Real Business #10 - Arena Pursuits

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

For a family that has farmed in the Flimwell area since the 1700s it must have been quite a radical step to diversify away from the traditional ways to open some of the land up for such modern corporate pursuits as paint-balling. But that is what happened over 20 years ago when Peter Reeves, the eldest son, persuaded his father to allow him to set up and run Arena Pursuits Limited on the family plot.

What started out originally as a sideline offering paint-balling sessions to mainly corporate customers at weekends has become a fully-fledged centre for all manner of outdoor pursuits.

The list of activities available is extensive, ranging from riding quad bikes round the 8 miles of tracks to clay pigeon shooting, archery, raft building, paint-balling and many more besides. Irrespective of the activity selected, all sessions have to be pre-booked because most of the activities have to be supervised by qualified instructors and trainers.

His customers are mainly companies, some coming from considerable distances. Typically, the sessions are used to instill team spirit. Others come for a fun-day out or to reward or incentivise staff. Some people come to learn to drive 4X4s and children of 11 years and over can be taught to drive a motor car before they qualify for a licence to take a vehicle on the public roads.

Business is not good at present. After a bumper year in 2007 and a reasonable one in 2008, attendances fell away sharply, as a result of which 2009 and 2010 were poor financially and 2011 “already promises to be hard work”.

Peter Reeves is currently putting a great deal of effort into marketing Arena Pursuits. He has invested extensively in the website and into expensive promotional material. He networks furiously to put the word around about Arena, sometimes attending six or seven events each week. He is also about to embark on an e-marketing campaign aimed at existing and potential customers.
According to Mr Reeves “We are having a tough time because what we offer here amounts to discretionary spending for our customers. I would argue that good staff are hard to come by and should be rewarded, but the counter argument is that it is hard to justify corporate entertaining when people are being asked to take pay cuts.

"I would also argue that, unlike golf which doesn’t welcome ‘hackers’, Arena offers activities to suit everyone, regardless of age, fitness and ability.

“We are talking to existing clients all the time, but one bank we used to deal with has not held a client event for over two years”.

In addition to stepping up the marketing effort Mr Reeves is grappling with new ideas that may entice back the customers. He has considered and rejected the idea of holding Boot Fairs, Blossom Walks and Tree Walks, but is keen to cash in on the demand for survival courses, boot camps and ‘bush craft’.

The Marketing Eye says:

Some might say that Peter is simply in the wrong market at the wrong time. This does not necessarily have to be the case.

There are two strategies in circumstances like these: win more than your fair share of the business that is out there or diversify into new markets.

Diversification tends to carry investment risk, which means that improving market share is often seen as the less dicey option. To win market share, targeted awareness and a superior benefit are needed.

For corporates, the superior benefit that Arena is in a position to offer could be in the training and qualification of the instructors. This being the case, the marketing should constantly reinforce the benefit to create differentiation.

The planned email campaign needs to incorporate a strong call to action and focus on an offer that the prospect can take advantage of immediately. Thought needs to be given to the type of offer that will attract qualified prospects to visit the site and make a purchase. Once there, any hurdles that potential customers have to jump over to book should be eliminated.

For the families and stag/hen market, a Facebook presence, backed by Facebook advertising, should be considered. The demographic targeting options in Facebook are excellent and the ability for people to share and ‘like’ content means it is now an integral part of many businesses’ marketing strategies.

The website remains the place where people will make their enquiry decisions and improvements should be ongoing. Google Analytics will allow Peter to monitor exactly how traffic is moving through the site and, as importantly, where it is leaving. This will give him valuable insight to enhance the site and drive more enquiries.

Real Business #9 - Photoshoot Studio Hire

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

Builder Paul Meyer reached a professional crossroads last summer. Should he carry on working as a builder specialising in refurbishment work – an occupation that had provided him with a good living since leaving school – or should he follow his heart and try to turn his hobby, photography, into his livelihood? After a lot of soul-searching, he chose the latter.

He invested in a serious, new-generation digital camera towards the end of 2009 in order to pursue his passion, but it was only when he wanted to take a professional-standard still shot of his saxophone that he realised he needed the facilities of a professional studio to achieve the desired result. He looked around locally and found that there was nothing suitable in the area.

