Today at the Catalyst Conference Bill Alexander, Managing Director of Red Letter Days spoke on the importance of brand. When Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones bought Red Letter days in 2005 it was in administration with £17million of outstanding vouchers, just £3million in the bank, but with a brand name that could allow the business to be rebuilt.
The three point strategy to rescue the company was 1) Service, to be best of breed, 2) To differentiate themselves from the competition, and 3) To look after the customer up to and after their Red Letter Day.
One of the big messages from the talk was that an online presence could drive off line sales. Not every buyer would buy online, but an online presence coupled with off line sales pays dividends… some buyers want to talk to a human before committing to a purchase.
Red Letter Days combine SEO, Pay Per Click adveritising, affilate schemes, retail sites (such as eBay) and email marketing but importantly all sites look and feel the same. Whether it be their eBay store, their own website, or an affiliate site the Red Letter Day branding is consistent across all mediums.
eBay sellers can learn much from this strategy, as eBay has emphasised recently and backed up with incentives, customer service is essential to building a long term business. Branding is key, your eBay shop, listings, about me page, email marketing, literature (eg shipping notes) and your own website should all carry the same branding, colours, look and feel.
When a customer lands on any of your online pages your brand should instantly remind them who you are, and the service they received last time they traded with you.
