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Archive for the ‘About Push’ Category
I’m about to share the most important things I’ve learned this year…
A Powerful Way to Learn Marketing that Drives Your Business
Academy Open Event – 7th November 2011, Norwich, UK.
Test Drive the Academy through this ‘Access All Areas’ Event and find out why previous Students recommend it so highly!
From time-to-time we offer Academy Open Events, giving you the chance to benefit from powerful and valuable learning not available anywhere else. You’ll experience just how our Programmes help Students take a quantum leap in business results and growth.
With a new Academy Term coming up for January 2012 now is the chance to attend this One-Day Event and get hands-on with real marketing knowledge that WILL drive your business forward.
THE EVENT DETAILS:
The Science of Marketing – With Nial Adams, Academy Principal
“Nial Adams is one man who I’d wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who wants to rapidly grow their business. He has a unique knack for being able to see the big picture without losing sight of what you need to do, day-to-day, to make it happen. If you want more customers without any bull then you need to speak to Nial.”
Joe Gregory - Co-author of “The Gorillas Want Bananas”
www.leanmarketing.co.uk
The Science of Marketing -
This Open Event takes place on the 7th November 2011, in Drayton, Norwich - with two identical training sessions (AM and PM), so you can choose which one to attend.
In this 3-hr training session you’ll have the chance to learn about the latest concepts and applications in marketing for SME and Large Business. Nial will be sharing with you essential knowledge and insight regarding the significant changes to digital marketing in the past twelve months.
Find out:
- How Social Media will transform Marketing
- How Mobile Marketing can be fully harnessed
- How Email Marketing is Making a Comeback
- How Viral Marketing can be used in your business
…and much more!
This session will not only share new and valuable information, it will also show clearly how you can monetize this in your business.
Full Details can be downloaded HERE - The Science of Marketing
SPECIAL OFFER -
This event has been Sponsored by PUSH Marketing Partners and supported by the East Anglian Enterprise Initiative
Normal Ticket Price - £67 per delegate…
Sponsored Tickets – £25 (strictly limited)
EARLY-BIRD BOOKING OFFER -
Buy before 22nd October and get a SECOND GUEST TICKET FREE (worth another £67)
Invite your business colleagues, Marketing manager, etc.
Taking place at Drayton Old Lodge, Drayton, Norwich – Free Car Parking & Refreshments
PLEASE NOTE: Places are strictly limited to just 25 tickets per session
Terms & Condition - All tickets are offered at the discretion of the PUSH Marketing Academy on application.
To gain access to the booking page please click here
What can we all learn from Steve Jobs and Apple?
Just 24hrs ago I began writing the blog you’re about to read. Today the entire perspective of my musings has taken a dramatic turn. Like so many, I’ve woken to the very sad new that Steve Jobs, co-founder and the inspirational leader of Apple, has passed away, aged just 56.
There can be no doubt that Jobs was both a visionary and creative genius but for me there was one more significant attribute he displayed, he was a humanist. He understood what we, as humans, want and need. He also broke entirely new ground in the way vendors and consumers connect and created a brand that has probably become one of the most powerful and influential of today.
Why have Apple have impressed the heck out of me!
Yesterday (4th October 2011) I watched the Apple Keynote address releasing new features, products and continued vision for Apple’s future. I was left in no doubt why Apple has become the world’s leading company in its field. Love or hate the brand, there is no doubting the statistics – these figures speak for themselves.
The Keynote Address, given by the new CEO Tim Cook, began with a rundown of successes to-date, reaching right back to the beginning of the first Apple products to the market. One of the most notable points from this presentation is just how fast Apple has grown and how fast their product have completely changed the technology landscape.
“What is all this got to do with me and my business.. I’m never going to be the size of Apple!”
Well, the one thing that becomes obvious when you see the keynote address is Apple’s attention to detail in every element of their business, from pure design and innovation, to customer service excellence, to the way they create culture and nurture their brand. Things we can all do in our business.
