Last week I was admiring how successfully the Icecreamists have been at generating publicity for their Baby Gaga ice cream, made from human breast-milk, which costs £14 (Luxury foods in terribly bad taste). Then they had a set-back when their local council removed the milk for testing.
It’s a publicists dream come true. Probably the worlds most famous current pop star is threatening legal action over the ice cream, which her lawyers claim is infringing her Lady Gaga brand.
From a legal point of view, it seems unlikely that Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, also know as Lady Gaga, will win her case against Matt O’Connor the owner of the Icecreamists. He claims the term comes from the early sounds babies make when trying to speak, and has applied to register the trademark.
However, thanks to the Lady Gaga name, this story has now gone global, appearing in American, Russian and Indian newspapers within hours. Mr O’Connor must be rubbing his hands with glee.
This talk of logos got me thinking about the power of brands and trademarks in protecting products and services.
The harsh truth about business, is that if you are successful you will have competition, even if you have an invention protected by a patent.
An example would be the Dyson vacuum cleaner, whose Dual Cyclone technology is protected by patents, and yet the courts have allowed a somewhat similar looking cleaner from rival firm VAX to compete – Dyson loses design case.
My favourite brand of all time would have to be Marmite yeast extract spread.
This is not because the logo or image are particularly strong, but because since the creation of its secret recipe in 1902, it has managed to maintain a virtual monopoly, with the only rivals being Australian Vegemite and Swiss Cenovis. With sales of 60 million jars a year at over £5 each, one would assume this a market to attract heavy competition.
However, the Marmite brand is so strong that no-one seems to be trying, or certainly succeeding in competing.
As with many products not everyone is a fan, and Marmite have very cleverly used the strong reactions to the flavour of the spread in their recent marketing campaigns.
One of the key pieces of advice I give to aspiring entrepreneurs is to ensure they have a recognisable unique selling point (USP to use the jargon).
Often this involves finding a niche which has yet to be explored commercially. Sometimes this can be a niche within a niche. If the topic is truly unique and even better controversial, this will help to generate interest from potential customers and the press.
An example would be the coffee my brother kindly bought me back from Indonesia. Wild Kopi Luwak is apparently the world’s most expensive and low-production coffee. It is made from the beans of coffee berries eaten by the Asian Palm Civet.
According to Wikipedia, in its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet’s intestines the beans are then defecated, keeping their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness.
Not every coffee drinker will aspire to drink something which has been source from animal excreta. However, I can confirm that this coffee is definitely not ‘shit’, and has one of the smoothest tastes I have ever sampled.
Peter Dominiczak from the Evening Standard tasting Baby Gaga
A more extreme example would be Baby Gaga ice cream at a mind-bending £14 a go.
Their unique selling point? The ice cream is made from fresh human breast milk. The contributors of the milk are paid £15 for every 10 ounces they provide, and apparently are queuing up to meet the demand.
The Evening Standard sent intrepid reporter Peter Dominczak along to try out the controversial new ice cream.
‘I have never been less excited by the thought of ice cream on a sunny day.I am served by a woman imitating Lady Gaga who pours the breast milk into a metal top hat before pouring liquid nitrogen over it. I am provided with a shot of Calpol – apparently to assist with any brain freezes – and some Bonjela for any issues with sensitive teeth.Even with two biscuits, I’m not sure it warrants the £14 price tag. But it tastes fantastic. Light and creamy with just enough of a vanilla tinge. I am told breast milk tastes like overly-sweet skimmed milk, but this ice cream tastes better than almost any I’ve had before. Despite the issues I have with drinking the contents of a stranger’s breast this might catch on.’
Company founder Matt O'Connor, 44, and the Lady Gaga waitress in the central London store - Source - Daily Mail - http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Update – 1 March 2011
Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that this story is set to run and run. Today’s update in the Evening Standard was, Breast milk ice cream seized for safety tests. Westminster Council staff took the Baby Gaga flavour at and sent it away to test for viral infections, after complaints.
