Giving you the actionable knowledge you need to succeed in Marketing.
Created for those with a Passion for Marketing, but specifically aimed at anyone that wants to get to grips with life in the Marketing industry and apply the Marketing knowledge they need to succeed in this industry.
I try to bring as much help and practical guidance within Marketing and the skills and knowledge that will be essential during your career, alongside interviews to inspire and motivate with superstars from different industries and specialisms, offering you an incredible insight into their specific field of expertise, with practical, applicable advice you can action now.
Then we can all take a deep breath and get on with some Happy Marketing.
Enjoy.
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You may remember Louisa from episode 35 (https://marketingstudylab.co.uk/episode-35-the-time-terrorist-and-money-laundering-louisa-van-vessem-va-workflow-virtual-assistant/) where we chatted about how VA’s (Virtual Assistant) can help you run your business and claim back some of your most valuable asset… time!
In this episode we cover; - The customer journey - How to map your own customer journey - The importance of knowing your touch-points - And I’ll be hopping on my soapbox a few times (soz in advance)
Intro For the majority of Marketers, they will find themselves within the B2B (Business to Business) Marketing space rather than B2C (Business to Consumer), but as we all know there are many blurred lines here in terms of the strategies and tactics we should be using.
Enter Doug Marshall the MD of Achieve B2B Marketing a company well within the B2B space when it comes to strategic planning and marketing communications. Doug has a wealth of Marketing experience, with a background in the publishing industry rising to Group Head of Marketing before becoming a Marketing Consultant.
A Look Back at Marketing Study Lab in 2020 - Christmas Special - Episode 144
Review: Share the love and leave a 5* review from your phone: http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1375904962 (from anywhere else hit the ‘Write a Review’ button in the Apple Podcasts app or iTunes)
What Episode Snippets are in this look back of Marketing Study Lab 2020:
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. How can you create a Marketing Strategy without this….. truth is you can’t, so lets discuss this later.
First, we’re going to have a chat with Teresa Gandy the Customer Survey and Customer Experience Expert at Clarity CX. The first of two episodes where we take a look at CX in more detail. Starting out as a Business Administrator allowed Teresa to really focus on what matters - viewing and solving other people’s issues. Fast-forward a few years and now Teresa helps to create great customer experiences and improve businesses workflows, especially for smaller businesses, bringing big business practices into the smaller business world and helping them thrive.
Takeaways
- A Customers Experience (CX) is every single touch-point and needs to be considered even before a customer is a customer! With 70% of purchases based around the feelings we have, this experience needs to be tip top
- Culture, process and operational changes are all as important as each other when it comes to CX and they should never be set in stone – they are as living and breathing as your customers. Moving and changing a CX needs to be done along with the changes within the market and consumers.
- To create an excellent survey you need simplicity and speed. But post-survey, remember to share the results unless the whole survey become pretty redundant.
Don’t Waste Time with Hala Taha Host of Young and Profiting Podcast - Episode 62
The Total Product Concept is something that can really help you out when reviewing the elements of a product that consumers may be attracted to. More of that later. But first, let’s meet out guest, the wonderful Hala Taha.
Hala, not only has the best name in the world, but hosts theYoung and Profiting Podcast and is also Growth Marketing Operations Manager at Disney Streaming Services. But this is only part of Hala’s story, from radio to running an all-female team of bloggers and working for a Fortune 50 company. Hala’s passion is infectious and from just listening to the podcast you can tell her desire to succeed at what is in front of her makes Hala stand out from the rest. So what better person to chat to and provide a wealth of knowledge AND motivation for you to nail your Marketing Qualification.
Takeaways
- Don’t waste your time! Take a seat and write down your daily or weekly activities. Now take a look at those elements where you could be more productive and work to enhance your efficiency for ‘getting stuff done’ during those periods.
- Start with an end goal in mind and work back from there as to what needs to be achieved. This can work very well in business and also for your studies.
