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What have we learned from 2021?

5 December 2021 Stuart Nimmo

Calendar years often give us the point to review things, as one year closes and the new year looms, we all ponder and think on how things have worked, what we’ve achieved and importantly start to plan for the year ahead.

So, what has 2021 taught us? The overriding one is facing and meeting the challenge. Trying to evolve in a world of a pandemic has delivered more challenges than any of us would have thought we could have faced. Not just the change in how we do business, the old days of endless face to face are now supplemented with zoom and teams calls, which does have its benefits, but also presents new non-verbal communication messages being missed. Volatility has become almost a norm, with the dynamics of global markets playing out even more in local situations.

We’ve seen positives from 2021, environmental issues have significantly risen on the agenda. Responsibility around what we do is now, is a more profound part of decision making. I know from discussions with potential clients, this does impact decision making processes. This rightly leads on to the first of the hot factors of 2021;

“How” not “what”

We’ve been saying this for some time. The chains of communication have changed a lot, regardless of whether you are solely digital or a true marketing mix, with physicality and digital working side by side. When businesses have used a more carefully crafted approach, they have cut through the marketing noise, which has become more prevalent.

The noise

Not in decibels, but the sheer volume of communications using very similar channels. I accept this blog is within one of those channels and might be read more by bots than actual humans. So where are the decisions made? When digital communications, when so copious in quantity push intelligence as pure data, and decision-makers potentially struggle to harness appropriate knowledge? We come across some intelligent businesses who are riding the wave of innovation to grab attention to actively start building new genuine business relationships.

Relationships matter

This has long been spoken about, how people like people. It is true; however, the new world of 2021 certainly has elevated this to a different meaning. Collaboration, collective working, have evolved to see these as critically developmental for small businesses. Long gone are the days of the customer-supplier relationship, it’s more about working together than being hard-nosed and pushing. Equally the individuals who still pursue this have found their worlds shifting more. Respect is something that works both ways and is earned through behaviours on many levels, in which physical 1-1 relationships are king.

Reality of authenticity

This might seem an odd one, but this in my eyes has developed real credence during 2021. Faking it to make it, is probably dead. Authenticity, reality, being honest, truthful, values-driven create stunning meaningful relationships. I’ve seen a few interesting examples in 2021, first one, who earned serious respect, for wearing his brand values of who he is, what he does, is Lewis Ellis, so much so we asked him to be our guest speaker at our 2021 open house event. Blazon in his delivery, is down to earth, challenging in new refreshing ways, not to everyone’s cup of tea, but serious about cutting to the chase and creating action. Taking a different viewpoint on the reality of authenticity, Thomas McGowan, watching him redevelop his business, utilising time wisely to review, plan and implement has been a beautiful example of delivering true what you see is what you get philosophy, his branding and positioning are now very strong to move him forward with becoming more of the authority and inspiring person he is. So, taking a step back and reviewing how you present your personal brand will be well worth some time spent.

Local matters

This hits on so many different levels. Local is now where things are, the challenges of seeing big names from the high street disappear, made us realise how fragile they were. They were hanging on the brink before the pandemic and it didn’t take much to realign where the world of business sits. I’ve said for 3 plus years, it has been getting highly polar, small niche businesses deliver more in the way of service than any online web megalith of a business. The ethics of environmental factors of buying local and reducing good mileage is also a significant part of this. We now carry ranges of stock, which are British made, where we have minimised the journey of product manufacture into us, and thus onto our customers. Local also matters after discovering how much of the goods we used are reliant on containers moving them around the world. Was 2021 the point where globalisation had its reality check?

This blog is the first part of our review of 2021. We’d be interested to hear your comments and thoughts on what matters to you, if you found this on a social post, please tag comments appropriately. Equally, always open to having a chat.

Building authority on your subject matter…

31 October 2021 Stuart Nimmo

One of the major principles underlying marketing and a sales process is “know like trust”.

For some professions and trades, when intangibles are at the heart of what you deliver, when it is about culture, the way things work, demonstrating and unpacking what is essential to gain traction with potential customers. Seeing is believing, even the written word provides this too.

One interesting concept which we are seeing more examples of, is where subject specialists use a book as the means to demonstrate their knowledge. In turn builds the trust on a subject with their audience, as it provides creditability through being a “produced” piece.

Some of our recent projects have utilise this as a point of providing leverage.

In an age where flash, almost retro buy it now graphics and corny imagery are now making a comeback, for look at this, wow isn’t this brilliant etc. The very opposite stands ground for delivering re-assurance and security of being. Trust is built on values and being grounded. So the nature of certain things need gravitas to aid the progression with a customer audience.