The original story in the Standard has attracted quite a few comments, some positive, some negative, and some just silly.
My favourite so far is from MS in London who says; Not very good marketing for the company. Next time I go to Covent Garden, I’ll make sure I don’t buy any icecream from this business (breastmilk or not).
During the Apprentice Kim and her Marketing Masters Series, one of the things that stood out from an excellent day was the importance of an effective elevator pitch. The ability to summarize your business in 15 seconds is not easy, so important.
Kim asked the audience for examples of their elevator pitches, and although some were ok, they all paled into insignificance compared to her own pitch for her business Sarsaparilla Ltd. I didn’t manage to catch it word for word, but it went something like this;
Hello my name is is Kimberly Davis and I am the founder of Sarsaparilla a marketing consulting and training agency which can detox your marketing by protecting companies from Flash, Fluff, and Fakers. It specialises in helping you increase profits, maximise return on investment, and measure results.
It’s close to perfect, as it is concise, clear, explains the benefits, and leaves you wanting to know more.
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to explain everything they do, but then leave the potential customer to work out how they would benefit from the product or service.
Fortunately there are plenty of sources on the web to help write your own perfect pitch.
1. Explain your business in two lines
You have only a moment to explain what you do, but it can be hard to pare down an explanation to the details. Try starting with only a minimal explanation of just two lines. Focus on writing down what is unique about your business. You don’t need a perfectly formatted document; this draft is to get you to eliminate unnecessary words.
While you should mention what you do, how your business helps is actually more important than your particular methods. A professional speaker, for instance, wouldn’t just say that he gets up on a stage and talks. Instead, his pitch might include an explanation of the fact that he motivates employees to focus on quality — or whatever his speaking is supposed to achieve.
2. Add some excitement
If you aren’t excited about what you do, there’s no reason anyone else should get excited either. There was some sort of passion that lead you to get involved with your business; let it show through. In some cases, your reasons may be your elevator pitch.
Do you see a particular need for your services? Focus on that need, and a passionate pitch might just write itself. Results are another easy way to get excited about your business. Think about the numbers you celebrate — the milestones for your business.
3. Test your pitch
Find a few people that will listen to your pitch and give you feedback. Ask them what terms they didn’t recognize, where it was boring and where it was exciting.
Your listeners’ questions about your pitch are especially important. You don’t necessarily want to answer every question about your business in your pitch — getting prospective customers to ask a few questions is a great way to hook them — but if a test subject has no idea what you do after listening to your pitch, it’s back to the drawing board. It may take a couple of tries to come up with a pitch if your business isn’t particularly common.
4. Adapt to the situation
You don’t give your elevator pitch in a vacuum. It’s always part of a conversation. Your conversational partner probably has some specific needs that your company can help with — and he or she may have already described them as part of the conversation.
If you’ve already heard those specific needs, respond to them. Tell your listener exactly what you can do to help him; being specific is what can take an elevator pitch from the “I’ll be in touch” level to the “I’m calling you first when I get back to the office” level.
5. Be open to change
I actually learned this trick during a high school science fair: I was giving a pitch about my project to a judge and he asked a couple of questions that seemed pretty important. I started incorporating his questions, along with the answers, in my pitch. I’m pretty sure that it was that small change to my pitch that landed me a prize.
Your elevator pitch is not carved in stone. If you come across a better explanation of what you do, you ought to include it in your pitch. It’s even worthwhile to test out multiple versions of your elevator pitch and make changes based on the result. And if your business changes, it’s important to make sure that your elevator pitch reflects those changes.
15 Second Pitch uses a simple wizard to help you generate your 300 word pitch. It also has access to 14,000 sample pitches, so you can learn from others like this; My name is Corey Lennox and I am a musician specializing in writing mindblowing songs. I write rock music to crystallize some of life’s most amazing moments and experiences. I’m a Berklee College of Music graduate who puts emotion first in his music. Check out what I’ve been creating- all my music is available for free. If you like what you hear, I encourage you to join my mailing list, or even just say hello!
