The personal touch this time

When was the last time you had a personal, hand written card from a business following up after an appointment?

So there we go, I had so many different things going around in my head that I started my last post about this and ended up talking about an entirely different thing altogether! Anyway.... so this morning waiting in the post box was just that - a handwritten card from the veterinary practice we saw last week to say that he hoped our cat, Purdy, was doing well and that he felt that the last appointment had been a little rushed and just wanted to check that we were happy we knew what to do, enclosing a little further information about the practice.

As a customer, I can say hand and heart I won't be going to any other practice. I feel that I'm valued as a customer and that I'll get exactly the service we need from a caring, attentive, professional practice. In today's overly commercial world where most marketing is automated and a customer is just a number, it pays to think beyond the numbers some times. We all know that a loyal customer is much more valuable than a one hit wonder.

The personal touch

Woah - it's been a long time since my last blog. The trouble is I don't like putting things up here unless I've thought through them in their entirety! Have made a conscious decision to change that, starting from now. Some things that have struck me recently. Companies that are getting their marketing right:

- Hiscox Commercial Insurance. You can't fail to notice their marketing onslaught in the last few years. Bold branding (red, black and white), simple images with bold headlines, and bold media placement - full magazine wraps, large billboards - there's nothing quiet about that. Yes bold, bold, bold. 'So what' you might say. And you'd be right. Lots of companies do that. But it's the boldness of their message that wins the day - in stark contrast to their competitors, directly appealing to their audience and marketplace, but what's more it's actually credible and supported through the whole product experience. They shout 'we call a spade a spade'. 'We promise to tell you the truth and nothing but the truth'. Which other insurance companies can lay claim to that? Go on their site to get a quote and it's amazingly easy. The language is in stark contrast to most insurance companies - there's no jargon. It's easily digestible. You buy the policy which is really easy and all the policy documentation is straight-talking too, in real English! Now that's refreshing. Hiscox. I take my hat off to you. Businesses everywhere - take note. It pays not to just 'pay lip service to your marketing'. Are you trying too hard just to be like everyone else? Can it really not be done another way? Is your proposition truly credible, believeable and appealing to the marketplace? So many questions...

An emotional vs rational election..

I can't help but feel somehow disappointed this morning. Having been totally split right up to the last minute - to the point where I had to ask for a new voting slip to change my vote, I voted Conservative - for a host of reasons, but largely because I didn't want to see Gordon continue in power. But the truth is the poor performance of the Lib Dem's is disappointing. From a marketing perspective, he played his campaign so well - appealing to the hearts and minds of the nation and if people were only voting at an emotional level (that and a bit of PR help!), I sincerely believe he would have captured a much larger share of the vote. As a marketeer, the traditional model looking at the decision making process is that the final vote is an emotional one, having analysed all the rational arguments before that. In this case - it was kind of different. He won for so many at an emotional level but many of us were faced with too many rational choices - would the Lib Dem party be equipped to govern, is my vote for Lib Dem really a vote for Labour. Maybe their 'close' wasn't strong enough. Many had already bought into his 'a fairer Britain' so maybe the close should have been playing to the rational mind. Either way, from a business perspective, it should at least make us all think about the decision making process that goes through our prospects minds when considering whose products / services they will ACTUALLY go on to buy. Meanwhile, who knows what'll happen from here in...

Emotional

Time is the new 'brand position'

Has anyone heard of 'In 'N' Out' - well believe it or not it's a garage, which caught my eye at Cribbs Causeway. One of the main bugbears for taking your car in for a service is that it takes sooooo long. Meanwhile you're stuck without a car in some grimy, freezing cold reception, waiting to hear how much you're going to be stung for. What a joy. So here comes 'In 'N' Out' - a new brand which turns this whole experience on its head. You check in at the gate, a smiley chap tells you how long it's going to take 30-40 minutes and if you're one of the lucky few that received a flyer through the door, you get a free valet worth £18.... the reason that sealed the deal to make me go to their garage and not another one. Get this - there's a nice coffee lounge there with magazines and the workshop is this clean, high tech, slick operation, with clean, branded, I'd go so far to say as 'pressed', boiler suited mechanics that actually say 'hello' and 'I'll be with you in a minute madam'. GREAT brand experience - nice positioning. The company name 'In 'n' out' conveys so quickly what you want from a garage and hints that it'll give you back that valuable commodity that SwiftCover also promises - Yes it's 'TIME'. And the packages you can buy, the service they provide and the brochures etc that express this, are all very well done. The only hiccup I'd say is that it actually took much longer than they promised... leaving one rather gutted marketer, rather than customer. But hey - as a 21st century marketing experience it's great! Nice work.

To search or Not to search? Votes please

So what does everyone think? Search is the best thing since sliced bread or a bit over-rated? Votes please - on the right!

The Secrets of Search Success

Is it me or is 'search' all wrapped up in smoke and mirrors? And the fall back is always 'oh google have changed it now' so you never know where you are! I talk to a lot of business owners and I felt it was a pain worth tackling so I'm putting on a seminar that is The Secrets of Search Success to explode the myths and pass on the real nuggets that we should all know about so our businesses can perform better. Find out more at: www.marketingclout.co.uk/intro !

Impressed by Swiftcover

It's not often that one is impressed by a car insurance brand. But I was sitting behind a bus yesterday and read the strapline - Swiftcover - get your quote in 60 seconds. Not necessarily mind blowing in itself but what IS interesting is that in a market that is so saturated and price driven such as car insurance, here's a new brand that only started in 2005 that's managed to carve out a new position on which to compete more effectively - Time. Time of which none of us ever have enough. So when everyone else was adding to the noise with minor points of differentiation - whether that be the level of cover, niche audiences, lower premiums or level of service, here's a brand that identified a real consumer pain (lack of time, the general pain of reinsuring your car and filling in endless pages online, sitting on the end of a phone)and positioned their brand and product accordingly (they were the first to introduce car quotes to your mobile phone). Now that's innovative. And that's the beauty of strategic planning...provided you do it well!

Marketing at the coalface - branding and positioning. Successes and failures.

Here's a presentation I ran for Bristol Uni undergrads focusing predominantly on branding and positioning. It includes a closer look at why Woolworths failed and rise and fall of Orange etc. Thought I'd share it. Feel free to take a look!

Marketing at the coalface - branding and positioning. Successes and failures.

View more presentations from lucindamould.

What your business card says about you!

You can't help but judge someone by their business card. Cheap and flimsy paper...cutting corners. Traditional style - white, logo, business address main feature...not exactly an innovator. Bright red - crazy letters...this one thinks he's a bit of a card. Tiny strip - interesting but forgettable. Heavyweight, corporate, funky, different, reputable - all judgements we can't help but make instantly! You'd think it's obvious but I've got a fistful of printer's business cards and the quality of the print on some of them is terrible... enough said!

Then there's those that try to include absolutely every service they offer and end up with a cluttered mess that's begging to be binned. It really is worth spending a bit of time on your business card and remembering the real purpose of a business card - is to make you / your business memorable above anything else...so when the relevant problem, pain, need arises that you can help with, you're the one they think of...and for the right reasons!