Whatever people think about Tesco, the UK’s leading supermarket, they know their customers.

Last month I was lucky enough to attend a talk by Giles Pavey, Head of Analysis at Dunnhumby, the Tesco subsidiary that was instrumental in the creation of Tesco’s Clubcard customer loyalty scheme.

As a trained Marketer, I know how frequently Tesco is held up to marketing students as a case study in how to get inside the minds of your customers. Hearing Giles talk about the extent of Tesco’s profiling did not disappoint. Frankly their customer knowledge and targeting is gobsmacking.

Tesco are massive. The 3rd largest retailer in the world with stores in 14 countries across Asia, Europe and North America. But there are lessons companies of any size can learn from them.

Tesco claim they have only two sources of competitive advantage.

1. The ability to learn more about their customers faster than the competition.
2. The ability to turn that learning into action quicker that the competition.

Tesco monitor their customer behaviour rigorously. They mine this data for insights. Then they take action on these insights, identifying areas to capitalise on and areas of concern.

Where they get the most traction is from taking action. Through action, they drive changes in customer expectations and behaviour.

They took action on their customers’ frustration at long checkout queues, initiating a “one-in-front” policy – if there was more than one customer in front, they would open another checkout. Similarly they responded to customer demand for longer opening hours by introducing 24 hour stores.

The learning here is to TAKE ACTION. So many businesses have fascinating insights in their hands but don’t bother to take action on them.

Tesco seek to continually add value through enhanced services and reduce costs through improvements in the supply chain and logistics.

Here’s a great example of how their profiling of customers through their Clubcard scheme gives deep learning that can be used to drive increased sales.

Avatar DVD launch
1st week after launch. Price point = £18.99
Target audience: Film buffs, early adopters.
Viewer profile: Have been waiting eagerly for the release. Blu-ray player owners.

3 months after launch. Price point = £10.99
Target audience: The blockbuster viewer or someone making a gift purchase.
Viewer profile: Prepared to wait for a reduction in price.

12 months after launch. Price point = £4.99
Target audience: The discount shopper.
Viewer profile: Likes mainstream movies.

Interesting Tesco facts:
Tesco have the most profitable online grocery site in the world
Tesco.com is one of the Top 10 most visited sites in the UK
The Tesco Finest range is the biggest brand in the UK

[Picture: James Tuckermans]

Facebook extends its reach

I recently attended a seminar about Facebook. It was a great update and I thought I’d share some of the most interesting take outs with you.

One in 11 people on the planet use Facebook

The average user is connected to 80 community pages.

If your business is targeting consumers, you should investigate the potential to communicate with them via Facebook.

If your audience is business to business, Facebook won’t have as much relevant potential for you so focus on other initiatives.

Create a community, engage with your target audience proactively.

Starbucks uses its fan page to combat negative publicity. By allowing their 20m+ fans to comment feeling they are enpowering their customers so that their positive comments drown out the negative feedback.

Nokia actively starts conversations on their Facebook page. By encouraging the public to enter competitions and upload their own images, they’re giving their customers a reason to keep coming back to their fan page.

Remember that if your community don’t normally get together you need to start conversations to get them interacting.

Provide value and make it easy for fans to share information via Share buttons.

How have you been using Facebook for business? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Our blog of the month is much more than simply a blog. Marketing Donut is an online powerhouse jammed full of advice, support and articles on marketing for small businesses.

Whether you want to know how to develop a marketing plan, undertake market research, create an advertising campaign or plan a successful promotional event, Marketing Donut is a great starting point. It is full of loads of helpful tips and resources on a wide range of topics together with real life case studies and expert commentary.

What I love best about Marketing Donut is that it is practical and the language they use is straightforward and jargon free. From my experience of providing marketing consultancy to small businesses that is exactly what small businesses need.

Follow Marketing Donut on Twitter @MarketingDonut

What marketing blog and websites do you enjoy reading and find valuable?

A client of mine is a food photographer and at our last meeting we got talking about recent food adverts.

We both particularly enjoyed the Lurpak’s ‘good food deserves’ campaign (by Wieden and Kennedy) so I thought I’d share my favourite advert in their latest series about the mighty ’shroom. Mouthwatering magnificence.

Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2011/12

Whether or not the rumours are true that Kate Middleton has chosen Alexander McQueen to design her wedding dress remains to be seen on April 29 but it would be a fantastic choice that has been widely endorsed in the fashion industry.

I have been reading a lot about Alexander McQueen in the news regarding Paris Fashion Week and watched the recent Channel 4 documentary ‘McQueen and I’ about the life and work of the brand’s founder.

I have been struck by what a fascinating and incredibly successful brand story it is.

Firstly Alexander’s rapid ascent on the international fashion stage through his own groundbreaking label and his time as Head Designer at Paris fashion house, Givenchy.

Michelle Obama wears McQueen for a state dinner in honour of Chinese president.

After Gucci took a 51% share in his business in 2000 and appointed Alexander as Creative Director, the company launched stores in London, Milan, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Over the subsquent years, menswear, a cruise collection and the McQ diffusion line have followed together with a online store.

What is testament to the brand’s strength is that since McQueen’s death, the brand has continued to grow under the guardianship of Sarah Burton, McQueen’s right hand woman for more than 14 years. As Creative Director, Burton has remained true to the brand ethos embracing McQueens raw emotional energy and exquisite tailoring whilst bringing her own femininity to the collections.

Do you have a luxury fashion brand that you admire? It would be great to hear which fashion brands you admire.

