Free Marketing Help and Tips
from our Marketing Consultants, London
Over the years working in a broad range of markets and providing marketing help in London, we have encountered some very interesting marketing challenges.
Drawing upon this experience we have compiled some marketing scenarios from London clients. You are invited to consider your own solutions and compare them with our own marketing consultant’s help and advice.
Great Advertising and Marketing – Will it suit the London market?
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As part of their London area marketing strategy Company A, after undertaking very minimal marketing research, decides to launch a new consumer branded product.
A London based advertising and marketing agency is commissioned and produces a brilliant creative concept for an advertising campaign and launch. The concept appears to communicate the right message to the targeted group of potential customers in selected London Boroughs.
The company then commission’s further more in-depth research and following subsequent analysis of these findings, decides that they will target a different consumer group within the same London areas.
To help save money and because the creative concept looks good, the client asks the agency to modify the advert. The agency complies because the client has a limited budget and the advert will ‘eventually’ be accepted by the target consumers over time.
As the group’s marketing consultant, you are asked to help by having a quick look at the campaign and sign it off to proceed.
You quickly discover that the creative concept and selling proposition is completely lost on the new target group of prospective consumers in London. They have completely different needs and modes of behaviour to the original target group.
What would you do, if you were the group’s marketing consultant in London and were asked to help?
Marketing Consultant, London advises...
Adapting an original advert to target different prospects can be very cost-effective, on the condition that the concept message and selling proposition is relevant to all.
Our London marketing consultant advises that in this case however, the company will be wasting their money on their current advertising campaign. Here’s how we could help:
- Our marketing consultant believes that the golden rule is always to ensure that meaningful market research is carried out first. Any proposed selling proposition has to satisfy at least one relevant need or aspiration of the potential customer group, before any creative work is undertaken. If it does not, then the marketing campaign for London will inevitably fail, especially where the City’s population is amongst the most diverse and mobile in the UK.
- Although the advertising campaign is already committed, our marketing consultant would immediately advise the company to put the campaign on hold. It would help stop any potential damage to the brand and company’s reputation to continue with an apparently flawed marketing plan in particular at this vulnerable stage of launching a new brand, product or service.
- Our consultant recommends undertaking an immediate review to help formulate the most relevant selling proposition for this target group. At the same time our marketing consultant would explore which is the best media to get the company’s message across to the right group in London.
All options for marketing communications should be considered including advertising, PR, Direct Mail, Ebroadcasts, Online advertising and text etc. We may find that these options could help support or even be more cost-effective than just relying on the advertising campaign only.
Only then should a creative solution be sought. This will help to ensure that the message is tailored to the new prospective customer base, and support our consultant’s new London marketing strategy.
Luxury Brands – CRM to maximise marketing and networking
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Company B markets luxury products and services worth up to multi-million of pounds (£) per single transaction. It relies completely on their sales team for business growth. Based in Central London but marketing its services internationally through a small number of sales offices overseas who network with very mobile ultra and high net worth clients. The London marketing team is geared solely on producing glossy adverts and high spec brochures. This accounts for a major part of a very significant marketing budget.
You discover that the company’s only database is actually their existing email system. Only basic names and email addresses are stored and no other key data is recorded. There have been occasions where sales managers in different country offices are unaware that each of them is dealing with the one same prospective client.
Gathering of information from the geographically diverse sales team is very labour intensive. The Marketing and senior management team in London struggle to analyse and calculate potential repeat and forecasted new sales. Everyone is desperate for help in this area.
No measurements of the effectiveness of any mailing campaigns can be taken as the original source of the sales lead is not recorded in any of the sales offices or in the London head office. Marketing is treated as a cost centre. Senior management believe that the company ‘appears’ to doing reasonably well in spite of these issues.
As an interim marketing consultant, brought in to help, you are asked what value does the company’s London marketing team activities offer?
What would your recommendations be to company’s senior management to help the London marketing team?
Our Marketing Consultant advises the London team ...
Sound marketing and business principles apply to luxury brands as with any other type of product or service. The absence of a structured approach means that important opportunities are lost. Particularly relevant here, there is no tracking of networking opportunities for their prospective clients who tend to travel extensively. There is a real risk of the prospective client playing off each sales manager against each other and thereby forcing down prices and profits.
- Our marketing consultant recommends that the company ought to invest in a basic workable Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. There are some very useful systems available, starting from £1200+VAT (5 user licences + IT support). This will be a wise investment as it will start to help organise and analyse the value of all the London marketing team's initiatives and local sales activities.
- The system could be administered by the London marketing office. Each overseas salesperson and sales office would have access and be able to use the system to record and update activities, plan forward appointments and future action.
- In addition to recording all communication with the client, the system will enable tracking of the responses and leads generated by mailings. It will also help marketing to measure the sales team effectiveness and forecast sales and profits. A CRM system will provide clear visibility of the sales pipeline for each prospective client and potential networking opportunities.