Listening to the Keynote Address left me in no doubt that absolutely every small business, large or medium business, or even blue-chip corporate the size of Apple, can learn something from their approach to the way they run and continue to grow their operation.
So what are these lessons and how can we gain from them?
First of all, there is no doubt that their main quest and ultimate goal is that of absolute excellence in everything they do. So many businesses talk of this but how many can clearly point to the way that they try to achieve the other day-to-day basis. Sure, like everyone else Apple sometimes falls short, the launch of the iPhone 4 was dogged with a major design flaw but the product still went on to become the world’s largest and fastest selling smartphone.
Like many, listening to the Keynote I felt slightly disappointed to find would be no release of the much-anticipated iPhone 5. Like many, I’ve been waiting to upgrade from my beloved 3GS and rumours of the 5 suggested another quantum leap for the next generation of Apple iPhone.
However, in listening to the presentation of the facts around the design of the new iPhone 4S it became apparent to me that not only have they produced another outstanding new product but that they also ignored all the desires of the consumers and produced what we really need, not necessarily what we think we want.
I recommend you watch the presentation and pay attention to every single feature, once again their product design is something that is truly world-class.
Of all the lessons that were apparent, the keynote address was a master-class on product presentation. More than this, what’s clear is the approach to strategy that defines who they are, what they do, and what the collective vision is at Apple. Does everyone in your organisation understand and believe in a collective vision?
In designing a premium brand that represents premium products, Apple have gone beyond being simple retailers – in their attention to detail in true customer service they have produced a retail experience that is simply unmatched. And this is not just for the fun of it. Apple stores are the most successful retail spaces in the world, generating more sales revenue per square metre than any other.
As many Apple product owners will know, should you ever have a need to take the product back, perhaps for a repair or maintenance, the level of customer service it is one of excellence. So why is Apple able to achieve this while only others in the same industry have failed so miserably?
Simple, Apple built this concept of premium customer care into the product and also into the pricing model, allowing them to deliver first-class service. The company accepted that from time-to-time things go wrong and sometimes products do fail, ever world-class ones, the question is… how we deal with it and most importantly, how the customer perceives our reaction after the event.
A study from the automotive industry a number of years ago gave evidence to prove that a company who responds well to a product recall can actually improve in terms of the customer perception rather than decline and suffer a PR disaster. The question is how you deal with it.
To see other examples of why I believe apple is an industry leader visit the Keynote Address and watch the video, a great example of business that has not only clear vision but knows the way to achieve it.
Nial Adams
Footnote:
As mentioned above; this blog was written only a few hours before the news of Steve Jobs’ death was announced. I’ve also just discovered that Tim Cook and other senior members of the Apple team who gave the Keynote Address were aware before it started that Steve Jobs was only likely to live for a few more days at most. This makes their presentation even more outstanding; just imagine how they must have felt.
To get a beautiful insight as to what made Steve Jobs the person he was, please invest 15 minuets of your life and watch his famous Stanford Address here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc - I challenge you not to be deeply moved by it.
Engagement is the Key to Great Marketing Results
Engagement is the Key
For me, marketing is the very front end of sales, in most cases, every sale. In fact, consider this serious question; how many businesses can operate effectively with a sales team but no marketing (whatsoever) and how many can operate with good marketing and no sales team?
“But you always need a salesperson to close the deal… don’t you Nial?!”
No, not always. How many sales people does Amazon hire, how many do facebook… eBay, etc. etc…?! Apple’s App Store has supplied over three billion applications to customers making millions of dollars in revenue every month … and not one single salesperson is involved!
And it’s not just the big boys who play this strategy; there are hundreds of thousands of small businesses (mostly online) that generate regular profits every day, week and month by using simple digital marketing tactics.
