October 16, 2009
General musings, Retail
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As we only live 25 minutes from the airport, our family take it in turns to drop and pick up each other to the airport. My Dad was due to pick us up from our little trip to Spain. I knew that he’d be waiting for us at Area No. 2 (He’s always early or on time!). I knew he’d have the radio on and wouldn’t turn it off until I got hoarse shouting from the back seat.
And as we drove up the hill toward the house, I don’t know what reminded me of the Dennyis challenge, my mind works in mysterious ways! Maybe it was the steepness of the hill, maybe it was the discarded tayto wrapping that made my blood boil or maybe it was just familiarity that made me think of what home is.
I missed the launch of the Denny ‘What is Home?’ campaign, their nation-wide search to finding out what home means to the country of Ireland. Craig Doyle was there as celebrity ambassador and gave his own version of home: “For me, it’s my real life outside of work, a return journey, a house full of screaming kids, a window frame the dog chewed and I got blamed for. It’s happiness and warmth.”
It was after midnight when we got back home. My mum had sandwiches made for us (you got to love Mums!) and it was great to know where to reach for the plates, the teabags, the milk while sleep-walking with the tiredness.
Home means lots of things at different times and for me that night, it was familiarity. Denny is set to film real people and real homes as part of its search to find out what really makes a home today. I think it’s a great idea - everyone is different yet it will be interesting to see the commonality between families and homes.
Anyone who wants to invite the Denny crew to their homes can do so by calling 1850 887 00 or 0844 544 3545.
They’ve also set up some interactive channels for people to share their stories about home - check out their page on Facebook, connect with them on Twitter and Flickr.
And what’s great about this campaign is that Denny is donating €1/85p to the Simon Community when every individual shares their thoughts on what home is online, by text or in person. Everyone is welcome to upload photos, videos and comments to www.homeis.ie, texting 51444 (ROI) or 81515 (NI) or by popping into one of the Denny houses. Denny is taking the campaign nationwide with their Home on Wheels tour.
Visit www.homeis.ie to share your thoughts. It’s a bit of fun and your contribution will help make a difference with the Simon Community.
Go on…what is home to you?
September 15, 2009
Retail, copy-writing
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Usually the Monday Makeover is a text based makeover, given that I’m a copy-writer. However, I’m also a marketer and I have to say that I really like the Birds Eye Salmon Fish Finger ad.
I think that the guys who created it did a really good makeover job on advertising the trusty, reliable (dare I say boring) fish finger. Firstly, one must thank the Birds Eye product team for coming up with the slightly posher version of the fish finger. But let’s face it, coming up with an ad to promote it wouldn’t necessarily have been the easiest task of all.
And okay, the guys went back to basics - ‘inneundo sell’s’ but this ad does what it’s supposed to do - get people’s attention to the product.
Watch it HERE: Birds Eye Salmon Fish Finger Ad.
Some people do not like this ad - I’ve searched on the Internet and some people really dislike it. But TV ads are supposed to entertain as well as promote a product. I’d bet if you did a brief survey, the majority of TV ad watchers (I’ll discount the Skyplus people who fast forward the ads!), will tell you that there is a new fish finger. This ad promotes a new version of an old product in a completely different way.
It’s cheeky with its M&S-esque sultry voice but it’s also a good production - that two second wait before the two other fish fingers faint is classic TV.
Say what you may - but Birds Eye Fish Fingers has definitely had a makeover!
Have your say - what do you think of this ad?
August 18, 2009
Customer Care, Relationship Marketing, Retail
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There are times when I think I should go back to my customer care training days. From my early days at college, I consumed everything about relationship marketing - books, magazines, Harvard Business Review supplements etc. Susan Fournier was my favourite writer on the topic back then.
I did my thesis for my MBS on Relationship Marketing for the airline industry. I loved relationship marketing - the arguments for and against, the technicalities of it, the operational display of it and the theorys around it.
I still do a customer care training for previous clients and think now that I should go back into it after a phone call from a Vodafone rep. This is a paraphrase of it, from the customers perspective:
Vodafone rep: is that Denise Fay?
DF: Yes
Vodafone: Are you an 02 customer or still with ourselves?
DF: Surely you should know that - you’re calling from Vodafone (Friction No. 1)
Vodafone: Well we’re calling from the landline service
DF: Okay - I’m still with vodafone but am still thinking of changing
Vodafone: Do you want me to get someone to call you?
DF: About what? The mobile or the landline?
Vodafone: The landline.
DF: It’s okay - I’m with BT, I changed some time ago. You guys don’t have broadband.
Vodafone: Oh we do.
