Retail Marketing | face to face marketing consultant Katraj

Retail and In-Store promotion Agency, Retail Marketing | face to face marketing consultant Katraj

We help brands to connect with consumers at the point of purchase – driving incremental sales, Retail Marketing & face to face marketing consultant creating new consumers and brand advocates.

At Fulcrum, we are experts in the indian retail environment. As a retail and in-store agency with an in depth knowledge of product sampling, retail promotions and product demonstrations – our nationwide teams can drive sales for your brands at the till.

If you’re looking to showcase your brand within existing retailer channels, or build a whole new audience, we can help you get there.

Our expert staff are experienced with grocery, FMCG, consumer electronics, motor, toys, health and beauty brands and all hold relevant Food Handling and food certification. As a specialist retail and in-store agency, Fulcrum holds full FSSAI certification.

We also provide branded sampling stands and merchandise production, uniforms, freight, storage and logistics to ensure a smooth rollout of your campaign.

With a focus on inspiring action in consumers and delivering actual results, we ensure that we build in measurement, reporting and amplification to maximise ROI for clients.

Speak to us about how we can help you deliver in-store sampling, retail promotions, product demonstrations, travel retail promotions, retail staff, brand ambassadors and retail events.

Small Business Brand Marketing:Retail Marketing | face to face marketing consultant Katraj

5 Tips For Taking Your Brand to Market

Part 1 of our Brand Basics for Small Business series, we covered the crucial first steps to setting up your brand. Once you’ve taken those initial steps and got your brand off the ground, the next stage is to start marketing, in order to raise awareness of your brand, build a customer base, and drive sales for your business. To help you get started, we’ve got five important tips for taking your brand to market.

Tip 1: Get your messaging right

In business, first impressions mean a great deal – so what your initial marketing communicates about your brand will shape the (usually lasting) opinion potential customers form about your brand.

Spend time developing clear, compelling brand messaging that succinctly communicates your brand, ties in with your brand identity, and is relevant to your target audience. Bear in mind that as your brand develops and grows, you’ll need to be able to continue delivering this messaging consistently across all platforms, so getting it right in the early stages is essential.

Tip 2: Choose the right channels

Small businesses are faced with a vast array of potential marketing tactics through which to promote their brand. From digital marketing to direct mail, the key is to identify those channels that are most appropriate to your brand – and are most likely to attract the attention of potential customers. This is where thorough market research (discussed in Part 1) is vital, as you’ll need a clear understanding of your target audience and what channels have the best chance of reaching them.

Potential marketing channels include email marketing, brochures and flyers, social media, event marketing and many more. For some ideas on using a selection of these channels successfully, check out our Guide to Becoming Marketing Active.

Tip 3: Provide clear calls to action – and incentives for following them

Whether your call to action is driving traffic to your website, encouraging email newsletter opt-ins, or increasing your social media following, you need to make this call to action as clear and straightforward as possible. Confusion or ambiguity is an immediate turn-off, so make sure you spell out exactly what people need to do and how to do it.

Behind every call to action, you need to answer the question that is inevitably on the minds of your audience: “what’s in it for me?”. By providing compelling incentives for performing the desired action, your audience is much more likely to follow your lead.

Tip 4: Go for the highest quality you can afford

While budget will always play an important role in small business marketing considerations, opting for cheap-looking, inferior quality marketing materials can do considerable damage to your brand in both the short-term and the long-term. At this early stage it’s important to remember that, as mentioned above, first impressions are critical.

Quality doesn’t just extend to the physical materials on which your marketing is delivered. Skimping on components like copywriting or design can be just as off-putting as cheap paper, so avoid cutting costs by doing it yourself. If price is an issue, consider taking a ‘less is more’ approach and focusing on doing a few key tactics well.

Tip 5: Know your goals from the outset

Before you commence any type of marketing, you need to know what you want to achieve from this activity. Once you’ve established a set of clearly defined goals, you will be able to identify the steps you need to take to achieve these targets.

When setting marketing goals, it’s important to choose targets that are achievable, as well as ensuring you are as clear as possible about your goals. Be specific about what each goal involves and outline timeframes for achievement to work towards. In addition, it’s vital to make sure your marketing goals are easy to track and measure.

While there are many other areas you’ll need to consider before embarking on a marketing strategy, taking time to focus on these five areas will provide you with a strong starting point on which to build.

Stay tuned for the final part of our Brand Basics series, in which we’ll be looking at how to maintain your brand in the long term.

We’d love to hear your experiences of taking a brand to market – if you’ve got your own tips, why not share them with the MIH community? Get in touch by leaving your comments below…

Retail Marketing | face to face marketing consultant Katraj

| Retail Marketing company Katraj

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PRICE LISTS, ESTIMATES, QUOTATIONS AND TENDERS

PRICE LISTS, ESTIMATES, QUOTATIONS AND TENDERS–Every business has to give its customers prices for its products or services. There are several ways you can do this.

Many businesses, such as hairdressers, use a standardised price list that remains the same for every customer. Other businesses, such as painters and decorators, have to provide tailored prices for the specific products or services a customer wants to buy. This is usually done with an estimate or a quotation. Larger, more complicated projects are often priced on the basis of a detailed tender document drawn up by the customer.

This guide outlines how to present your prices to your customers. It tells you how to create a price list, describes the difference between a quotation and an estimate, details how to prepare quotations and estimates and describes how to price a tender for a contract.

