Trig Point Marketing and e-Commerce Consultancy
10 Mill Road
Westtbourne, Nr. Chichester
Sussex, UK, PO10 8TH
Email: dave@trig-point.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1243 374559
Mobile: +44 (0)7834 32 40 31
Trig Point Marketing and E-Commerce Consultancy
Welcome to Trig Point Marketing Consultancy, providing Marketing Support and Consultancy across the South East of England including Sussex, Hampshire and London our specialism being Marketing Strategy for SMEs. You can now follow us on Twitter, where Marketing Strategist Dave Cousin will be giving his latest thoughts on Marketing and keeping you up to date with all new news and developments on this site.
A couple of tips for SEO: things that are increasingly important post Panda and Penguin to make your pages seem more natural and improve your rankings in Google.
Public Domain image
If Google give you six tips on how to do your SEO then you certainly listen. As always Google aren’t trying to trick you, it is in fact some SEO techniques that try to trick them, not those that we use of course.
Google want to work with you though to make sure that you create great sites that they can then put to the top of their results as relevant good quality results for searchers. These six tips for SEO, aimed more at Webmaster’s than SEO professionals, show that:
‘Do Something Cool’ is the first tip for SEO Google came up with, basically they want you to make your website stand out from your competitors. As for how this helps with SEO they don’t say but there are three possible explanations, one is that by being unique you can rank for long tail keywords with little competition, second is that your content is more likely to get organic links and tweets and likes on social media, lastly is that good content will have a lower bounce rate that is now taken into account by Google since their first Panda update.
So Google’s second tip for SEO is include relevant words in your copy, this isn’t quite saying include keywords though. Regardless of what keywords you put in you should try and use relevant words throughout as well as your keywords; keywords in a page which Google can see have nothing to do with the rest of the page’s content will be ignored.
Be smart about your tags and site architecture, another one aimed at webmasters especially but you should know this anyway really: though perhaps not if you are new to the web, managing your own websites and learning as you go? This is an important part of SEO though and something you should read up on and is well worth getting right if you haven’t already, you could also contact us for a site audit of course.
Did you know that Google will actually tell you if your website displeases them, this is invaluable and is possible by signing up for Google’s webmaster tools. Google advise you to do this so they can send e-mails and in these they’ll tell you of problems including if they’ve come across links they deem to be part of a link building scheme: you can then take action before they penalise you.
The fifth tip is to attract Buzz, by which they mean get organic links and shares, likes etc on Social Media and Social Bookmarking sites. They basically want real people to show they like your pages and they’ll rank you higher. It’s important to remember as well Google do pay attention to likes, tweets, shares and of course +1s of your site as a ranking factor now.
Google’s last tip is to stay fresh and relevant, they obviously are aware that a lot of the content online is out of date and that more recent content is going to be more relevant. By keeping your site up to date not just by adding new pages but by updating old ones you can rank higher in Google.
Keyword research and link building are of course absent from this list, these six tips for SEO though are all things that website owners and designers can do themselves without the likes of use SEO professionals getting involved.
Google's Matt Cutts, photo by Dustin Woodard
Matt Cutts’ comments in an interview at SXSW have set the SEO world alight; it has been a big topic with discussions continuing all week among those working in SEO and also those owning websites who use SEO services. The term Google SEO penalty has sprung up and those a little behind have been left asking what is the Google SEO penalty? A few are saying it signals an end to SEO, it may well be that these people haven’t really read or heard the interview though, either that or it means the end to their type of SEO: blackhat SEO that in reality has been sick for a long time and that no half decent SEO consultant should be using.
That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been those using blackhat SEO of course, often these people are looking for quick results: bringing traffic but little real value and they have been the bane of site owners for a long time already, and of searchers who do from time to time come across valueless sites with little or nothing to do with their search.
These websites are what Google want to get rid of; Google lets be clear have nothing against good quality sites with good quality content and that is what the Panda update has been all about. You are allowed to use relevant terms on your site as long as you don’t go over the top: Matt Cutts after all did say in this interview that he was looking to level the playing field in terms of: “those people doing over optimization or overly SEO versus those making great content and great sites. ”
Google want great content to appear high on Google and so SEO techniques such as the ones we use at Trig-Point are still completely valid. Our campaigns rely on the creation of great quality content, building relevant (one way) links and using relevant keywords. This is important for site owners too as otherwise you aren’t going to get people staying on your site.