Sure, knowing how to sell is vital and essential to know when it comes to crafting your marketing. For many businesses, having people who can sell is crucial but it’s only one part of the bigger picture. All too often I come across new business start-ups who have considered what they want to sell, know (or think) who their customers will be, go ahead, set up and open the doors but have no plan (or budget!) to do anything at all with their marketing!
My point is this, good marketing is all about effective communication and the key here is engagement. Engagement on both sides.
Engagement is Key to Great Marketing
At the very core of good marketing is a deep and thorough understanding of human psychology and how this affects the way people react and respond to stimuli through various media; the written word, images, audio and other channels. It’s all about communication and the ‘Click – Whirr’ effect that Dr Robert Cialdini talks about in his seminal work on Influence and Persuasion.
So why is engagement important? Well, just like in the classic form of sales-based operations, if you want your marketing to find new customers and win you profits, then you need be prepared to get involved with your customers. Thankfully, with the growth and expansion of various forms of digital marketing you can now systemise and automate a lot of this but you can still engage with new-found customers and that requires time, effort and focus.
Engagement has THREE GOLDEN RULES:
1. Find out as much about your new or prospective customers as you can. Don’t apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Even if you use data capture in the form of subscriber forms on your website, make sure that everyone has the option to add some free text and encourage them to express what’s important to them and why they want YOU to help them.
2. Spend time making a proper introduction; don’t bore your new-found friend (yes, you should treat customers like friends!) with long monologues about how nice you are and what a great business you run… but do give time to expressing what makes you different and what your Essential Sale Argument (ESA) is all about.
[Editor’s note: if you want to know more about ESA click here -http://www.nial-adams.com/news/whats-the-deal/ ]
3. Get your new customers to engage; make it fun, interactive and rewarding for them to engage with you. You’ve no hope of finding out what they want or what will ‘push their buttons’ if you don’t give them an encouragement to actually do something. Passive leads and prospects are very hard to turn into buying customers. So think of ways in which you can get them involved. Ask them to complete questionnaires, polls, ‘Like’ your page and share your news with others they know.
If all this has given you cause to stop and think, great, now you need to actually DO SOMETHING about it!
Step back and take a look at your current routes to market and what you’re doing to invite people to engage with you. Consider how you could make it:
- More Simple – don’t beat about the bush, tell them what to do and why
- More Fun – don’t take it too seriously, customers want to enjoy the experience
- More Flexible – accept that different people have different motives, give options
- More Rewarding – use simple tactic to reward them for being engaged with you
…and if you’re still lost to know what to do next, then simply engage – drop me a personal email via mail@nialadams.com and let’s start a dialogue.
Nial Adams
PS. And if you’ve read this far then I’m going to give you this valuable tip – if you really want to see what engagement looks like in action then login on facebook and take a look at ‘Frank Kern’… this guy is a genius at creating engagement.. 
PUSH to PLAY – A New Enterprise Initiative
Congratulations!
Thank you for taking the first, and most critical step, in finding out how our PUSH to PLAY services can really help you take your new business forward over the months and years ahead.
PUSH to PLAY is a unique offer provided through PUSH Marketing Partners and Business Growth Specialists. Our aim is very simple; we want to give you the very best chance of succeeding in your New Enterprise.
Through our strategic alliance with LloydsTSB Business Banking (East Anglian Region) we offer TWO main services that are designed to give you the knowledge and confidence to step into your new business and know that you are ready.
Pre-flight Check (CLICK HERE FOR BROCHURE)
It’s amazing how many people, who are about to start a new business, focus on the important elements like retail space, suppliers, finance, staffing, etc. but often overlook one of the most vital elements of every successful business – Sales & Marketing.
Making sure your business is financially viable from day one and ensuring that you are profitable IS the ‘bottom line’. To ensure you’re completely confident in this area you need a simple but practical view of how you will market and sell your products and services. Everything else comes second to this.
If you’ve not yet written out at least a basic Marketing Plan, or thought how your Sales and Marketing function will work, then now is the time to address this.
