I’m currently in the UK spending Christmas with family. One of the things I enjoy when “on the road” is observing how business and marketing is conducted differently in different countries.
Here are 3 observations that provide reminders of timeless marketing principles…
1) People Like “Fast”
It might be something of a marketing cliche but people want results fast, cheap and easy. If at all possible you should aim to include at least one of these elements in your offer.
While stopping at a service station on the M1, I was reminded of the appeal of “fast”. Basically, when stopping at a service station, most people are primarily interested in using the restrooms and grabbing a coffee.
Almost always at the Starbucks or equivalent there is a line that can get quite long at times. So I guess it’s no surprise that there are now self-service “Express Coffee” stations. The convenience stores offer this and the coffee shops and other food service operators have followed suit.
Marketing moral…if your customers value “fast”, make every effort to accommodate them, even if it means offering a slightly different version of your product. In this example, I didn’t try the “express” coffee but I’d expect that it’s not quite as good as the normal version. However, in this case most people won’t be too concerned.
2) The Power Of The Newsletter
In recent years, supermarkets like Marks & Spencer and Waitrose have opened outlets at motorway service stations. Reasonable idea, people travelling like the convenience of picking up some groceries on the way home.
Anyway, there was a Waitrose outlet where we stopped and I noticed that there is a free Waitrose newsletter…in fact more like a mini-newspaper as this particular edition ran to 32 pages.
Having your own newsletter is one of the most effective ways to strengthen relationships with your clients, improve retention and boost sales from those clients. And yet…I see many businesses not prepared to invest the time and effort.
If a highly regarded retailer like Waitrose operating in a very competitive industry thinks it’s worth having a newsletter…
…might be worth you thinking about it if you don’t already have one.
3) Making The Most Of All Available Marketing Real Estate
In direct response marketing, it’s good practice to have a call-to-action on every piece or element of marketing material and take advantage of every opportunity to get your sales message across.
While at the local Asda supermarket stocking up for the Christmas period, I was reminded of all this by a most mundane item…a BacoFoil turkey tray.
Now a turkey tray is a fairly large item so there is space to get some copy and advertising across. In this case the label in the tray had…
- An appealing photo of a very tasty looking roast turkey
- Some punchy bullets (e.g. saves time, no washing up)
- A plug for a related product, BacoFoil Turkey foil
Yes, it’s a fairly mundane product, but attention to detail pays off.
So, 3 examples of timeless marketing principles put into practice. Worth taking a moment to think about how you might be able to apply them in your own business.