The software of choice to deploy your message is typically Mailchimp or Constant Contact and both have their own pros and cons.

The biggest challenge you have is getting you message opened and heard over the typical spam your customers receive. So here are a few simple tips to make sure your emails are opened and read.

Target email list – make sure it is up to date

Making sure your email list is up to date is not only important for GDPR it is also essential to avoid any issues with your email software provider. Make sure you have the correct  business email address and make sure it is of an individual person rather than a general sales or info address to ensure it gets through to the correct decision maker.

Subject line – make it stand out!

Do not underestimate the importance of the subject line to catch the customer’s eye. It really can make the difference if its opened or not, so take some time drafting a subject line that is really going to stand out against the rest.

Make sure content is relevant

This may seem obvious, but it is one of the biggest frustrations your customers will have if it is the email content is not relevant or interesting to them or you will soon have them heading for the unsubscribe button and they are gone forever.

Responsive to all mobile devices

Typically, 85% of your clients will view your email on their mobile devices, so it is essential that they are optimised to be viewed on different mobile devices as well as a laptop. Otherwise, you could be missing a huge share of your target audience. Also make sure you send a test email before the final version is despatched and view it as your customers will see it on their mobile device.

Lets get personal

Personalisation goes a long way in email marketing. Without it, people will be reminded that the email is just one of many, but with-it people can just feel it is them you are talking to. Make sure, not only do you open the email copy with their name, but you can also add a member of staff’s name as a personal recipient, once again adding that personal touch that your customers crave these days from digital communications and will make them much more likely to respond

In life … timing is everything!

There are “sweet spot” times that you can send your emails out to ensure the best chances of them being opened and read. Typically, this is between 9am and 11am and 3pm and 5pm, however this might not always be right for your business, so do not be afraid to experiment, you will soon realise what works best.

PMF Marketing recently handled a project to set up some e-marketing activity for our client Kraftwerk Europe which resulted in securing a new online customer, so it does work! If you would like a free 30-minute consultation how we can help your business contact us today.

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In 2021 many businesses have had to “adapt” what they do to remain relevant to their customers or look at their business and see how they can “innovate” to drive new business growth.

Stand Still and Get Left Behind

One key aspect of marketing is to ensure that your target audience knows exactly what your product or your service can do for them. This may sound relatively easy to do and many businesses have already found some success in their current approach to market. However, the thing to remember about the business environment you operate in, is you need to be constantly “innovating and changing” – if you stand still, you can often get left behind. Just look at the recent examples of Debenhams, Topshop, Laura Ashley, all great brands, but they failed to keep their ranges fresh and adapt to the new buying behaviour of their consumers. By the time they realised they needed to change, it was too late.

Don’t Hesitate to Innovate

Henry Ford once said, “If we continue to do what we did, we will always get what we got” and the moto is even more relevant today. If you look at the truly inspirational brands that innovate and excite consumers like Apple, Dyson and Tesla, they put new product development at the very heart of what they do to drive their growth.

Where to Start

In previous blogs I have covered off the importance of Market and Consumer Research to ensure as a business you understand your competitor environment and identify your niche to help shape your future plans. Innovation ideas can come from a variety of sources; Competitor Patent Reviews, New Legislation, Competitor Range Audits or even running an Ideation Session within your business, all of these initiatives can really help kickstart your innovation plans. Simply picking a problem area for analysis and improvement and using business models like De Bono 6 hats  to view a problem from different angles or writing a SOSTAC to really hone in on a problem area, can help to tease out new ideas. Internal Range Review programmes are also essential to ensure your product offer is match fit.  Some of the best ideas can come from looking within your own business teams, the trick is how to encourage that engagement and keeping it simple. One of the most successful schemes I have run in the past was to introduce a companywide Innovation Hub via a WhatsApp group, where any new ideas proposed from employees that resulted in a new successful product, would win a company award. The best ideas come from those who are close to the company products and customers, but recognition and reward are key to driving continued staff engagement.

PMF Marketing can help assist your business with a new or improved Product Development Process, running an Ideation Workshop Programme or help launch a New Product Idea Generation Scheme to kickstart your business and drive future growth. If you would like to understand more how I can help your business, please call me today for a FREE 30-minute call and let’s get building your business back to growth together.