With Pre-flight Check we’ll walk you through a very simple but highly effective process that will ensure you have everything you need in place before you let your new business fly.
“Many thanks… you helped me realised how important it is to focus on my approach to sales and marketing; it’s started paying off already”
Steve Wright - Photographer
Pre-flight Check is an audit and review service; we ask you to complete a simple questionnaire (and we can help you with this as well), then we review the results and give you a practical plan to follow.
Pre-flight Check - Standard Audit Charge – £197.00 However…
LloydsTSB Business Customers can claim a New Enterprise Voucher for this and obtain the service at NO COST.
Please note; in every case we conduct a brief telephone consultation to ensure the suitability of this service and confirm your eligibility for this free New Enterprise Voucher. Also, there are a limited number of vouchers available each month so please register your interest first and ensure your application is live.
“the Pre-flight Check really helped me understand what I needed to have in place to get my business started, now I feel so much more confident”
Christine Alexander Smith - Development Specialist
Need Good Training?
The Second PUSH to PLAY Offer available is our Flying Start Enterprise Training events. Here’s the BROCHURE just click.
These half-day workshop-based seminars will ensure you have everything you need to make your new business fly. Learn the essentials basics that every smart owner/manager knows and give yourself the best opportunity at succeeding.
To find out about these training events please request details via the contact form below. Just put ‘Flying Start’ in the request.
To register your interest in a Pre-Flight Check – call us now on 0843 289 4320 (lo-call rate), or register your interest in the form below and we’ll contact you back direct within 24 hrs.
Comments or questions are welcome.
Powered by Fast Secure Contact Form
The New Enterprise Voucher Scheme is offered in collaboration with the
East Anglian Enterprise Initiative
“You pays your money and takes your choice!”
A well worn phrase that people of a certain again (like me!) will have heard many a time from parents and relatives in the past. Come to think of it, isn’t it interesting that all these old clichés that our parents repeat, and that we used to scoff at, turn out to be sound advice after all?!
I’ve found it fascinating to watch how so many businesses have moved their price position over the past year or so. With the economy in very sensitive times and now with a VAT increase to factor into the ever-changing fiscal landscape, there seems to be a theme emerging that suggests the only way to win customers is to discount prices.
Slash and burn tactics on your pricing are all very well and good… if you’re a market trader, selling poor quality items that people will only buy when the price point is ludicrously low. For the serious business person, attention to price point is even more critical right now and any changes need to be thought through with real care.
Don't let George Osborne's VAT increase determine the price of your products or services!
In seminars and with clients I’m constantly explaining to that price point is just like any other business-critical factor; you need to have evidence to make decisions on changing it. The biggest myth of all is that “if I reduce my prices I’ll win more new clients”.
Of course this could be entirely true. If you’re over valuing your offer and if the marketplace doesn’t share your perception, then you’ll find it hard to attract buyers. However it’s dangerous thinking to believe that all consumers focus on price as a priority.
There are certain products, commodities like fuel, that are price critical but in the majority of cases the prospective consumer is looking not at price but at value. If you’re facing a challenge over increases in VAT and scratching your head to figure out where you can cut costs just to keep your price point static, then you should consider taking a very different perspective.
I’ve always taught clients the concept of stacking up value. It’s a remarkably simple principle, so simple that very few business owners ever do it. So here’s my sixty-second buzz session on it!
Before you rush to the calculator to work out how you’re going to factor in a new VAT rate, or rather, before you just decide to pass on the increase and blame Mr Osborne, stop and take a fresh look at your product or service. Then do two simple things:
- Break down the product or service into the separate parts and assign a nominal value to each. But rather than focusing on the £s value of each consider the benefit of each to the consumer. For example, if you offer free delivery look at how that saves the customer time and provides convenience. You should end up with a more comprehensive summary of the features and benefits and know how to articulate these – this is marketing!
- Then look at simple and low cost ways that you could add extra value to the product or service. The trick here is to add value that costs you less that the perceived value to the consumer. Write up the new added benefits in a way that will get your customer thinking.