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the first of Kimberly Davis‘ (a contestant on the 2009 series of the Apprentice), Marketing Masters Series.
The day on Marketing Foundations was an excellent overview of how to market and promote your business, and ended with an inspiring talk from author and motivational speaker, Brad (Get Off Your Arse) Burton.
Here are my notes from the day:
Marketing Masters Series – Marketing Foundations – Tuesday 18 January 2011, London
Definition
– The external perception of your company
– Anything and everything your company does
Difference between sales and marketing
– Marketing is long-term and has a slow build
– Sales is short-term is about converting interest into sales
– The Ying and Yang of business – requires different personality types
The Marketing Umbrella
1. Research
2. Branding – the promise you make to your customers
3. Writing and editing
4. Develop the perfect elevator pitch
5. PR vs Advertising
6. Mailshots
7. Print and production
8. Merchandising
9. Events and promotions
10. Sponsorship and Partners
11. Online Marketing
12. Video and Multimedia
13. Social Media – How can social media help my business?
14. Customer Service
15. Create a Marketing Plan
16. Create a System that helps your business – e.g. Event booking, emailing
17. Put together your dream team
18. Get professional advice from someone who has done it
19. Network
20. Measure, measure, measure
Example of a very expensive mistake
– Don’t cut marketing spend as it is a false economy
– Don’t try and do everything yourself
– You need to invest in your business – are you investing in holidays?
– If you don’t have the time to do it right, then you must have the time to do it over again
– Compare the cost of doing to the cost of not doing
– You must be willing to make a financial commitment to your business
Last night I attended a packed Insider Trends’ talk at the Business & IP Centre. Last time the topic was How to become a cutting-edge retailer, but this time Cate Trotter the founder and Head of Trends was talking about the rise and neglecting of the over 50’s market.
As a newly minted 50+ myself (well last September anyway), I was doubly interested in what Kate had to say, and was pleasantly surprised to hear that by 2020 the over 50’s will form the majority of Britain’s population. So that makes me part of the only growth market in the UK.
Once again Kate provided an excellent talk, and left the audience pumped full of relevant statistics and marketing angles.
Here are my notes from the evening:
Untapped markets: The grey pound – Monday 24 January
Profile Marketing Opportunities
– The population in the UK is getting older, already more +60s than -16s
– People are living longer
– Family sizes are shrinking
– Number of 90 year olds expected to double in 25 years
– 78% of income retained post retirement, but loss in commuting and mortgage costs increase available money
– +65’s spending £100 billion a year Recession
– Older customers are better prepared for economic decline than younger
– Many are working part-time to bring in an income Segmentation
– Important part of understanding your customers
– Need to add more age categories. 50-65 and 65+ are not enough
– Need to be aware of not pigeon-hole by age – much more diverse than the younger categories, due to widely varying life experiences
– So use lifestyle segmentation instead
Live Wires – active and working, many interests, technology aware, spend on holidays
Happy and fulfilled – active, but more traditional, financially well off, lots of holidays, spend on quality traditional brands
Super troopers – often have lost a spouse, don’t like advertising and new technology
Living day to day – spends rather than saves, more interested in material wealth than time, tend to choose premium brands
Unfulfilled dreamers – hard working, dreams of un-achieved ambitions,
Rat race junkies – could retire, but not yet, into technology, more than one marriage
– Need to be aware of sets of baby-boomers coming through
Flower-children are now approaching their mid 60s
So interested in green such as Prius cars and green funerals
Believe that old age starts at 72, not 65
More old travellers going further afield and more adventurous
The SKIers – Spending Kids Inheritance
Adapting your business
– Attitudes, physical (eyesight) and cognitive (memory) impairments
– Over 50’s buy 80% of top of the range cars (BBC news report)
– But many have enough mainstream products (washing machine, microwave, TV). However, they might upgrade at point of retirement with help of lump sum
– From products to services – or service related products (e.g. sport) less equipment for the home
– Travel
Generally continues until late 70’s and early 80’s
GrandTravellers – grandparents and their grandchildren on holiday together – something relatively new and growing
