This was part of a pitch I made to Blue Orchid last year. It's a good example of what a business can expect from ImpSMART. We'll look at how your marketing supports your business goals and how we can make it more effective.

1. Outline Marketing Plan

Marketing plan is an element of BO strategic and
business plans, which I haven’t seen

Used marketing manager’s job description as
format for outline plan

Undertaken research using online resources:
website, social media to develop an outsider’s
perspective

Considered what additional marketing activities
might add value – you may be doing some of this
already…

I would flesh this plan out in the context of your
strategic and business plan, adding budgets and
timescales as a first priority

2. Business Support Market:
Strategic Environment

LEP use of RGF (and ERDF) funding has created a
patchwork of initiatives and programmes

Emergence of sub-regionalised and localised start
up and business growth projects

Cut-throat competition to win contracts that vary
in delivery requirements – 1:1; 1:many; advisor
based; coaching; mentoring

Finding clients is becoming a localised task –
usually for regeneration organisations rather than
delivery contractors

Leads to potentially competing marketing
priorities – credibility to funders vs. loyalty to
clients?

3. Blue Orchid:
Brand Values

From ‘About Us’ on website:


Meet people rather than send them sales flyers

Get the little details right

Do what we’re good at and like to do

Be seen as the best

Innovate and improve the overall offering


Loyalty to our client, not to our products
Gave it straight — the good, bad and ugly
Still apply in current strategic environment?

4. Brand Positioning:
Products

Outsider’s Perspective

StartUp/Starting a Business:


Bland, undifferentiated from other start-up offers

Could it be personalised: Starting Your Business?


Top UK start up provider – 2000+ businesses started
Call to action could be stronger
StepUp/Growing a Business:

Too few StepUp case studies

Poorly positioned against Growth Accelerator?

Could it be personalised: Growing Your Business?

Call to action could be stronger

5. Brand Positioning:
Outline Plan

Understand the hierarchy of stakeholders and
priorities – what’s most important, what makes BO
the best at what it does?


Results? Clients? StartUp? Growth? Staff expertise?
Performance? Quality of service? Innovation?
Geography? Partners? Funders?
Audit current brand values and positioning:



What makes Blue Orchid special?
What makes Blue Orchid different?
All communications plans and activities must
consistently reflect the key values and priorities

6. Customers/Competitors:
Outline Plan

Research and analyse customer and competitor
activities/trends

Include potential funders – especially LEP (RGF)

Include partner activities/trends

The client management system important here

Customer (and partner) satisfaction measurement
and monitoring?

Competitors: Winning Pitch, a4e, Prince’s Trust,
Start Up Britain, Start Up Nation?

7. Blue Orchid Website:
Outsider’s Perspective

Search: Business Start Up Support


Search: Business Growth Support


14th on Google, #1 start up support provider; 17th on Yahoo,
#1 start up support provider; Bing: Not in top 50 results
Google, Yahoo and Bing: Not in top 50 results– Growth
Accelerator advertised, #1;
How could it be improved/enhanced:


More use of image and video to emphasise that this is a
people business

Make case studies easier to find and categorise them –
improves credibility with funders and encourages clients


Benefits (to clients and funders) rather than service features
Improve call to action (for funders, clients)?
Depends on purpose: a key tool for generating client
enquiries or credibility for Blue Orchid…

8. Blue Orchid Website:
Outline Plan

Establish purpose of the website

Understand how website currently performs in the
context of its purpose (research analytics & results)

Understand current and potential SEO

Understand CMS: do we have control of
look/content?

Understand current social media linkages

Establish new performance objectives

Ensure that opportunities for inward and outward
links are maximised

Develop content plan and schedule

9. Social Media:
Outsider’s Perspective

Broadcasting rather than interaction

Automated posts

Inconsistent use of social media


E.G. #blueorchid, inconsistent branding on personal
LinkedIn profiles
Current baseline

Facebook: 1586 Likes, but only 9 Talking about it

Twitter: 1407 followers, 310 following, 1037 Tweets

LinkedIn: 299 followers, no recommendations

10. Social Media:
Outline Plan

Establish purpose

Audit current and potential usage – what platforms best
suit our brand values, priorities and audience needs?

Establish objectives


Twitter (e.g. increase followers, retweets and clicks)


Facebook (e.g. increase likes and interactivity)
LinkedIn (e.g. build following and recommendations)
Proactively build and manage (driving the journey)

Improve specific content – more photos and video

Widen staff participation in generating social media content –
team approaches always most effective

Engage clients to develop social proof

Different content for each social media feed

Connect website and all social media platforms appropriately

11. Client Case Studies:
Outline Plan

A key tool of the marketing role

Describe scope, quality and impact of Blue Orchid services
using client stories

Used effectively, builds credibility…

Regular flow of relevant client case studies for online
media and sharing with partners and funders

Gold standard: client endorsement – ‘without Blue Orchid’s
help, I wouldn’t…’

Make sure that flow of case studies matches priority
services and funder needs

Beyond client case studies – client recommendations on
LinkedIn and interaction on Facebook and Twitter…

Social proof that Blue Orchid is what it says it is!