What many think Google may be doing is getting better at semantics and having robots that are able to understand better what a site is about and whether pages on it are good quality and relevant and whether keywords are relevant to the rest of the site.
As for using too many keywords the strategy we follow at trig-point is to use prime keywords at only around 1% of the total content of a page: well within the realms of what you might naturally use when writing without thinking about it. We also are careful about how many keywords we use; Matt Cutts’ comments about penalizing those using too many keywords we feel simply vindicate out existing strategy.
The other main thing Matt Cutts mentioned was giving an SEO penalty due to too many reciprocal links. We very rarely use any reciprocal (two way) links or other link exchange programs that try to circumnavigate Google’s algorithm, which rarely have any success long term.
Some sites with very little SEO may benefit from Google’s proposed changes it seems but Google won’t stop relying on factors indicating quality such as great, regularly updated content and easy to use navigation and some good quality links; perhaps quantity will become less of a factor though for links and we will follow developments here closely.
As we have mentioned before the key to SEO in our opinion is to try and work with Google to tell them what you have, not to try to trick them. For good quality SEO specialists using white hat content focused SEO strategies SEO penalties shouldn’t be a cause for concern.
SEO is about more than Google, image by Ezearn
1. Research local themed keywords
For your small business SEO you really should use keywords that contain the name of your local town, county or larger area you cover. You are instantly competing against less people meaning you have a better chance of appearing on results; also click through rates from searches where people have used a location are higher: many who don’t use a location realise their mistake and search again remember without clicking any results. .
2. Create interesting content
Not all content has to be sales copy, especially when using keywords that don’t indicate a clear buying intention information can be better to keep people on the site, educate them and get them to trust you as a business not desperately trying to sell but who know what you are talking about, remember small business SEO is about much more than just getting your results to appear on Google.
3. Use landing pages for your primary keywords
Landing pages are great because once your small business SEO efforts have got people on to your site you can boost your chances of them staying and going elsewhere on your site. A landing page about exactly what people have just searched for will be much more likely to stop them clicking back to Google: especially important as Google now track how much time people spend on your site and rank you lower if you don’t have sticky pages.
4. Make sure you have unique titles and descriptions for each page
On those landing pages make sure each one has a unique description and title in the HTML: which Google and other search engines use for showing in results and deciding what keywords to rank you for and where. Your SEO may get you to position 1 for a keyword but if no one clicks on it your small business SEO will be useless. Customers read a description briefly before clicking normally and they spot keywords they have searched for so include them.
5. Include keywords for your specialisations and each product
Remember that a lot of people won’t be searching for a company type but for a specific product, service or even the problem they need a solution to so look for keywords for all of these and research groups of keywords for every service and product you have. If for example you are a locksmith, SEO options include looking for keywords relating to key cutting, lock repair, emergency locksmiths and how to fix a stuck lock to name but a few.
6. Look for long tail keywords with low competition
Don’t choose the most obvious keywords: everyone will choose and compete on these for their SEO be they small or large businesses. Let big companies dominate the high traffic keywords if they want and spend a lot doing it; focus on long tail keywords, unless you have a good enough page rank to compete for top positions on other keywords. You can get to top positions for dozens of low competition keywords for as little effort as a few very competitive words, remember your small business’ SEO may also suit more niche terms.
7. Look at competition in detail when choosing keywords
When deciding whether a keyword is worth using you need to consider how easily and how quickly you can get to the first page, and ideally the first four or five positions, to get a reasonable amount of traffic. When you look at keywords you can look at different measurements of competition, most are based on how many sites overall use keywords. What you need to know though is how many people are actively optimising their site for that keyword and what pageranks they have relative to you: to make the most of your small business SEO pick your battles wisely.
8. Build relevant links
Google use not just keywords on your pages but on the pages linking to them to decide the content of your pages, make sure then that you get links from relevant pages ideally containing your keywords; on a directory add them to your description but ideal is a link from an article though about what your page is about.
9. Make sure the markup of your pages is up to scratch
Use the W3C validator to check for issues and get them fixed by your web designer, some are more serious than others but Google like tidy sites. Also look out for issues such as missing alt tags and any scripts that run on your pages making content or menus unreadable to a search engine spider. For SEO remember that keywords and content have to be visible for Google to rank you and links visible for pagerank to spread.
