Category

Digital

Jan 14
0

Small Businesses Still Have Big Customer Needs

By | Blog, Digital

We all know the importance of understanding customer needs within marketing. However, putting customers at the centre of your business isn’t just about marketing… Understanding what makes your customers tick is the essence of what drives decisions in your business, and the underlying driver of how your business strategy can be developed.

Many large organizations spend thousands on customer data, analytics and continual reporting, which simply isn’t realistic for a small business on the same scale. But you can pay attention to your customers, and invest in customer data to help make key strategic decisions.

Recently, we recently spoke with Debanjana Paul who has been part of Dunnhumby for the past 4 years. Dunnhumby link brands and retailers to their customers by using data science to get to the nub of customer insight.

They describe their data-driven insight as being used in 4 ways:-

  • To achieve deeper customer understanding
  • To strengthen business strategies by putting customers first
  • To improve commercial performance and hit key targets
  • To create differentiated, personalised customer experiences across channels

The main idea behind paying more attention to customer insights is to be able to grow brand value. Insights help deploy perfectly timed and targeted brand marketing campaigns that will boost your ROI (return on investment.)

What does this mean for you?

Post-Covid, we know that customers’ loyalties have changed: Their views and needs have changed, in addition to their expectations from brands.

Knowledge through data helps us gain granular insight on shopper behaviour to identify trends and shape decision making. By creating personalized products, targeted messages and more relevant marketing, we can drive increased sales conversions. And this is as relevant to small businesses as to large ones.

Take our client, Mama Bamboo. We take insight from their current purchasing audience demographic, and create targeted paid advertising campaigns across social media and Google to place their sustainable eco nappy and baby wipe messages in front of a wider audience with similar characteristics.

For successful event caterer turned home delivery expert, Adam Nathan At Home, we used data insight to inform the creative angle for our January campaigns. Knowing that January is traditionally a healthier month for most, with both dry January and Veganuary proving popular among his loyal audience, we suggested new content themes based around achieving dieting goals and trying new Vegan dishes,  without having to make any extra effort on the cooking front.

The best part is, by using insight-driven content in our recent paid advertising campaigns, for every £1 spent we have seen return of over £15 back.

So, by properly harnessing customer insights, you can strategically plan to drive an increase in new shoppers or uplift in specific products, which overall will contribute to a sales uplift.

Small businesses can think like larger companies, and benefit from the results.

Do you have enough understanding of your customers? Are you clear about their patterns, motivations and behaviours? Could you adapt your business based on simple customer insight?

If not, now may be the time to put this at the front of your planning, making customer data central to your business growth strategy.

Nov 30
0

Build the Best Email Strategy

By | Blog, Digital

CRM systems are amazing! When used correctly they build stronger connections with your customers and ultimately better relationships. 

Maybe you’ve been building your CRM system for a while, or you’ve previously used a database and sent out some emails with limited success. 

We know that email marketing can be massively successful. However, the first thing to think about is the entire purpose of your marketing campaigns. Too often we receive emails, mostly automated, from companies we have agreed to hear from but often don’t know why!  

Alongside other marketing routes, email marketing can start to shift those warm leads into hot prospects and retain existing clients to ensure you can increase loyalty. 

So let’s start with some basics…

Nurture email campaigns. Sound a little strange? 

Essentially, a nurture email strategy is about building long term relationships with potential and existing clients whilst not selling your products or services directly.  

You ask yourself, ‘why don’t I try and sell my business or service to a database that want to hear from me?’

The job of a long term nurture email campaign is to help raise brand awareness by providing useful and relevant information to leads that aren’t yet ready to make a purchase and to maintain a relationship with existing customers to ensure your business remain top of mind. 

We want to create that warm, fuzzy feeling we get when someone remembers our birthday. 

Reputation is king and never more than now, during this time in our strange, economic climate.  

The aim is to create a positive connection between the customer and your brand and to consider customers at all stages of the buyer’s journey. 