Travel gripes – single supplements, insurance costs, active sports insurance
– Clothes
Comfortable and cool clothes lacking in the market place
A younger style, but to fit an older shape
Children’s toys and clothes as presents
– The Home
Home improvement rather than new products
B&Q
Employing independent traders + reputable traders marketed towards an older customer
Ergonomic tools (SandBug from B&Q)
Packaging older people can open – %80 are not – Primelife President
Smaller packs and designs – one person teapots (Debenhams small wok a bestseller)
– Home health care
Philips Defibrillator – talks you through
Retrofit-friendly homes you can grow old in – e.g. doors wide enough for a wheelchair, room for safety handles – Joseph Rowntree Foundation – www.lifetimehomes.co.uk
– Fitness
Pensioners are fastest growing group of gym members
Scope for specialist centres
Zumba – very popular with older dancers
Design
– Product and service design, also websites and fixtures and fittings
– A lack of interest in older consumers from mainstream companies
– Specialist
Simplicity computers – replaces Microsoft Windows with 6 buttons – option to pay by cheque in the post
Tesco online shopping has an access setting
Photostroller – purpose built controller to access Flickr content
PostEgram – a Facebook app for printing out content
Presto – an Internet printer with a remote control system for the sender – customer doesn’t need a computer
Kaiser’s in Austria – e.g. easy to reach stock, reduced glare lighting, slip-proof flooring, pleasant places to sit, reading glasses to borrow, all employers over 50 – sales 50% above forecast
Odeon Senior Screen – with different snacks – coffee and cake instead of fiz and popcorn
Danger of alienating older customers who still feel young – if they can reject it, they often do – don’t want to be associated with ‘that group of people’ – they expect products and service to cost more
– Inclusive
Kindle – allows you change size of text and have text to speech
Nintedo Wii is becoming more popular in care homes – active game playing
ClearRX by Target in the US – simplifies medication for entire families
Ferrari Enzo – with wider doors and lower floor o Harley-Davidson – trikes for the older market – still cool design
Mobilistrictor – a suit to age the wearer by 40 years – useful to test our store design etc
– used by Ford when developing the Focus – e.g. boot has no lip, dash doesn’t reflect light – became Ford’s best selling car
– used by Derby City General Hospital building design
– General Motors used older engineers – key card and push button start
Richard Hammond trying out the Mobilistrictor
Legibility of writing
– Larger fonts
– Bolder colours
– Clearer typfaces eg Tireseais typeface
– Use of icons and symbols
Interface design – e.g. Apple iPhone and iPad, Facebook (103 year old woman who uses an iPad to interact)
– Additional advantage of extended appeal to disabled, parents of young children, those heavily laden – e.g. small trolley in supermarket
– Involve audience in your designs
Marketing
– Only 1 in 5 sticks to brands they now – happy to try new products and service, but as late adopters
– Only 1 in 3 own a mobile phone
– Less influenced by mass media as advertising does not reflect their interests, have become cynical, but not being wired, are more open to national and local marketing
– More time to shop around – and more time to think if they really need it, so more critical, and more time to write reviews. Can become experts in new products
– More time to tell their friends about products and services – word of mouth becomes even more important
– Need to use younger (not too young) faces in images – or take out faces – e.g iPad just shows hands, so appeals to all ages
– Retail and experiential – e.g. Harley Davidson stores – older are less likely to buy online
– Only 1 in 4 over 65’s have used the internet, but this is growing very fast
– Over 50’s represent 25% of online population, but those that are spend longer online
– Silversurfersday – increase confidence
– Raceonline2012 led by Martha Lane Fox from LastMinute.com – can buy a £99 computer, with a cheap wireless dongle from 3
– Better designed websites – e.g. Jitterbug from Samsung aimed at older customers, who can call to order as well as online
– Email marketing more effective with older customers – e.g. eldergym newsletter
– Free magazines – e.g. Staysure magazine for the over 50’s – based on airline magazine model
– Segmented approaches – e.g. Ninento DS using Girls Aloud and Julie Walters in different ads for the same product
– Car adverts tailored to age group. E.g. the young are interested in loans, the older are not
– Appealing to the adult child
– Look for older people in marketing agencies, if you can find them.
