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Archive for the ‘Marketing Strategy’ Category« Previous EntriesHow To Move A Brand ForwardFriday, November 30th, 2012  How do I move my brand forward? For many companies, both new and well established, this is the million dollar question. Those looking for the answer may find that the latest article posted on the B2B International website goes some way to answering the question. In the article, Ben Harris looks at some of the principal elements of a company’s marketing strategy to assess their role and importance in moving a company forward. Among the elements covered are: company name, logo, website and SEO strategy (including pay-per-click), and social media – not to mention other online and more traditional forms of marketing. To read the article in full, please click here. Marketing Budgets Heading UpwardsFriday, April 20th, 2012  Across B2B International’s three key markets – Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific – marketing budgets appear to be on the rise. This is according to the latest Global Marketing Index from Warc.  Launched in late 2011, this monthly measurement draws on data from a panel of brand owners, media companies, ad agencies, and other communications industry specialists. Incorporating readings for marketing spending, trading conditions and staffing levels, headline figures in April climbed to 58.1 points, up from 57.4 in March. Any score above 50 points indicates positive sentiment. Marketing expenditure alone rose from 51.5 points to 53.7 points month on month, with the Americas reaching an impressive 57.4 points, and Europe marking a reading of more than 50 for the first time since the survey began six months ago. This might not be earth-shattering news, but at long last gives us something positive to talk about – especially for Europe – in these tumultuous times. To read the report in more detail, please click here. Marketing Strategies or Business Ethics?Wednesday, January 18th, 2012  In this week’s Business Surgery, Stephanie Teow comments on the recent struggles of supermarket giant Tesco over the Christmas period According to an article sourced from the Daily Mail:
Being a shopaholic, articles about retailers always catch my attention. Not only because I am curious to know what sales and promotions are currently being offered, but also, in a way, I think that retailers have a significant impact on our daily lives. In the past few years, repeated reports have been discussing and criticising the disappointing marketing strategies and poor customer service performances within the retail sector. So, when I was browsing through the news recently, it wasn’t a big surprise at all for me to read another negative report on a giant UK retailer:
This is actually nothing new to me, because for the past few years I have seldom taken an interest in these names anymore, not just because of what I felt to be their unattractive prices and products, but also, from my point of view, the advertising and the promotions that they are offering are just not customer focused; in a way, not convincing.
It is self-explanatory that the total sales increment from Sainsbury’s and Morrisons of 2.8 per cent have resulted from that lost by Tesco. It must be shocking for a business to realise that its losses are feeding its rivals. But what shocked me the most are the decisions that have been made at such a critical period of the year by the pioneer of the sector. It’s easy to be smart after the event, trying to lay the blame either to some person or some decision which has been made, but understanding the root cause will always be the most effective solution. Most promotional tools and marketing strategies that a business (in this case the retailer) implements are done to create a positive impact to the business operation and growth. For example, ones most commonly seen in the stores are: “Buy 3 for the price of 2” and “Buy the second one half price”. This is an excellent idea to increase the customer buying potential and to ensure the products are all sold before the next manufacturing and delivery deadlines are up, to avoid over-stocking. From the customer point of view, we only see this happening when the product expiry date is approaching. But do we really need more than 1 item in such a short period, even if the second item is slightly cheaper? Hence the questions: does this strategy really work? How many items are sold in the end? Will the customer fall into the same ‘trap’ again? Or would it be more effective to simply reduce the price of the product by 1/3 from the start? Another example which has been discussed in the article:
Example: Tesco Value Unsalted Butter – August 23: £1.10; August 30: £1.19; September 26: £1.10” As a marketing tool, the retailer will show a price tag with a reduction from the latter 2 dates. In a way, this is a brilliant marketing idea. However, if we are regular shoppers familiar with prices, what will we make of this? A penny saved is a penny earned, but in business this is not always applicable. Not only is focusing on the customer’s needs essential, but at all times we need to stand in the customer’s shoes to understand what kind of service, products and treatment they need. While many customers are happy – and indeed prefer – to be regulars, they expect to be treated well. Businesses should therefore be wary: few businesses are completely unique (i.e. irreplaceable) and once a customer has switched away, they have switched away. £5million is a big price to pay for a few poor decisions made in the festive season which are not customer-focused enough. Is there a role that market research can play to minimise the lost revenue or even to turn around the situation? I think the answer absolutely is yes! Marketing Training Courses In ShanghaiFriday, August 19th, 2011  B2B International is pleased to announce the dates of its upcoming training courses in Shanghai: On Thursday, 22 September 2011, we will be running a Market With Intelligence course, and on Friday, 23 September 2011, we will host a course on Value-Based Marketing. As with all our courses, these full-day, hands-on training workshops will enable attendees to not only learn the theory of marketing, but – crucially – to apply the learnings to their own businesses. A brief summary of the course schedules is shown below, but more information can be found here “Shanghai Marketing Training Courses”. To book your place online, please click here.. If you have any questions, please call your nearest B2B International office or email shanghai@b2binternational.com Market with Intelligence – Thursday, September 22, 2011 This course introduces you to the key principles of market research and how research tools can be used to grow your business. Topics covered include: • Introduction to market research Value-Based Marketing – Friday, September 23, 2011 Our value-based marketing workshop explores the key marketing principles and how you can make them work for you, including: • Market intelligence and value-based marketing Positive Outlook for Industrial CompaniesWednesday, July 21st, 2010  Good news this month for many of our clients! According to a new report, Trends in Industrial Marketing 2010: How Manufacturers are Marketing Today – incidentally published by one of our clients, GlobalSpec – 70% of sales and marketing professionals in the industrial sector expect their companies to increase sales this year, compared with a mere 16% in 2009. However, the online survey of 464 respondents found that only 31% had an increased marketing budget. For 42% of sales and marketing professionals questioned, customer acquisition is their primary goal this year. One-third is focusing on lead generation and 13% specified branding as their main aim. More than two-thirds (68%) plan to increase spending on social media. The same percentage intends to increase their spend on online video this year. Conversely, a quarter plans to decrease spend on trade magazine advertising and 24% will decrease use of printed directories. « Previous Entries |
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