This simple process is something every business should be doing in their six monthly review (what do you mean you don’t do a six monthly review?!). Essentially you’ll increase the perceived value in your product. If you’ve got fierce competition, then look carefully at what value you can add to your product/service to make it stand out, without cost you much or even anything.
Above all, don’t rush to chop your prices about and don’t lay the blame for falling sales at the feet of a new VAT rate, as easy as that might be. Of course the good news is that if you take this more tactical approach the chances are that your competition wont be and you could end up grabbing more of share of the marketplace as a result!
One final thought on this subject; a student on our PUSH Marketing Academy recently learned this very concept and came rushing back a few days later to tell me how he had used value-stacking in a call with an enquiry. In the space of ten minutes he turned a request for voluntary services into an £800 sale and confirmed booking!
Nial Adams
5th January 2011
The Devil is in the Detail
Over the past few weeks it’s really come home to me how vitally important it is to ensure that we all focus on the detail. I love to hear how some people tell me that they don’t want the detail; after all, they’re ‘big picture’, ‘top level’, ‘blue-sky’ kinda people who ‘leave the detail to others’… hmmm.
Well, here’s a newsflash guys; it’s all detail. Get over yourself!
No matter how big your project is, no matter what your plan might be for world-domination, the fact remains that every major achievement is made up of lots of detail that all works together. Try telling an Olympic athlete that it won’t really matter if their shoelaces snap five metres from the line, or tell the airline pilot that a few degrees North will still get him home. I mentioned to Nico Rosberg just the other day that he really ought to make sure all his wheelnuts were tightened properly before leaving the pit lane… but the message obviously didn’t get through!
So what’s this fascination with the ‘big picture’ and why are so many people still looking to find someone to pick up on the small details that will make their business work? Well, personally I think a lot of it has to do with focus. Focus requires energy, commitment, dedication, time, resources, and other things that we all seem to have in very short supply. Still, the fact remains that if you’ve got a handle on the detail in your business you’ll know what’s going on. If you want to be the Captain of your own ship then this sounds like a good idea. It doesn’t mean you need to become obsessed and it doesn’t mean that you’ve got to do it all yourself. It just means you need the right level of awareness of the detail that will make all the difference.
I also have a sneaking suspicion that too many of us also love the idea of having a grand view (from the top) of our business and believe that it’s beneath us to actually get our hands dirty. There are plenty of examples of top-level CEOs who have gone ‘back to the floor’ and have come away with a radically improved view of what their business is actually all about; what the rest of the team get to deal with every single day. The people at the top get paid the big bucks for several reasons, responsibility, experience, know-how but also because it’s their job to know what’s happening day to day. This means filtering the information then using it properly.
Likewise there are also some great examples of highly successful people who keep a very close eye on everything that matters. Finance must be one of the most important of these. Oprah Winfrey is renowned for keeping extreme control on the budgets in her organisation; she cuts out waste and knows where her money is being spent. Do you know what your business expense accounts are being used for today?!
So, my recommendation is to start with the detail. Yes, the big picture and the vision are all vitally important but never lose sight of the component parts that really make your business tick; that includes your people and of course your customers!
The New Email Marketing Revolution is here, will you be joining us?
Find out how every business can harness the power of EFFECTIVE Email Marketing… today!
A 60-minute presentation that lifts the lid and shows you how you can steal the advantage!
For too long email marketing has been ineffective and hard to measure accurately. Many businesses still see email as a way to just stay in touch; however, significant new advances in email marketing technology have changed all this. The smart business owners and managers are using this already, are you?!
“Since we’ve been using the new system we’re getting results that are 100-200% better than anything before”
Email marketing is still rated as the most cost-effective way to get your message right under the nose of your target audience. Even more than this, it can deliver a number of ways to accelerate your business.