- It’s never to late. You can always pivot (and by pivot we mean change the course of your future by doing things different to what you do now). The door is never shut, so if it feels right… take that chance and by putting one step in front of the other, do the pivot.
Levels of Authenticity - Leonard Kim of InfluenceTree - Episode 61
Episode 61
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 • Duration 33:48
Ansoffs Matrix (created by Igor Ansoff in the 1960s) is a Marketing model that stands the test of time and we’ll see why later on. But first, we’re going to have a chat with Leonard Kim about all things Influence.
Leonard is the Managing Partner of InfluenceTree an organisation that teaches you how to build your brand. Be it personal or business. But that isn’t the end of his story – as you’ll find out, the stories we tell are important – as Leonard has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Forbes, Entrepreneur, Fortune and the Huffington Post. He is also been recognised as one of the top writers in the fields of Marketing and Business Strategy.
- Fear – Do something about your own fears. Don’t just face them, embrace them and work through it. Fears can be false indicators, yet these usually end up being the best things we ever do!
- When writing his book - Ditch the Act (link is in the show notes), Leonard spent the time to get the material he needed, then looked at the structure, placed the info into chapters (using bullet points initially) and then made it make sense, chapter after chapter – small, manageable pieces. Which is so similar to writing Marketing exams and assignments. A lot can be taken from this.
- When looking to utilise an influencer with the B2B space, in any industry you need to consider the following:
- Does this person like or use our product or service
Pearls of Marketing Wisdom from Janine Coombes Marketing Campaign Planner for Small Businesses - Episode 60
Who would you go to if you wanted to understand the importance of a marketing plan? We’ll be chatting to just that person in a minute and later on in this episode we’ll also discuss what SOSTAC stands for – spoiler alert – its something to do with a marketing strategy!
Right, back to our amazing guest this week, Janine Coombes. Janine is a marketer that helps small businesses develop and execute their own marketing plans, with simple, easy to follow strategies. And Janine does all this in a lighthearted way that is infectious, just check out her videos!
Takeaways
- So many people mistaken marketing communications for a full marketing mix. As Janine pointed out, the communications part of a marketing plan is just one element and although vita, this is a step that comes after all the planning, setting objectives and the strategic direction stages of a marketing strategy. Without these it’s impossible to know who your communications are aimed at and which channels these comms should be designed for – let alone the overall direction of the organisation.
- Ever heard of Ansoff’s Growth Matrix, no? Check it out. Although it was originally designed in 1957 and published in the Harvard Review, it still holds relevance in today’s marketing planning. It helps to highlight the strategic direction a company should or could take and the risks that come with this change in direction. Janine also uses this model to highlight where a company may be spreading themselves to thin and pulling in different directions with no strong singular vision, which is an excellent use of this model.
Tips on Passing Your Marketing Qualification with Accounting Exam Coach James Perry - Episode 59
Episode 59
Tuesday, May 14, 2019 • Duration 44:58
What can us Marketers learn from accountancy? Turns out, quite a lot when it comes to assignments and exams and we’re not talking numbers and figures here. We’re talking straight-up, invaluable tips for passing your Marketing Qualifications. So who is this accountant that we’ll be chatting to today.
Welcome, Mr James Perry, who has traversed from Accountant to Accounting Exam Coach. James is spreading his words of wisdom over podcasts, videos, coaching and public speaking while also speaking in schools about emotional wellbeing & entrepreneurship. But what me and James will be chatting about today are the missing elements of passing an exam or an assignment, which are applicable to many different professions, especially accountancy and marketing.
Takeaways- In any assessment situation it’s easy to get carried away and see the questions you want to see. Read and reread the question, making sure you answer the task given, not your own.
- Check the weighting of each question, in terms of the marking scheme, working out the word or page count per mark. This will determine how much or how long you should be writing for before moving onto the next question. Remember, the first few marks are the easiest so if you need to move onto another question and come back to this one, just leave a little space.