– Be aware of emotional issues associated to buying older products such as walking sticks or elasticized trousers
Conclusion
– They represent the only growing market in the UK
– They have time and money to spend
– There is currently very little competition
– Be aware that they are difficult to profile – very varied with more variety in the future
Approach requires
– empathy
– must not be patronising
Thanks to SpringWise, here is the perfect answer for those of you who aren’t quite sick of shopping just yet. I have to admit I am enjoying the temporary calm between Christmas shopping and the New Year sales.
The product comparison sites such as Reevoo offer millions of reviews on thousands of products, but this is often overwhelming if you just want to know what the best product is in a particular price bracket.
Just buy this one sidesteps this information overload by taking the cumulative ratings of reviews, to offer a single recommendation for each product category.
Nine categories are featured, including laptops, TVs, toasters and vacuum cleaners, with multiple price points available for each. The site simply offers an image of the best rated product alongside a brief list of features and the best price available — with a link to buy. If they want more information, customers can click through to Reevoo at any point to see the full range of products and reviews.
§ With the new government, spending cuts and changes in policy, it’s entering a new phase.
§ Food and energy costs are rising.
§ There is worry amongst consumers about the recession, even if it does not affect them personally.
§ Consumers are making more considered choices and buying budget brands.
§ Premium or ‘added-value’ products are still doing well, but only if they have real benefits, e.g. helping the environment or offering customised services.
§ Consumers are spending more time at home on activities such as baking and gardening. Now 1 in 5 consumers grow their own fruit and vegetables.
§ The community is important: consumers are buying locally and supporting green initiatives. There is concern about pesticides and additives in food, and distrust of large corporates.
Tips for marketing:
§ Be clear and transparent in your messages.
§ Avoid hidden costs.
§ Offer free trials, 30 day guarantees and testimonials.
§ Focus on benefits not features.
§ Create new benefits to stand out, e.g. same day delivery.
Key trend 2: Genuine individuals
§ By 2020 there will be more single people than married people in the UK.
§ By 2018, 18% of households will be ‘single person households’.
§ This is affecting buying habits, e.g. people are buying smaller portions of food such as smaller loaves of bread.
§ Living in urban areas and single-person households means that interior design has become more compact.
§ Co-creation has taken off i.e. consumers helping to shape the products they buy, such as the Nike ID trainers.
Key trend 3: Technology
§ The mobile internet is really taking off.
§ Mobile apps are a growth industry which will be worth over 50 billion by 2020.
§ Smart phone owners are buying on average one app per month.
§ Location-based apps are becoming popular such as Foursquare.
§ The ‘perpetual beta’ has become the norm.
§ There is more experimentation e.g. retail trucks and pop-up shops, secret restaurants, etc.
§ Consumers feel like there is too much choice which can be overwhelming.
§ There is a movement of consumers that are ‘unplugging’, which is also called ‘the slow movement’. For example slow cooking, gardening, home brewing, etc.
§ Some technology solutions have hidden complexity, e.g. the iphone. It can perform a lot of functions, but is very simple and intuitive to use.
§ QR codes are being used on products for more information, for example, to show the ingredients on McDonald’s products.
Whilst browsing in Sourced Market in St Pancras on my way home the other evening, I came across a package promising a meal of Chicken & Chorizo Jamabalaya cooked in one pan… from scratch.
Scratch is the clever name for a new business selling pre-packaged meals with fresh ingredients and instructions to cook a tasty, wholesome meal.
You get a box with all the chopped, washed and weighed ingredients as well as the instructions to cook your meal from scratch. The meals are for one and cook in around 15 minutes with one or two pans.
As they say, ‘We do the hard bits, you do the fun bits’.