10. Build links that will pass pagerank
Some links pass no value and are ignored by Google and other search engines, these are called no follow links. Some websites avoid passing value by using the no follow tag that tells search engines basically ‘I don’t endorse this link’. Many websites do this automatically, if a site has mainly no follow external links then if you try to get a link too chances are you will also be given a link that has no SEO value.
With do follow links you still need to make sure you are getting links from pages with some pagerank; make sure your link will be on a specific page with pagerank as the pagerank of the homepage may be high but the page your link will be on may be low. Lastly remember that the number of other external links will affect the value of a link to your site so try to get links on pages with few other links where possible.
Sussex pubs, just one type of small Sussex business to benefit from SEO , photo by Chris Gunns
If you are a small business based in or around Sussex you have to watch your budget carefully at the moment, many will have a local focus and therefore think locally with their advertising: local advertising after all is often cheaper.
So perhaps you will advertise your business in the Yellow Pages or a local newspaper? Unfortunately though fewer people are using such publications for their information search to find a solution to their problems or find specific business types. Yellow Pages realise this and that is why they will give you a free website with a listing, they are aware that the paper version of the Yellow Pages is heading for extinction.
B2B businesses especially will find their clients are looking online, and often using recommendations through Social Media sites such as Linkedin to choose who to do business with. Many think of the internet as international but you can think locally with your online marketing, for any business in Sussex SEO is a great option to focus on getting not just local consumers and businesses on to your site but also local prospects.
With SEO you are putting your website as a search result in search in front of those people who are searching for certain words and terms; by choosing what words and phrases you want to appear for you can make sure you are appearing to people who have with their search shown an interest or even a clear buying intention.
This means for a Sussex business SEO is low risk: you can check how many people are searching for keywords in advance and see how many sites and which sites will be competing with you to get to the top of Google’s and other search engines’ results.
For some keywords you will find that there is a lot of competition and you can then work on other areas of SEO to get above other websites for that word or you can choose other keywords that have less competition.
The great think for a business with a local focus, including many Sussex businesses: SEO can help you appear for people searching for businesses in a certain location. By using phrases such as Sussex SEO, instead of just SEO for example we compete against only other local businesses and we get much more relevant traffic.
It is important to consider how often when you search you put in a local area as well as a business type or even the specific product or service: most people do this and so you can actually get better results by using this tactic for your Sussex business’ SEO.
The other important thing to remember with your SEO campaign when considering different options is that you can do it on a small scale with a few keywords at first and then if it works for you expand it, a lot of the work involved such as creating regular fresh content for your website you can do yourself, perhaps in any downtime. Also importantly for your Sussex business, SEO, unlike most other types of marketing, once done keeps bringing traffic so you keep reaping the benefits without having to spend any more.
TV watching patterns and use of other Media have changed how TV Ads are used, image by Paul Townsend
No one of the following questions should automatically mean you do or don’t go ahead and use TV Advertising but they may give you some idea whether it is right for your business.
Are you selling B2B, B2C or both
If you are selling to B2B then generally TV advertising won’t work, even if people who work in the right positions in businesses do watch TV they may not want to think about work, you may have more luck with start-up services of course and those to the self employed. If you sell B2C this doesn’t of course automatically mean you should use TV advertising as the following questions will show. As for selling to both B2B and B2C you will probably have a different marketing mix for each but a TV ad aimed at one or the other may confuse the message to others.
How large an area do you cover?
You need to be able to cover at least an ITV region really to make TV advertising make sense, or at least a few cities within that area. Having said this more independent stores and businesses used to advertise on TV than do now, if you have something that will attract people from across a region such as a tourist attraction then TV advertising may be worth considering.
Do you have the capacity to sell enough to cover the costs?
TV advertising if done well has the potential to bring in a lot of demand but first make sure you can meet that demand or at least meet enough of the demand to cover the costs of TV advertising and make a profit.
Is your message or are your Brand Values easy to explain in 20-30 seconds?
It may be that people already know who you are and what you do in which case a TV ad can just remind them that you are still about. Otherwise though you need to make sure that you have something that can be effectively explained within the length of the ad or else TV advertising is not for you; Direct Mail, Direct Sales or Online are all options you should look at. At the same time of course Video can still be valuable but perhaps a 5 minute mini documentary on your website or even sent out by mail on DVD would be more effective.
Are you selling the same product, service or USP to most of your customers?