When he was hired in the Spring of 2010 to refurbish some “tired” premises in Southborough the thought occurred to him that the building on which he was working, suitably restored and adapted, would make a perfect photographic studio.

Mindful that it would be folly to turn his back on an occupation that had served him well for many years, he decided to conduct some local research before he took a leap based on what was mere whim. Amongst others, he spoke to schools which run photographic courses, amateur photographer clubs, design and marketing agencies and camera shops. The conversations confirmed that, without question, there was a definite local demand for a fully-equipped photographic studio that could be hired on an hourly basis (most professional studios will only hire for much longer minimum periods).

As a result of his efforts, the building has been totally transformed. The main studio provides backdrops, professional lighting, reflectors – even a facility known as an “infinity corner”. Everything is geared to digital photography, including printers and an iMac computer for viewing images. Customers can hire the studio, complete with basic equipment, for £25 an hour. More specialised equipment, additional lighting, computer, tripods etc., are all available for hire for a small extra charge

Paul Meyer’s Photoshoot Studio Hire facility was officially opened by the Mayor of Southborough on 20th October, 2010. Having put in all the investment in terms of time, money and sheer graft, he acknowledges that his major task now is to increase the flow of customers.

In an effort to drum up business, he has been contacting schools and colleges, offering discounts to students – West Kent College has been particularly supportive. He has also placed “flyers” in camera shops and experimented with rudimentary advertising in Yell and Index Magazine.

His biggest customer source has proved to be the social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. He is currently developing a website as a matter of urgency.

The major challenge, as he sees it, is to get the concept out into the market place and to reach people, including professional photographers, who do not have the means to create a studio of their own.

Summary of challenges:
1. Inform potential customers of the existence of Photoshoot
2. Establish a brand name (there may be scope to franchise the idea)
3. Establish a concept that is unique in the local market place
4. Alert amateur and professional photographers to the creative possibilities of using a fully-equipped, modern studio.


The Marketing Eye says:

How encouraging it is to see a new business undertake research before launching. Many businesses fail because the founders let their passion cloud their judgement of market demand.

Paul's research showed him there are lots of photographers and not may studios, so he revised his business plan. This shows the importance of thinking laterally about where the business opportunity is in your passion.

Having invested heavily in the conclusions of the research, Paul must now align his marketing with where the research tells him the demand is. General advertising in Yell and Index is fine, but he really needs to be undertaking direct marketing to the creative agencies and photographers in the area. This means more than letter and flyers: Paul needs to pick up the telephone and go out to see them. He should also network: Meejahub is a networking group dedicated to the creative industry in Tunbridge Wells.

Paul might also think about holding small events at the studios. A talk followed by a demonstration of the facilities would be popular with potential customers.

The first step in building the brand is to make sure that the quality of flyers and other marketing materials matches the quality of the facilities on offer. Potential customers will form a very quick opinion of Photoshoot based on what they first see.

The same philosophy must apply to the website. The site will need good design, clear navigation and, potentially, an online booking system. Paul should also look to integrate his Facebook and Twitter activity into the site to keep it fresh and up to date.

Finally, if Paul is going to change the brand name, he needs to act promptly and decisively so as not to waste time and money. Not only will he have to spend money on updating marketing materials, he will also have to re-educate his market.

What would your advice be?

Real Business #8 - Achieve More

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

Ruth Malone's recreational activities have always revolved around health and fitness, particularly when indulging her passion for climbing. Like many before her, she decided to turn her hobby into a means of earning a living and so started down the road of establishing herself as a mobile personal trainer.

A few months passed before she was introduced by friends to Howard Spary who had been made redundant from his training and development job with Axa PPP in Tunbridge Wells. They found they had a lot in common and shared similar views and aspirations. A 50:50 partnership was born.

Six months ago they moved the business to a location in Vale Road, Tunbridge Wells, taking two floors above a café - the middle floor devoted to personal training clients, and the upper floor to treating injured athletes by using chiropractic, massage and other rehabilitation techniques.