The post Do Your Products Stand Out From The Crowd? appeared first on PMF Marketing.

Creating an effective customer loyalty scheme for your business can help protect against this and it can be done quite easily by taking a structured approach.

Understand your Customers

This may seem like an obvious one, but you would be amazed how many clients I deal with who do not have an “intimate knowledge” of their customers. By understanding your customers business, helps you to understand their challenges and needs, which in turn will help you achieve their loyalty as they view you as a trusted solutions provider.  A great starting point in understanding your customers is to segment and structure your customer base via a CRM system and then filter it by business type, turnover, services, products supplied etc…

Understand What Makes Them Tick

Before you can target your customers effectively to drive more business from them and create more loyalty, you need to develop an understanding of their challenges and future business objectives.  It may be improved pricing, added value goods or services or even rewards like free vouchers or gifts. Customer surveys or regular face to face meetings helps to build up your relationship with them as well as this intelligence. This can then help you to develop a clear picture of what you can offer them going forward that others do not.

Clear Communication

It is essential once their “needs” have been identified, that you are clear and concise with your client how you can add value for them, what their loyalty means to you, and what they will get in return for their commitment to you as a business. Many businesses put some controls around this such as an annual rebate agreement for reaching a certain level of business, or free vouchers if the customer spends a certain amount of turnover with you. It is essential that both sides agree on what will be provided and what is needed to achieve it.

Delivering On Your Promise – Exceed Expectations!

Most important of all is to deliver on your promise and if possible, exceed it. The best example of a loyalty scheme I have done previously involved free  love2shop vouchers which were provided to retailers if they hit different spend levels in a product promotion I was running. In addition, new products were added to create some extra excitement and the products offered were tailored to appeal to the different customer base through channel segmentation.

It had a fantastic impact on sales, growing the promotional sales consecutively by 40% each year, for 4 years.  The reason why it was so successful was that the Retailer was getting a “ free reward” for his business, along with exciting new discounted products in a promotion. The supplier was getting “increased revenue” from the promotion, along with “extra cash margin”.  Long term, the supplier had secured the future business loyalty from his customer as they became more entrenched with the supplier and his new products, and a delighted customer who was seeing his business revenue grow from the exciting new products introduced.  Everyone was a winner.

If you believe your business would benefit from a market audit and some fresh thinking developing a new sales and marketing strategy, contact PMF Marketing today for a free 30 minute consultation.

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Identify What Will Add Value

In 2008, working as a Category Manager for Holts Car Care, I was responsible for an emergency puncture repair sealant product called Holts Tyreweld. A fantastic product which would seal and inflate a tyre if you incurred a puncture. The main benefit of the product, was that it would help you get back on the road and to a tyre repair centre quickly and safely.  One of the negatives however, which was holding back the products growth at the time, was the reluctance of the UK tyre repair outlets to repair the puncture once the latex sealant had been put into the tyre.

Make Sure The Alliance Is A Good “Fit”

The solution was to approach the management at National Tyres & Autocare and strike up a strategic alliance agreement. This would ensure that any of the 235 NTA branches would repair the puncture of any tyre treated with Holts Tyreweld. NTA were quick to see the commercial opportunity of having their brand and contact number tagged on over a million cans of Tyreweld in Tesco, Halfords etc.. and the benefit of delighting the customer with a solution. The initiative grew the products sales by over £500k in the first year.

Communicate Why The Alliance Works

Fast forward to today and one of our clients Kraftwerk Tools has joined forces with Franke Sinks to help complement its Mobilo Workshop Storage solutions. The new product package introduces a Franke sink, detergent, hand sanitiser gel and paper towel dispenser, alongside their existing range of storage cabinets, all in one neat solution. PMF Marketing has then developed the concept further, with new advertising in the automotive press, which not only communicates the alliance, shouts about getting your workshop “organised”, but also reinforces the government guidelines on hand washing and keeping Covid-19 safe at work. The new ad will go live in Professional Motor Mechanic (November 2020). The complete package offers a unique, quality solution for the customer and has fantastic standout in the magazine delivering a powerful yet clear message for the consumer.

If you believe your business would benefit from a market audit and some fresh thinking developing a new sales and marketing strategy, contact PMF Marketing today for a free 30 minute consultation.

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