- It’s easy to forget the real world when writing an assignment, but using real world examples can really make your answer pop! It also helps with the following fundamental elements of any answer:
- Highlights wider reading and research - Provides justification for your answer - Shows an element of understanding for your own organisation and others
Top TipHere is a bonus top tip from James, not me this week and that is, ‘you can’t eat an elephant in one bite! And what James means by this is don't see your exam / assignment as one huge piece, break it down into manageable sections, that you can control and focus on, one bit at a time. Be it by task, section, question or even breaking the questions down bit by bit to make sure you cover all the necessary elements – oh and I’m going to interject here with my two pennies worth – start the question by bullet pointing the key areas you must / need to cover to gain the marks and work from there, elaborating on each one so that they each make sense and are justified.
Take the Leap into your Marketing Assignment - Sara Bliss a Writer, Digital Content Strategist & Brand Advisor - Episode 58
Episode 58
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 • Duration 38:25
Have you got the right mindset? Struggling to sit down and concentrate? I have a little tip for you that will help you here.
Before that, let’s chat with Sara Bliss, writer, digital content strategist and more important, a New York Times bestselling author (that's a first on the Marketing Study Lab podcast). Sara’s latest book Take the Leap, features stories of those men and women that have radically changed their careers and ultimately their lives and as you can image there are a lot of learnings to be had here – but more on that later. This is Sara’s 11th book after such title as Hotel Chic at Home and Bobbi Brown – Pretty Powerful.
As you can imagine Sara’s career also spans a multitude of writing positions such as Senior Writer and Editor for Yahoo with articles also published in the Wall Street Journal and Esquire to name just to from a large list of titles.
Takeaways
- In researching and writing the book Take the Leap, Sara discovered that switching careers isn’t easy as the book covers the good and bad parts of this transition. Which is the same as a CIM Qualification, yes it’s difficult and yes there will be changes in your lifestyle required, but do it anyway as this is where the magic happens – and we all have it in us to make changes.
- When writing for different brands, Sara explained that its all about translation and understanding who the brand is and what it stands for. Again, similar connotations can be seen within Marketing Assignments, you must remember who you are writing for and why! You must translate what you are saying into something that is easy to understand and will gain marks
- And finally. If you are struggling with writing your assignment, first find an outline and an idea of where you need to go with the answer. Then you can start to give it structure, focusing on the key points. Make it compelling, engaging and above all….. your own!
Mindset
So you sit down to start your Marketing assignment and all you can think of is thousands of excuses why not to do it right now, gotta wash my cup up, do some washing, ironing, just check the footi score, wondering what’s happening on Instagram? All those kinds of things.
Small Business, Big Marketing with Tim Reid - Episode 57
Episode 57
Tuesday, April 30, 2019 • Duration 38:07
What is Mendelows Matrix? It’s another Marketing framework that look at the internal, but more on that later, as now is the time to chat to our guest, who is one of the reasons you are listening to me right now.
Tim Reid is one of Australia's top marketing keynote speakers and host of The Small Business Big Marketing Show which just happens to be a podcast and one of the first that I was ever introduced to and hooked on (please check Timbo’s show out, it is Marketing GOLD! - and that is a little in joke from his show, you’ll understand it when you listen to it).
Anyway, Timbo helps small business owners make their company, products and services truly irresistible, using public speaking, masterminds, workshops and webinars as well as, of course the podcast.
Takeaways
- A man after my own heart. Timbo admits that his podcast has lead him onto greater things such as conferences and keynote speeches and it shouldn't be a forgotten medium when it comes to comms planning. Thanks for showing me the value and genius of the podcast Timbo.
- In speaking to a lot of business owners, there are some fundamentals that, from a marketing perspective are important to get right in order to increase your chances of success. Firstly, try and make marketing your hobby, something you enjoy, but remember to put some theory and relevance behind it by understanding who you want to appeal to and make it clear why they need you in their lives
- Finally, the boomerang effect. Timbo believes that what you put out there you get back by using the ‘pull’ technique where you get your target market to come to you by being helpful and engaging that builds trust and familiarity reducing the price sensitivity rather than the pushy type of marketing that can be…. Lets face it, pushy!