So, let’s a minute to talk about the top 5 Golden rules of email marketing that you need to consider when developing a campaign 

Rule number 1: Ensure all emails are personalised  

There is nothing worse than getting an email addressed to:   

Dear <insert name here>  OR  worse – your name is spelt incorrectly 

Rule number 2: Be targeted and relevant to each sector 

There you are, going through the morning email and you open one ( addressed correctly so you know it’s for you!), but find out that the content, at best, is totally unrelated to you. At worst it could be inappropriate and even offensive. 

Rule number 3 : Content, content, content!! 

Following on behind the heels of relevance is content engagement – the ultimate goal is for the email to be open and read but it has to be targeted and tailored. 

The more interesting, relevant and diverse the content, the more likely your chosen group will engage with your business.  

Rule number 4: Be realistic 

Email marketing on its own is very unlikely to fundamentally transform your business. Be realistic with what messages you are going to send and how often. Think about what you want to achieve from this, how you will follow up on open rates and what the message strategy is moving forward 

Rule number 5: We learn from our mistakes 

In line with rule 4, look to create a multiple message campaign strategy and test a variety of creative solutions and message hierarchies for example 

– Subject Line
– From Line
– Body Copy
– Day of Week Delivered
– Hour of Day Delivered 

If you’re not sure where to start, here’s our top 10 things to think about and tick off your ‘to-do’ list:

  • A survey or poll 
  • Recent studies relating to their business 
  • Updates on your blogs and guest blogs 
  • Updates on new products or developments 
  • Give always 
  • Loyalty schemes and refer a friend 
  • Favourable articles about your business
  • News from the top 
  • Behind the scenes look at the company 
  • Information about any loyalty schemes 
  • Upcoming webinars 
  • Quarterly newsletter 
Nov 24
0

Take Some Downtime for a Ted Talk

By | Blog, Digital

It’s a wet November lunchtime. The rain is pouring and you can hear the wind howl around you. It’s time for a break!

Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’re sat in an actual office… If not, you’ve moved away from your makeshift desk to somewhere more comfortable.

Today, instead of scrolling through Facebook or calling the family to check in, why not check out our recommend TED talks to keep you motivated and use the 30 minutes to learn something new?

Ok – so the first one from 2004 is still so relevant. It’s about happiness and spaghetti sauce!

Given it’s almost 20 years old, it’s amazing that it is still totally relatable to today’s marketing challenges and the impact that consumers desires have.

Why don’t you pop your feet up and click here to watch!

Next on the list is from Renny Gleeson, who talks about the broken relationship ( within a customer journey) if you get a 404 page when looking at a website. Truly insightful and reminds us all to ensure this doesn’t happen.

Enjoy this talk here!

Our favourite and the most fascinating is Neuromarketing – the science behind decisions. This reminds of the brilliance of emotional connections and the subconscious decision making.

Click here to enjoy your next TED Talk…

So put your feet up, settle in, and get ready to be inspired and think about you can shake up your marketing!

Oct 30
0

10 signs your website needs attention right NOW

By | Blog, Digital

If ever there was a time to make sure your website is running to the best of its abilities, it’s now.  With the country in and out of lockdown, the success of your business relies on having an online store-front where your customers can easily shop from, or engage with your services, even when they’re unable to get out and about.

So, how is your website working for you right now?  No idea?  No problem.  We’ve put together a list of 10 signs it may be time to think about giving it some love….

1) Your website pages load…ever….so….slowly….

Does your website seem to take longer than others to load?  Did you know that recent research from The Daily Egg  showed that just a 1 second delay in page load times can cause an average of 7% loss in conversions!

2) Updating your site always seems too complicated

Ever wonder how your competitors seem to be making frequent changes to their marketing messages, whereas you feel like you need a triple degree in computer science just to change an image?  Sounds like the back-end of your website is outdated.  Welcome to the 2020s where you can have the back end of your website built in a user friendly way, so that once it’s ready, you don’t need to keep asking (and paying for!) a tech wizard to make your changes…you can do it yourself!

3) Your site doesn’t reflect your brand personality

If you feel like your site is a bit ‘out of the box’ and doesn’t truly reflect who you are as a brand, now’s the time to give it a refresh.  Your homepage is your online ‘store front’ and if it’s not resonating with your audience, you’re likely to lose them.

