As discounters dislodge the supermarket hierarchy and we have all reached for that extra blanket in recent months, you would be forgiven for thinking that price is not only King but the only business lever we have right now.
But hold that thought! Price isn’t the only ‘P’ in the marketing pod. Yes, we may have all turned down the thermostat a notch, but the nation has not miraculously found themselves with oodles of spare time to spend on shopping around or making their own jam!
People are still making choices that fit with their preferences and principles. Convenience, quality, service and sustainability are still important drivers of consumer choice.
Here at Fruit Marketing, we have been around the block a few times. We know that no matter what the macro environment throws at us, there are traditional marketing processes that help us to develop the best strategies to fit the situation, the client and the objective. And the 7P’s Marketing Mix is a cracker!
The 7Ps is a constant in our armoury, standing for Product, Price, Promotion, Process, Place, People and Physical Evidence. Constantly assessing, adapting and optimizing using the 7Ps framework helps us to create clear, holistic marketing strategies and effective marketing campaigns to overcome hurdles, drive sales and meet business objectives.
Tell me more about the other P’s I hear you cry! There is a lot to take in, so for now here is a whistle stop tour of the 7 P’s and how to use them to review your business.
PRODUCT– Is your product or service the best that it can be, is it unique in any way and is there a demand for it that will lead you to growth?
PROMOTION– This isn’t about price promotions; this is about assessing how you are currently promoting your product. Are you using the right methods, language and frequency to reach and engage the right people in the right way.
PROCESS– Could the processes in your business be improved, in order to enhance the customer experience or to enhance the company culture and efficiencies?
PLACE– This can be your physical place, i.e., shop or offices or it can be your digital place such as your website or social media channels. Are all of the places, where your customer interacts with your brand, reflecting your brand in the best possible way and providing the best customer experience?
PEOPLE – Have you got the right people on the bus? Do your team have the right skill set? Do you have the right number of people to provide the best service and to hit your business objectives?
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE –Is the physical interaction with your brand optimised. Your shop, the welcome packs, leaflets, business cards, packaging, online experience.
PRICE– What is your pricing strategy, positioning, discounts. Are there value-added elements or is your discounting in danger of de-valuing you brand? Do you know if your pricing is competitive?
So, is price really king? Well, we certainly do not think that it can reign alone. No matter what your pricing strategy, people cannot buy what they do not know about. Your customers will only buy again or recommend you, if they value the product or service and have an enjoyable and memorable brand experience.
To talk more about the Ps in your Marketing pod, give us a call or drop us an email. Together we could cook up something wonderful!
T: 01626 248500
E: hello@wearefruit.com
Most SMEs wouldn’t think twice about seeking an accountancy to manage finances, or external HR support or even IT. But there is greater hesitancy over outsourcing marketing. Why? More than most areas of a business it is fast moving and ever changing.
It needs a professional approach and people who work across marketing and communications day in, day out to deliver best practice for each business. Marketing is critical for any business. It’s the vehicle for sharing your products and goods with your target markets in a strategic, purpose-led way. Marketing is the shop window to any business. It attracts the attention of potential customers and persuades them to purchase your products or services. Marketing is the indispensable voice of your business.
By taking on a Marketing Manager, a business can face an average annual salary of £35,000. And that doesn’t take into recruitment costs, pension or National Insurance contributions, overheads, employee benefits or any other staff-related costs. All taken in, that can cost and SME up to £50,000 per year. That’s quite a commitment. And for one person, when marketing requires a wide skill set.
So why not outsource marketing? Fruit Marketing tailors our offer for each business, after all no business is the same. We offer strategic and operational support. And with four senior professionals, any SME who worked with us, gets the expertise of the whole team.
Business owners who outsource can be freed up to do what they so best – run their business. By choosing to outsource professional services like marketing, they can tap into existing knowledge and expertise from professionals, rather than spend time and money on training staff. Outsourcing is scalable and flexible, SMEs can pay for what they need, rather than having a full-time commitment to an employee. It’s cost efficient, without the overheads of staff. Finally, it can also be a great experience having an external voice as part of the strategic thinking. It allows business owners to have a sounding board to offer honest, professional input from outside the office bubble.