Mendelows Matrix
This is a quick tip as its difficult to describe a boxed framework on a podcast so here are the basics of Mendelows Matrix (check out the link in the show notes so you get a good feel for what it is we are discussing here).
In this episode we cover; - The difference between B2C and B2B Marketing - What you should focus on first - The details behind a Marketing plan - The biggest frustrations within B2B Marketing
Takeaways Top Tip It sounds crazy that some companies don’t consider this, but when you are entrenched in something sometimes it’s hard to see above it. When Doug stated that you need to ask the customers what they want!, it made perfect sense. Our businesses are there to solve a problem and we need to know what problem needs solving the most!
Favourite Quote ‘Think of the emotions someone in the B2B space is going through’ and it’s so easily missed as we often see B2B as transactional, but there are still people involved here, real, physical people and we can’t forget that. Get to know them as well as you know the business as you’re selling to them, not to the business.
And Finally, the Most Important Takeaway from this Episode We’ve got to remember that measuring and monitoring our activities is fundamental for future improvements and success. Using the NPS (Net Promotor Score) and review sites provides a really good overview of how well a company is doing from both the qualitative and quantitative. Do this over a period of time to see trends and patterns to help you in the future.
Music Featured on this Podcast: Sleepy in the Garden Lobo Loco www.musikbrause.de Creative Commons License
Summary Well it’s been a year of change on the podcast, as I tried to bring you even more actionable knowledge alongside all the amazing guests.
As this is the last episode of the year, it’s an opportune time to take a look at some of the highlights from the podcast during 2020.
I’d love to share all the episodes with you, but that feels a little excessive, so I strung together some memorable moments, some marketing genius and of course, some actional knowledge.
But as always, starting with a random opener, I think
Top Tip – STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning)
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning, or STP for short is a concept that can help you focus your marketing strategy towards the right target market in three simple steps…… with a little work of course.
Segmentation
Segment your market into sections of similarity. Divisions of people that have the same likes, interests and demographic background in order to understand their place within a certain market.
Targeting
Which of these segments will you target? And why?
You will need legitimate reasoning behind this why? It could be the largest segment, most profitable, most aligned to your beliefs or even the one that you a closest to! Ideally it will be all of the above, but sometimes we have to make the decision and decide which segment, amongst others is the right one for a limited number of reasons.
Positioning
Finally, how will you position yourself in order to be viewed as the right solution to your target markets problems. What features and benefits will you use to highlight this fact. Remember to consider competitors as well as you’ll need to position yourself differently and order to, well, differentiate your product, service, software or company from others.
In doing this you place yourself in a unique, one off position within your market that no one else is in and therefore become the only solution within this niche.
Music Featured on this Podcast: Sleepy in the Garden Lobo Loco www.musikbrause.de Creative Commons License
Top Tip – Total Product Concept
So what’s this thing we call a Total Product Concept?
Well the actual model and the theory behind it can be broken down into four key areas, all important as you’ll see:
Core
The core is that element of the product that is why it exists and meets the need of a target market. The core benefit.
Expected
The expected elements are the things that your target market almost take for granted. The colours, brand, packaging, features, accessibility, usability, for example.
Without these the products just wouldn’t sit right with those you are trying to have an influence on.
Augmented
The augmented part of a product is the part that is bonus. Those elements that aren’t expected, but can make a difference and differentiate your product from the rest. This could be anything from an extended guarantee, exceptional customer service or added bonuses.
The product doesn’t need these elements to exist, but your target market may thank you and remember you for providing these.
Potential
And finally, potential, which as you may expect are those facets that a product could ‘potentially’ have in the future. A longer battery life or a variety of colours for example. This is the part where innovation and creativity can help move a product and even a company forward and ahead of the competition.
- Check out the audience – Are they right for your brand
- How much influence do they actually have!
But, the most important takeaway here is that you should look internally for your influencers and make your employees the advocates.
Top Tip – Ansoffs Matrix
As we found out at the start of this episode, Igor Ansoffs Matrix has been around for over 50 years, but is still used today in academia and practice.
