Steven Milner is the editor of various publications in the geospatial and automotive sectors, including Lidar Survey, as well as the co-owner of MilnersMarketing.
What’s your top priority at work for today?
I structure my day into four main areas: tactical work, working on achievables, building & promoting content, and networking & building relationships.
Tell us about your dream assignment.
I have been lucky to have worked in areas that interest me. In the early years of my career, I was in sales for the semiconductor industry, traveling across Europe daily. My first role was in the geospatial sector, and last year I launched six geospatial publications and two automotive publications. However, I would like to travel more and aid an organization that helps change peoples’ lives for the better.
Describe one of the wackiest proposals/ideas you’ve been sent.
I was once asked to develop a marketing strategy for a very small Indian food manufacturer and I took payment in Indian curries! It was the perfect payment, as I live in Germany and it’s very difficult to get Indian food to cook at home.
What is your PR/marketing pet peeve?
I have a few peeves that I see on a daily basis:
- Seeing marketing managers fighting fires to support their team, rather than using their experience to grow the marketing effort or brand.
- Websites are the first port of call for most potential visitors, but most businesses say “That’s it – its developed now. We don´t need to work on it.” Your website is the biggest asset, sales and lead tool for any business, so you must keep working at it.
- Marketing is about facts and experience, backed up by assumptions and value propositions. I see a lot of people making assumptions, which have no basis in fact, just so they can have their opinion heard. It’s better to get the facts and then give an answer. Assumptions can point a marketing message in the wrong direction and therefore lose potential clients.
What’s a top industry trend you’re currently following or are interested in?
I am big on social media and email marketing for our eight publications. Mobile messenger marketing is becoming a big part of our future.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a Brit and live in South Germany with my wife Janina and our two boys. I run MilnersMarketing Group consultancy with my wife. We provide support for small-to-medium-sized companies to grow their businesses. We also run eight geospatial publications for geospatial, unmanned, ADAS and autonomous industries.
Do you have a question for Steven? Comment below.
Steven, great blog – thanks for contributing. I agree with you that most people develop a website and think there’s nothing more to do. It’s a living and breathing portal that needs to grow with your company. We try to update our site with new information almost daily. It’s also why LCI is investing in in a re-design of our site as we speak. Again, many thanks for an informative blog. Cheers, David Landis
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Steven. As a fellow ex-pat. I can have the same issues as you sourcing some of my favorite foods. Being paid in curry sounds like a great idea!