PPC is one of the most cost effective and measurable forms of advertising, yet there are still businesses who neglect to utilise this powerful tool in their marketing operations.
In simple terms, PPC is pay-per-click, a form of search engine marketing in which you only pay each time one of your ads is clicked on. And when we talk about search engine advertising, primarily this refers to the giant that is Google Ads. Other search engines are available, but with 90% of traffic on all devices, Google dominates the market.
PPC is a way of buying visits to your website based on user’s search terms, rather than attempting to earn those visits organically. Often, the impact of PPC can be overlooked by small businesses. It is a less visible, less tangible and not as straightforward as traditional marketing, such as leafleting or newspaper advertising. But not understanding it is no excuse for ignoring it!
It is an essential part of the marketing mix. Search engines are where people – your customers – go to ask questions and to find out about services and products. Think of them as people who are sticking their hand in the air wanting to know more about products and services like yours. These are high quality leads! There is a purchasing interest to their browsing. By ignoring them, you are losing warm prospects or worse still, leaving the way open for competition to engage with them. Indeed, some competitors may even exploit any negligence by “brand hijacking”, ie. paying to advertise to audiences who search for your business name.
It trumps untargeted forms of advertising like newspapers and radio, where you can only hope your target market sees or hears and hope they react to it on their devices. With Google Ads, the consumer is king, the adverts are accessible 24 hours a day on their device at their convenience, relevant for their needs and can be responded to immediately with a click or two.
Most users will spend up to 30 seconds looking at the search results. Therefore, occupying space high in the rankings via PPC, is prime real estate. You need to be seen by eyeballs and under the thumbs of consumers on their devices. PPC is a form of advertising which is non-intrusive to its audience. It is products and services that meet their online query. That’s why it offers real return on investment in generating enquiries. And for the advertiser, it provides real marketing intelligence tracking the effectiveness of your spend and conversion rates, allowing you to make strategic data-based decisions.
At Fruit, we have in-depth experience of local, regional and national PPC campaign set up and management, please contact us today to find out how we can embed PPC into your marketing mix and turbo charge your business’s lead generation.
Something is changing in sports sponsorship and it is being driven by the competitors themselves. writes Founding Director Chris Broadbent.
Athletes are no longer the mannequins to be dressed up by sporting bodies and events. And they know it.
Sport has always been a hugely attractive platform for marketing. Beyond the official multi-national partners and supporters of Tokyo 2020, brands right down the food chain manoeuvre to gain exposure and be part of international, national and even local attention that only major events like the Olympics deliver.
The traditional approach of buying sponsorship rights, affordable only to massive multi-national brands with multi-billion budgets remains steadfast. Occasionally, some clever guerrilla marketing tactics can break through. For example, Dr Dre’s Beats headphones cleverly gifted to athletes at the London 2012 Games leading to massive exposure..
But the stranglehold is rarely breached, such is the depth of contracted rights that the major names get for their big bucks, including branding across the event, massive brand exposure through international media coverage and the hugely positive association with success and a healthy image that radiates from the world’s best athletes.
But in recent years, the dynamic has shifted. And it is largely to do with the athletes, now more media savvy than ever before. With the explosion of social media, athletes are more aware than every before of their own value, influence and power….it is literally reflected in their numbers of followers.
It was telling at Euro 2020 when Cristian Ronaldo made a point of removing Coca Cola bottles strategically placed in front of him at a press conference. An estimated $4b was wiped off Coke’s shares as a result.
Elite sportspeople have become emboldened and are speaking now more forcefully on social issues like racism and climate change. Tokyo 2020 organisers quickly back pedalled when they withdrew their plan not to feature any athletes at the Games taking the knee on their social channels. Sport and politics, do mix after all.
Events like the Olympics have traditionally been used by major brands as marketing platforms, but athletes are now finding their voice. And – off the playing field at least – are less prepared to play ball.