4) You have a high bounce rate

A high bounce rate (40% or higher) could be a sign that the design of your site needs a little TLC. Confusing navigation, poor image quality or slow page load times are just a few examples of what could be causing you issues.  Our team of expert web developers often run audits for brands and businesses to help uncover any underlying problems that need to be addressed.

5) Your site isn’t optimised for mobile

Think about it. How often do you visit websites on your mobile vs. your desktop?  Over half of the world’s internet traffic now comes from mobile devices.  If your website is stuck in the desktop dark ages, you 100% need to prioritise making sure your customers can navigate your content from their mobile.

6) Your Google ranking is less than impressive

SEO should never be underrated.  If you’re undetectable on google under the main search terms relating to your brand/business, you need to do something about it now. SEO issues are common, but what many don’t realise is that they can be solved fairly easily by someone who knows what they’re doing when it comes to content, design and userbility (Enter Stage Right: OnBrand 😉 )

7) Your homepage is a bit…blah..

Your homepage needs to immediately capture the attention of your audience from the moment they arrive on your site.  If it doesn’t, you’re at risk of both your crawl-rate and the number of pages your visitors view significantly reducing.

8) You have poor conversion rates

Does your website provide plenty of conversion opportunities?  Do you have email sign-ups and enticing Call-To-Actions?  If you have a great product or service but your site isn’t driving sales, perhaps it’s time for an audit to work out why people aren’t converting and at which stage they’re exiting.  Once you’re armed with this insight, we can then help you work on the areas that need addressing…KA-CHINNG!!

9) Your site isn’t secure

If your website URL doesn’t start with https:// it means that you’re not following security protocol, and it could be causing serious harm to your SEO.  This is an easy one to fix, but a big deal!

10) You need new functionality

When was your website built?  Do you feel it’s a bit of a dinosaur in comparison to others you interact with?  Web technology has moved on a lot in the last year or so, so it’s important you stay on top of the latest tools to drive your business forward; think, eCommerce checkouts, online booking functionality, and custom web forms….of course, OnBrand can help you sort any of these, and more!

Has this list given you food for thought?  If it’s got your brain whirring in overdrive thinking about all the different things you need to address across your website, panic not.  Our expert team of friendly web developers can help you hatch a plan to get everything optimised for success.  Get in touch for an informal chat: sayhello@onbrand.co.uk

Oct 12
0

Preparing for a very different Peak Season: a summary of webinar insights by ShopperTrak UK

By | Blog, Digital, In-Store, Shopping Centres, Social

As a marketing agency working across numerous retail clients, from independent stores local to St Albans, to multi-store shopping centres across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, at OnBrand we were keen to hear from retail footfall experts, ShopperTrak, on their Q4 predictions, given the rather unpredictable year we have been having so far.

The agenda covered Summer Traffic Trends, Current Propensity to Purchase, Consumer Sentiment and Q4 Predictions, delivered by a panel of experts: Andy Sumpter and Chris Fowler from ShopperTrak, plus Kyle Monk from the British Retail Consortium.

UK footfall in recovery

Starting with a snapshop of footfall trends across Europe, the UK’s position was explained as slow but steady recovery. Having gone later into lockdown than other countries, but alongside the others in coming back out, the overall impact on footfall was reduced compared to others such as France and Spain, still struggling to encourage consumer demand onto their high streets.

UK retail traffic numbers improved quickly post-lockdown, despite active cases of COVID-19 increasing. This suggests that retailers succeeded in acting quickly to create a safe shopping environment, and that the UK saw a surge of pent-up demand for shopping when stores re-opened, beyond topping up on essentials. As trips to the high street and shopping centres became part of normal life again, many felt the need to escape the lockdown bubble of a restricted home, work and family life, confined to the same four walls.

Cities suffered the most from decline in traffic

With commuters worldwide told to stay home, understandably, the major cities have suffered most from the sudden drop in footfall. We know a huge majority turned to shopping online, but interestingly, UK retail parks have bucked the footfall trend, outperforming all other shopping options, both throughout lockdown and with an ongoing trend in recent months.

