Right Product in the Right Place at the Right Time — All the Time!!

Posted on August 30, 2013 by RFM

OSA (On Shelf Availability) is a key to growth for manufacturers selling on the shelves of our supermarkets.  OSA increases brand strength, brand loyalty and also increases and maintains sales. If your product is not on the shelf, statistically, the customer moves to another product.
To me, the principle can be valuable in any business.  In some cases, there may not be a shelf on which to place your product, but if you have customers out there buying product or services from you or your competitors, you need to be on the customer radar – all the time!  In businesses where a single phone call or e mail can mean the start of a significant sale being there is all important!
The first stage is to get yourself onto the customer shelf (radar), the second is to keep yourself there.  There are many ways to achieve this: – the key is to understand where your customers are hanging out!
For more information on this topic, contact russ@rfm.co.uk

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Bringing Structure to Marketing

Posted on August 30, 2013 by RFM

Read a Facebook post this week of a young business owner, with what seems to be a highly acceptable and cool development of a traditional product.
He has very little money to invest in his brand and seems to be all over the place about how to target and develop business, in essence, how to structure the marketing and sales of the business.  He is going off like a blunderbuss, firing in all directions and yet here is a product that, with a little structure and help, will be able to move to the next stage of his business development.  Will probably give a call and offer some advice.
For more information on how to structure a strategic marketing plan that will drive a business forward, contact russ@rfm.co.uk

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Are You on the Shelf?

Posted on August 23, 2013 by RFM

Today’s Supply Chains across many sectors are highly sophisticated – but often it comes down to what is called the last 50 metres, – or how to get the retail teams to put your products on good display   Research has shown time and time again that when the product is not on the shelf when the consumer chooses to purchase, the customer will often choose a competitor product, delay their purchase or do their shopping elsewhere.
This concept which sounds like common sense (sometimes not that common! ), can be transferred to many businesses.  If you are not displayed in front of the customer at the time when they make a buying decision, they may choose the competition!!  This has implications on Google rankings, customer visits, exhibitions and fairs where customers seek out new products, press articles etc.  The key is to target well based on background understanding of how customers purchase.
For more information on how to understand the best time to hit the customer, contact russ@rfm.co.uk

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Coke Bottle Names

Posted on August 23, 2013 by RFM

Queuing for 2 hours in Tesco, Silverburn to get your name on a bottle of Coke, what is that all about?  The cost per small bottle was £1.15, so clearly premium priced as a collectors item!  There is no doubt that Coke will have thought all of this through and decided on why it should work, though reading some of the marketing press articles, it has not been without it’s problems.   Is it the peak of individualism? Are we in such need to create an identity?  The answer has to be yes!  Why does everyone say they want things cheaper but still pay 4 times the amount for a bottle of a fizzy drink!!.  Someone clearly knows how to market their product.
For more information on this, contact russ@rfm.co.uk

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Using Every Trick in the Book

Posted on August 23, 2013 by RFM

Read in the papers last week that ASDA are now delivering to some of the Scottish Islands.  This, of course, will create greater competition for the Co-op, the company that has supported the communities for many years.
From a sales and marketing point of view, it says to me that their focus is on ‘proactive sales’ as a key to the growth of the company.  ASDA are clearly positioning themselves to every possible customer at every possible time.
Seeking out and grasping every sales opportunity says to the customer – ‘I am keen for your business.  I want to deal with you’.
There is a lesson to be learnt for many businesses in the UK who do not promote themselves as effectively as they could and are not proactive in searching out every sales opportunity.  This is key in today’s highly competitive economies.
For more information on how to more effective on sales contact, speak to russ@rfm.co.uk

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Social Media in 10 Minutes a Day,

Posted on August 16, 2013 by RFM

This idea came from our digital and social specialist, Graham English.  When at work, many of us talk about our business orientated social media activity, – often easier to talk about than to implement!!   Here is a way to make it habit forming.  Implement a new habit of logging into your social monitoring dashboard first thing in the morning, to check for relevant information.

3 minutes  – Check for Twitter chatter about your company and its competitors. See who is following you and who you can follow.

