Aardvark Consulting : Marketing Consultancy in Worcester

"The only company that talked about marketing"

I recently spoke to a new client and knowing that they had spoken to several other marketing companies before choosing Aardvark Consulting asked why they had chosen to give their business to us.  It's important for me to understand why people choose to spend their money with my business, and I encourage all businesses owners to do the same.  The answer my client gave was that we were "the only marketing company that talked about marketing" - we looked at all their marketing activity; he felt the others were just trying to sell him a new website, a brochure or some direct marketing.

It isn't the first time I have received this feedback from a client, so I started thinking about why this happens, and how I could use this to help explain to potential new clients the difference that Aardvark Consulting offers them.

Imagine you have a problem with your car - a familiar scenario for most of us every now and again.  Sometimes, it's easy to identify the exact problem; perhaps a warning light illuminates on the dashboard, or there are symptoms we have encountered before.  You might call or visit a shop or filling station, get a new bulb, buy some more oil or whatever else is required, make the fix, jump back in the car and everything is fine once more.

However, sometimes the problem isn't as obvious is it?  You just get the feeling that the car isn't running as smoothly as usual; but don't know why.  In this scenario, you'll probably have to consult an expert, maybe the main dealer or a local garage.  They will use their knowledge of all kinds of cars and their experience of many different types of problems to identify what's wrong with your car and then tell you what they need to do to put it right.  Once you have agreed their diagnosis and solution, they do the work and your car is back to full performance.

A similar situation can occur in marketing a small or medium sized business - sometimes as a business owner or marketing director, we can identify a specific issue that needs addressing and buy a solution from an expert in that field.  Perhaps the company brochure needs updating or the website isn't appearing high enough up the search rankings.

However, in many cases, it's a more general concern about the overall effectiveness or cost of marketing that doesn't feel right.  In this situation, an experienced marketing consultant can review the whole marketing effort and identify where improvements can be made to restore or exceed the previous performance and ensure that the business gets the maximum possible return on it's marketing investment.

In addition to helping business owners identify the source of marketing under-performance and implementing solutions, Aardvark Consulting also offers a fixed price marketing healthcheck for small and medium sized businesses.

To find out how Aardvark Consulting can help you resolve any marketing issues or concerns, please call Chris Hutchinson on 01905 753589 or send me an e-mail.

Why do customers buy?

"Why do your customers buy from you?" - it's not a rhetorical question, and when I ask business owners and sales directors that I meet I'm surprised how many aren't sure.  For those who tell me they do know why, my next questions is "Is that your opinion or is that based on regular, structured customer feedback?"

The number of small and medium sized businesses that can answer yes to both questions is in our experience very small, and yet this is an area that can unlock massive sales and profit potential in any business, with minimal effort.

The reason your existing customers buy from you is the same reason that new customers will buy from you, so it's really helpful to be absolutely certain and then use it in your marketing communications.  You can find out more about how to generate and use customer feedback by following this link.

Collecting feedback in a structured way allows a business to track it's performance over time and also confirm where its true competitive advantage lies.

In addition, contacting customers for feedback is a great way of maintaining and strengthening your relationship with them.  As a rule, keeping a customer is about six times cheaper than  winning a new customer, so anything that helps you 'farm' rather than 'hunt', is going to improve company performance.

There are other benefits that can be drawn from customer feedback, and if you would like to find out more about how Aardvark Consulting can help you introduce this into your business, please contact Chris Hutchinson on 01905 753589 or send me an e-mail

BlogCatalog Listing

We've just submitted this blog to BlogCatalog which looks like a good source of information on blogs and blogging. Take a look at:

http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/business/marketing

If you can suggest anywhere else we should announce the blog please let me know in a comment.

Impressed

"We were impressed by Aardvark Consulting's professionalism and understanding of our business"

Mike Fardon - Managing Director, Osborne Books, Worcester.

Personal Touch

The thing that impressed me most about Aardvark was their personal touch and the way in which they quickly got to understand the nature of my business and the marketing tools required to promote it."

"After our initial meeting, Chris got back to me within 48 hours with some very useful feedback and a draft marketing plan"

Simon Marks - Debt Recovery Manager, Harrison Clark Solicitors, Worcester.

Marketing Healthcheck

Get in shape and add pounds!

Aardvark Consulting offer a fixed price marketing healthcheck for your company or brand.

This service is a broad based review of company / brand marketing strategy and activities to identify key opportunities for improved profitability.

We apply "big company" strategic marketing techniques to the small business environment to discover the marketing strengths, and find areas where marketing could be more effective.

The review covers areas such as customers, competitors, source of competitive advantage. The current marketing strategy and activities are examined along with strategies for generating new business.

A brief presentation of key findings, recommendations and actions is supported by a written report.

The cost of this service is £399 plus VAT.

Advertising & Communication

An increasing choice of opportunities and aggressive sales teams makes it hard to decide where and how much to advertise.

Aardvark Consulting can help you:

• Set an affordable budget
• Create a powerful message
• Select the most effective media for your communication

Most importantly, we will work with you to measure the effectiveness of your advertising investment and consistently improve your returns over time.

Creating a brand identity

Every company, product and service is a brand. What makes a strong brand?

• Truth - Product or service delivery must match or exceed the brand's promise
• Consistency - every customer experience should reinforce the brand
• Memorability - the brand must stand out from its competitors

Aardvark Consulting can work with your business to define your brands and implement them across the whole company

Company and Brand Positioning

What market is your business in?
What are the critical features of your product or service?
Who are your competitors?

The answers to these questions are often not as obvious as they might seem.

Aardvark Consulting can review your products, services and customers to help answer these questions and determine how to:

• Maximise your customer base
• Improve the product or service
• Create a sustainable competitive advantage to secure long term profitability