The defining moment came a few months later when, out of the blue, the new business partners were offered the opportunity to acquire the café itself. Given that nutrition and diet play a major role in overall fitness, it was agreed that, although moving into catering had not been part of the original vision, offering healthy food to customers was a logical extension of the physical activities.

Today the company is a truly “one-stop health shop” with three distinct elements: personal training, treatments and the café. All three are profitable.

New clients often become so by walking into the café in the first place simply to buy food. Others tend to come through referral by existing clients, word of mouth, or through social networking sites such as Twitter.

Forays into advertising have not been a success, but investment in a good website has paid off. There are currently 25-30 “active” clients and the company is on the verge of signing its 100th customer since opening its doors for business 18 months ago.

The business challenge is to achieve optimum capacity for all three strands of the business. If the model works, more branches may be opened.

The main marketing challenge is to bring the three main elements under the umbrella of one brand and make the brand more visible.

The Marketing Eye says:

This is a really good example of brand extension – expanding your offer, but keeping it closely enough aligned to the original business mission that it adds value and doesn’t become a full diversification.

Many people wouldn’t have seen the link between a café and a fitness business, but it looks to be a stroke of genius. The café is a great way of pulling people in off the street and creating the opportunity to sell the fitness offering.

There is little reference to the café on the Achieve More website; instead Ruth and Howard have elected to create two separate websites. They shouldn’t shy from bringing the two together, because it is the combination that makes the brand unique and provides the platform for expansion to other locations in the future.

The business needs visibility and the alternative to advertising is PR. There is a good story behind the brand and the press will be keen to follow it. Press releases and articles should be distributed to the local media on a regular basis. Advertising, if it is contemplated, is a long term strategy that requires a commitment of anything up to two years.

Achieve More already has a good presence online through effective use of Facebook and Twitter. Businesses are too often dismissive of social media because they don’t understand it, but Achieve More does and is 'achieving more’ as a result.

Ruth and Howard are on the right path. They need to maintain what they are doing - perhaps adjusting the volume of their marketing every now and again, but never allowing themselves to turn it off completely.

www.achievemore.me.uk

www.theachievemorecafe.co.uk

Real Business #7 - Bishop's Services

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

Bishop's Services Limited is the archetypal family business.

Like countless other men at the time, founder Ronald Bishop returned to civilian life at the end of the Second World War to find no job waiting for him so, in order to feed his growing family, he turned his hand to cleaning windows. What started out as a temporary expedient turned into a whole way of life. Without necessarily intending to, Ronald Bishop had taken the first tentative steps towards starting the business which today boasts an annual turnover of over £1 million.

Now 85 years old, Ronald Bishop has long been retired, having handed over the running of the business to his identical twin sons, John and Mark, who joined the family enterprise straight from school in 1970. In the intervening years, the business has evolved away from window cleaning into areas that are a logical extension of the company’s original activities. For example, nowadays office cleaning represents the backbone of the company’s workload which is focused very much on the business-to-business sector. Window cleaning work is still undertaken, but is now sub contracted to reliable people outside of the firm, while other services provided include carpet and upholstery cleaning, and wooden floor laying, fitting and renovation.

As part of a “one-stop” approach, the company will also undertake to deliver related supplies such as paper towels, toilet rolls and soap.

Still based in Crowborough, Bishops operates within a radius of around 30 miles with the bulk of the work coming from the Tunbridge Wells, Uckfield and East Grinstead areas. It has 8 full time employees and 85 part-time staff, but, typical of the “hands on” ethos of the company and its founder, both twins will occasionally put aside the fact that they are directors and roll up their sleeves to ensure that overnight cleaning contracts are fulfilled on time and to the correct standard.

Most of Bishops’ new work comes by word of mouth recommendation. John Bishop, the twin who tends to take care of office cleaning, contracts, strategy and finance, said: “We are reliable, trusted and organised. I’ve been told that in the B2B world you are doing well if you keep a client for 10 years. We have clients who have been with us for over 20 years, so we reckon that we must be doing something right”.

Bishops may have its traditional values, but it is not old-fashioned. It has set up three separate websites for its contract cleaning, carpets and flooring businesses and has worked hard on search engine optimisation to ensure that the Bishops name appears at the top of the Google list in the local area.