Brands who align themselves with elite sport events and organisations, will likely have to be prepared to have their product or service questioned and be associated with an environment where the expression of political and social opinions will become more frequent. They may even decide that a better use of budget is with individual athletes, where the greater influence is heading.
Love it or hate it video meetings and calls are here to stay, but are we recognising these interactions as an extension of the way that people and brands are being presented and perceived?
Due to the affects of the global pandemic, video conferencing and calls have grown exponentially over the past 12 months and have played a vital role in keeping many businesses going. With Microsoft Teams unsurprisingly seeing a staggering growth in use of 894% by June 2020 and Zoom 677% growth in the same period, there are now over 400 million daily participants of Zoom and Teams combined.
With expectations that many of us will not be returning to the office or will replace extensive travel for face-to-face meetings with video calls, we think that it is important to consider how we not only overcome the benefits of the subtle cues of physical presence, but also how we ensure that we are presenting a consistent face of our brand, when our individual home and surroundings are so diverse.
We agree that, on the whole, it has been a positive move towards flexible working, inclusivity, diversity and increasing levels of understanding, with an earth shattering realisation that we are all indeed human, with kids, dogs, doorbell interruptions and the like.
But when we consider all of the elements that reflect your brand: your office, your personal greetings, your dress code, customer care, how do we ensure that these are also reflected ‘virtually’? This is a point that many companies have not had chance to really consider yet, in the reactive environment we have been thrown into of late.
So, we have put together some top tips from our own thoughts and experiences, though we are looking forward to hearing about your top recommendations, gripes, loves and stories too on our facebook page.
Pop over to facebook @WeAreFruitMarketing to share your zoom gripes or delights, we’d love to hear from you.
With a population of around 1.4billion, over 21 times that of the UK, China offers incredible potential for any successful British business seeking to spread its wings internationally. And as business begins to confront the reality of Brexit, many businesses are looking further afield to export their products and services. China is a fascinating opportunity, possibly very rewarding but with significant cultural challenges. At Fruit, we have some experience of marketing in China and taking Western brands into the world’s biggest marketplace and working with Chinese offices.
Before even considering entering China, it is critical to nail down your intellectual property, your value lies in your brand and your credibility. If you have not secured it – or worse still an opportunist in China has already trademarked it – then you could be in for an uphill struggle. The good news if that British brands are held in high esteem – if pitched as a premium offering. Britain has luxurious connotations for the Chinese consumer. Remarkably, some British brands have had success selling tea to China. Far from being a mess of red tape, as some perceive, the barriers are not as big as you might initially fear.
However, what works in the UK and other Western markets will not simply translate to China. Indeed, translation itself is misleading. Forget translation, think localisation. Simply translating a brand can lead to clunky, misleading representations of the brand.
Instead, it needs to be adapted. One of the worst pieces of advice we ever received was to translate a brand’s marketing collateral in Hong Kong. “The gateway to China” we were advised. The result was poorly executed work in Cantonese, rather the national language of Mandarin. With such mistakes, brand can waste money and tank their brand before its even got going.
In localisation, it is also important to build themed marketing activity around prominent Chinese festivals such as Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, Summer Holiday, and Golden Week to connect with the Chinese consumer. To go into business in China is also virtually impossible without WeChat, the ubiquitous platform that is a unique amalgamation of features we might recognise from Facebook, WhatsApp, Spotify, Uber, Tinder, Apple Pay and others. It is where the Chinese find entertainment, message friends, buy goods and even book a doctor’s appointment. It is integral to Chinese life.
If it is a move you are considering or need some trusted advice on the way for your Chinese venture, please contact us. We are even open on Chinese New Year.
What will be the social media trends of 2021?
Social media has become such an integral part of life, that it is hard to believe it is still in its relative infancy. Facebook, the behemoth of the social media landscape turns just 17 in 2021. Not even old enough to drink yet. Twitter is turning 15 this year, so can at least have certificate 15 films to look forward to. Whilst Instagram will become 11 and is off to big boy school now.