We are seeing photographers committing projects to print, to provide longevity, to drive the story telling of their work in a specific manner. The progression of the subject or development of the concept. When online means provides the ability to jump around, miss the finesse of the story telling, print provides a structured manner to deliver it in. After all an artists’ portfolio is compiled in such a way to build, inform and tell the story.

One of the books we’ve recently printed has been a niche market sector customer service guide, illustrating the challenges and the way to overcome, alongside social and political environment which present within this given community. Being able to tell the story in a manner which was narrative and unpack the why and how behind the concept, is to build the trust in the author as a subject matter specialist.

I am well aware of other management consultants using this process to enhance their leverage with their prospective client base. A well-presented paperback book carefully arrived with a prospective client has a point of value about it. Whether it is self-published, published with a large publishing house or even a self-commissioned as a marketing tool.

Equally we have fulfilled and mailed on behalf of an author how used her book as a social media content tool. Getting people to engage with her on social media to receive a physical copy of the book. Of course the journey involved here doesn’t just involve the give-away copies, as nothing is free. Careful use of social and electronic media, then prompts the recipients for feedback or reviews, which then boost the profile of the book in the relevant online searches.

It is fair to say, the age of the physical printed edition, is far from dead. It provides the opportunity to build trust, gain respect or likes from your audience. Where we can hardly remember what we saw on the social media the day before. A book remains on a desk, side table, kitchen counter for some time, increasing the awareness or knowledge of you.

Want to see Stuart delivering this topic….

Positioning

25 October 2021 Stuart Nimmo

What’s this all about? Well in marketing terms, it’s where you exist in the market you operate in. Equally where you pitch your product or service to your clients. We as printers recognise that we are a valuable tool in your marketing communications arsenal. We like to make sure that you use your materials wisely.

Understanding where you and your business is at is highly important to help you to move forward. The last 2 years have seen markets shift monumentally with the advent of how digital tools are used not just in marketing but in the delivery of content and knowledge.

A recent conversation with one of our clients in the personal fitness business was highly enlightening about the issue of market positioning. Why? Personal Trainers have seen the digital tools which they used during the lockdown, now take the lead for convenience with certain sectors of their customer base. The added issue is that it has price point dropped due to lower delivery costs and retention concepts used during the COVID lockdowns.

So, when running your business, you look at your costs both direct and indirect which informs your price point together with your margin. When you are professionally established and have an offering that is delivered at that level there is a significant challenge in the 4 P’s of marketing (Price / Place / Promotion / Product).

So, looking at this PT, if the usual position in the market is swamped with low price offering, then the long-term goal is to deliver in a different place, as the business is geared up for a certain standard of delivery, it probably is easier to apply to a higher market and focus on a higher return for a slightly upgraded serviced product, rather than a downgrade.

How to make this work, we would suggest, that researching the local area, to identify where the potential higher value clients could be. This could be using LinkedIn to find local businesses and individuals within those businesses, supplementing this with other online searches, would also help. Why identify individuals? Being targeted and direct reaps a higher level of response and engagement.

The essential part of the pitch is recognising the potential clients’ challenges and pain points. Addressing them in clear messages. Consideration of the customer journey of what will trigger and support potential actions is essential. Online content will probably be less critical, as it will be a point of confirmation rather than an initial starting point. A possible starting point perhaps should be a bespoke, personalised piece of mail. I almost said direct mail, but this needs to be the level above a piece of DM, it needs to demonstrate a personal approach, attentive pitch. Clever use of some relevant online content, such as a white paper or a planning tool or other want to have exclusive online content, on a hidden URL, which is only accessed from the personal mail. This can then be used as a point of confirmation of a “bite”.

Building a more strategic approach to a higher value client acquisition is all about the customer journey. The tools you use will need to be highly focussed, tailorable and demonstrate true value add, from an intangible point. Materialistic add-ons won’t necessarily create the right bite, but referral and value add proposition from knowledge, empathy and the right service level will create value for both PT and their client.

This example also looks at the marketing strategy moving from being multi-channel, where all guns ablaze at the same time, to a strategic omnichannel, progressive approach.

So why does this matter to a print professional?
• Ensuring your marketing works, matters to us, we want your print to perform, even if it is a limited edition.
• The right triggers can transform your customer journey.
• Skimping on marketing mix tools does not help you.
• We want to see our customers achieve more, even if it is with fewer clients, but clients that have a higher retention rate and value.