The challenge facing Bishops is how to develop and grow the business from now onwards. Securing office cleaning work is highly competitive – Bishops often finds itself part of a three-way pitch to gain a single contract. Efforts to promote the company and market its services through traditional methods, such as advertising in the local media and sending out flyers, have been used in parallel with more modern forms of marketing, such as email marketing and the internet, and are ongoing. In the meantime, the traditional word-of-mouth route remains effective but slow.

The brothers are anxious to improve on the cross-selling activities and readily admit that perhaps they have not yet made the best use of their client base and that client relationship management techniques could be improved.

By far the most dramatic growth could come by way of acquisition. John Bishop alluded to the possibility and said: “Having bought a few businesses in the past, we are eager to add to the Bishops’ portfolio, but we don’t want to spread out too far because we need good supervisors to cover the areas”.

However, until such opportunities come along, it is clear that the brothers will not be content to stand still and will continue to pursue growth by organic methods.

The Marketing Eye says:

How reassuring it is to hear of a family business that has prospered by sticking to its core values!

The business’ strongest asset is its carefully cultivated customer base and there is every reason to use this as the principle source of organic growth. The Bishops should not shy from asking existing customers for referrals. Nobody will mind being asked if they are happy with the service. They could even consider rewarding clients who make an introduction with free cleaning for a period.

Further cross-selling could be achieved by offering carpet-cleaning or flooring services to the staff of clients of the cleaning business. Simply raising awareness could be enough although a ‘special offer’ may help too.

Online, there is little linkage between the 3 websites and this won’t be supporting cross selling. The websites are also very text heavy. While this will be helping with search engine performance, it isn’t making the sites attractive or easy to scan for new visitors. Some new investment in website design would be justified. Bishops should also make sure that it is listed in Google Places so that it is shown in the map at the top of the search engine page.

In a competitive market, it is important to consider ways of moving the decision beyond price. Trust is a big issue for anybody who is going to hand over the keys to their office. New prospects should be encouraged to contact existing clients by adding the telephone numbers to testimonials. A professionally produced brochure will create a good impression and help persuade any unseen decision makers.

What advice would you give?

Real Business #6 - Tester & Jones

While many companies have had a difficult time recently, Crowborough-based Tester and Jones is a business which has been truly recession-proof - funeral services.

Both Stephen Tester and Glenys Jones had a number of years of experience in the funeral business before launching Tester & Jones in January 2005. Stephen admits that the first year, as with any new business, was hard.

“There were times during the first year when we wondered if we’d made the right decision, but we stuck at it and after about 12 months, our hard work paid off. We started to see the business growing,” says Stephen.

“Like any business, networking is important,” he explains. “We went along to meetings of the Crowborough Business Partnership and made sure that local professionals and places like care homes knew we were there.”

Adds Glenys: “We also took part in community events – such as the Crowborough Hospital Fete – as well as fundraising for charities such as Cancer Research UK and Hospice in the Weald.”

Over the five years, the number of funerals Tester & Jones has conducted has increased four-fold and its reputation is spreading outside of Crowborough – with services being conducted in places including Mayfield, Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells and as far afield as London, Margate and Chichester.

Customer service has played its part in the company’s steady growth.

“We have developed strong bonds with the families who we have helped through difficult times and we are passionate about looking after people,” says Stephen.

Around 18 months after establishing the business, the team launched a bereavement support group and this has been really well received. The group meets once a month and goes on trips and organises other socials.

“Nowadays, the group almost runs itself and they are even talking about arranging a holiday” says Glenys. “It gives people the chance to sit and talk with others in the same situation.”

Moving forward, while networking has done a lot to build business locally, Tester & Jones is looking at ways of continuing to build its presence outside of Crowborough. It has recently ‘refreshed’ its advertising and is now thinking about launching a website which, so far, it has survived without.

“We appreciate that people search for a lot of things online nowadays – including funeral directors,” says Stephen.

The Marketing Eye says:

Choosing a funeral director is often a spontaneous decision made amidst a maelstrom of emotion.

The bereaved don’t spend a lot of time comparing providers and are rarely in the mood to shop around, which means word-of-mouth recommendations and being front of mind when the time comes, are paramount.

