UK Businesses and Coronavirus

As the coronavirus spreads worldwide, UK businesses are increasingly concerned about keeping employees safe while meeting the needs of customers. Another major concern is how to deal with disrupted supply chains, as firms source goods from nations around the world.

Will customers continue to shop in person or will retailers need to enhance online and mobile shopping alternatives to meet demand?

Please stay safe.

Brexit: adjusting marketing plans for uncertainty

Now that Brexit has taken place, businesses large and small are going to have to adjust their marketing plans.

Much uncertainty remains, however, as this Guardian article indicates and this podcast interview with a small business owner indicates.

Brexit and business

Brexit

With Brexit in the works for 2020, UK businesses that rely on exporting for revenue are hoping to hear more about plans for trade deals with the European Union. UK businesses that import parts or merchandise are also keenly interested in how these negotiated trade deals will affect their operations.

Merger planned between Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot

If Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot complete their just-announced merger, the resulting firm will be the industry's fourth largest.

Read more about this merger here.

Direct-to-consumer brands challenge established brands

A growing number of upstart direct-to-consumer brands are challenging established manufacturers. What are they doing? How are they doing? For an overview, take a look at this post by Reckitt Benckiser's head of global marketing and innovation.

Airbus deletes A380 from product line

Some product decisions have long time frames and extremely costly consequences. Aircraft manufacturers therefore spend considerable time studying the marketing environment to project future trends in travel and demand, before they develop and introduce a new jet.

Airbus spent billions to develop its double-decker A380 jumbo jet, betting that airlines would be ferrying large numbers of passengers from major hub to major hub. It was test-flown in 2007, receiving much publicity for its spacious interior and the amenities that could be added (such as on-board showers and luxurious first-class suites).

Airbus received some big orders from Emirates, among other airlines. In fact, Emirates is by far the largest buyer of A380s. But when Emirates cut the number of A380s in its latest order, and other orders slowed down, Airbus decided to discontinue this product after 2021. In fact, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic that brought international air travel to record-low levels seems to be accelerating the move away from A380s.

Competitor Boeing based its product decisions on a different forecast for the travel environment, believing that passengers would want to travel from point to point rather than hub to hub. It put the emphasis on nimbleness and fuel efficiency, rather than on having a high number of passengers being carried per flight. And that's attracted more buyers than the Airbus A380.

Now Boeing's original 747 jumbo jet is transitioning to a cargo carrier, extending the life cycle of this aging product. In addition, Boeing is still marketing its 777 and 787 jets to airline customers--and looking ahead with forecasts for the future of travel as it plans future product introductions.

Links to resources about marketing and marketing plans

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Please click here to see an updated list of resources (such as marketing news, business news and industry news) you can use for background as you prepare a marketing plan.

Competitors as partners (and stakeholders)

Not only can competitors be key stakeholders (meaning your marketing performance may be influenced by rivals and influence the performance of rivals) - but in some cases, competitors can be key partners.

An entrepreneur recently explained when he considers it good business to partner with a competitor in strategic ways:

• Partner to take advantage of opportunities for entering new markets - with co-developed products, for instance. Or to tap a new channel for distribution.
• Partner to co-purchase raw materials used by both, at a lower price due to high-volume buying in combination.
• Partner with complementary products or marketing, letting customers know about the complementary offerings and receiving customer referrals from the partner as well.
• Partner to undertake activities that will achieve societal objectives.

Microsoft, the giant technology company, asked last year: 'Are we partners or competitors?' The answer: 'Yes, we are.'

Partners, whether competitors or non-competing vendors, are clearly stakeholders when it comes to each other's performance.

In this 2017 blog post, Microsoft wrote the following about working together with competitors as partners to provide customers with what they need and add value for all participants.

It’s not a we-win-you-lose sort of deal. In fact, it’s the opposite. Every time we come together with our partners for a solution, we open a new socket that creates value for everyone. We all need to work together and use transformative technology to help partners build successful ecosystems for customers.

Tracking trends via Google search results

What were some key UK trends in 2018?

Google recently published a list of the most frequently-used search terms amongst UK users. It's not a surprise that many people searched for Meghan Markle, given the hoopla over the royal wedding this year. I was surprised that her name was not at the TOP of the search list. It was #2, followed by the royal wedding.*

At #4 was searches for Black Panther, the blockbuster movie.

At the very top of the list, at #1, was the World Cup. Football fever!

To see the trends globally and country, by country, go to the page Google's Year in Search and select a place.

Globally, for example, Google says the #1 search was . . . World Cup.

Even in the United States, World Cup was the #1 search during 2018.

For historical comparison, you can also select a different year. No individual country results are available for 2001, but globally, the top search term was Nokia, followed by Sony, BMW, Palm (remember that brand? It was a personal digital assistant back in the day) and Adobe.

Fun and an interesting look back on trends from the past.

*Expect Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and the royal baby to trend very high in 2019 search results, right?

When brands include sounds

For many years, computer users have noticed a specific musical sound during bootup: Microsoft Windows has one sound, Apple Macintosh has another sound. These are examples of sonic branding. Similarly, brand jingles and musical straplines are part of sonic identity.

Now sonic branding is becoming increasingly important as brands seek to further differentiate themselves in this era of Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Echo and other virtual assistants and smart speakers.

In other words, the audio component of branding must support visual elements and other aspects of brand identity, because so many consumers rely on voice commands and audio response.

To be effective, the sound must be brief and memorable, consistent with other brand elements. It can be used in both audio and video brand experiences. And it should appeal to the target market, developing an emotional connection with the brand.