TV means showing one ad at a time and you therefore need to make sure that it firstly will get the right message to most of your potential customers and that for those potential customers who would ideally be sent a slightly different message the TV at least does not alienate them. With Direct Mail, some online and various other Marketing you have the opportunity to send different messages to different segments.
Do you have access to people in house or at any agency with the right competencies to create and support the campaign?
Don’t assume that your creative department are up to making a TV Ad there is a lot of skill required and as episodes of the apprentice shows it is much harder than it looks. Unless you have experienced people in house you will need to use an agency, this gets expensive and may make little sense for a short term ad or ad only to show on niche digital channels.
Could you distribute a video ad another way, e.g. online?
Having a video ad doesn’t mean it has to be put on TV, if it is put on TV then it may only need to be shown briefly if it is good enough to go viral. Of course if you are advertising an end of January sale with 20 seconds of products and prices then you aren’t going to be able to do this online and certainly not within the amount of time you have.
Is your awareness level currently high or low and going up or down?
If you have low awareness then TV can give it a big boost, gaining awareness of your brand values and exactly why a customer should use you is more difficult through TV and so you are perhaps best to use online marketing if you have good awareness of your brand but poor awareness of what you do and stand for. Also if you currently aren’t using TV and your awareness is already going up then TV may add little extra; if your awareness is on the way down then TV may help but you still need to find a way to continue communicating with customers and those who might become customers: TV is an expensive and usually fairly ineffective way to do this especially once you have contact information for your customers.
Can you integrate a TV ad into other communications and lead to interaction with customers?
With online marketing it is often easy to get a customer communicating and interacting with you often through social media or your own website and this includes from video ads. TV ads can do the same thing but with a more passive audience you often need more incentive for them to do this and do it straight away before they forget what they were going to do and why.
Do most of your target market watch TV? Do more of your target market use the net or use the net for longer each day?
TV is a great medium for reaching people who spend a lot of time watching TV, this seems obvious but some brands seem to use TV to reach audiences who spend far more time online and are far more likely to interact with brands they see online: teenagers are the obvious ones but also people who use the internet in their jobs; pensioners and housewife’s on the other hand may be best communicated with through TV.
Will TV advertising boost distribution?
Many Supermarkets and stores still expect products, especially new products, to use TV advertising and won’t list your products without it; you may therefore get more than just awareness through TV advertising.
Does as seen on TV mean anything to your customers?
Do you need to add credibility to your brand?
New brands and brands that have had bad press may need to add credibility. Online businesses, with little offline presence especially, struggle to build up trust or brand values that would normally be associated with established offline businesses. TV does add credibility in the eyes of some consumers and for some ‘As seen on TV’ does mean something, this is likely to be the case most of all with less price sensitive customers and B2C customers though.
Is there a digital TV channel or a few channels that targets your specific audience?
Leger holidays sponsor programming on the History channel for their Battlefield tour offering: TV advertising though mainly used for FMCGs and products and services with mass appeal can actually target groups very well if there is a channel that fits or even a program that you can sponsor, for example Ancestry websites sponsoring genealogy programs. With digital channels and program sponsorship you may be able to get great deals for programs that have low viewing figures but which are 90% the right people you are targeting.
Time to look back, photo by Temari,
2011 like every year for the last decade has seen Marketing change as media and the way people have used media has changed. It is important still to not lose track or forget about those things that have stayed the same and some elements are always going to be the same whatever the platform.
What has changed:
On the Way up
Price Comparison Sites
Yes they have been around for some time but they can now be accessed from anywhere, as smartphone ownership has sky rocketed so has price checking in store, with apps such as redlaser that will let you scan a barcode and check prices online. Stores are no longer protected from the effect Price Comparison sites have had on e-commerce stores. There are also far more niche Price Comparison sites now for everything from Utilities to holidays to Fuel at local Petrol Stations
Social Media - specifically its use for delivering Customer Service
Social Media was previously all about awareness if anything, though many Companies seemed unsure about exactly what they were doing with it. Now though be it Facebook, Twitter or another platform Social Media is very much about Customer Service, people use it as a replacement to e-mails and answers to queries become public so benefit everyone. It is also important for businesses and brands to keep an eye out for mentions in Social Media so they can deal with problems that come to light not through a complaint but thorugh customers getting together and discussing.
