A lot of what we do as a full service marketing agency is based on our day to day personal experiences. Sure, our understanding of sales processes and our professional training and qualifications mould these experiences, but things move on; new and exciting developments and possibilities present themselves.
One thing, however, remains constant. If you can provide solutions to consumer or business requirements that are unique, and you present them well, you will be successful.
I experienced this last Saturday. In an attempt to maintain fitness and to ‘lose a little weight’ I have begun running every other morning. Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not going to be challenging Paula Radcliffe any time soon, but one has to start somewhere.
I play tennis as a rule. I have spent a reasonable amount of money on tennis shoes and therefore naively thought that this footwear would be suitable for running until I got the hang of things. Boy was I wrong.
My running partner and oldest friend suggested that I visit a shop aptly named ‘Run’ which specialises in... well... running equipment. You know, shoes, trousers, tops and err, stuff. He said that they had a unique way of selecting a running shoe for you and made it sound like a kind of Ollivanders affair, you know, the wand shop in Harry Potter where the wands choose the wizard.
So off I popped to Run, in Hove.
On entering I was greeted by the owner, a mid forties man who had been running since his teens and therefore looked younger than my 37 years, a good advertisement for running if ever there was one. The shop was not as I expected; sparse with wooden floors, a few rails of clothing and a rack at the back containing a small selection of trainers.
None of these wares did I have time to browse, for that is not the process that one undergoes when selecting a wand from Ollivanders. Nope, I was greeted and then it was quickly explained to me exactly how the leg and foot works when running. Only one in fifteen people who go through the shop have perfectly working legs and feet apparently. After rolling my trouser legs up, removing my shoes and walking around the shop for a bit I was told that, although my step wasn’t bad, it wasn’t perfect. No surprises here for cynical old me then.
But then a pair of swishy trainers were thrust at me and a video camera appeared. Apparently, the next stage was to run down the busy street with my trouser legs rolled up like some sort of confused Mason whilst being videoed. This highlighted my problem and pinpointed the reason that I had been suffering a pain in my right calf, a fact of which I had not informed the shopkeeper. Impressive.
My right foot needed a shoe that would provide torsional stiffness and suitable product was selected from behind closed doors. My next task was to put them on and run around the block. This I did and returned puffing and slightly sweaty, to be quizzed on the feel of the shoe. Another was selected and the process began again. Blimey, this was tiring.
The second shoe was better than the first. I liken it to slipping your feet into the lightest, fluffy whisked egg whites whilst having each one gently massaged by a thousand fluttering fairies. These were the ones.
I paid up, had a chat and left, ready to try my new purchase.
I have to say, they’re pretty perfect. My performance pounding the streets has improved and the pain in my calf has disappeared. Oh, and I’ve told at least three others about my experience with aplomb. I am now an expert, or at least I think I am, and my master is the youthful looking chap at Run in Hove.
You see, this is the point, your USP is everything. We’re damn good at marketing; but at the end of the day, if you’re in it for the long term your product has to be good.
Take Jo Malone. I know people poke fun at excessive gift packaging, the recent Argos TV advertisement is a good example of this; but I like it. I’ll wait an extra five minutes during the Christmas rush to have my purchases boxed, pampered, scented, frilled and bowed. I like the theatre, even though I’m fully aware that I’m paying through the nose for it.
But imagine, just for a moment, that you’ve queued for 15 minutes with your armful of goodies for the wife just to be told when you reach the counter that they’ve run out of packaging. “Sod it” I’d say, “I’m off to L’Occitane around the corner”.