A new venue catering for corporate events and private functions is due to be officially unveiled next week, in the heart of Swindon’s town centre – and it’s already taking business.
The aptly name The Venue Swindon is located in the old Apartments nightclub off the Brunel Plaza and a significant investment has been made in a total refurbishment of the premises by the Quality Dining Group, which has taken it over.
Although its official launch isn’t until Thursday May 26, The Venue Swindon has already held a number of events, including functions for Nationwide, as well as a wedding reception and several parties.
With three different and unique function rooms available, The Venue is suitable for both corporate and private functions and plans to go head-to-head with its main competition, the town’s hotels.
“Our aim is to offer a unique and bespoke five star service at an affordable cost,” said Mark Wylie, The Venue’s Sales and Marketing Director. “Where hotels have to keep the costs higher to support the other areas of their business, we don’t.”
The Venue’s three function rooms include the ground-floor Brunel Suite, which has its own bar and can cater for up to 250 people, so is suitable for both corporate events and private functions.
Upstairs is the Arkell’s Suite, which has boardroom set up, projector and TV screen. It can seat 30 round a table, or 45 with theatre seating. Also upstairs is the Club Room – ideal for parties – with a bar and space for dancing, a DJ and live bands.
The building has wi-fi and there is handy parking at adjacent Havelock Street car park, as well as in the town’s many multi-storeys.
The Venue is the third facility to be opened under the umbrella of the Quality Dining Group. The other two are based at Gloucester Docks and Cirencester.
As with the others, catering at The Venue Swindon will be provided by the Quality Dining Group. Mark said: “Our background is more than 25 years in catering and we pride ourselves on the quality of food we can offer, be that for corporate breakfasts and lunches, or a whole wedding party. Where possible, it is locally sourced and freshly prepared by our award-winning chef.
“We’re able to cater for any requests and to meet any dietary needs. For example, at The Venue Cirencester we’ve provided a Persian banquet. We’ve also hosted Medieval banquets and, in fact, have one booked to be held here in Swindon.”
To spread the word about its opening, The Venue Swindon has launched a competition to win an iPad. People can enter via Facebook at facebook/thepartyvenueswindon.
The official launch is on Thursday May 26, where local businesses will be invited along to a free event to look around the facilities, enjoy some sample foods and be entertained by local magician Jo Taylor. There are still some tickets available. To apply, or for more information about The Venue Swindon, contact Mat Cole at Pink Pepper Marketing on 01793 554846.
]]>The controversial plan to tax supermarkets and the announcement last week (9th May) that David Cameron has called in retail guru Mary Portas to launch a rescue campaign to save Britain’s beleaguered high streets has brought to the fore yet again the challenges faced by small independent retailers.
Someone who is doing something constructive to support independents is Will Seward who this month launches the virtual high street of independent retail shops, www.poptotheshops.net For retailers it gives the opportunity to stay local but sell nationally without the prohibitive costs of e-commerce sites, whilst for customers it provides a one-stop browse of a range of unique goods and services, and the opportunity to support small businesses.
The first shops on board include Mitchell Cycles of Swindon and Bibelo Gifts of Stockport. “We joined poptotheshops.net two months ago and already we are finding it a valuable alternative outlet, complementing and promoting our high street presence,” says Andrew Mitchell of family-run business Mitchell Cycles. “We are delighted to be one of the founding retailers and we can see significant benefit, as the site grows, in co-operating with like-minded shops but at the same time remaining independent. We registered and were selling within 24 hours.”
A survey undertaken by Poptotheshops showed that the majority of consumers wanted to use their independent retailers but found it difficult mainly due to parking and opening hours. Supermarkets make shopping easy and customers no longer have to think . According to Seward, independents can do this too.
“The internet is no longer a nice to have but is expected,” says Will Seward. “But with over 2.5 million websites live in the UK it is hardly surprising that it is difficult to find many great independent retailers. Having an independent web presence is fast becoming the next white elephant for small businesses. Our survey revealed that retailers want an online presence that is personalised and customers want a uniform method of browsing and purchasing.”
Poptotheshops.net brings together all of its research findings into a proposition that provides the retailer with a low-cost (£250 per annum or £25 per month) secure e-commerce position within a virtual high street which complements their physical outlet and where they can enjoy the benefits of brand building, collaborative marketing, cross-selling and valuable market information.