2 minutes – Scan Google News and Blog Alerts for important articles.

2 minutes – Log in to Facebook and Linked in to scan your wall and comments.

Allocate tasks to appropriate personnel. Depending on your sector, you may wish to review this mid/ end of day to identify what is new and spend another 10 minutes on it.   As always, it is Important to be personal and conversational, not promotional.

Look ahead to the next 12 months and plan possible messaging and topics of interest.

Review and ensure a response mechanism is in place.

For more information on this topic and a more specific look at your online activity, contact Graham @rfm.co.uk

Posted in Digital Marketing, Marketing, Marketing Communications, Social Media Marketing | Leave a comment

Building Customer Loyalty, Building Brand Loyalty

Posted on August 16, 2013 by RFM

As customers in business or at home, we are all looking for better deals and more value.  With lower prices coupled with the ease of communication through technology, we can now access product from anywhere in the world, – it is a piece of cake!  Sometimes I think the world has gone Groupon daft!!

Ever more important then for organisations to endear brand loyalty, building emotional attachment with product and services and also with our teams  This is where the next style of differentiation will come in.

How do we do this in the smaller business?    2 of the elements include excellence in personal customer service  and the creation of a personal emotional attachment through loyalty programmes, well targeted social media and  appropriate key messages.  The endorsement of brand is moving higher and higher up the agenda.

Many companies in business to business sectors probably need to have real in-depth understanding of branding and apply it to their business.  Part of this is an attitude of mind rather than a process in many cases using internal teams to deliver external brand value and customer service on a recurring basis

For more information on this subject, contact russ@rfm.co.uk

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Whatever Next!

Posted on August 16, 2013 by RFM

Pin number style vitamin pills that allow us to transmit our authentication with our bodies, – Goggles that tell you what kind of fish species is passing your eyes (does not apply to haddock and chips!), –

Drowsiness detectors for vehicles to prevent accidents caused by tiredness.

Rent a cycle helmet vending machines – saves you carrying one around.

 All of the above products are mentioned in this months issue of Marketer Magazine.  Give it a few years and some of them will be mainstream and every day.  However, statistically 1 in 7 products actually makes it to market.

In our great, Great Britain we are hugely innovative as a nation.  Some of the engineered product and innovations I have seen in the past year are mind blowing! When coupled with good understanding of market knowledge, we can really be a world force at the forefront of thinking.

For more information linking innovation with market knowledge to keep on a straight road to market, contact russ@rfm.co.uk

Posted in Customer Service, Digital Marketing, Marketing | Leave a comment

When everyone zigs, zag!!

Posted on August 9, 2013 by RFM

An excellent arrival on Challenger brands in this months Marketer magazine.

Basically, the message is about the larger Challenger brands such as Tyrells v Walker, Virgin Atlantic v British Airways.

The key attribute for a Challenger brand is the ability to react quickly to changing consumer tastes.  To be more innovative in product development and speed to market.  To use innovative and low cost tools such as social media to deliver the message.

Most of the companies that we, at RFM, deal with are Challenger brands and often in a business to consumer markets.  It is all about being different and standing out from the crowd.  So when the world is zigging, try to zag

For more information on how to be different and get noticed in your marketplace, contact russ@rfm.co.uk.

Posted in Branding, Digital Marketing, Marketing Communications, Social Media Marketing | Leave a comment

Using Enticing Media to Stand out from the Crowd

Posted on August 9, 2013 by RFM

It’s crowded and noisy in the social networking world and many businesses are tapping into interactive digital marketing to reach the masses accessing through mobile devices.

Original stories told well tend to attract attention and this quadcopter video has the potential to offer a unique view of company premises. It’s an ‘eye in the sky’ that hovers over buildings whilst filming high quality video.

Have a look at this recent clip taken by the quadcopter and controlled by photographer Thomas Haywood flying over the SECC. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQTyOiDFrRA

When video is well produced it lends itself to the brand experience and is prime marketing material to gain an affinity with fans on popular social media platforms.

The trick is to ensure it’s good for the search engines too!

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