The work that Stephen and Glenys have done to raise their profile locally is excellent. They have placed themselves at the heart of the community and shown real innovation with the bereavement support group. The fact that the group is starting to run itself is positive, but Stephen and Glenys need to make sure that their brand remains associated with it. A regular communication, such as a newsletter, will help with this.

Generating awareness further afield is more difficult. Stephen and Glenys need to decide on the areas they want to target if they are going to use their marketing budget effectively.

Searching for a funeral director online is most likely to happen when the responsibility for organising the funeral falls to relatives who are in a different part of the country, or if a particular type of funeral is wanted. A website will provide the ability to explain the various services on offer and reassure potential clients that their requirements will be dealt with professionally and compasionately.

If the business is specialist in certain types of funeral, it could look into search engine optimisation and paid search to maximise visitors to the website. This can be centred on geographic locations and will make sure that the Tester & Jones name comes up when people are looking for funerals of a particular type.

Real Business #5 - ITM Soil

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

The ITM-Soil Group specialises in the manufacture and installation of instrumentation to monitor ground and structural movement that occurs during major civil engineering projects worldwide.

The company manufactures a large range of instruments for monitoring earth, rock and concrete structures, including dams, tunnels, embankments, retaining walls, piles and steel work.

Since 2002, the Group has launched in Australia and it also has a presence in China and Germany.

The recession has bought significant challenges, but the group is confident that it can achieve its ambitious growth targets.

“The marketplace has become increasingly competitive,” says Jeremy Scott, General Manager. “There are fewer projects to go round and we now have to compete with suppliers offering cheaper products, particularly from India and the Far East.”

He continues: “We need to continue positioning ourselves as offering quality products and services – as we simply can’t compete on price alone. It’s a case of reminding customers that they need a really robust and reliable product – as it might have to work under the ground for many years – and for that peace of mind, you may need to pay a little more.”

In the future, the Group is looking to continue growing its presence in Australia – particularly focusing on the mining industry. In the meantime, countries in which ITM-Soil is particularly busy include Morocco, Spain, Brazil, Singapore and Germany.

The company is currently on the verge of launching a new wireless sensor system.

“Up until now, the majority of our products have been cabled – so to offer customers a wireless solution for our specialised sensors will be a major step forward,” says Jeremy.

For more information, visit: www.itm-soil.com

The Marketing Eye says:

As the number of infrastructure projects in the UK falls and competition from abroad increases, ITM needs an international marketing strategy to support its expansion.

Marketing needs to be localised to the different target markets. This goes beyond simple translation of materials and should extend to cultural and regulatory differences as well: even colour choices can have different connotations in different regions. Mistakes can be damaging to the brand, so it is important to avoid them.

Localisation could start by translating the website into several languages. This will make the site more accessible to local decision makers and will improve its performance in search engines. Localised domain names could also be bought.

The choice of marketing method needs to be made with each market in mind.

European markets are mature and media consumption remains high. Impactful design is important to achieve cut through and give the brand its desired quality positioning.

Brazil on the other hand is young and social. Mobile and broadband penetration is very high making online marketing effective.

In Asia, getting a contract relies on connections and face-to-face contact. The good news is that half of the population is below the age of 30 and very open to new ideas.

Building the brand on quality rather than price will be achieved through the superiority of service, the ability to innovate and the effectiveness of the marketing. The introduction of the wireless sensors is an important step and needs a launch strategy in its own right, not just to ensure its success as a revenue generator, but also as a contributor to the brand.

Real Business #4 - Durlings

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

Launching a business focusing on commercial property as the UK toppled into recession might seem like a rash decision but, 18 months on, Durlings sale boards are a familiar sight around West Kent and East Sussex.

Rupert Farrant launched Durlings in May 2008 after a career in property. He wanted to focus on commercial property and he wanted to run his own business.

“While the market was slow when we set up, low prices did mean that there were people out there buying commercial property for that reason – possibly for the first time, he said.

“We offer a one-stop-shop – dealing with everything from rent reviews to managing refurbishments and surveys, as well as both selling and letting commercial property.”