“In the last two months we have had substantial interest from retailers with over 100 independents registering for further information about the site,” says Will Seward. “Our priority is to attract quality retailers who collectively provide a diverse offering across sectors including gifts, fashion and beauty, leisure products, furnishings, jewellery and specialist food and wine.”
Many independent retailers are located in prime city centre locations. City Centre Director for Leicester, Sarah Harrison, views the independents as a vital part of the retail mix. “We see a virtual high street as complementing a retailer’s physical high street presence and it has the added benefit of collaborative marketing opportunities,” she says. “Independent retailers do not have the advantage of corporate backing to fund e-commerce sites and marketing campaigns – www.poptotheshops.net opens up a national market at a very reasonable price.”
Copyright Barbara Rayner PR 2011
]]>In foundation tips 1 and 2 we spent some time talking to you about identifying your target market and how to set objectives in order to run effective money generating marketing campaigns.
In this document we want to tell you about the 6 touch points and give you some ideas for promoting your business.
So what are the 6 touch points all about?
There is a simple marketing theory that states that a potential new customer will have seen or heard about your business in some form on average 6 times before they decide to hand over their hard earned cash to you. Now, that doesn’t mean one marketing activity a year for six years but lots of different types of targeted activity which is consistent and timely. The more active you seem, the more they recognise you and the more confident they become in making a purchase.
Think about your own experiences. If you want to employ a builder to carry out some improvements on your home, you probably won’t randomly pick an unknown builder from the telephone directory. You would however feel more confident if you see that he is carrying out work for a neighbour, had a recommendation from a friend, looked at a portfolio of work on his website, read about him in the local freebie paper etc, etc.
It’s this type of recognition and reputation that speaks volumes for your business.
So when you are thinking about promoting your business the wider and more consistently you spread the word the better it will be.
Now for Ideas for promoting your business
Well almost…
Firstly let me tell you there is more to marketing than advertising, leaflet drops, cold calling and networking. Many small companies never get beyond this stage but there are many creative ways to promote your business which are free or low cost.
A couple of things to keep in mind however when choosing your marketing activities are:
- Regardless of how cheap the activity your time costs you money. If you charge your customers £100 per hour and spend a day a week on marketing when you should be working for a client it may not be a cost effective way of using your time. It may pay you to pay someone else to do it for you.
- Choose activities that you feel comfortable doing. If you find cold calling way outside of your comfort zone you probably won’t be that effective at it so choose an activity that is within your skill set.
- Don’t get carried away with choosing lots of low cost activities just because they are cheap – if they are unlikely to hit your target audience – it will be a waste of time, energy and money.
- Just because the activity doesn’t cost much, doesn’t mean you can afford to throw your money away. Don’t take your eye off of your set objectives. If the marketing isn’t working change it for something that will.
Ok with those things front of mind check out some of the suggestions below:
For those of you who like to write:
- Place articles in magazines and papers – lots of publications will snap up “free” features.
- Create compelling and informative newsletters for your business and send regularly to your database of customers.
- Have a regular column in your local rag.
- Write a blog.
- Use social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to keep people informed.
- Post out greeting cards at Christmas etc.
- Write press releases to advertise upcoming events/new products etc.
- Write a booklet.
- Write letters to the editor giving your opinion on a subject adding your business profession and details to the end of the letter.
- Post in online forums.
- Use email marketing for special offers, free tips, upcoming events etc.
For those who like to demonstrate your skill:
- Volunteer to use your skill for a charity or in a school.
- Attend trade shows and events.
- Enter trade award schemes.
- Give away free information – not dissimilar to this!
- Upload a demonstration on to YouTube or your website.
- Run workshops.
- Attend trade shows or local events.
- Create a DVD.
- Give away samples.
- Place display stands in prominent locations.
For those of you who like to talk:
- Give presentations at business lunches etc.
- Join networking groups such as the Chamber of Commerce or our local Business Village.
- Give talks to community groups or local schools.
- Hold open days at your place of work.
- Cold calling or telesales.
- Speak to your local radio or TV station.
- Keep talking about your business – Tell everyone!
Other ways to promote your business:
- There are many free on-line directories where you can add you website details if you have one. Make sure you are in as many as you can find and the more external links you have into your website the better the search engines can find you.
- Run webinars – A workshop on the internet.