Nial Adams, acclaimed marketing specialist and public speaker will be delivering this presentation and sharing his knowledge with you.
“This guy knows what he’s talking about and shares everything!” – Previous Seminar Delegate
Attend this presentation and find out how properly managed Email Marketing can help you:
- Sell more and increase your profit margins
- Reduce waste in your current marketing
- Refine and grow your prospect/client data
- Help you find out what your customers actually want
- Build your client community and relationships
- Ensure email is integrated with your other marketing
Email Marketing has been around for years and for many the perception is that it simply doesn’t generate results and can alienate potential customers. New ways of managing and distributing your email campaigns can significantly increase the results you get and help you build on this month after month. Best of all, you can be up and running, in control, with your new email campaigns in a matter of days, and with low start-up costs.
People tell us:
“I don’t want people to see us as spammers”
“How can I effectively measure my results?”
“I don’t know enough about it to be confident”
In this fast-paced sixty-minute presentation you’ll find out how the new PUSH Email Marketing System is generating controllable results, today, that significantly beat the competition.
You will see a live demonstration of how powerful systems can help you run a campaign in the morning and start making sales in the afternoon. You’ll also find out why most businesses that use email marketing currently are actually damaging their brand, losing out on simple ways to increase results and letting their profits end up in the pockets of their competition.
TO RESERVE YOUR SEAT PLEASE CALL - 0843 289 1590
OR EMAIL – briefing@pushemailmarketing.co.uk
Book Your Seat(s) Below. Powered by Fast Secure Contact Form
Forget getting customers to buy from you…
…ask them to design your product as well!
Times have certainly changed; there’s a new cool breeze blowing through marketing and it’s sweeping away the old guard. People are finding better ways to do things and harnessing the immense power of technology that every business – and yes, that includes YOU! – have at our very fingertips, right now.
You’ve possibly heard about the revolution that’s known as Permission-Based Marketing. As far back as 1999 Seth Godin and his team identified the fact that new ways of thinking about marketing could turn the traditional method of ‘spray and pray’ on it’s head. Seth explained that we could ‘turn strangers in to friends and friends into customers’.
Welcome to a new dawn in the story of marketing..!
Despite the fact that this idea has been about for over ten years, I still come across people who refuse to accept there could just be a better way to spend their marketing budget. They continue to flog the proverbial dead horse by sending out marketing that is dull, completely irrelevant and to people who really have no interest in how many sheets of paper a photocopier can spit out in a minute.
Only a year or so ago I met someone who suggested the idea of using facebook for marketing was going to damage their prestige brand and, after all, facebook was just for kids! Sadly this mediaeval perspective still exists in some dark corners today. Thankfully other companies, the smart ones, are making hay while others sleep.
I’ve recently read that Papa John’s, the American pizza company, is using facebook to recruit fans and then asking them to come up with a winning pizza recipe! Talk about engage with your target market! This stroke of genius is simple, fast and has already caught the attention of our pizza-loving friends. Over 6,500 people entered the Papa’s Speciality Pizza Challenge and the facebook application has been loaded over 80,000 times.
Oh, and I think they’ve sold a few more pizzas too!
Now, your business may not be operating on the same scale as Papa John’s but there’s a clear and simple lesson to be learned here; engage your audience and find out what they really want and make them feel part of your team.
The fatal flaw that can be found in so many businesses is that they’re designing products and services they like the idea of and want to sell; instead they should be asking the customers what they actually want and create it for them.
So I’ll leave you with a few challenging questions:
- How do you engage with your target customers to find out what they really want?
- How do you know that what you’re selling today meets the needs and desires of others?
- What could you do, within the next fourteen days, to turn your business into a customer magnet?
And… What’s your combination for that killer pizza on a Saturday night?!
Building Your Business On A Solid Marketing Platform
Ask yourself these FOUR KEY QUESTIONS:
“How can I start seeing positive results from my marketing efforts and spend?”
“Do I feel that our current approach to marketing is delivering the results it should?”
