Top-Down or Reactionary?

Marketing: Are You Top-Down or Reactionary?

When it comes to organising your marketing efforts, do you utilise top-down or reactionary methods? Do you know the difference?

1. Do you create a formal marketing plan and stick to it?
2. Do you prefer to follow trends and create marketing strategies on the fly?
3. Or maybe you like to do a little both?

 Whether you’re top-down or reactionary, each has its strengths and each has its weaknesses. Take a look at how you can pull the best from both:

Top-Down Marketing

Top-down marketing analyzes a company’s situation, measures objectives, develops key strategies, and creates specific tactics to achieve company goals. This is best done by researching trends and marrying the findings with company objectives.

Top-down marketing requires planning and follow through. It also requires closely tracking results and measuring success.

This type of marketing can also include offensive strategies. It involves evaluating the competition and forming comparisons. For example, a company using top-down marketing might identify a competitor’s weakness and emphasize its own strengths as an answer to customers’ problems.

You might call top-down marketing “Type A.” It’s strategic, specific, quantitative and realistic. And in certain cases, it can be considered contrived.

Reactionary Marketing

Reactionary marketing is the opposite of the top-down marketing. It’s the kind of plan that is formed as a reaction to trends, news or perhaps simply how the marketer feels that day. Reactionary marketing forces a company to stay current and be in the same places that their customers frequent.

A reactionary marketing campaign might involve the creation of a YouTube, Facebook or Pinterest campaign. Before you initiate a reactionary marketing strategy, ask yourself: Does this marketing effort fit with our overall company mission or are we simply jumping on a trend? If you can answer that question honestly, you can decide whether the reactionary tactic is worth following.

Reactionary marketing can also be a defensive strategy. It might lead you to counter a claim made by your competition or create a solutions for your market that is better than the offerings your competitors have.

Reactionary marketing can be quite effective. It’s nimble and current. Companies that make the best use of reactionary marketing have already established a well-built reputation and a solid customer base. If not executed correctly, however, reactionary marketing can feel haphazard. It can also be the kind of strategy that compels the marketer to chase the next “shiny” thing.

What kind should you use?

The best answer is “both!”

As you plan your marketing strategies for the rest of 2013, make room for top-down and reactionary. Create a plan with structure, but be willing to change if necessary or make additions when an opportunity presents itself. The best companies demonstrate stability with a twist of spontaneity.

Let the Guinness flow and enjoy the craic!

Are you aware St. Patrick's day in on a Weekend this year? - What do you have planned for the 17th March?

The January sales are over... Valentines has been and gone so St. Patrick's day in the next big weekend in the calendar.

We all know its tough out there...so its the perfect opportunity to use the luck of the Irish and drive custom to your venue.

So why not contact CFL to build a targeted promotion?

Whether its Design, Posters, Flyers, Mailings, Door Drops, Banners, Emails,Web Sites, Social Media, Data Capture or SMS text messages, we can help!

CFL posses that rare combination of operational experience, marketing flair and industry knowledge, our dedicated client services team will custom build a solution to fit any given brief or requirement.

Let the Guinness flow and enjoy the craic! 

Top 10 Marketing tips for Christmas.

      1. Start Planning Early

The Earlier you start planning the better, don’t leave it to the last Minute. One of our clients started their Christmas campaign in May!

2. Early Bird Discounts

Offer a discount for booking before a certain date. However remember don’t just offer a discount to the whole group – but also incentivise the party organiser. People are more likely to organise a party if they know they are personally getting something in return – This could be money off their meal or even a bottle of fizz!

3. Identify your targets!

Think about what types of people will book a party at your venue, where do they live?, where do they work?, how old are they?, How much do they earn?

Here at CFL  Marketing we have  access to 49 million records nationwide, CFL can compile a list to fit your campaign, given pretty much any profile you can think of. We have access to CAMEO profiles which can be used to further analyse your data, providing you with highly targeted campaigns. Don't think this just applies to consumer data - we can also supply business data at the same level of detail, if not more!