Social media is the place were friends and family interact, it is a preferred source of news and information and brands and businesses’ main communication channels to their target markets. Few businesses can operate successfully without some degree of social media reach and engagement. Yet, with an ever-widening breadth of options and an ever-changing landscape, it is important to stay right on top of your social media strategy.
In the last two years, TikTok has soared in prominence. The Chinese platform has risen from around 20m global downloads in the second quarter of 2016 to 220m in the third quarter of 2019. An estimated 60% of users are Generation Z, ie, born after 1996. Its rise has coincided with the decline in useage of SnapChat, once a preferred domain of Millennials and Generation Z, but with Instagram stories taking a bite from SnapChat’s unique feature, it has slipped in popularity.
Facebook and Instagram remain the UK’s most popular social media platforms.
Yet, such is the volatility of social media, assume nothing. Facebook’s strategic moves towards centralising the leading platforms, with Instagram and WhatsApp both now under the Facebook umbrella, does not find favour in US Politics. Recently elected President Joe Biden said of the American company and its owner: “I’ve never been a fan of Facebook, as you probably know. I’ve never been a big Zuckerberg fan. I think he’s a real problem.”
It’s not unthinkable that the platform could face a reckoning. It has long denied that it is a publisher and has avoided the accountability more traditional media platforms must adhere too. Such is its role in societal discourse, that is looking an increasingly untenable position.
Meanwhile, another Chinese giant WeChat has yet to make a concerted move on Western markets. WeChat combines the functionality of Facebook, WhatsApp, with music app Spotify, dating app Tinder and ApplePay. It is a one stop shop for more than 500m Chinese users. Could it one day play the same role in our lives?
Other platforms are not searching for world domination, but with their distinct personalities, Pinterest and LinkedIn have attracted tens of millions of users. The former as a visual discovery platform for those seeking lifestyle inspiration for recipes, crafting, home and fashion. The latter as a way of connecting professionals and recruitment.
It can be an overwhelming proposition to get social media right and many companies make the mistake of going scattergun. Instead, it’s important to take a thorough, considered review of your approach. Understand who your market is, which platforms do they inhabit, develop content that they respond to and consistently review and refine.
The transition to the virtual world has been accelerated through the pandemic with event organisers forced to adapt to the realities of lockdown life. But there are indications that rather than a return to normal service after the pandemic, many virtual innovations will be here to stay and for those organisations who have developed their digital delivery through 2020 and 2021, great rewards ahead.
On the face of it, the events industry has been devasted by the pandemic.
Yet, for those who persevered against the odds by pivoting to virtual delivery, there is a blueprint for lowering organisational overheads, reaching, and engaging wider audiences and fresh and lucrative revenue streams. The Virgin Money London Marathon is one such example. As the mass participation market ground to a halt, they postponed their traditional April staging and considered their options. They eventual came up with a model in October that saw an elite-only in-person event taking place in tandem with a virtual event for runners to be part of in their own communities.
It was not without its teething troubles. But they pulled it off with 38,000 ‘virtual’ runners. The brand stayed relevant and with runners peppered across the UK in their London Marathon race bibs, the event had – arguably – a wider reach. They delivered value for sponsors and generated revenue through the virtual delivery. Pre-pandemic, the event was consistently oversubscribed way above its 40,000-runner limit. This year, they have publicly stated they are aiming for 100,000 participants – both in person and virtually, more than doubling participation in a fell swoop.
Other hits (literally) of lockdown have been Gary Barlow’s Crooner Sessions, where has teamed up with the likes of Robbie Williams, Cliff Richard, Jessie J, and many others, striking a chord with millions across YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Of course, the Take That national treasure has been delivering the sessions as a pep-up to the nation. But it has provided another indication of the new possibilities of the virtual delivery in all entertainment industries. It is a model that offers theatre and live music huge potential in the future.
In the corporate world, conferences have taken a hit with the traditional trade show and conferences model and their flesh-pressing culture impossible to deliver.