Compared with traffic levels seen by high streets, shopping centres and outlets, retail parks have jumped ahead of their usual path since early March and are still welcoming the majority of visitors today. This could be down to shoppers feeling safer in a predominantly outdoor setting, with easy car parking, established click and collect services and a relatively speedy shopping experience.  It also fits with DIY and home improvements growing in popularity during lockdown, with many of us finding time to finish that ever-growing list of home projects.

Saturday shopping now spread over the week

One of the most interesting facts to come from the webinar was new evidence of a change in daily shopping patterns. Saturday shopping has changed since the pandemic: it is not the big family shopping day that it once was.

The average weekly traffic mix by day of the week is either slightly more or equal to the pre-lockdown %. But Saturday traffic dropped the most during lockdown, and has remained lower than before. Pre-pandemic, Saturday enjoyed 20% of the week’s traffic, dropping to 16% in lockdown, and only creeping back to 18% in recent months.

Perhaps, with offices closed across the country, instead of shoppers looking forward to weekend family retail and leisure time, they have become used to spreading their visits across the week?  We welcomed the news during lockdown that working from home had a positive effect on rediscovering the local high street.  Popping to the shops now doesn’t need to wait until the weekend, with reduced commuting time and more flexible working hours making #shoplocal mid-week trips more accessible.

 

Shoppers know exactly what they want

And now for the good news! Shoppers are more purposeful when they visit. They are planning fewer spontaneous purchases, so are more decisive and make a journey for a specific reason, which means conversion rate and average transaction value have both seen a jump since stores reopened. With a resulting 26.9% increase in Sales per Shopper, this is positive news as we approach peak shopping season. With footfall continuing to climb, every shopper walking in through the door has become more valuable.

 

What does this mean for retailers?

Now, more than ever, retailers need to work hard to get their customer experience right first time. Ensure the right staffing levels are in place across the whole week, not just at weekends. Train each and every team member on new safety measures, and how to manage a customer’s needs in the current climate.

The retail environment needs to be seen with new post-COVID eyes, where touching and testing products is restricted, shoppers are cautious to enter and spend shorter time just browsing. How can retailers reassure shoppers? By making sure their payment process is slick, ideally contactless. By working hard to make click and collect procedures satisfactory for both those shopping in store and those dropping by to collect. Anything to avoid delays, frustrations or unsightly, lengthy queues.

At OnBrand, we have helped clients through the pandemic by using their marketing channels to better communicate with shoppers who may not be currently visiting stores. What time of day is the best to visit? Which stores are open? Are there special offers available?

In the webinar, ShopperTrak suggested that footfall counters could help share this information with the shopping public, perhaps recommending lower volume shopping days by making the stats highly visible on a retailer homepage?  We implemented exactly this tool recently with Fairhill Shopping Centre in Ballymena, using a simple traffic light system indicating when the centre was at its busiest, and therefore best to avoid, or calmer and safe to visit.

We have also created social media plans that share friendly reminders of new safety measures put in place, ideally with day to day real customer satisfaction. In this time of uncertainly, all shopping information shared needs to be up to date, whether on in-store posters, Google My Business directories, local community websites or social media chat groups, especially when opening hours change regularly, or new government measures are put in place.

We have found that shoppers can handle change, such as a new one way system, separate entrances and exits, or the requirement to wear a facemask, but they do need to know in advance and it may take a few reminders before it becomes the norm.  Our OnBrand radio and messaging system, Centre Radio, has proven essential to many of our clients, giving them the ability to create and load their latest safety messaging and government procedures in record production times.

Will 2020 be an online Christmas?

When surveying consumer sentiment post-COVID, and shopping intentions for the rest of the year, ShopperTrak found a number of positives for the high street.

Customers have more choice than ever to buy online, and unsurprisingly, 64% of consumers expect to use websites with home delivery this Christmas. But, alongside this online commitment, the intention is still also there to shop instore, use click and collect or buy online and collect curb-side.