Today, around 75% of Durlings’ work comes from Tunbridge Wells, although the team has worked on projects as far afield as Portsmouth and Arundel.

“Tunbridge Wells is a great place to be located, with a strong base of professionals from which to gain referrals, ” said Mr Farrant. “It is also ideally based for London and offers an interesting mix of industrial, retail and leisure properties.”

When the firm started out, Rupert ran the business from a shop on Mount Pleasant, near the station. However, it is now based in offices in Church Road.

“It was great to have some initial exposure for the firm,” said Mr Farrant. “However, we realised that we didn’t get people just calling in, so we moved to Church Road, which has the added bonus of parking.”

Today, Durlings estimates that around 75 to 80% of its enquiries come via the Internet.

“We have kept our website simple and easy to navigate, while we also make sure we have listings on all the major commercial property sites, ” said Mr Farrant. “We also run an email alert – which means that properties are sent round to all our clients as soon as they are available . Our boards are also still an essential way of marketing .”

Mr Farrant said that the current movement in the commercial property market is due to a number of factors – leases coming to an end; people setting up a new business; or established business owners maybe taking the opportunity of current lower prices to buy property. What is currently missing from the market are investors – buying or selling – and developers.

Mr Farrant has plans to expand the business in the future – but wants to continue focusing on Tunbridge Wells.

“Bhav has been working and training with us and it’s worked really well – so I’d like to bring more graduate trainees into the business,” he said. “However, finding good graduates is a challenge – as less younger people have been attracted to the business during the recession.”

For more information, visit: http://www.durlings.co.uk/

Challenges facing Durlings:

* Encouraging investors and developers back into the marketplace.
* Growing the business as the UK pulls itself out of recession.
* Making full use of the Internet as a means of advertising properties.
* Finding good graduate trainees to build their career with Durlings.


The Marketing Eye says:

While the absence of walk-in trade wasn't sufficient to justify a High Street presence, it would have been contributing to the general awareness of the brand, so other tactics are now needed to keep the profile high.

The base of professionals in Tunbridge Wells is a rich vein of business opportunity and networking should be high on Rupert's agenda. Given the broad array of reasons why businesses move, the nature of networking should be very wide - from BNI where he will meet smaller businesses, to the Chamber of Commerce and Royal Tunbridge Wells Lunch Club where larger businesses and professionals can be met.

The property boards are an important form of marketing too. The simple and clean identity that Rupert has chosen is easily memorable and will be making the boards stand out.

The fact that so many enquiries come from the internet is a reflection of how the market now operates. Rupert is doing all of the right things to keep the visibility of his website high.

A highly visible and attractive website is appealing, not only to purchasers, but to vendors and landlords, which will ensure a continuous supply of stock - the lifeblood of any agency. The website is easily found in the search engines, which means it should be possible to reduce the reliance on the property portals in future.

Marketing can help with recruitment. Becoming active on Twitter, running a Facebook page and writing a blog are all activities that will make Durlings look attractive to younger prospective employees.

With thanks to freelance journalist, Angela Ward, who is interviewing the businesses featured in these posts.

Real Business #3 - Escape Events

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

Escape Events is the brainchild of West Malling resident, Martin Anslow.

Martin has a background which combines both exhibitions and a love of travel. After gaining experience in the exhibitions industry, Martin took five years out to spend his winters in the mountains – which then funded his summers travelling.

With start-up funds of just £5,000 – saved from his last ski season – Martin launched his first event, The Adventure Travel Show, in 1995. The original show welcomed 2,000 visitors and generated revenue of £20,000. By 2005, it had 30,000 visitors and a turnover of £800,000.

Martin then began to look at other niche areas of travel and launched The Spa Show in 2004.

Martin sold The Adventure Travel Show for a seven-figure sum in 2006 and The Spa Show in 2007.

“Looking back, I sold at the right time. However, while I gained financial security, I didn’t find it as satisfying as running my own company,” says Martin.

At the beginning of last year, the opportunity arose to buy Adventure Travel back and Martin ‘leapt at the chance’.

“Relaunching has been a massive challenge – almost harder than starting from scratch,” he says. “The industry has changed quite a lot over the past four years. Adventure holidays are now quite mainstream – so travellers are looking for something more.”