- Our London marketing consultant also recommends that the company is up to date with the requirements of the latest data protection legislation visit http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection_guide.aspx
- Our marketing consultant would like to see the senior management team supporting marketing’s strategic role and responsibilities of helping to find the best route to maximise profits. Senior management has to communicate and re-enforce to sales personnel the important role that the London marketing team plays. Management has to ensure and support marketing in having immediate and unequivocal access to all market intelligence, so that a coordinated marketing plan can be formulated.
- The CRM system will record vital market information such as client’s feedback, competitor activity or pricing fluctuations. This will help Marketing to identify trends and develop a strategy to maximise opportunities. A few key members of the London marketing team should responsible for ‘on-site’ client surveys and market research, working with the local sales teams.
The marketing team will be transformed from having a passive to its rightful proactive role. Our marketing consultant recommends that an assessment of the current marketing team is undertaken, to ensure that all personnel are capable of carrying out their new responsibilities. All sales and marketing personnel must be properly trained to use the CRM system.
Our experienced London marketing consultant believes that this solution will encourage a positive mindset for all to learn and work together. This will help senior management and the marketing team in London get the best value out all future marketing and sales campaigns.
London Telemarketing – Generate B2B high-end sales leads and appointments
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Company C has been targeting mainly London property companies to offer their services. In the past they have advertised regularly, undertaken direct mail campaigns using letters of introduction and excellent literature.
This had produced a steady response and subsequently, valuable new business. The remaining prospects have also been followed up by an established general telemarketing services company, to varying degrees of success.
The generation of leads within London has now reduced significantly.
As a marketing consultant in London you are asked to review and advise on what improvements can be made . What would help and recommendations would you provide?
Our expeienced London Marketing Consultant advises ...
For approaching senior high-end decision makers in business-to-business markets within London, our marketing consultant is a firm believer that companies should use a special breed of telemarketeer. Preferably one who can act as a strategic business developer and has an affinity to that target client.
It will also require greater investment by the company, as this type of telemarketeer will charge a significantly higher rate than the usual telemarketing executive (in a typical call centre operation). However the return on investment over the long-term will be rewarding for the company.
Telemarketing is a numbers game the more you call, the greater the chance of getting a lead or appointment. However, our London marketing consultant believes that quality high-end B2B leads are not generated by the usual approach of making 80 to 100 calls a day, and working through lists. For competitive and sophisticated B2B sectors such as the London property market, it is essential to use a quality list when cold calling senior decision makers.
Our marketing consultant’s recent London experience suggests that often between 20% to 40% of initial telephone calls made, will involve identifying and validating the right person who is the ultimate deal-maker.
To produce B2B quality leads or sales appointments, our London marketing consultant has observed that the quality telemarketeer prior to each introductory call will always undertake research. Gaining this background on the prospective client (contact and company) is critical.
If the company needs to obtain a list they should only approach accredited data list providers. They will ensure that the appropriate screening is undertaken to avoid telephoning those prospects who do not wish to be contacted and have signed up to the following registers: Telephone Preference Service (TPS), Mail Preference Service (MPS) and Fax Preference Service (FPS).
Again our London marketing consultant recommends that the company is up to date with the requirements of the latest data protection legislation visit. http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection_guide.aspx
The list not only has to include names, job titles and addresses but also emails addresses.
The telemarketeer will then explore and ensure that they have managed to identify the key decision maker. Only then should the prospect be contacted directly.
The telemarketeer needs to have a strategic approach and develop a relationship, so that if an immediate appointment can not be made at that time then the door of opportunity remains open for later. When the prospective client may genuinely not have time to see anyone or respond to a mailing, the good telemarketeer will use their commonsense and diplomatic skills to arrange a follow up call over a mutually agreed date. (This can range from 4 to 16 weeks depending on each situation and market).
The quality of the lead or appointment has to be made with the key decision maker to ensure a higher chance of conversion into actual business.
Ultimately the success of this high-end telemarketing will depend on how and when it is implemented, as part of an integrated marketing plan, and the quality of the telemarketeer.
National Telemarketing Response Rates
National response rates using B2B telemarketing can range from 5% to15%. ( Source: Corpdata). Success can vary on the type and competitiveness of the market, campaign design and market conditions. For London, our marketing consultant calculates that slightly lower response rates would apply for the capital owing to the very competitive nature of market sectors based there.
Appointment Making in London (Guide Only*)
From recent experience, our London marketing consultant has compiled the following guide, to show how many days of telephone calls a quality telemarketeer requires to achieve one quality B2B sales appointment in London.
Market |
Competitiveness |
Tel. Call Days Required to |
|---|---|---|
Corporate B2B |
Medium |
2-4 days |
Corporate B2B |
High |
5-6 days |
Public Sector |
Medium |
1-3 days |
Public Sector |
High |
2-5 days |