Whether it's topping up your own data or a complete list, we've got what you need.

4. Who Booked last year?

This is a good place to start!! Did you capture the details of the guests from last year – if not…do so this year. Capturing details is not as hard as you think especially if you use it as a January bounce back promotion – this is a notoriously quiet period.

For more tips on data capture, take a look at the following presentation - 

Data Capture - 12 tips from CFL Marketing

5. Why should people book?

What are you planning that others are not.. Is there entertainment included, what’s on the Menu, is there an after meal party. Make sure you communicate your USP quickly and easily…Remember the 3 second rule!

6. Utilise Business data.

Contacting local Business is a great way to attract larger bookings. Combining direct mail with a follow up phone call can be very effective. If you have a contact name this works even better…if not address the mailing to “Party Organiser” or “Social Secretary”.

We would suggest the business should have between 10 – 100 employees and be no further than 10 miles of your venue.

As mentioned above, CFL Marketing can supply the business data, in your area at a high level of detail or profile.

If you send 500 mailing packs at say £1 per pack, and you achieved a 5% response rate (25 Bookings) each booking had 10 people each spending £10, this equates to £2000, and a ROI of £1500. CFL have achieved a response rate of upto 25% in some cases!

7. Combine and integrate your Marketing effort.

Don’t just use one marketing method and think it will work. Combine your efforts across a number of media such as email, Direct Mail, web based, Social media,  and advertising. Remember to keep the theme and branding the same across all media.

8. Be Creative!

Christmas is not just about bells, holly and Santa. Try and be a bit more creative with your designs and artwork.

One tip is NOT to use photos of food. Unless they are professionally shot, with airbrushed food, it never looks nice!

CFL’s design studio can work to deliver any supplied brief - that's a given. Where our talent and flair really shows is when we deliver on a brief you didn't know in the first place!!

From mailing packs, to posters, banners, t-shirts and pretty much any other piece of print or collateral out there - we deliver on the strength of our ideas.

9. Make the most from viral activity and Social Media

Social Media is a great way to reach many people at low cost. Think about combining and linking your social media. However, remember don’t solely rely on it and don’t just use one platform.

CFL have Social media managers that can advise you on the best way to utilise Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, Youtube and many more.

10.  How do they book?

You need to make it as easy as possible to book a party, using a variety of different methods – A booking line, text in number, web forms, booking forms with return address, even a fax number.

Make sure all enquiries are responded to at the earliest opportunity.

Follow all of these tips…and you will have a very Merry Christmas!.

www.cflmarketing.co.uk   01225 782669

Please see below some of CFLs Christmas designs from last year.

Students are going out more, says new research

Students are going out more often despite the difficult economic conditions, according to a new study from CGA that says they spend up to £3.2bn per year on nights out.
The survey of 2,500 students also found they consume more than 10% of all on-trade serves during term time alone.

According to the CGA Student Report 2012, more students surveyed said they are going out more often than a year ago than those saying they are going out less.

The report dismisses the stereotype that their purchase decisions are based on price alone. It also points to a growing demand among for outlets beyond traditional student-focused venues.

Kylie Poole at CGA said: “Students are a critical market for many pubs but their attitudes and behaviours are notoriously fast changing, especially at the moment given the trend towards living at home, the growing number of mature students and the impact of increased tuition fees.

"Our report confirms that students today are very different to the old stereotype: their tastes and preferences are highly sophisticated and they are demanding more from their on trade experiences than ever before.

“Students are traditionally painted as a fairly basic bunch only interested in the cheapest products, but our research found quite the opposite. The modern student population is increasingly diverse with a growing proportion seeking to indulge their luxury tastes on a limited budget.

“Our research suggests that certain student types will trade up whenever they can and have a sharp awareness of premium products, often seen as occasional treat.”

So what are you doing to target these students? - We have put together a presentation in 2011 (in conjunction with a current Media Student) to show you how to access this hard to reach market.

Please see the presentation below.