In terms of the business itself, Martin has noticed that exhibitors and sponsors are demanding more for their money.

“So we are having to be more careful about what we spend our money on – particularly when it comes to marketing. Previously, we’d do a lot of advertising on the tube, for example, but now it’s more focused on the Internet.”

As with any exhibition organiser, Escape Events has to juggle the fact that money does not come in steadily over a 12-month period, but just before an exhibition. One way Martin is dealing with this is to launch more shows. He unveiled The Cruise Show last year and is identifying other niche areas of the travel sector, as well as looking to launch some shows overseas.

For more information, visit: http://www.adventuretravellive.com/ and http://www.cruisingshow.co.uk/

The Marketing Eye says:

Marketing budgets are under pressure everywhere and Marketing Directors need to show an unambiguous and often short term return on the money they spend. Exhibitions are notoriously difficult to measure the success of, which means that Escape Events needs to clearly demonstrate to exhibitors how involvement at the shows can increase sales or improve brand visibility. Exhibitors should be provided with lots of ways to leverage their attendance before and after the event, for example with data capture, pre and post show marketing opportunities and brand visibility beyond the stand itself.

Before committing, exhibitors and sponsors need confidence that the show is going to attract the right footfall in the right quantity. A good marketing strategy provides reassurance that this will happen. The Internet is wonderful, but Escape Events should make sure it is switching to on-line promotion because it is better than off-line activity, not simply because it is cheaper. PR should not be overlooked either. There are good speakers at each event who can be engaged to raise profile in editorial.

Expansion into other shows is a wise move. Escape Events is proving to be an efficient ‘engine’ for the organisation and promotion of events, which could, in theory, be in any market. The brand is in the shows themselves, so there is little risk of diluting the Escape Events brand by expanding into new areas.

With thanks to freelance journalist, Angela Ward, who is interviewing the businesses featured in these posts.

Real Business #2 - Henry Kaye

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

Sevenoaks-based Henry Kaye recently opened a showroom at its headquarters in Dartford Road – so that members of the trade and the public can view the company’s wide range of wedding accessories, which include bridesmaid dresses, wedding shoes and boots, hosiery, gloves, jewellery and wedding umbrellas.

Sharon Gavin bought the business in 2006 from Mr Henry Kaye, who aged 82, wanted to retire. The company was then based in Eastbourne, but Sharon moved it up to Sevenoaks and, for the first year or so, operated it out of her home. Sharon moved the company into its premises at 47 Dartford Road in November 2007.

Henry Kaye had been operating for more than 20 years and one of Sharon’s first moves was to update the range, as well as introducing new, more modern, colours – moving away from pastels to include shades such as plum and coffee. The company already had a website, but Sharon made a priority of building a new one and getting it fully optimised.

While sales have continued to grow, customer behaviour has changed during the current downturn.

“People are still getting married, but they are spending less – perhaps having one less flower girl, or not buying as many extras,” she explained.

Today, company sales are split 50:50 between the trade and consumers.

Sharon said: “We sell nationwide to the trade and are successful because we are affordable and hold everything in stock, while many other companies make dresses to order.”

Sharon has recently expanded into girls’ dresses and dressing-up outfits and has launched a dedicated website for this range called www.girlspartydresses.net. The range is also available in the Sevenoaks showroom.

Sharon is currently looking for ways of building the Henry Kaye brand.

“We are well-known within the trade and our sales are continuing to grow, but we want to be a recognised brand outside of that,” she said. “We exhibited at the National Wedding Show in London this year and our stand was swamped. However, most of the visitors were planning weddings for 2011, so that was a profile-building exercise for us, rather than one which resulted in lots of sales.”

Now that the showroom is open, Sharon wants to build on that and is looking to form partnerships with others involved in the wedding industry in the local area.

The Marketing Eye says:

Before embarking on a brand building exercise, Sharon should define the brand she wants to build.

There are two very distinct markets for Henry Kaye: the trade and the public. The trade wants low prices and ready availability. The public wants a wide range of choice, an attractive and easy to use website and good service.

