Marketing Association. Publishes articles addressing various real-world marketing questions.
Exclusive Marketing News
  • American Marketing Association
Quarterly magazine from the American Marketing Association, including news, opinion, interviews, and commentary on marketing.
Exclusive NIM Marketing Intelligence Review
  • Sciendo
Biannual journal from the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, covering current marketing topics and emerging marketing trends. Each issue focuses on a particular topic in marketing or market decision-making.

Articles and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and reports on sales and marketing. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Rethinking reputational risk: how to manage the risks that can ruin your business, your reputation and you
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • A.Fitzsimmons
  • Kogan Page
This book explains what will make your organization and its reputation intrinsically resilient and what makes them, and you, predictably vulnerable. Armed with these insights, you can find and deal with fault lines before they cause harm.
Entertainment industry economics: a guide for financial analysis
  • Library book
  • 2015
  • H.L. Vogel
  • Cambridge University Press
Definitive source on the economics of film, music, television, advertising, broadcasting, cable, casino and online wagering, publishing, performing arts and culture, toys and games, sports and theme parks.
The go-to expert: how to grow your reputation, differentiate yourself from the competition and win new business
  • Library book
  • 2014
  • H.Townsend
  • Pearson Education
This book offers "advice on managing your transition into a well-known and trusted name within your industry. It will help you navigate reputation-building tools with confidence and build a strong personal brand that wins you business." Part 1 covers determining what your 'thing' is, Part 2 covers packaging your brand, Part 3 covers how to build your visibility and profile, Part 4 covers turning sales leads into clients and Part 5 covers the business of your brand.
Beauty queen: inside the reign of Avon's Andrea Jung
  • Library book
  • 2014
  • D.Himsel
  • Palgrave Macmillan
Former Avon vice president Deborah Himsel uses Jung's story as a case study for two timeless leadership questions: What makes great leaders great? And what makes them fail? The book explores Jung's charisma, inclusive style, and brand building acumen that led to early success, as well as the missteps that arguably led to her downfall, including her failure to attend to the evolving needs of Avon's representatives; the erosion of trust that occurred as a result of frequent decision reversals; and her naivete about operations, infrastructure, and finance. Through interviews with other CEOs, Avon executives past and present, and leadership experts, Himsel explores the unique challenges Jung faced as a female Fortune 500 CEO.
Innovation in pricing: contemporary theories and best practices
  • Library book
  • 2013
  • A.Hinterhuber, ed.
  • Routledge
Pricing has a substantial and immediate impact on profitability. Most companies, however, still use costs or competition as a main basis for setting prices. This book examines how innovation in pricing can drive profits.
The psychology of price: how to use price to increase demand, profit and customer satisfaction
  • Library book
  • 2012
  • L.Caldwell
  • Crimson
For any business, deciding how much to charge for a product or service is crucial. By gaining an insight into the way consumers think and purchase, you can generate more demand, more customer value - and more profit.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources - guides and reports

BrandZ
  • Website
  • Kantar BrandZ

Brand equity database with individual annual reports covering:

Choose a pricing strategy
  • Website
  • Atom Content Marketing
Pricing is one of the most important aspects of your offer to get right.
Ecommerce
  • Website
  • Atom Content Marketing
Selling online, either wholly or in addition to selling offline, can provide a fantastic source of revenue, but how do you get involved in ecommerce?
Finding and selling to customers
  • Website
  • smallbusiness.co.uk
Articles providing helpful tips and advice on selling and marketing to customers. Written for UK small businesses and sole traders.
Sale of goods and services and data protection
  • Website
  • GOV.UK
Sales guidance for businesses from GOV.UK, covering topics such as accepting returns and giving refunds, marketing and advertising law, online and distance selling, trading hours and product labelling.
Sales & Growth resources
  • Website
  • Be The Business
Sales and growth resources covering common business questions for UK SMEs. A Sales & Growth assessment tool and Help to Grow Digital programme are available, providing free impartial advice on how technology can boost your sales and marketing efforts. Be the Business is an independent not-for-profit organisation supported by the UK government.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Market research providers

AMA Research
  • Website
  • AMA Research
AMA Research specialise in reports covering the building and construction industry. The sectors covered include Bathrooms and kitchens; Heating and electrical; Home & garden; Building products, distribution & hire; Construction sectors, contractors and facilities management. AMA also provides marketing list databases of for several sectors.
Economist Intelligence Unit
  • Website
  • Economist Intelligence Unit
Provides an industry briefing & forecasts service for the automotive, consumer goods, energy, financial services, healthcare and telecoms industries in various countries. Non-subscribers can buy reports from the EIU store.
Euromonitor
  • Website
  • Euromonitor
Provides research on consumer markets around the world. Users can view for free a listing of the reports available, tables of contents and sample reports.
FitchSolutions
  • Website
  • Fitch Solutions
Publishers of industry reports, country risk reports, operational risk reports, monitors and special reports, A full list can be browsed in the report store.
Global Data
  • Website
  • GlobalData
Produces market research reports as part of their consultancy services. Sectors include consumer, retail, technology, healthcare and financial services. Global monitor has recently taken over several other market data companies including MarketLine and Canadean. They produce over 15,000 reports a year. A list of reports can be found in the Report Store.
IBIS World
  • Website
  • IBISWorld
IBIS world produce industry research reports on the UK, USA, China, Canada and Australia as well as global reports. Reports cover 700 different industries in the USA and over 340 in the UK.
MarketResearch.com
  • Website
  • MarketResearch.com
Comprehensive collection of market research reports from over 700 publishers covering products, trends, regions, demographics, industries and companies. Free registration provides access to abstracts and tables of contents.
Mintel
  • Website
  • Mintel
Publisher of market research reports on consumer markets. Visitors to the site can search the database of reports and view contents pages.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

Can't find what you're looking for?

The ICAEW Library can give you the right information from trustworthy, professional sources that aren't freely available online. Contact us for expert help with your enquiries and research.

Everything business

Find out about the key benefits available for members in business and the support from ICAEW. We are proud of our some 60,000 members working in and running business all over the world.
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Winding road
Information

Some of the content on this web page was provided by the Chartered Accountants’ Trust for Education and Research, a registered charity, which owns the library and operates it for ICAEW.