“Who should I listen to when seeking practical advice on marketing?”
“Am I ready to do something positive to change the way our market works?”
A fast-paced, condensed, three-hour seminar presentation designed to get your marketing moving – we lift the lid on some of the best kept secrets in marketing that are cost-effective and key to business success, no matter what your size or budget. You’ll learn how to harness the latest technology that will make your marketing budget stretch futher and give you ‘more bang for your buck’..!
Delegates from our last event said:
“Nial’s presentation was inspiring and informative”
“He provided a clear overview of how to approach your marketing”
“Interesting, inspring and informative – 10 out of 10!”
“This event really gave me time and space to think about my marketing”
“A fun event that I’d recommend; helped me sort my head out”
“Helped to clarify principles I knew but didn’t know how to implement”
Business owners and those responsible for the ‘bottom line’ all know that getting results from marketing is critical to sales and creating profit. A core of any business, effective marketing is the front-end of the sales process and yet so many businesses struggle needlessly because they haven’t been given the best tools for the job, what’s more, they waste valuable resources; time and money, and are watching their profits go to their competitors.
If you missed the previous Seminar this is your chance to grab a FREE seat (worth £97) and attend ‘Make Your Marketing Work!’
21st June 2010
Holiday Inn – Norwich Airport
9am -12pm
Limited Seats
CALL OUR 24HR BOOKING HOTLINE TODAY – 0843 289 4082
[Just leave your name, email and return telephone and we'll confirm if you've been successfully allocated a FREE seat]
OR EMAIL – events@makemarketingwork.co.uk
I’ve noticed a change in people, have you?
With another Bank Holiday just gone and Spring in full swing, or should that be bloom, it’s a good time to remember that just about every business is impacted in some way by seasonal change and even the weather generally.
My father, who had the longest list of different jobs and careers you could ever expect to find, always told me to be aware of the seasons and what this means to each business. At first I was tempted to believe that this only really had an impact on businesses that were directly affected by the Great British weather. He was right though…
Certainly, if you have a business where the sunshine or rain has a direct effect, the changing weather will reflect in your takings. Running a coffee shop, for example, is great during the winter months when shoppers want to step inside to get warm again and enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee but when the weather warms up things change. The British public have fully embraced the ‘café culture’ of our continental friends and when the warm rays of sun shine we all want to be outside enjoying it and making the most of it, so a café with outside seating is essential these days.
However, I believe that the seasons have an even greater overall impact. The annual calendar does, without a doubt, affect various consumer conditions, even if this is only because of the impact of things like the start of a new tax year. We also keep that mental calendar in our heads for things holidays (especially if you have children) as well as things like birthdays and other important anniversaries. And even if our business doesn’t appear to have a seasonal element, perhaps the businesses of the people we serve do.
With a really enjoyable Spring following what has been one of the hardest Winters we have seen for some time, I’m sure you, like me, have noticed how the longer days and warmer sun has had a positive effect on the general mood and demeanour of the people around us. It’s noticeable how we respond to this and it translates into a change in attitudes, even if only slightly.
So, my point is this; have you stopped to think how the changing seasons have an impact on your business and , most importantly, your customers and clients. I often see businesses who plough on through the year with really very little consideration for the fact that seasonal change is something that should be taken into account. The retail market reacts to this with obvious changes to product range and offers but how aware are you that seasonal change can effect your business?
One very important element of marketing is also to be aware of topical influence and how we can keep our business fresh and topical simply by demonstrating our awareness of those things that influence others. I bet there will be a few bars offering a no-election night this week!
Most of all, enjoy the Spring, perhaps Summer is just around the corner!
Recommended Actions:
Look back over your trading figures and look for seasonal trends. Anticipate these ahead of time – it’s no good reacting too late. Consider how you can leverage seasonal change and trends and incorporate these into your marketing plan. Make sure your marketing messages are topical and connect at a personal level with your readers/viewers.