The power of public opinion
Social Media asd mentioned above allows people to come together and discuss, as menntioned companies can deal with a problem if they bevcome aware of it in time but sometimes it is too late and often the press pick up on a story before the brand does. Littlewoods customers compalined about the ad that stole Christmas on Social MEdia and News of the World was shut down by public opinion that gained impetus thorugh communications on Twitter, Facebook and other places which led to dozens of e-petitions and a strong voice that News Corporation eventually heard as did politicians.
Consumer Confidence
Consumer Confidence has remained low in 2011 but people are more confident about 2012, many in the UK expect the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations to be enough to boost the economy and get things restarted again, in reality it is the confidence of consumers itself that may do this.
Wikitude, an example of how augmented reality can provide extra information wherever you are, photo by Mr3641
Augmented Reality
From virtual supermarket shelves in Seoul’s subway system to mobile apps that see what you are aiming your camera at and provide more information augmented reality can when used well boost sales. Still in early days expect in 2012 to see more apps that in store will not only give you prices for products online but a host of extra information and reviews.
Product Placement
Well it was only in this last year that it became legal to place products in TV shows in the UK so it is no surprise this is on the up, it has been a little slow to take off and it has at times been a little too noticeable taking away much of the value.
Geo-targeted Marketing
Knowing where someone is allows advertising to be much more relevant, especially when they are looking for something in-particular, but also for sending other offers; Groupon does this of course but the actual implementation hasn’t been ideal. A lot of geo-targeted advertising is likely to go out by e-mail which could in turn give e-mail marketing, which is flagging, a boost by making it more relavant, a quality it currently lacks.
On the Way Down
My Space
Its been on the way down for some time but Myspace has lost further ground to Facebook, other services including Goggle Plus have failed to gain ground againist Facebook as well though. Still however Facebook hasn’t been without its critics, primarily regarding its ethics and privacy policies.
Spam: Both E-mails and website content
With Social Media you can send relavant information to a warm market, with e-mail marketing increasingly people now used to Social Media Marketing expect very relavant e-mails, this means even if you have subcribed to a mailing list you might see an e-mail as spam if it doesn’t have any value to you. Online as well people now expect good quality content, if you don’t deliver it someoneelse will. Google have made a number of updates as well meaning that good quality content and not just keyword-rich content is the order of the day, or rather year.
Groupon
That didn’t last long, Groupon’s implementation has been poor even if the idea was good; the range of offers has been limited and therefore repetitive. There have also been far too many reports online and offline of poor customer service from Groupon and offers that weren’t honored once purchased. Groupon could perhaps be saved in 2012 but it seems unlikely as others are beginning to do the same but better.
Silos useful on a farm not in Marketing, photo by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Silo based Marketing
Silo based MNarketing has never worked well but with a Digital Marketing department and Digital Marketing agency and then a separate Advertising Department and Ad agency some companies have really got their messages in a twist and Silo based marketing is being abandonded by many who are opting to at least integrate Digital and Ad departments.
Organic products and Green Credentials
Organic food especially has taken a step back this year, it is less important to people now than in the past it seems and sales volumes have dropped. Of course you need to make sure that this is the case for your target market but many people are having to make cutbacks and paying a premium for Organic has been one of the first things to go. Items seen as having green credntials in general though and even Fairtrade may be less popular as well, even if a premium isn’t charged as people will assume they are buying a premium product: make sure you get the value proposition right for your customer.
What has stayed the same:
Ryanair confused customers with Green message, photo by Montgomery via Wikimedia Commons
Understand your customer and ensure all elements of your customer value proposition fit
Ryanair were perhaps the biggest culprit of not doing this in 2011. Ryanair decided to work on its Green Credentials. Even if this doesn’t put prices up the perception for highly price sensitive customers is that it might: the result is that the first website they go to to check prices on is Easyjet’s not Ryanair’s. Never add costs that don’t add value to your customers; unless a company are moving thier whole brand to a new position with a completely new customer value proposition to fit, these kind of tweaks will do nothing except confuse existing loyal customers.
Customer service is important even if not face to face, photo courtesy of Proatheleinc
No one just sells a good, there is always an element of Service that can’t be missed
Somehow companies, especially B2C companies,think that just because they are selling goods customer service doesn’t matter, the worst are e-commerce stores. Granted for some low cost sellers it is all about cost, though a contact number can significantly reduce risk still, but for most others including the websites of well known high street stores there is no excuse and a lack of customer service will simply stop would be customers.