Festive planning has been brought forward this year, as something for everyone to look forward to. For over a quarter of shoppers, Christmas shopping will have already started by September, with only 16% intending to leave festive planning until December. With the lack of opportunity to spend this year across both travel and hospitality sectors, there is potentially an opportunity for the retail sector to increase its share of pocket towards the end of the year.

However, shoppers are still price-conscious, with 48% mentioning that price would be a key factor when shopping in-store this Christmas. And the aversity to weekend shopping looks here to stay, with 82% of shoppers choosing weekdays rather than waiting for the weekend.

Despite 18% of shoppers planning to shop exclusively online, the in-store customer experience is still high on the agenda. Gifting inspiration, try before you buy, general convenience and advice from sales staff were all quoted as top reasons to visit stores this year, even with social distancing measures in place.

 

Unfortunately for high street retailers, 63% of those surveyed stated that they would shop less in-store this year, compared to previous years. This follows the post-COVID behaviour pattern mentioned earlier, identifying current shoppers as more focused on fewer trips, but spending more money per visit. This year they are not intending to hang around to browse or enjoy shopping as a leisure activity.

Safety is the key concern, both around how fellow shoppers will adhere to the rules, and the risk of contracting COVID-19, as well as the impact of social distancing on the overall shopping experience. Again, retailers should bear this in mind when preparing stores for shoppers currently in a different state of mind from past peak shopping seasons.

ShopperTrak’s predictions for peak shopping days in 2020

The webinar presented the following as critical factors that needed to be taken into account when predicting peak shopping days this year:

  • Weekends will lose emphasis as weekday shopping has levelled out
  • Retailers have brought forward some sale opportunities, which may impact traditional Black Friday or Super Saturday pre-Christmas peaks
  • Shopper surveys indicate that most people intend to shop less this year
  • As well as shoppers planning to shop earlier this year
  • E-commerce will have significant impact on in-store retail sales this year

 

The following dates are predicted to be the peak in-store shopping days for 2020:

  1. Saturday November 28th – Day after Black Friday
  2. Monday December 28th – Bank Holiday
  3. Saturday December 19th – Super Saturday
  4. Saturday December 12th – Saturday before Super Saturday!
  5. Saturday December 26th – Boxing Day

We will certainly be using this insight in our own marketing plans, as well as advising clients on how best to use their remaining Q4 marketing budgets. If you would like a pre-Christmas marketing strategy audit, website customer journey review or social media content refresh, please get in touch on 03333 220022 or sayhello@onbrand.co.uk.

 

Sep 29
0

#ThankYouStAlbans

By | Blog, Digital, In-Store

Earlier this month, we wrote a blog for one of our shopping centre clients, all about giving back and saying thank you to those within the local community after all those months of lockdown.

 We really liked the sentiment behind the campaign name, #SelflessSeptember, and thought it might be fun to re-write the article mentioning those within the St. Albans Community…our way of saying thank you to our local peers for the incredible services and experiences they offer!

So without further ado, we give you… #ThankYouStAlbans

We’ve decided that Autumn is the season to say Thank You, which is why we’ve made it our mission to put a smile on the faces of the people of St.Albans.

It would be an understatement to say that living through a pandemic has been a bit tough on us all, in one way or another.  Amongst the doom and gloom, however, it’s been heart-warming to see people pull together and support each other.

Is there someone you’d like to say a special thank you to for lending you a helping hand over the past few months?  Perhaps you have a neighbour who ran your errands for you whilst you were self-isolating, or you have a friend who helped you keep your sanity by listening to your weekly updates on how you survived juggling home-schooling and work?  Or maybe, there’s a school teacher who’s been amazing at helping ease your little ones back into school in recent weeks?

Whoever it is, why not surprise them with an unexpected treat to say THANK YOU?

Looking for ways to give back?  Look no further; we’ve put together this handy little list to help inspire you…

1. Set a Dinner Date

For a real treat, why not tell a loved one to meet you round the corner from your favourite dinner spot in St.Albans! Surprise them by having a table booked where you can spend the evening enjoying a delicious meal whilst you have a serious catch up! Or, how about taking a cookery lesson with Danielle at The Cobbled Kitchen and whipping up a surprise dinner, using your new skills at home!

