Marketing

Do you run a January sale? If you don’t, do you think you should be?

We as consumers often see January sales as a way of retailers clearing stock. If you run a business that doesn’t hold stock – be it a craft business where you make everything to order or a service based business where you sell your time, then it’s easy to dismiss sales as not being for you. But is it worth looking at them from a different angle?

Sales are just as much about stimulating demand as they are clearing stock.

And when you think about it like that, it sounds a whole lot more attractive doesn’t it! If your business is quiet in January, rather than sitting about moping about it, should you be doing something about it? A sale could be just the thing, with one caveat, it needs to be planned and executed well.

Discounting can look desperate and damage your brand. It can also affect your pricing strategy in the long term, so I would only ever do it with caution. But it really can work.

A poorly planned sale also looks weak. 10% off everything isn’t a sale – it just looks desperate. You need to give people a compelling reason to buy, and a blanket discount just won’t cut it. If you sell product, consider slicing between 25% and 70% off various groups of products rather than applying a global discount to everything. Again, this gives people a more compelling reason to buy.

Last year Clare Yarwood-White ran a sale that started on Christmas eve – her sales increased by 600% compared to the previous year, and it didn’t cannibalise her figures for the rest of the month. printing.com have run a January sale since around 2003 and it works wonders for stimulating demand (although it certainly affects margin for the month). I’ve yet to see a serviced based business pull this off, but I wonder – can it be done? Should it be done? What do you think?

Tagged as in Business Strategy, Marketing, Online Marketing, Powerful Ecommerce

Have you started thinking about how you’re going to say thank you to your clients at Christmas time yet?

I love buying and creating gifts to give to our clients because it gives me the opportunity to flex my crafty and creative muscles and create something really unique and memorable. I’m afraid I’m not one for giving a branded paperweight or pen. I love to give gifts that I’d like to receive, gifts that have been created with love and attention to detail, and gifts that will fit in with our brand.

Over the past year or two we’ve given homemade scented candles, flavoured vodkas and bath melts. They’ve gone down a storm! This year we have something equally exciting up our sleeves, although I shan’t be spilling any beans just yet. In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to inspire you with some “corporate” Christmas gifts that are anything but dull.

{Oh, and before you tell me that you hate crafting/ have better things to do than make stuff – remember, you don’t have to! Support your local handmade community and give something made with love instead}

Handmade Chocolates: Sara Jane Chocolates; Handmade Compact Liberty Mirror: What Katie Did Next; Iced Christmas Biscuits: Biscuiteers; Handmade Truffles: Good Housekeeping; Peppermint Hot Chocolate in a Mason Jar (Yum!) My Recipes; Cinnamon Candles via Pinterest; Brownies in a Jar: recipe from Fried Chillies; Choc Chip Oatmeal Quickbread: Sunset

What have you given/ received in the past? What’s been memorable? I’d really love you to share your ideas (and plug your handmade gifts!)

Tagged as , christmas, christmas gift ideas, christmas presents in Inspirations, Marketing

What impact do you feel new bank, Shawbrook, will have on your business? In case you missed the news (and yes, I am a little behind with this – house renovations have completely halted any blog activity in the last few weeks!) Shawbrook bank launched on 18th October amidst a fanfare of publicity. One of their niches is in lending to small businesses. They claim to have the funding and desire to lend to businesses that have the confidence to grow.

My hope is that this can only be a good thing. 

Week in, week out I meet with business owners who have big ideas for their businesses, and a good chunk of them have the confidence and investment available to see through the big thinking. The investment pays off in spades and it’s wonderful to see their businesses grow.

But at the same time I think back to the retailer I met in January, desperate to launch an online shop presence, who simply couldn’t get the funding to make her dream happen. And it’s not about dreams, it’s about good business sense. As markets change and consumer and client habits change, you need to have the money and confidence to invest your time, money and energy in your business. And you can only do this through investment.

There are things you simply can’t do well yourself – and whether that’s  having an ecommerce site developed, investing in a new logo or website or buying a new piece of machinery or taking on staff. To really grow your business you need to think big, be bold and have the guts to go for it.

In my experience there are numerous examples of businesses that need to make the investment, but don’t. Now it may be about a physical lack of money, but I suspect in many cases it’s more about fear. Fear of not seeing a return instantly, fear of needing that money for something else. And perhaps we’re all a little more sober about what we do with our money these days?

So tell me, if you could get your hands on some funding, would you use it? Do you think it would make a difference to your business? And do you think there’s any likelihood that the bank will live up to their claims and lend, or is it just a marketing ploy?

Tagged as , shawbrook bank, sure brook bank, sure brooks in Big Thinking, Marketing

  Blogging isn’t easy is it? You work all day (and sometimes into the night) with the day job and then somehow you’re expected to find the time to blog. And for goodness sake, does it even work? Is it even worth it? You hear horror stores of people putting in dozens of hours a [...]

Tagged as in Blogging, Marketing, Online Marketing

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Tagged as , ecommerce, powerful ecommerce in Branding, Business Strategy, Marketing, Online Marketing, Powerful Ecommerce, Websites

If consumers are feeling jaded, short on disposable income and reluctant to part with their hard earned cash, then how do you stimulate spending? How do you attract, engage and compel your current and prospective customers to spend their money with you? It all comes down to creating a proposition that excites your customer. One [...]

Tagged as , competition, customer greenhouse, engaging propositions, powerful ecommerce, successful ecommerce, summer social in Branding, Business Strategy, Marketing, Powerful Ecommerce, Websites, Workshops

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Tagged as in Branding, Marketing

This morning I’ve been invited to speak to a collection of fashion bloggers, publishers and startups on how to build a brand on a shoestring budget. I’m heading up to London’s Hurlingham Club in my best frock for the Performance In Fashion event, but not before I’ve snuck in a very quick blog post. The [...]

Tagged as in Branding, Marketing

It’s a long time since my mum ever uttered those time honoured words “You’re going to attract the wrong sort of attention in that“. Well times move on and it’s going to be less than a decade (much less than a decade, scarily) than I’m saying those things to my own daughter. But have you [...]

Tagged as in Branding, Graphic Design, Marketing

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Tagged as in Powerful Photography