Now could be the time to think about updating the brand, or even running two brands side by side. The Henry Kaye brand could be retained for the trade, as there is good recognition in this area, and a new identity developed for the public – something aligned to the proposition rather than the name of a previous owner. This will allow appropriate marketing to be delivered to each audience without creating conflict.

While search engine optimisation is one tactic to maximise visitors to the website, it is important to find other ways of building the brand and driving traffic to the business. A Google search for wedding accessories doesn’t bring up Henry Kaye very quickly, so pay-per-click advertising should be investigated to supplement the optimisation activity. Sharon shouldn’t overlook off-line marketing, such as advertising, events and direct mail either.

The fact that the stand was swamped at the National Wedding Show is a good sign that the proposition is right. These visitors are only likely to return if they are re-marketed, so capturing data and building a marketing database to stay in contact with potential customers is vital. Local shows might be more successful than national ones for consumer business in future.

With thanks to freelance journalist, Angela Ward, who is interviewing the businesses featured in these posts.

Real Business #1 - Crazy Bags

Real Business is a series of posts that analyses the marketing opportunities and challenges of real businesses in the South East. The articles are also appearing in The Courier.

Launched in 2000, Crazy Bags is one of the UK’s leading providers of eco, carrier and promotional bags. The company was established in Southampton and moved to Crowborough two years ago. Now a £2 million turnover company, Crazy Bags has recently relocated to stunning offices within Eridge Park near Tunbridge Wells.

“The reusable bag has become embedded in the consumer psyche and brands are now looking for innovative, fashionable and practical bags to help boost their visibility and lengthen the life of their marketing campaigns,” said MD, Andy Steavenson.

The office in Eridge is the company’s head office – but all the warehousing is now based in Nottingham, where thousands of eco-bags are stored ready for printing. This allows Crazy Bags to meet the very tight deadlines of the promotional industry. Orders can be filled within seven to ten days, rather than the industry norm of eight to ten weeks.

Crazy Bags has worked with myriad customers over the years – including: Shell, Coca-Cola, BP, Sony, Sunseeker, Glastonbury Festival and Rolls-Royce: it has recently also signed deals with fashion store Boden and hair stylists Toni & Guy.

The company is one of the UK’s only providers of Fair Trade accredited bags and it is also a member of The Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex) – a membership organisation for businesses committed to continuous improvement of the ethical performance of their supply chains.

With eco-bags now prevalent in supermarkets across the UK, the next step is building that momentum on the High Street – and Crazy Bags is already talking to a number of retailers and department stores.

“It would be wonderful to have a crystal ball and find out how the eco-bag market will evolve,” said Andy.

In the meantime, Andy is delighted with the company’s new offices in Eridge Park where 12 people are located, with room for expansion. However, he admits that the company isn’t well-known locally – something he intends to change.

The Marketing Eye says:

The business has two key selling points which should be accentuated in its marketing: the short delivery times and the ethical production. In the current climate, businesses are making decisions to undertake promotional activity later and later, so the ability to supply at short notice, and meet corporate social responsibility standards, will help win business that might otherwise have been lost. There is also an opportunity to charge a premium for being able to deliver what the competitors cannot.

The business has a diverse customer base and the move into events, such as the Glastonbury Festival, shows good innovation by the management team. There should be a constant search for new products and new markets. The product is currently fashionable and markets that would not have been receptive in the past could be receptive now. Toni and Guy is a good example of this and there should be more. Trade shows provide a ready market and there is a growing trend for towns and villages to produce community bags that are handed out by the local retailers.

The crystal ball that Andy is looking for can be created by market research. A mix of qualitative and quantitative research is required and a specialist market research company will be able to advise on the best methods to use.

The company’s local profile could be raised with a well chosen sponsorship. I would also recommend that the senior management team immerses itself in the local business networks: the recently formed Royal Tunbridge Wells Lunch Club is specifically designed for businesses of Crazy Bags’ size.

An opening event would create both a PR story and an opportunity to bring a number of local businesses and suppliers together. A direct marketing campaign using one-off bags specifically created for the prospect name would provide a graphic illustration of how the product could work for them.

With thanks to freelance journalist Angela Ward who is interviewing the businesses featured in these posts.