I have to admit I was rather cynical and mainly tried it out in the interests of research, plus I really wanted see what Chicken & Chorizo Jamabalaya tasted like. I have to say that the product definitely lived up to its promise, being incredibly easy and fun to cook, with a tasty meal, and only one pan to wash up at the end – result!
From a business opportunity aspect, I find it interesting to see how Scratch are addressing the needs of the growing number of single householders. This is a trend identified in the How to become a cutting-edge retailer workshop I attended recently.
Changing family structure leads to convenience trend
– more singles than married in the UK by 2020
– more single person households in the UK – impacts how people shop – from weekly shop to convenience shopping. Growth from 19bn 2000 to 41bn 2015
– Asda have bough Netto
– Easier payment – Visa PayWave system
– Debenhams – mini-wok is most popular item
– Dinner for one packages
– Waitrose – small stores with fresh food, warm bread, deli
Last week I attending an absolutely fascinating workshop on future trends in retailing.
Cate Trotter the founder and Head of Trends at Insider Trends was the speaker, and had an impressive knowledge of the key issues affecting on-line and off-line retail business.
Here are my notes from the information packed two hour session:
What are the main trends that will affect retailers over next two to five years?
Why?
Trends are like ocean tides an cannot be controlled, but if you recognise them you can ride them to success.
Who?
There is now a more sophisticated and more connected customer base than ever before.
Segmentation for individuals – more tailored products and stores
Examples:
* Alton Towers’ Sleepover Suite (sponsored by Superdrug) for teenage girls
* Blends for Friends – an online tailored tea store – unique flavours and labels
* Elemis Skinlab – technology to assess skin leading to tailored products
Co-creation such as product modification.
Examples:
* Nokia phone covers – an early example
* Nike iD range of shoes (choose from 60 shoes and select design of each element) – not a new service, but sales up 20% in last year
* Zazzle – uploaded designs printed on thousands of different products – recent sales surge
* Chocri.co.uk and Chocomize.com
Concept development and product development
Examples:
* BMW – asking for ideas for new cars with online voting for favourites
* Denham – store designed around what the customer wants
Use SurveyMonkey – to find out what your customers want, or how about a coffee morning discussion. Much more than just a focus group asking for opinions.
Changing family structure leads to convenience trend
– more singles than married in the UK by 2020
– more single person households in the UK – impacts how people shop – from weekly shop to convenience shopping. Growth from 19bn 2000 to 41bn 2015
– Asda have bough Netto
– Easier payment – Visa PayWave system
– Debenhams – mini-wok is most popular item
– Dinner for one packages
– Waitrose – small stores with fresh food, warm bread, deli
– Reprise of the milkman – milkandmore.co.uk – findmeamilkman.net
What?
Two types of retail – Online vs Offline
Online
– strong advantages
– price and value
– convenience – to your door
Offline
– needs to compete with online success by expanding on…
– experience
– relationships
Don’t get caught in the middle – if you are on the high street, don’t try and compete on price or you will fail
Online Retail
– Moving onto portable devices and digital television
– Growing at 20% a year – more people online – more confidence shopping online
– Brand loyalty reducing online – one click away from a competitor + price comparison engines
– Small business shouldn’t not be drawn into price competition – e.g. with Amazon
– Make shopping easier for your customers – one click shopping – PayPal – clickandbuy.com and buxter.com (for Facebook shopping).
– Move to ‘right first time’ e.g. Levis curve fit
– Problem of home delivery – 10% of deliveries fail first time
– Example of collectplus.com can deliver to home or to a local store (later hours than local Post Office). Makes returns easy with label and convenience store, with post paid if wanted.
The more unique your business the more loyalty you will get from your customers.
Examples:
– Trunkclub.com online personal shopper who makes a commission on clothes bought.
– Plan B Salon – Skype interviewing
– Tissot.ch/reality – create a paper watch which generates facsimile of their designs.