Getting TV Advertising wrong can be a PR disaster
The biggest advertising Mishap in 2011 was probably the Littlewoods Christmas ad, while John Lewis won Plaudits with an ad that many thought was spot on, Littlewoods became hated by Parents and quite possibly by those who weren’t parents as well. Parents felt that the Ad basically made it clear that to their children that Father Christmas didn’t exist. Those who aren’t parents may have just found the ad a little too sickly to stomach; then there were the general complaints that the Littlewoods ad portrays Christmas as being purely about gaining material goods and that it aims to make parents feel guilty about not being able to provide their Children with the presents they want in order to push them towards the credit Littlewoods offer. The result was that an ad that should have had a slightly wider appeal in the first place but which was hated by the exact people it was aimed at too.
A rare sight, a Chevrolet Volt, photo by Mariordo via Wikimedia Commons
New Product Development (NPD) should be Marketing Led
We have seen a few products in 2011 made and launched because they could be launched and not because there was any demand. These products inlcude the HTC Status, main selling point: a button just for updating Facebook statuses, also the Playbook from Research In Motion: a tablet with no USPs whatsoever; both products that didn’t meet any kind of consumer demand. Meanwhile over in America General Motors released the Volt electric car, a car made because it could be made and which is almost unusable due to the lack of sufficent charging points, sales are still reportadely in the hundreds.
Rebranding a town: Hailsham, Sussex
Apparently Hailsham, Sussex wants to become a Medieval Market Town; the Tesco Supermarket that dominates the town centre may be an issue but Hailsham is an old market town at least and it did get its Market Charter in Medieval Times, 1252 in fact. The livestock market is also still there though business has dropped off yet a farmer’s market has been doing well.
What is true about Hailsham is that it needs to rebrand, Hailsham is a deprived area and has an awful reputation locally and little or no reputation outside of Sussex. A lot of this reputation is unfair, crime is relatively low and the town isn’t as run down as you might think, in fact it is just a few buildings and empty shops that spoil the main shopping street.
Presumably the hope is that marketing Hailsham as a medieval market town would bring in tourists and bring in shops and restaurants to fill empty units. Nearby Eastbourne of course has a lot of tourists and Hailsham would only need to draw a few of them to the town on day trips to boost the economy.
The market in Hailsham is one of the things it has going for it, indeed it is the only Livestock market that operates in Sussex and so gives Hailsham a niche if it is actually possible to draw crowds in with this? The accompanying Farmer’s market is of more interest with local produce on sale but is itself less unique.
The other problem is that Hailsham doesn’t feel very Medieval, it would take a significant refurbishment and clearing away of modern shop fronts and signage to give Hailsham the feel it would need. From a branding point of view to pull off ‘Medieval Market Town’ everything needs to fit in: that would mean a traditional look and feel, more up market cafes and restuarants and not just on the main shopping street.
It is perhaps conceivable that the main street could be overhauled to bring about the right effect but the rest of the town has little charm and you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. A Medieval market town may appear to be ‘working with what you’ve go’ for Hailsham but the offering as a whole wouldn’t fit into a viable value chain. Other small towns nearby like Pevensey, Battle, Lewes, Tenterden and Rye would be direct competition for the same visitors Hailsham would be looking to attract and Hailsham just doesn’t have the look and feel to compete.
What Hailsham do have are industrial estates and reasonable transport links by road, though not rail which is perhaps more of an issue for tourism. It may not be glamorous but it makes a lot more sense for Hailsham to brand itself as a place for light industry and even start up industrial business. As an aid to this it should look at government schemes to help businesses get investment and should encourage easy in terms on empty units. As with any brand you need a niche and a USP and for Hailsham there are less industrial towns in rural Sussex than there are traditional Saxon or Medieval towns.
I don’t live in Hailsham though have been there many times, I would love to hear the opinions of any Hailsham residents or businesses though who I accept may well disagree with what I have said.
I mentioned the other day on Twitter how I had found that prices at a Boot Fair in Chichester are noticeably higher than one I often go to near Eastbourme. I am a keen collector of old Vinyl and old books so I know how much things tend to go for. Often people charge a certain amount for any record or any book, this varies a little from stall to stall but I found that the average price was a lot higher in Chichester than near Eastbourne. As an example records that would often be sold for 25p or 50p in Eastbourne were going for £1 or more in Chichester.