- Have an eBay store.
- Print your logo on your work or leisure clothing.
- Leaflet drop.
- Reciprocal arrangements with other business eg chauffeur driven cars working alongside wedding outfitters etc.
- Get involved in your local community – People like to support their local businesses where they can. Make the effort to get to know them by getting involved.
- Use signage.
- Purchase web site banners.
- Collect testimonials to add to your website and literature.
- Print posters.
- Give away low cost goodies with your logo and business details on them.
Well that’s 40 ways that you could promote your business. We are sure that you can come up with another 40.
And that just leaves us to say that we wish you the very best of luck with your business and if we can ever be of assistance please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
]]>It is however about getting the foundations right at the outset, which will ensure that you get the most out of your marketing budget.
Before we talk about those foundations we thought we would give you a simple definition for a marketing campaign.
A marketing campaign is the stuff you do:
- To get more customers
- To sell more
- To become more profitable
As you will be well aware, the range of marketing activities available to us is vast and it grows year on year with new opportunities opening up through the advances in technology.
Advertising and marketing can be expensive and so when you are deciding on how to spend your marketing budget it makes sense to ensure that you are getting your message across to those people who are most likely to spend their money with you.
The Building Blocks of Marketing
Before we can even begin to think about what marketing activity we are going to pursue we need to make sure that we have some solid foundations in place on which to build our marketing campaign.
These foundations are intrinsically linked with good business management, which is what makes this type of campaigning so successful. We like to call it integrated marketing.
First off , and this applies to a new business or new product line as well as an existing business or product, we have to fully understand what it is that we have to sell, who our competitors are and who our potential market is.
If we use the small nursery business in Foundation tips 1 as an example we can see that:
- The products on offer are plants- perennials and herbs in particular.
- The competition is other local business such as B&Q and the larger garden centres; there are few if any small nurseries within the area.
- The target market is likely to be people who live local to the nursery and is a mix of senior citizens who enjoy buying from individual providers and younger people who are embracing the grow your own/ organic/ buy local ethos. All appreciate a bargain and a friendly and knowledgeable service.
With this information under our belt, we can begin to define our proposition, pricing structure, brand and message.
- Proposition and Pricing: The nursery owner now knows that she will be unlikely to compete on price with her competitors because they are large retail chains who benefit from their bulk buying capability. She can however keep prices comparable and on occasions run promotions such as plant of the week and discounts on multiple buys. What will set her apart from the competition is the uniqueness of her proposition i.e. a small independent family run nursery growing locally and selling locally, direct to the public.
- Brand Identity and Message: Taking that proposition and knowing the target that she is trying to attract, her message and brand must reflect the uniqueness of the proposition. The message to be given to her potential customers therefore has to be that the nursery is a charming alternative shopping experience, selling local home grown unusual plants and herbs at reasonable prices. And everything about the brand identity must reflect this. There would be no point putting a huge flashing neon light outside the property or having a high tech website; it would be confusing. A simple rustic logo with complementary branding would however fit perfectly with the low key, back to basics gardening image that this company is all about.
Creating and Running a Marketing Campaign
Having the foundations in place, we can now look towards the next steps, which are about putting a marketing campaign together.
Setting Objectives
As with all good business practice, we should start with setting objectives for our campaign. The reason for this is so that we know whether or not we are achieving what we set out to do. It keeps us focused on our goals.
Examples of a marketing objective may be:
- In 3 months I will have gained 15 more customers
- By December 2010 I will have increased my sales by 50%
- In 2010 I will have sold 20% more of product ‘B’ to my customer base
Choosing Your Audience
Having set your objectives, you need to decide what set of customers you want to target.
Not all of your customers, depending on your business, will be interested in the same thing. Take us for instance. We are a marketing company with a wide range of customers from very small companies to large technological corporations with big marketing departments. Our large customers are unlikely to want our marketing tips but may very well be interested in employing us for a one off piece of consultancy to launch a product in a new country. So when we solicit for new work we have to know what we have to offer and who it will appeal to. And when we know that, then and only then can we decide which marketing activity will get that message across to that target audience.
(Foundation Tips 1 gives more information on defining your target market)
Choosing Your Activity
This is not just as simple as guessing what publication your target audience will read; there are a number of factors that should be taken into account to make sure you spend your marketing budget in the most efficient and beneficial way. Your budget will also dictate what activities are possible.
