Transcript After the recession. How are European companies fighting back?

After the recession. How are
European companies fighting
back?
Andrew Harvey
Moscow
22 October 2014
First, some warnings
• Content is practical
• Basis is experience, not academic
• And based on the fact that I am still learning
• Some background and then some examples
• Happy to take questions
A little about me
• Early career in travel – both business and
consumer
• First Commercial Director for Virgin Trains
• 15+ years in professional services sector
• Firms to €400million t/o and 3000 people
• Consultant to range of businesses, leading
marketing and change
My other roles
• Board member and Chairman, Chartered
Institute of Marketing (2007 to 2014)
• Board member and Chairman, European
Marketing Confederation (2008 to date)
European Marketing Confederation
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Marketing associations across Europe
Based in Brussels
Sets standards for profession
Shares good practice between members
Content provider for member associations
EMCQ - common qualifications framework
What’s the context? What’s
happening in Europe?
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Growth still very weak
Inflation fell to 0.4% in July (ECB target 2%)
5 EU countries in negative growth
Some bright spots – Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania
And outside the Eurozone – Hungary, Poland,
Great Britain
• For marketers in all businesses – pressure to
perform
Marketing orientation – even more
important than before
• Establishing the market need
• Designing a response to that need
• Distributing/communicating a product or
service
• Delivering customer experience
• Not the preserve of private companies.
Equally applicable to government sector,
charities etc
What can happen if you get it wrong?
• Decline is inevitable
• That speeds up in changing markets
• And even more so in the digital age
How to get it wrong – and right again
• Founded 1884 in Leeds, northern England
• Grew for over 100 years
• Reputation for value and innovation and as a
great employer
• 1953 – ‘The customer is always and
completely right.’
• A brand to aspire to be like, notably in retail
What went wrong?
• No customer based strategy. For example uncoordinated international expansion
• Poorly managed switch to international
sourcing, aggressive buying policies
• Competition at both top and bottom of its
markets
• No true marketing orientation
• Recession
What’s changed?
• Focus on the voice of the customer,
significant effort
• Customer voice as the driver for everything
• Market positioning that reinforces that
• Practical change to offering
And the impact?
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Recession caused decline but…..
Turnover back, above former levels
Profit around 50% of best years
Sentiment improving
• … but lasting damage
What does all of that look like?
Digital world – a way to marketing
orientation
Digital – driving reputation for a
service company
• 2010, started with an Icelandic volcano –
providing information
• Now service support – 24/7, 10 languages, all
in one hour
• As an example, ‘Meet and Seat’
• Facebook – 4.7m followers, 4% engagement
• Multi-platform – Twitter, Instagram….
Digital – more than reputation
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Three pillars – reputation, service, commerce
Very personal – ‘What I need now’
Very fast – 1 hour or less
Expectations getting higher and higher
And digital can be used to change
sentiment
And what does KLM say?
• Complete change in customer engagement
• Using database to drive service changes
• Social based marketing campaigns – seven
times better rate of return
And what more does KLM say (but
might rather not)?
• The dog is an actor
• Keep social ‘honest’
• www.keepsocialhonest.com
Change in communications landscape
– it’s real
Online ads % Print %
Great Britain 40
28
Sweden
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38
The
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Netherlands
40
France
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• Every European country,
print in decline (not
Germany)
• TV varies hugely by
media market
• Online growth in every
country
Source: Publicis
For some, digital is a real threat
• Some models rely on other channels
• As an example, luxury travel market
• Built on a knowledgeable adviser, quality
experience
• Does the internet destroy all that?
Kuoni
• Swiss – founded 1894, strong across Europe,
particularly in Britain, Switzerland,
Scandinavia
• Mixed direct and agency sales
• Travel more commonplace – and much more
self-service
• Needed new positioning
• Really strong brand equity, needed to work
harder
Kuoni – improving direct sales
experience (fewer quality agents)
Kuoni – advertising to reinforce
strengths, extend distribution channels
Kuoni - outcomes
• Context of weak international market
• 27% improvement in income
• Key elements – greater control over
distribution, improvement in sentiment
amongst essential markets
Seeking out a niche
• Insurance, a market where most do everything
• RIAS, launched 1992 as ‘over 50s’ specialist
• Allowed building processes and data for that
segment, eg claims handling
• Heavy reliance on ‘old fashioned e-mail’
• Contact centre culture built on quality
conversations
RIAS - results
• Renewal rate almost twice that of competitors
– for same age group
• Customers buy 2.1 policies a year (compared
to 1.2)
RIAS – what does it look like
And how can not-for-profits fight
back?
• Many of the same tools and techniques can be
used
• Background – charitable giving under pressure
• Competing pressures for money
• Western governments leaving more social care
and support with charities
Making the medium the message
Simple but creative
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A problem most of us see every day
Irritating to us, but imagine if you were blind
24% click through rate
Almost four times more likely to donate
• In digital, the best are still very creative
In conclusion – what have we learnt
• Some companies buck the trend
• Thinking and planning are the key
• Creative still a vital part of what we do
• Common theme – thinking from the customer
perspective, or marketing orientation
• Understanding your market is everything
Thank you for listening
• What are your stories?
• What are your questions?
Andrew Harvey
+ 32 2 742 17 40
[email protected]
andrewqharvey
After the recession. How are
European companies fighting
back?
Andrew Harvey
Moscow
22 October 2014