2. Treat your bestie to an afternoon of pampering

Perhaps you have a mummy friend who needs a little ‘pick-me-up’ now that the kids have returned to school? Why not book in a Nail Appointment for you both at Eve & Adam Spa so that your hands get a little TLC whilst you have a much-needed gossip! You could even get in touch with Nicky Packman, who could advise on gorgeous Aloe Vera products to use at home afterwards for a spa sesh later on!

3. Offer to do the shopping

Sometimes, it’s the small gestures that really mean something. Perhaps you have an elderly neighbour who would really appreciate you picking up some shopping, or there’s a working parent in your street who’s glued to their laptop at home and would LOVE it if you picked up a new pair of wellies for their kid at Jo Jo’s at Christopher Place?

4. Get Creative

A great way to get the kids involved in saying ‘Thank You’ whilst keeping them out of mischief is to get creative!! How about popping into town and picking up some arts and crafts supplies to make Thank You cards to send to a relative in the post?  Think glitter, stickers and colourful cardboard – a guaranteed way to put a smile on the face of any grandparent!

5. Say it with Chocolate

What’s better than a delicious slice of chocolate?….We say it’s unexpected chocolate, bought for you, just because! If there’s someone you think deserves a little sweet treat, why not surprise them with a box of gorgeous handcrafted Brazilian chocolates from Emmy’s Brigadeiro and get a box delivered to their doorstep to brighten their day?

It’s Good To Talk…

 It’s Mental Health Awareness Day on 10th October and we want to do our bit to help improve the emotional wellbeing of those living in St. Albans.

Never underestimate the importance of taking time to ‘connect’ with friends and loved ones in order to enrich your every day life.  Whilst social distancing rules will be around for the foreseeable future, it’s important to still spend time (safely!) socialising.

Why not arrange a coffee date at Rothamsted Restaurant with a friend you haven’t seen for a while and put the world to rights with a good old natter?  Perhaps you have an elderly neighbour who could do with some company; why not surprise them by bringing home a sweet treat from the Rothamsted Cafe’s amazing range of cakes?

However you choose to connect, make sure you pop a regular slot in your diary for a catch up with those who you treasure most.  Laughing and reminiscing is a sure fire way to boost those feel-good serotonin chemicals in the brain, keeping you healthy and happy as those colder months set in!

So there you have it,  a little blog which will hopefully inspire all of us within the local business community to use each other’s amazing services, this month in order to help raise the spirits of our nearest and dearest.  Who will you be saying thank you to this month? 

Content creation is just one of the many services OnBrand offer.  If you need help deciding what your next marketing move should be, drop us a line to arrange a coffee and chat: sayhello@onbrand.co.uk or pop in and see us in our office on Victoria Street (opposite the Slug and Lettuce!)

Aug 26
0

5 Steps to Re-Building Customer Relationships

By | Blog, Digital, In-Store, On The Phone

As September approaches, it’s suddenly feeling a little more ‘back to business,’ wouldn’t you say?  The pandemic certainly hasn’t gone away, but with schools going back and people starting to return to work, we’re all adjusting to a new way of doing things.

As a business, the priority right now is truly understanding your customers.  The world has changed, and it’s important that you have a clear sense of how your customers have been affected.

With this in mind, we’ve put together these 5 simple steps to help you get reacquainted with your customers:

STEP 1 – PREPARATION

Whilst people are starting to come out of ‘lockdown hibernation,’  it’s important to bear in mind  that many are likely to have underlying anxiety about entering a shop or restaurant, so it’s vital that you spend time thinking about what their new needs and wants are, and how your business will adapt for any future change.

As people return to work and school, think about the range of emotions they will be feeling.  What can your business offer that will help them feel at ease? How has your business had to adapt?  How will the customer experience have changed?  Make sure you have answers to all these questions – your customers want to know what they can expect from you!