[Photos: Sepphora Beautyzone & Beauty Is Diverse]

Talking to your customers is good for business

You might be thinking that the headline of this post is stating the obvious but you’d be surprised.

Time and time again when I get talking to new or prospective clients, I encounter businesses who are not speaking to their customers.

They talk about about how business isn’t great or how they’d love to get a whole bunch of new clients yet they’re neglecting the happy clients that are right there in front of them.

Your existing clients are the ones who are pleased with the work that you’ve done for them. Your clients have their own network of contacts who could spread the word about their business. Your clients might be happy to buy more from them if only they knew about the other services they offer.

Much has been written about brand advocacy, customer loyalty and creating a referral business. But my message is simply to find ways to keep in touch with your customers.

Treat your customers how you would like to be treated. Pick up the phone to them on a regular basis or better still meet them if you’re in the same geographical area. Share information with them that they may find interesting and useful. Be considerate and professional.

Make sure your customers are up to date with your range of services. That they know about special offers and new developments in your business. Ask them for feedback and testimonials and they will be flattered you contacted them.

Make looking after your existing clients your priority above everything else. Focus on your existing customers and you’ll be surprised how much better business gets.

What have you found to be the most effective way to keep in touch with your customers?

[Picture: INEOS]

teapigs - bringing quality fun to a cup of char

teapigs are taking over the world and I for one am very happy about it.

They are a secret to be shared. If you are a tea drinker and haven’t tried them, what have you been waiting for. And if you’re not a tea drinker – this brand might just change your habits.

teapigs are all about great tea without the snobbery. Their brand values are based on only ever selling teas of the highest quality and doing what they do with any airs and graces.

I first stumbled upon teapigs on my welcome tray whilst staying in a hotel last year. Now they are becoming much more widely available and are stocked in many supermarkets and even my local Carluccios’ are now serving teapigs as their tea of choice.

This is a brand that delivers on their promises – great tea, approachable style.

I love the notes on the back of their packaging which describes what’s special about the tea. On their ‘assam tea with spices and chilli’, they note that this chai is for those of you who don’t order korma and plain naan from your local curry house.

Follow teapigs on Twitter @teapigs for their latest news and insights or sign up to their Drink Real Tea Mission.

[Photo via Hippy Shopper]

My blog of the month for January is Brass Tack Thinking written by Amber Naslen and Tamsen McMahon.

These savvy communications strategists brighten my day with their straight talking posts. They make you sit up and challenge yourself with their comments and thoughts on how to improve business, communications and marketing, with a bit of self development thrown in.

As they tell you Brass Tack Thinking is mindset – a set of principles and systems – for making things happen. It’s teachable, repeatable process that uses basic elements—brass tacks, if you will—to assess a situation as it is, how we want it to be, and how to make that future state real and sustainable.

Amber’s new book, ‘The Now Revolution‘ which she’s co-written Jay Baer launches very soon and is at the top of Amazon wish list.

You can also follow them both on Twitter – Amber at the fantastic handle @ambercadabra and self-styled ‘intellectual magpie’ Tamsen @tamadear.

Whilst I was putting my feet up and trying to avoiding the tin of Quality Street one evening over the festive holidays, I caught ITV’s ‘Ad of the Year’.

The winning advert, apparently chosen by a panel of 8,000 viewers was the ‘Harvey the dog’ campaign from The Red Brick Road for ITV’s own marketing body Thinkbox.

I’m not convinced that it was the best ad of the year but this was a viewers poll and what’s technically good is not always what sticks in the mind of the viewer. Sometimes it is simply what makes them smile or what stays in their mind.

It also got me thinking how dogs continue to play a big role in TV adverts. One advert that my partner and I moaned about throughout the holidays was the new animated Andrex dogs. Can Andrex really expect us to have as much attachment to these almost sinister looking dogs that we did to the cute labrador puppies? We can’t see the new ads lasting and are on the look out for a ‘Bring back the real dogs’ campaign to sign up to.

In contrast the dog advert that resonates with me, not for his controversial shivering but for his catchy singing is the Volkswagen Polo Confidence advert. The ad was actually banned after hundreds of complaints from viewers suspecting animal abuse but you can still view it on YouTube.

I look forward to seeing what role dogs play in advertising in 2011. Meanwhile it would be great to hear what your favourite dog advert is?

Well hasn’t Qantas had an interesting month! The Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd (QANTAS) has been blighted by ongoing problems with its planes, including emergency landings. Only this morning, passengers were forced off a Qantas plane in Melbourne bound for Sydney after a brake problem.

In Australia, Qantas is billed as the national airline. The brand has tapped into the passionate Aussie patriotism and established a nationwide brand loyalty that British Airways can only dream. Their adverts are iconic.

I used to live in Australia and often flew with Qantas on internal flights. I may love their adverts but I would never consider flying with them long haul because their service on the short haul flights was so poor. My partner who travels extensively with work also feels the same and has always had a bad experience with them.

As a member of Qantas’s Frequent Flyers programme, I have been surprised by their lack of communication and reassurance over the past few weeks. I received my first and only correspondence from them about their aircraft problems on November 24 – almost 20 days after the first incident. When it finally arrived the communication was a very dry email from their CEO.

Instead of reassuring their Frequent Flyers and focusing on crisis communications, it seems Qantas have turned their attention to social media. They have just launched both an official Twitter account and a profile for their media department focused on breaking news.

Whilst I approve of Qantas reaching out through social media, I fear their focus is on on generating PR rather than crisis management. They are already making the most of PR opportunities surrounding the Ashes cricket tournament by wading into the Ashes hype on Twitter.