Things to keep in mind when deciding on appropriate activities are:
- What is your budget and is it realistic?
- Are there any barriers to getting your message across i.e. language, culture, disabilities etc?
- Is the timing right? For example are you ready for an influx of business, do you have the capacity to cope should your campaign be successful or is your business seasonal and will your customers be in the right frame of mind at this time of year to hear your message; just think of the impact on the sale of PC’s during “Back to School” burst marketing campaigns.
- How are your customers influenced? Do they read trade magazines or local freebie papers; do they like referrals, discounts, bargains, specialties, one-offs, social media sites, prize raffles for customer surveys etc?
- Do you know where your customers live or where they go? Are they local people, are they likely to be commuting each morning to London, will they be at a music venue where you could leaflet 100’s of potential customers in 2 hours, do they do the school run?
- What response do you want? If you carry out market research on 100 companies with an offer of some free consultancy if they answer your questions, have you really got the time to fulfill that offer if they all respond?
When you have thought about these questions, you should be able to identify a few marketing activities that will effectively deliver your message. (See fig 1).
Measuring your success against your original objectives?
Having spent your marketing budget on several marketing activities now is the time to see if your efforts have paid dividends. And the only way to really know if you have achieved what you set out to do is to look again at your objectives. Have they been met?
Questions to think about when you are measuring the effectiveness of your campaign are:
- Did the campaign work?
- What went right?
- What went wrong?
- Do you need to revisit your basics (message/ brand/ pricing / proposition)?
- How much time did it take?
- How much did it cost?
- Are the results worth the time and money?
Lessons Learnt and Time for Re-Planning
We are convinced that when you use the techniques described in this document your marketing campaign will see some success. There may well be times when you will need to re-visit and tweak your plan because life and business and the world’s economic situation is not set in stone, but as a general rule this procedure for creating and running a marketing campaign is tried and tested.
You may have heard the saying that success breeds success and what we advocate is that you continue learning and re-planning your marketing campaigns so that one successful campaign rolls into another. As a rule of thumb 5% of your profit should go back into marketing- you should be looking at re-investing to create another campaign, after all marketing is not a one off activity. If it was we would never see Coca Cola, McDonalds or BMW- organisations at the top of their game- bothering with advertising or re-branding.
And when you have had a successful campaign, don’t forget to shout about it…..can you get some publicity out of it; can you create a case study from it? Always be on the lookout for ways to promote your business.
But whatever you do regarding your marketing- remember to PLAN your activity!
]]>The reality is usually very different. If you think about a local convenience store based in Swindon, although the products on sale are quite generic, it still has a specific audience. The owner of the store would be unlikely to be selling newspapers to folk in Glasgow.
No one sells to everybody, there are always some terms that narrow down the field.
Now this is quite an essential piece of thinking where marketing is concerned because you really want to be spending your marketing budget on a campaign or activities that will really make a difference to your turnover. It makes sense therefore to use your money communicating with those people who are most likely to spend their money with you.
It is a false economy casting the net wide; it will not bring you in any more customers but is likely to be much more expensive. We hear regularly from well meaning business owners that marketing doesn’t work. They have spent a lot of cash on advertising or websites but have had no increase in customers or sales. We invariably discover during our discussions that actually the marketing activity in question seldom, if ever, met with their target audience. It would be like advertising multi-million pound properties in the Swindon Advertiser. Rarely would a house buyer with that sort of money, scroll through the property pages of a local paper, they would however look in the Country Life Magazine or on its web site.
So we need to be thinking less about marketing being a spend function and more about how we can gain more customers and more sales though identifying the right target audience. We need to make our marketing budget give us more bangs for our buck which we do by identifying our target market.
Once you know your target market, then and only then ,can you deliver a focussed marketing campaign which will tell your customers and potential new customers about your product or service in a compelling way and in a language that they understand and in a format that they will readily engage with.
Ok that said let’s take a look at the 5 steps to defining your market. You will see 2 diagrams with examples, one for those businesses that sell direct to consumers or individuals and the other for those who sell to other businesses. They are similar but the slight differences may be of help.
Five Steps to Defining your Market…
Foundation Tip 1 - Customers
Foundation Tip 1 - Business
We hope you find the new layout more informative and interesting, not to mention easier on the eyes.
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