This is very interesting from a Pricing strategist’s point of view, it says a lot about price perceptions and price conditioning. There is a lot of money in Chichester and it is one of the few towns or cities without empty shops. Eastbourne isn’t poor but it has a wider range of socio economic groups and the boot fair is actually out towards Hailsham: that has almost as many empty shops as full ones and is known for being a deprived area.
Do the people selling though at each boot fair get their pricing from knowledge of how much the customers will bear or perhaps their own perception of a fair price? Perhaps also the price sensitivity of sellers is coming in here; Chichester residents may be less fussed about selling their items at a low cost, they may have less opportunity cost as they need the money less so would rather not sell than sell for less than they feel the items are worth.
Most sellers will have been boot fair customers in the past as well so will have been influenced by what they have paid in the past. Price perception then in each town has probably built up over years and from the experience of many buyers and sellers knowledge of what they can charge. Another interesting thing is that in Chichester people are much less willing to haggle, again this suggests that sellers have less opportunity cost through not selling.
What does this mean for other businesses’ pricing strategy then? Remember that people’s price perception may have built up over time and be based on their income as well. Pricing sensitivity and perception of what is a fair price may be local and people may even accept that they will pay more in other places: for example you wouldn’t be surprised to pay significantly more for a pint in London or Oxford than you will in Doncaster or Plymouth. Location then may be a good basis for Price Discrimination.
Self promotion: a one day hands-on, on-site course or attend a half day seminar ,
Taught by Dave Cousin this course will show your entire organization how everyone can get involved in promoting your business cheaply and effectively on a daily basis.
Dave can either spend a day with you at your company giving you specific advice to suit your business or we will be holding a seminar in the near future where Dave will aim to give you the information you need to go back to your organisation and roll out a culture of everyday promotion by all.
Contactless payment: is there a demand for it? Is there a point to it?
Many countries, including Taiwan, have a much better uptake of contactless payment than in the UK, Public Domain
Contactless payments are being pioneered in the UK by Orange and Barclaycard where you can wave either your card or your phone with a special sticker on it over a compatible payment terminal and for payments or up to £10 you won’t even need to enter a pin number. Is this attractive though to customers, or for that matter to store owners who may need to invest in new payment machines?
From a marketing point of view the question is can contact-less payment boost sales, either directly or by improving the in-store experience? First though we need to understand do customers want it? And from what I have seen so far: not really. Yes there are a few early adopters who will use it but this is likely to be the same kind of people who were early adopters of mini-discs or laser-discs and will go for anything as long as it is the latest technology.Personally if I want to save time I’ll start by not wasting it working out how to set up my Barclaycard so I can use Contactless Payments.
For most people though practical considerations are what is important including costs; for contactless payment the cost is the risk you take by having something that can be stolen from you and used to make a purchase with your money, and it isn’t just potential monetary loss but the risk of being mugged for your contctless card or phone with contactless payment sticker on: whether this is a real or imagined fear isn’t important as it certainly seems to exist: the question is will it pass?
Then there is how much of a benefit there really is to counteract this risk: contactless payment is being marketed as a replacement for your wallet or a replacement for cash. It isn’t any more a replacement for cash than your bank card though and like your bank card, which can’t replace cash because plenty of places don’t accept cards, the same will be true for contactless payment: unless we start considering phone to phone wireless payments, which are something a little different, but even then charges may be a sticking point.
Right now though all you can get rid of is your bank cards if you swap them for a sticker on your phone, or rather just your Barclaycard, meaning any business and personal debit cards you have will still keep your wallet bulging without much obvious thinning.
So what if you could have contactless payment for all of your cards, if you used the cards themselves you would still have to get the right one out of your wallet and you can only have one sticker on your phone. There’s a lot more in my own wallet besides credit and debit cards anyway: as well as cash I have Driving License, Gym Card, Oyster Card, Donor Card, Library Card, Cinema Card, National Trust Card, NI Card, Tesco Clubcard a supply of Business Cards and of course my Caravan Club Membership Card: until these can be transformed into one card or sticker my pocket will remain bulging.
For certain stores, mainly those selling food and drink to go, it may make sense for contact-less payment to get people in and out more quickly, but then I had a Starbucks Card before and still never used it though all that needed was a swipe, in fact its still probably somewhere in the depths of my wallet now.