STEP 2 – COMMUNICATE!

You’ve done your prep, but the key is COMMUNICATION!  Think about the different channels your customers will be looking to, in order to find out about what you’re up to, and make sure your content covers everything from STEP 1!

Having clear and engaging content on your website is a good place to start, but you should also be making sure your social media posts are talking to your customers in the right way, as well as thinking about signage, window displays and telephone answering messages.  Make sure each and every one of your channels gives them all the information they need to feel confident about spending money with you.

STEP 3 – MAKE SURE YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT YOU

Interestingly, we had a conversation with the Manager of a Bowling Alley recently.  They told us that customers should be booking online for the easiest experience, but their phone was ringing constantly and people were getting frustrated that it wasn’t always answered.   The point to this story,  is that it’s important to use ALL your channels to communicate any changes to your opening hours and booking processes etc. so that your customers have a smooth and positive experience.

One thing you could think about is adding a ‘Live Chat’ function to your website.  We’ve built this functionality in for a number of our shopping centre clients recently and we’ve had really positive feedback from Centre Managers who tell us how it’s been a great way for customers to instantly get hold of someone and find out the answer to any burning question they may have.

STEP 4 – BE HAPPY!

Whilst Covid-19 looks set to stay for the foreseeable future, we seem to all have had enough of talking about it constantly.  People are looking for a bit of normality and positivity, and if you’re able to authentically spread a little happiness through your comms, then you absolutely should! Of course, it’s still important to share key information about what your business is doing to keep customers safe, but don’t make this all you focus on.  Remember what makes your brand or businesss you  think about how you can sprinkle a little cheer across your comms channels!

STEP 5 – GO THAT EXTRA MILE

Building on customer loyalty needs to be a key focus right now.  There’s plenty of choice

people are only spending their money where they have a truly positive experience, or at shops they want to personally support.  Anyone giving a bad experience will lose customers, but people giving amazing value or service will drive up loyalty and get through the crisis with better customer relationships.

Think about how your business can go that extra mile.  Make sure your staff have had the right training to ensure each and every customer feels welcome and valued.

So there you have it, 5 simple steps to follow to ensure you’re engaging and building relationships with your customers again.   

Need help with any of the above? Let us help you get the right expert on the job!  Get in touch here

Aug 17
0

Post-lockdown Business Burnout? We can help…

By | Blog, Digital, In-Store, On The Phone

It’s been a challenging time for ALL businesses over the past few months… 

…A huge number of our clients have had increased workloads due to needing to completely re-shift their business strategy on the back of the pandemic; many having to work into the night due to reduced staffing and balancing work with family life (anyone else excited by the prospect of no more ‘home-schooling!?’)

No wonder we’re hearing so many business owners making comments along the lines of ‘I just haven’t stopped’ and ‘I really need a break.’  Frankly, if you’ve survived working through the past few months, you deserve a huge pat on the back, along with some proper ‘R&R’ time.

The challenge for many, however, is that the reality of having a break seems like a daunting prospect when they’re working with a reduced work force during such uncertain times.

Let us take a load off your mind…

As a multi-service comms agency, we have team of marketing experts on hand to step-in whilst you take some much needed time off!

From running the day-to-day, such as writing and scheduling social media posts,  updating your website and managing online customers queries, to helping you re-work your over-arching comms strategy in order to drive business success post-covid….whatever task or project you need a hand with, we’ll get the right person on the job.

We want to help as many businesses as possible make the most of their marketing budget post-lockdown… 

Over the past few months, we’ve certainly found that many of our clients have come to us as they’ve realised they just don’t have the capacity to re-work things and have reached out to us to help them quickly re-model and execute their comms plans.

Call us biased, but with so much uncertainty out there, working with us (disclaimer: obviously other agencies are available, but we’re pretty confident we’re the one who’ll get you the best results and take you out for a beer when this is all over!), is the safest and cost effective solution for your marketing budget right now.

Why? For the simple reason that our agency model allows you to apportion a set fee per month; that money can then be allocated to whichever comms channel or service you require, with no drama, no delays, and get put in the hands of the very best expert for the job.