DF: Oh really. I didn’t realise that. But I’ve bundled my service - landline and internet with them.
Vodafone: You’re probably in regular contact
DF: With BT? (Friction No. 2)
Vodafone: Yes.
DF: no..like yourselves, I pay my bill.
Vodafone: Oh okay.
DF: So are you giving me information on the landline here?
Vodafone: No. I’m just seeing if you’re interested and someone will call you back
DF: Let me get this straight. You’re calling me to see if I’m interested in talking to someone else about landline services but not you. The purpose of this call is to get someone else to call me back. (Friction No. 3)
Vodafone: That’s right
I got off the phone incredulously - why does it take two people to find out if I’m interested in finding out about landline services and then giving me information? Surely one person would be enough?
I’m all for people keeping their jobs in an economy that lets say, isn’t great, - but lets face it - three frictions in one phonecall is not good customer service.
Where is their relationship marketing?
1. They should have access to a database which shows I’ve been a Vodafone customer for in excess of five years
2. Am I in contact with Vodafone regularly? No. So why would I be in contact with BT? They provide a service, I pay for it. That’s the level of contact with most telecom providers
3. Why two calls? No wonder the cost of telecoms is expensive. We’re paying for a cost of sale that makes no sense in proper financial terms.
On a final note, the rep was lovely. She was friendly and was doing her job well. It’s the idea of not appreciating my business from the get-go that finished that conversation before it could even start. Relationship marketing would appear to be missing within the multiple divisions of Vodafone.
Perhaps, I should send them a copy of my thesis - It covers multiple divisions within an airline but can easily be applied to a telecoms company.
April 28, 2009
Drogheda, Networking, Retail
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One thing for sure is that the Drogheda & District Chamber do not sit on their laurels. After organising a fantastic luncheon networking event, they are right on the button delivering events that their members need.
This time around, they are organising an information evening for all businesses that work in the retail sector.
Here are the details:
The Retail Committee of Drogheda and District Chamber in conjunction with An Garda Siochana are hosting an information evening on Security Measures and Fraud Prevention for Business on Tuesday 5th May. The event will take place at 7.00pm in the Boardroom at the Drogheda Chamber offices.
Speaking this week Chairman of the Retail Committee Jim Corcoran explained “This issue is particularly important for business. During times of economic downturn business are more susceptible to fraud and the risk of theft increases. This in turn threatens the viability of business and employment. This information evening should help business to take practical steps. We are delighted that An Garda Siochana are working closely with us on this event.”
The event is free to attend, but it is essential to register in advance by calling 041 9833544 or by e-mailing enquiries@droghedachamber.com. All are welcome.
So if you are in the Drogheda and it’s district area and you operate in the retail sector, this is an event not to be missed. You’ll get a chance to network with other businesses and learn a bit more about protecting your business.
December 9, 2008
Internet Marketing, Retail
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….but it is moving toward bargains, value and online.
I find the Guardian newspaper a real gem - it has so many interesting and different articles. One article that I found most interesting was one about the UK’s Poundland and bargain hunting and shopping.
The article talks about a particular Poundland shop in Croydon. It said that this particular outlet “serves nearly 30,000 customers a week and they spend an average of £5.98 each, which means this 6,000 sq ft space is raking in more than £9m a year.” 9 million a year?! And with its recession beating prices, even the price aware shopper will take a browse through it.
This got me thinking about US shopping and how American Holiday Spending was coming along. Everytime you turn on the news, the American economy has taken a further nosedive. Thanksgiving weekend shopping is traditionally one of the busiest weekends of shopping in the retail calendar.
Pricegrabber.com, which is a price-comparison site, reported that there was an increase of 11% in traffic to the site compared to Black Friday 2007. Black Friday is the term of reference for the Friday after Thanksgiving.
They revealed in their press release ” that economic conditions motivate value-driven consumers [and] that online consumers are taking advantage of promotions on popular electronics.”
It’s not alone in seeing an increase in traffic. The US National Retail Federation reported that an increase of 25 million people visited stores and websites compared to last year!
According to their press release “Shoppers spent an average of $372.57 over the weekend, up 7.2 percent over last year’s $347.55.” (The weekend was Thursday, Friday, Saturday and projected for Sunday).
I’d love to see Irish statistics to see how Irish sales are faring. But it is fair to say that holiday shoppers are out there, eager to buy, but have value on their mind. Which isn’t a bad thing - maybe we all got carried away over the past several Christmasses.
Retailers next year ought to look at their propositions and USPs - unique selling points- and maybe it’s time to offer real value to customers and not inflated profit margins.