Packaging makes the difference

Posted on July 27, 2012 by admin

A recent published market research project presented 10 consumer panels of 10 people with 5 unbranded glasses of orange juice to pull out different comments on flavour. The same products were then presented being poured out of different containers – plastic bottle, plastic bottle with a handle, clear plastic bottle, carton. The product then had different perceptions of freshness and taste based on the different cartons and packaging. In reality, it was the same orange juice being poured on each occasion. This demonstrates that the power of suggestion and the power of packaging can make or break the product.

In depth market research such as this can then be huge for determining the way forward for a successful product on food, drink and many other sectors!

Posted in Research | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Watch out, it’s an Olympic ambush!

Posted on July 27, 2012 by admin

The ambush police are out, according to the press – watching out for signs of ingenious ways for national and international products to ‘create a stir’ and get noticed on the back of all the broadcasting of the Olympics.

Right or wrong, it is seen as worthy of spending time, creating opportunities to be ‘seen’ at little or no cost. Meanwhile all the brands who have paid massive money for sponsorship are busy protecting their brands!  An example was a Facebook post from Alastair Dobson of Taste of Arran who tried to take his Arran ice cream into Hampden, he did not get far and ended up having to buy a McDonalds McFlurry!.  He might have had more success if he had taken a flag!

Being seen, being visible in the market has always been a key to brand success!

Posted in Branding | Tagged | Leave a comment

So what’s new in product innovation? How does this link to the marketing mix?

Posted on July 20, 2012 by admin

1. An iconic, traditional British cooker that is controlled by laptop, tablet or smartphone. Aga iTotal Control allows you to regulate your cooker by app on the move,- it then sends you a text to confirm the action! (a product development in line with today’s lifestyle)

2. A bed that makes itself in 50 seconds! (Ohea, Spain’s smart bed). Clearly has taken time to research the market and understand the issues that consumers have with bed making and then created a product differentiated from the rest.) I am informed that it cannot make the bed when you are still in it! – phew!

3.‘Edible cinema’ offering snacks and food for the performance that enhances the sensory mood at each section of the film. London’s Electric Cinema create a ‘purple cow’ moment or competitive edge by understanding the needs and feelings involved by film.

Being different and standing out from the crowd requires creative thought processes based on good quality market research and understanding of consumer wants, needs and thoughts.

Posted in Product development | Tagged | Leave a comment

6 simple ways to increase your sales

Posted on July 13, 2012 by rfmblogadmin

Here are a few tips that cost little and can have a big impact:

  • Ensure your staff know how to sell and close a deal at the right price
  • Ensure staff working with existing customers deliver customer service and create link opportunities
  • Check if service teams/engineering teams spot opportunities
  • Communicate regularly with buyers – keep your name ‘top of mind’
  • Ensure your search engine optimisation delivers ‘enquiries in’
  • Ensure your website has a ‘call to action’ on every page.

The large consumer companies focus on making sales at every possible moment: on the phone, online, face to face etc.   The key question is: does your company maximise their opportunity?

Posted in Sales | Tagged | Leave a comment

Baby boomers – the big market

Posted on July 13, 2012 by rfmblogadmin

According to a recent survey in The Marketer magazine, this target market is massive and probably has 80% of wealth and disposable income in the UK.  This is a market with huge spending power and according to the article, it is not being well catered for.

Understanding markets, their motivations, choice, preferences and buying habits is a key method to identify greater opportunity whether it is in business to consumer markets or business to business markets.

Posted in B2C marketing, Marketing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sales and marketing mentoring

Posted on July 6, 2012 by rfmblogadmin

A good experienced marketer can make a real difference to the growth of an organisation. By having a marketing viewpoint and an understanding of customers likely behaviour patterns, the right individual can provide a market focussed viewpoint, very useful for boardroom/senior management level within organisations.

Most businesses concentrate hard on a day to day basis in delivery of products and services and for companies without a marketing or sales director, a good marketing and sales mentor can deliver a huge value add for input 5 or 6 times per year.

 

Posted in Marketing, Sales | Tagged | Leave a comment

First past the post wins the business

Posted on July 6, 2012 by rfmblogadmin

We were looking for ‘pop up’ stands last week for a client. Simple artwork to create a backdrop branding for shows, conferences etc. Our local suppliers were as usual very helpful but the process was going to take 2-3days.

We called a company in London at 11am and were told that if we had digital artwork by 2pm, we would have it the next day. The client’s design house – ‘Tattoo Creative’  produced the artwork in double quick time. The stands were delivered the following morning by 10am for almost the same cost.

The lesson – in a highly competitive environment, customer process, speed, attention to detail and a ‘no problem’ attitude goes a long way to creating competitive edge. Where will we go next time?

For more information on how to create competitive edge, contact Russ@rfm.co.uk

Posted in Presentations | Tagged | Leave a comment

Marketing automation – behavioural triggers

Posted on July 6, 2012 by rfmblogadmin

I recently looked for some holiday swim shorts on an e commerce site. I looked but did not buy. I was conscious of a pop up advertisement on a news site I was reading featuring exactly the same product I had been looking at. To cap this off, I later received an e mail about special offers etc from the company.

Remarketing is a technique employed by marketers, and is a clever use of cookie file storage on your web browser. This automated marketing technique tends to be used by consumer facing companies, it’s intuitive and ads can be rotated and capped so as not to be too invasive.

The final part of the marketing automation is segmentation, using data and analytics and good CRM packages to send personalised emails/communication based on consumer behaviour.

There are many clever targeting options in the online marketeers bag of tricks. It is important that all messaging is aligned to offline marketing campaigns also.

 

Posted in Marketing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Right Place, Right Time

Posted on June 29, 2012 by rfmblogadmin

According to the papers this week, Magners sales are down by 20% this quarter while sales of beer are up.  Most of this is attributed to the wet weather, as you can imagine.

We have often talked about the value of understanding the buyers purchasing habits, where they are when they are in buying mode, how they consume information, store information and also the time when they are most susceptible to purchase.  With good market research, you can lessen the risk.  Unfortunately, weather is a non-controllable variable!!

Posted in Research | Tagged | Leave a comment

To tweet or not to tweet – marketers ask the question

Posted on June 29, 2012 by rfmblogadmin

Buddy Media have published a study looking at how marketers use Twitter. This thought provoking study really nails down the key issues surrounding Twitter usage.

  • Real-time activity – The data indicates that Brands engagement rates are 17% higher over the weekend and that most brands are missing out on this window of opportunity.
  • Frequency – The “tweet spot” for the number of tweets per day appears to be four. After that, the law of diminishing returns sets in.
  • Content – Tweets of less than 100 characters length have higher engagement rate than longer posts because the message is concise, and there’s room for a retweet plus accompanying comment.

Social media successes deliver a simple story in an effective way and follow a pattern of activity that allows the brand to reach audiences when they’re most receptive to the message.

Posted in Social Media Marketing | Tagged | Leave a comment