#DSMMCM1314 Submission 2 Task 3: Anti-viability Blog Post

Anti-viability Blog Post

 

Anti-viable marketing techniques	Issues/risks
Guerrilla marketing	Misrepresentation of brand image Misinterpretation by existing/ potential customers Marketing will have to reflect product Some methods can be seen as unethical/illegal.
Freebie and free trial promotions to new clients	Reduces potential income Paying clients unhappy with deal for new clients No guarantee for continued usage after free trial
Proximity marketing	Casts doubt over the legitimacy of product May be classed as spam Potential customers may not have a Bluetooth phone or have it enabled

 

Guerrilla marketing

This technique of creating unconventional advertising would be inappropriate for our service. We’re looking to offer a professional financial advice service; we want to use an approach that would reflect this. This approach may be ineffective towards our target market. The majority of the people that would view the forms of the guerrilla approaches may not want to purchase financial support.

Some forms of guerrilla marketing may affect brand image. Burton Beavan’s clients are expecting a proficient service from them. Therefore if a guerrilla approach is made current customers may question their relationship with the organisation, and potentially change to a more professional company.

#DSMMCM1314 Submission 2 Task 2: Viability Blog Post

Viability Blog Post

 

DSM Approach	Advantages	Disadvantages
Cold Calling	•Quick. •Can target large audiences. •Gain mass information. •Inexpensive.	•Over the phone, •No face to face contact therefore no personal touch. •Irritating for customers, might not be taken seriously.
Email	•Simple and accessible for an SME and our business. •Fast •Instant •Formal •Free •Group email, can produce a newsletter	•Can be informal. •Slang used. •Might not be able to gain new customers for the SME/ our business.
Social Media	•Mass marketing •Simple •Free •User friendly •Popular	•Facebook charge for advertising •Social loafing •Slang used considered informal. •Can be viewed as unprofessional for SME/ our business.
SEO (search engine optimisation)	•Is free if enough time is invested •Extremely effective way of reaching customers conducting specific searches •Being at the top of google could undercut competitors •Enables link building to your other digital marketing practices	•Time consuming •Requires long-term up keep •You can’t measure everything •Too much is out of your control •Can be expensive if paid for.
Multi Media	•Interesting •Straight forward •More personal •Easily remembered •Professional.	•Expensive (software) •Risk •Time consuming •Could attract wrong target audience.

Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective digital marketing tools available as it allows businesses to build loyalty and drive sales through promotions and new services.

Email is both an inexpensive and effective way of welcoming new customers and is used to refer our business and complete surveys. By using email, customers can receive updates on special offers, sale dates and be cross-sold relevant products.

If a customer has bought from you previously and they are likely to buy from you again, they may only need a gentle reminder via email.

Combined Social Media techniques provide different ways of engaging potential and current customers.

Emails are tailor made; they are instant and can be written formally.

Risks

The risks when using emails are simple, they can be written informally and carry computer viruses. Emails may not get through different internet service providers due to firewalls (Chaffey, 2012). May not feel personal as emails can be sent on mass. Our client may not be able to acquire new custom via emails.

#DSMMCM1314 Submission 2 Task 1: Target Market Segmentation

Target Market Segmentation

For our PSO (Financial advice) we identified several segmentation techniques, detailed below:

Segmentation Technique	Advantages	Disadvantages
Behavioural targeting based on people searching Financial Advice on Google	•ID which segments seek financial advice more frequently. •Tailor the service to those searching online.	•Multiple corresponding segments can increase marketing costs. •Product proliferation.
Demographic targeting based on consumers career/lifestyles	•Identify which consumer type would provide most turnover. •Find which consumer type would benefit most from our expert knowledge. •Market to one segment; saves resources.	•Narrows the potential market. •Cost to gain information on subgroups can be expensive.
Demographic targeting based on age	•Can cater services to different stages of customer’s life. •Some groups are more easily reachable via online methods.	•Poor indication of customer specific needs. •Does not reflect buying behaviour.
Behavioural targeting based on consumer relationship with our company	•Feedback Analysis •Reduce costs by targeting loyal/current customers. •Can implement promotions to gain loyalty.	•Focusing on one can neglect the other.

We prioritized consumer’s career/lifestyles & consumer relationship with our company.

Justification

Consumer relationship with our company: This tool will identify current and potential customers. Our client identified that they require us to target existing clients. Marketing to existing clients is quicker, cheaper and more effective. Improving these relations can result in repeat service and recommendations to attract new clients.

Issues/risks:

•Narrows the market.

•The focus on new customers could hinder existing relations.

 

Consumer’s career/lifestyles: People of all careers and lifestyles can benefit from financial advice in some form during stages of their life and segmenting this demographic will allow us to identify which segment will provide the most turnover and benefit most from our in-house experts.

Issues/Risks:

•Different segments differ in income and loyalty.

•This method cannot detail service usage from consumer without research.

 

Target Segments

Segmentation approaches:

1)Demographic targeting based on consumers career/lifestyles.

2)Behavioural targeting based on consumers relationship with our company.

Segment	Advantages	Disadvantages	Issues/Risks with discarding	Issues/Risks with choosing
Small Business Owners	May not have their own finance department. Can benefit from multiple services.	Smaller market potential. Require plenty of guidance.		Business could create own finance department. The business may fail.
First Time Home Buyers aged 18-30	No experience, requires support. May use multiple services.	May not be sustainable. May not ‘need’ financial advice.	A large target market. Heavily reliant on support.
New entrepreneurs	Individual could use stability of the service. Ambitious and want to improve/ develop.	They may fail. They could have good financial skills and need other support.	Multiple purchases of services. Could be the next big thing.
Young Families	Need vigilant finance. Provides stability and assurance.	May not benefit from all services offered. Financial disposal to afford service.	Heavily reliant on service.
Elderly looking to retire	Large market. Got the finance to use the service.	Not long term business. Substituted by own knowledge.	Large financial income. Large potential market.

We have chosen to prioritize “Small Business Owners”.

Justification

Due to the client expressing an interest in this segment and the fact that these clients would be most heavily involved our services, utilising all facilities available, we feel small business owners would have the most to gain. Successful small businesses have the potential to be long-term customers, which also makes it the most palpable segment for us to choose.