PREPARE A PRICE LIST

Most businesses will need to draw up a price list at some stage. If you sell a fixed range of products, this may be the only form of pricing you need. This type of standard price list can also be used as the basis for pricing your non-standard orders.

It’s a good idea to date your price lists – particularly if your customer is likely to keep it for a long time. You should make it clear when any special offers expire. It can also be useful to include a clause at the end of the price list stating that prices are subject to change.

You should make clear whether any delivery, packing or postage costs are included in your prices. Additionally, although you don’t have to indicate discounts for bulk purchases on your price list, it might attract more business.

You may be able to use software packages such as Sage Simply Accounting to help you draw up complex price lists.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A QUOTATION AND AN ESTIMATE

It’s impossible for some businesses to give standard prices for goods and services. This may be because the skills, time and materials required for each job vary depending on different customers’ needs.

This situation is more common in some trades than others – decorators or builders, for example, rarely do exactly the same job twice. When it’s not possible to work from a standard price list, you have to give a quotation or an estimate instead.

A quotation is a fixed price offer that can’t be changed once accepted by the customer. This holds true even if you have to carry out much more work than you expected.

If you think this is likely to happen, it makes more sense to give an estimate. You can also specify in the quotation precisely what it covers, and that variations outside of this will be subject to additional charges.

An estimate is an educated guess at what a job may cost – but it isn’t binding. To take account of possible unforeseen developments, you should provide several estimates based on various circumstances, including the worst-case scenario. This will prevent your customer from being surprised by the costs.

To work out a quote or estimate you need to know your fixed and variable costs. These include the cost-per-hour of manual labour and the cost of the materials you’ll require. Your quote or estimate is then calculated according to what you think the job will involve.

You should provide all your quotes and estimates in writing and include a detailed breakdown. This will help to avoid any disputes about what work is included in your overall price.

You may also wish to set an expiry date. Your quote or estimate will no longer be valid after this time.

PREPARE A WRITTEN ESTIMATE

When you prepare an estimate it’s good practice to give the customer a written copy, including a full breakdown of costs.

Your estimate should include the:

You must include your full business contact details in your estimates. If you have letterhead, it’s a good idea to put your estimates on this.

Where applicable the GST/QST component of your price should also be provided.

It is advisable to get signed acceptance of your estimate and to make sure your customer is clear about what has been agreed.

Include a disclaimer stating clearly that the estimate’s price is subject to change. Agree in advance how any variations will be costed. These can arise if the client changes their requirements or if a job turns out to be more complicated than expected.

If you think price complications are likely to arise, it’s a good idea to supply a number of estimates based on different scenarios. This will help to avoid any disputes with your client as the work progresses.

When you start to work or supply, you should keep good records of any cost over-runs, along with how and why they occur.

Software packages can help you identify the costs involved in work for which you’re providing an estimate. Many accounting and spreadsheet packages can be used for this purpose.

PREPARE A WRITTEN QUOTATION

Quotations commit you to the price you specify, so they are usually used when:

It’s good practice to give your customers a written quotation. This should include the:

It’s also advisable to get your customer’s written confirmation that they’re happy with the price you have quoted and the work that this includes. This should be done before you carry out the work, or provide the goods or services.

Computer software can be used to help you determine the costs involved in any work for which you’re drawing up a quotation. Many accounting and spreadsheet packages can be used for this.

PREPARE A PRICE FOR A TENDER

If you provide goods or services to other businesses or the public sector, you may have to compete for contracts by submitting a tender. Although value for money can be an important component of many tenders, the way you price your bid can also make the difference between winning or losing business.

As with quotations, you’re committed to the price you submit in a tender if it is accepted.

Before you price a tender, check the instructions in your client’s bid specification. These will usually detail how the costs should be displayed so that bids are easier to compare.

You may be asked to provide:

Even if a detailed breakdown isn’t asked for, it’s in your interest to provide one. It can help you to win contracts by showing your client you’re offering good value.

For more advice on how to price contracts, read the page in this guide on how to win contracts at the right price.

In your tender document, your overall price should be set out in both words and figures. It should be clear which currency you are dealing in and whether your price includes GST/QST.

You should also state how long your prices will be valid for. It can sometimes take a long time for tender decisions to be made – by which time your costs may have increased.

It is a good idea to add a contingency for any unexpected costs or additional work that may arise. Explain where and why you have included this in your bid.

WIN CONTRACTS AT THE RIGHT PRICE

Pricing a tender for the first time can be difficult as you will have no benchmark or idea of what competitors might bid.

Price is important when submitting a tender, but don’t lose sight of the quality you will provide when deciding on it.

Clients often consider the lifetime cost of the products and services they buy. This includes their initial purchase cost, along with other factors such as maintenance costs, downtime costs (if there’s a breakdown) and the cost of consumables and disposal.

Make sure you don’t bid too low just to get your foot in the door. Clients will be suspicious of abnormally low bids – they may doubt the level of quality you can deliver for such a price. Remember that once you’ve committed to a very low price, you may find it difficult to increase your prices with this client in the future.

It is therefore better to price your tender realistically, and ensure that you focus on the benefits that you can provide to a customer. Get this right and many customers will be willing to pay the price required, even if it is more than your competitors will charge.

It can be helpful to think in terms of the value of your goods or services from the customer’s point of view, not your own. If you are the only quality provider of something a client really needs, it may be more valuable than you think. Your price should reflect this.

PRICE LISTS, ESTIMATES, QUOTATIONS AND TENDERS

Retail Marketing | face to face marketing consultant Katraj

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Retail Marketing company Katraj, face to face marketing consultant Katraj