So what is it and how can it be used. Firstly, the link in the show notes will take you to a diagram of this model, which you may find useful while listening to this explanation. OK, got it, nice one.
In its essence, this model can assist with strategic marketing planning when looking for growth opportunities. It is split into four distinct strategic directions depending on four factors:
Products – are they new or existing
Markets – are these new or existing
Depending on the market and product or service your are focusing on will determine the overall strategic direction that should be the main focus of the business and your marketing strategy.
For example, for a new product that is entering an existing market, a product development strategy is required. This could mean a number of things such as line extensions or product developments due to R&D and feedback, where the company is looking to introduce these developments into an existing market where the brand is already know.
Understanding all four strategic outcomes from this model:
Market Penetration
Market Development
Product Development
Diversification
Means we can look to utilise tactics that compliment this direction making the strategy much more manageable and achievable. But like any good strategic model, we can only come to these solutions and decisions once we have done our research, our situation analysis and understand where we are and the potential gaps in the market that could be...
- And finally, Janine’s own style of comms. Janine uses LinkedIn and YouTube to provide followers with a unique and true to her own personal brand style of video, using characters to describe certain aspects of Marketing, aspects that Janine herself is an expert in, in her own way.
This only has any success however, if the comms style matches the person or business. Imagine turning up to a meeting you thought was going to be formal and corporate (due to the messages you’d been receiving), to only find out that it is a relaxed and care free culture, the two wouldn’t match, a false impression is given and trust will be lost…. Not a great start!
Top Tip - SOSTAC
This is my favorite marketing model, yep, I’m that geeky I’ve got a favorite marketing model. And I was so fortunate to chat with its create PR Smith in Episode 10 of Marketing Study Lab, where PR Smith described how it has been used for planning marketing strategies as well as other large projects, including a wedding!
So why is it my favourite?
Simple. Because it’s simple, versatile and provides a complete vision of the now, the future and how to get there.
So very briefly, how do you use it:
Situation Analysis
The where are we know, a review of the internal and external environments so you know exactly where you fit within the wider market, what impacts and influences are effecting you and how internal aspects shape an organisation
Objectives
Where you want to go. Now you know your situation, it’s time to set some objectives in terms of where you want to be! This can be as long or as short as it needs to be; 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, even 10 years.
Strategy
The strategy is the overall direction that you need to go to meet your objectives. Think about it like taking a road trip. You know you want to get from A to B, the strategy tell you how you...
And this is easy to do when you feel you have a mountain to climb, so get off your own back and listen to these short tips that will help you knock you assignment into shape:
- Where do you do your best work? Need silence, music, inspiration, a clean space? Whatever it is find it and lay everything out so you’re comfortable with your surroundings
- Flip the phone. Put your phone on silent and turn it over, its easy to get distracted by a ping or a red dot!
- Get a brew, water, snacks, so you haven’t got the excuse that ‘you’ll just go and grab this or that’
- And the final most important one – take breaks, regularly, only 5/10 minutes but take them – set the timer on your phone (before you flip it) for around 40-50 minutes or longer if you feel confortable with that and dive deep into your work for this time period, then take the break, give yourself some space and let what you have written stew for a little while, when you come back to it, you may see it from a different angle or know you have nailed it first time.
So what is it? The matrix is a tool that can be used to consider attitudes of an organisations stakeholders in terms of a project or strategy plotting their interest towards it against the power they hold. What impact, involvement or influence they may have and in turn how well informed or involved they need to be, which will have an effect on the success of the project or strategy.
There are four key areas in which a stakeholder may be placed:
High Interest and High Power
High Interest and Low Power
Low Interest and High Power
Low Interest and Low Power
Depending on where key stakeholders are positioned, you will be able to determine the impact they may have and the involvement they will require in order for a project to be successful. These stakeholders hold the key to the three key pillars of most strategies, being resource, cost and time.
Podcast Episode:How to create a highly profitable customer manifesto: ...
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