Tissot.ch/reality
– Neuvomonde.com – watches on your wrist
– Supermarketsarah.com – Portobello Road market in her house – a new photo each week. Also collaborates with designers
Growth of mobile retailing
– Expected to double in next four years, but is still a tiny fraction of sales
– Will use phones to find out about products so website must include phone capability
– Phone apps will grow, but might be out of the reach of small business.
Offline Retail
Examples:
– Abercrombie and Fitch – more of an experience than shopping – all five sense are covered – loud music – A&F scents –
– The Brand Showroom – e.g. Disney Stores – putting the experience before the product
– J Crew (share of life retailing) – a range of products for a particular segment of the market / customer
– Monocle Stores – London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich – sell their magazine plus accessories for readers of the mag
– Mellow Johnny’s in Texas – bicycles, café and related
– Lomography Gallery, London – retail and support services
Lomography Gallery London
Competition now comes from other experiences instead of other retailers
e.g. kids, shopping, theme parks
ROBO shopping – Research Offline – Buy Online
Maximise sales by
– selling closer to the time of need – rollasole.co.uk
– selling closer to time of consumption
– exclusives
– charge for stocking goods – ladenshowroom.co.uk in the East End
– own label products – e.g. Apple – use stores to promote products – don’t mind if customers buy online
– Own label – houseoffrasser.co.uk – Dyson have tried a pop-up store
Where?
13% of stores are now empty – lower rate in the South East
Increasing demand for accessible / high street stores
People losing trust in big name brands – moving to local stores and farmer’s markets
Authenticity and localness – you don’t want to be located in a mall
Choose you neighbours carefully – think about pairing up with a like minded business.
Example of A Gold (UK produce) and Verde’s (European produce) in Brushfield street in Spitalfields.
Attention spans on the web are shortening over time.
Store payback time 5-7 years on average
Example wesc.com – using trolleys to keep store fresh
Amorepacific.com use projected displays in store – others use LCD displays
Liberty change signage fonts and colours
Could use posters
Fast moving stock – Zara has 11,000 new products a year
Temporary retail spaces – pop-up-stores – now hitting the mainstream
Toys R Us open up 200 pop-up-stores for seasonal sales
The Secret Restaurant and now The Secret Market (food fair) – marmitelover.blogspot.com
Retail trucks – Adidas pop-up truck – can use Twitter to announce where you are
New mobile app and widget to take credit card payments – squareup.com – 3% charge
How? (including marketing)
Less brand loyalty than in the past
Customers more inclined to listen to each other than conventional advertising
Haulvideos.net – people buy goods and post comments online – leads to discussion
High satisfaction leads to word of mouth and social media
So concentrate on quality delivery rather than low price
Happy customer vs unhappy customer – £600 vs -£400 – Research by a mobile phone company
Nudging customers to promote your products or services
Example:
Shopkick.com - customers get points for registering in store
Foursquare.com and gowalla.com – social media element
– Be interesting – sketch.uk.com
– Tell stories – your customer might want to share – hubbards.co.nz newsletter in every pack
– Educate customers – Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle – sealed chambers
Apple store free workshops
– Make business more interactive – made.com – furniture designed by members of the public with votes to decide
– 4food.com in New York, customers design their own burgers online and save recipe, with 25cents for each one sold
– Swipely.com – records purchases and shares online
– Uniqlo’s Lucky Line for every 26th customer who joined the line – massive social media coverage
Conclusion
Growth rates predicted for next 18 months
Offline 1% – existing £263bn
Online 39% – existing £11bn
The future is customer centric so think P2P Retail – human interactions
– Be human!
– Celebrate your smallness
– Who is your service going to be tailored to?
– What do they like?
– How will you adapt to them?
– How will they change and how will you move with them.
– Be authentic – with innovations which will benefit your customers – connect with your local community
– Be conversational – put the relationship before the sale
– Finding out what your customers think and how to trigger them to promote you.
Last week I was admiring how successfully the Icecreamists have been at generating publicity for their Baby Gaga ice cream, made from human breast-milk, which costs £14 (Luxury foods in terribly bad taste). Then they had a set-back when their local council removed the milk for testing.