Yet with crisis comes creativity and platforms like GoToWebinar, Hopin and Big Marker have brought the in-person experience into the home. With interactive presentations with Q&A and audience polling features, breakout rooms, digital handouts, and recorded sessions – to ensure that you do not miss a minute, the model in many ways exceeds the in-person experience and is markedly cheaper too.
Of course, when the time comes, there is likely to be a resurgence in the event industry with people desperate for a level of human interaction that has been missing from their lives. But virtual delivery is here to stay with obvious potential in efficiencies, audience reach and the generation of new revenue streams. We expect hybrids model to be the core of event delivery post-pandemic.
Forget all you have heard from other marketing companies. Ignore everything you have been told. We have one guaranteed technique that will turbo-charge leads for your business and drive conversions….is something you will never, ever hear from us. You won’t see us on your social media feed offering simplistic solutions.
Sorry, but there is no silver bullet to marketing. We wish it were that simple.
What you will get from us is solid, honest advice and guidance from our experts with decades of experience. Where we do have a consistent mantra, it is in a multi-channel bespoke approach from client to client. No single marketing technique can work alone if a business is to reach its full potential. Nor will a multi-platform approach that we recommend for one client work as a winning template for a different client.
We will work with you to reach the right people, with the right message, on the right channels at the right time.
We work on a case-by-case basis to fully understand a business, its objectives, its market before plotting a tailor-made approach. It is estimated, according to Forbes (2019), that it requires an average of 7 to 10 touchpoints with a consumer before a sale is made. Which kind of throws that “one simple technique” notion under the bus.
Getting the customer journey right to ensure that your businesses delivers touchpoints in the spaces your target market inhabits is key to prospect marketing. When it comes to delivering your messaging and visual branding, its critical that there is strong consistency across all platforms to reinforce brand recognition and – with effective messaging – nurture positive sentiment among your target customers.
We won’t find you one answer…because there isn’t one. But we will work with you to find solutions that work for your business.
For a technology that has been around for over 25 years, the QR code has had a chequered history (sorry, we could not resist that one!).
It is a feature of marketing that arrived with great fanfare, but not with widespread acceptance in the UK. It’s not quite a comeback that excites like the Spice Girls or Take That. Yet, yet this is one 1990s return that could actually be ‘back for good’.
Ironically, the pandemic has been the catalyst for the potential of QR codes finally being realised by UK businesses and their marketing departments.
As of December 2020, the NHS COVID-19 app has been downloaded over 20 million times in the UK and over 750,000 posters with QR codes have been created through the Government’s services to service test and trace. In short, we have suddenly become a nation of QR code users. It has been a long time coming.
Heritage sites across the UK were among the early adopters to utilise QR codes as a way for visitors to quickly access further multi-media information on site in the early 2000s and enhance the customer experience. But they were underused with uptake limited in the UK.
It is not the pattern globally. In China, consumers are reliant on QR codes for digital interactions, to make financial transactions, to access further information, and to authenticate their identify – all supercharged by the giant WeChat social media platform.
In India too, the QR code has become embedded in consumer life with retailers embracing the technology in their millions. QR codes use is also surging in parts of Europe, USA, Africa and the Middle East. It is inevitable to surge in the UK and is a technology that marketing professionals will need to urgently review.
Modern day marketing is grounded in data and analytics. Digital media has enabled businesses to track consumer behaviour and provide a true measure of their marketing activities, which threatened more traditional printed marketing channels such as advertising, leaflets and posters. After all, if you can’t measure the return on investment on a marketing channel, how can you be sure it is working?
However, the QR code changes all that and will enable businesses to make fuller informed decisions on marketing budgets – and perhaps lead to a comeback for traditional marketing channels?
As consumers become more open to the QR code, it provides businesses with a fresh avenue to reach customers, to better understand their behaviour, to better inform them of their products and services, to better interact with them and ultimately, to sell to them. Perhaps those 1990s trends were not so bad after all?