No matter how big or small your business, we’d love to help you!

Don’t let business burn-out get the better of you…We work with a range of different businesses across retail, events, B2B (and many more!)  and would love to help YOU!

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Jul 06
0

10 questions every business owner should be asking about their marketing RIGHT NOW

By | Audio, Blog, Branding, Digital, Events, In-Store, On The Phone, PR, Social

As businesses start to re-open their doors once more, it’s safe to say we’ve officially entered the realm of the ‘new normal.’ But what does this mean for your business and, crucially, your marketing plans?

It’s probably an understatement to say that the way you run your business has had to adapt in recent weeks.  With this in mind, it’s almost certain that your pre-lockdown marketing plans need to be re-shaped too, so that you can be confident your comms channels are working as hard as they possibly can.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed?  Don’t worry, we’ve put together 10 questions you should be asking yourself about your marketing right now.  And, of course, if your answers to these questions lead you to thinking you need a helping hand with anything, the OnBrand team are ready to take any marketing load off your mind!!

Your 10 questions start here

  1. What’s changed in my market/economy?
    Change isn’t always a bad thing.  For example, it may be that your target audience’s shopping behaviour has changed; they may be shopping less, but spending more.  Could this be an opportunity to look at ways to upsell or increase basket size online?
  2. What are my competitors doing?
    Whilst assessing what new opportunities there may be for you out there, don’t forget to check out what your competitors are doing too.  Think about what makes your brand/business different and how you can achieve stand out amongst all the ‘New Normal’ noise.
  3. What are my comms priorities?
    Whilst it might feel like you should be putting spend across each and every touchpoint, it’s better to do a few things really well, than spread your budget too thinly across too many channels. Think about which channels are working best for you right now and ensure those you choose to put resource behind will help you reach your overall business objectives.
  4. What skills are missing in my team that I need to take control of?
    With businesses having to make tough staffing decisions over recent weeks, you may find there are skillsets you need to tap into right now that aren’t covered within your team.  At OnBrand, our team cover a range of different marketing disciplines, so whatever the gap, we have an expert on hand to help!
  5. How much do I need to change my original 2020 marketing plan?
    It’s unlikely your marketing plan from the beginning of 2020 is going to be exactly the same now.  Take time to really assess which parts are still going to deliver, and which areas need a tweak!
  6. What new needs do my customers have? 
    The world has changed for everyone. Not only are businesses needing to make changes, but consumers are having to approach every day tasks and responsibilities differently.  Do your customers have any new needs that you can help them with?
  7. Do we have the right level of comms activity running to reach our customers?
    If you’ve been one of the businesses that have had to shut-up-shop during lockdown, it may be that you’re needing to ramp up your comms activity more than you originally planned to at this time of year.  Take a look at your marketing spend for the year so far – perhaps there’s budget you ended up not using during lockdown that you should be thinking about re-apportioning to really create impact now that you’re back up and running again?
  8. Do we need to revise our business goals?
    Do your business goals still reflect the market you find yourself in?  If they’re now seeming unrealistic or you’re needing to change your approach, make sure you re-align your business goals so that you have something to measure success with by the end of the year.
  9. Is our website/e-commerce platform robust enough to respond to changes within the business model?
    There’s no denying that since lockdown, the world has become more digital than ever.  People are spending even more time scrolling on their phones.  How well do you engage with your audience across digital platforms?  Is your website optimised for e-commerce?
  10. What am I doing to keep my brand visible and top of mind? 
    Of course, reaching your customers is key, so it’s important to think through which channels are going to work hardest at doing this for you.  It’s also important to think x-channel.  How are you engaging on social media?  Do you have an email database you can segment with the right targeted messages? Are you running an affiliate program?  We can help you explore which channels are right for your business, and look at your overarching content strategy so that not only are you appearing across the best channels for your brand, but so that your messaging really cuts through and stays top of mind.

Lots to think about!  Want to chat through ways we might be able to help?  Email: sayhello@onbrand.co.uk or call 03333 22 00 22