Accessing students

View more PowerPoint from CFL Marketing

UK Population is growing......and we have their names!

The UK Population is growing year on year and is now up to over 63 million.. that's up over 3 million in the last decade.

One the the biggest increases has been in the 18-30 age bracket with just under 10 million people in England and Wales alone at the end of 2011.

The good news is we have access to their names, addresses, their birthday how much they earn, and even how often they go out!

CFL can compile a list to fit your campaign, given pretty much any profile you can think of. We have access to CAMEO profiles which can be used to further analyse your data, providing you with highly targeted campaigns. Don't think this just applies to consumer data - we can also supply business data at the same level of detail, if not more!
 

Whether it's topping up your own data or a complete list, we've got what you need. Just simply ask us how many people are in a 5 or 10 mile radius of your venue and what age groups you are looking for and we will provide you with a detailed breakdown!

but it does not stop there...

We can also create the Direct Mailing activity to send them!. From our most famous product, targeted birthday mailings to opening campaigns and launches, loyalty mailings, newsletters, events, promotions and memberships - if you want to mail it, we can handle it. We can target your audience, design your mailing pack, supply stock, help you produce the right message, print, personalise and with both machine and hand enclosing.

Aside to this we can also help you build and maintain your own database of warm customers.

From a database of hundreds to a database of hundreds of thousands, CFL have both the knowledge and capacity to handle all your database requirements. 

Even if you have no database, our skilled client services team will custom build a solution to meet your needs. All our databases are run through PAF software to clean any incomplete addresses, and regularly checked for duplications to minimise wastage. They are checked regularly against the MORT file, which removes deceased records, the MPS and TPS file (mailing/telephone preference service) which removes those who have opted out of specific lists, and the Goneaway Suppression file.

We do all this to ensure you have the best data possible at your fingertips for your marketing campaigns.

Simply call us on 01225 782669 or log on to www.cflmarketing.co.uk/offer to request a count or sample pack.

Advert Design for Pubs

Are you thinking of putting an advert in a local magazine or paper?... Who is doing the design for you?

People think of CFL as a Direct Marketing Agency or Database Specialists...however we also have a full Design Studio.

Our creatives can work to deliver any supplied brief - that's a given. Our talent and flair really shows when we deliver on a brief you didn't know in the first place!!

We specialise in the Leisure and Retail Sector, especially for Pubs, Restaurants and the Licensed Trade

From as little as £25 we deliver on the strength of our ideas.

We can even place the advert for you whether it's a local trade magazine advert through to a National newspaper.

With expert knowledge of advert formats, sizes and layout, we can also help with type setting and even copy writing and editing.

We can also create artwork for HTML Emails, Web banners, Facebook Images or any other Social Media Profiles.

Call Phil on 01225 782669 or log onto www.cflmarketing.co.uk

Please see some examples below of our pub advert designs.

The CFL Media Console - Dynamic Database Management

From a database of hundreds to a database of hundreds of thousands, CFL have both the knowledge and capacity to handle all your database requirements.
Even if you have no database, our skilled client services team will custom build a solution to meet your needs. All our databases are run through PAF software to clean any incomplete addresses, and regularly checked for duplications to minimise wastage. They are checked regularly against the MORT file, which removes deceased records, the MPS and TPS file (mailing/telephone preference service) which removes those who have opted out of specific lists, and the Goneaway Suppression file.

We do all this to ensure you have the best data possible at your fingertips for your marketing campaigns.

Using one of our latest products - The CFL Media Console - we can handle all aspects of E-Marketing. The Console gives the user online access to their venue database form which they can choose to:

• Input and view your data
• Mass Data Upload
• Segment and catagorise your data
• Send an SMS broadcast to all or selected parts of their database.
• Set up two-way interactive campaigns such as text-to-win competitions.

CFL can also send out 1 off high volume SMS broadcasts from a given database using the console.

The console is a complete online database management system covering all aspects of direct marketing

www.cflmarketing.co.uk