The Rocket Marketing Group have filed end of year results for 2009 showing an impressive 35% increase in turnover from £3.7m in 2008, to over £5m.

In a further year of terrific growth, Rocket’s pre-tax profits have also increased by 55%, proving that Rocket’s commitment to efficiency and business processes is reaping rewards.

Rocket has worked hard to expand on its success over the last three years, and has seen the results of new revenue partnerships with Living TV, Flying Brands and iSUBSCRiBE, as well as securing a further long-term deal with sit-up channels.  (more…)

With VAT set to rise to 20% in 2011, the retail sector will welcome the news that online sales jumped by 22% in May, compared to 2009 levels.

The online market has become a key sector for businesses, in part due to the financial limitations imposed by the recession. Companies have found marketing and selling their products online to be a very cost effective way of generating revenue and attracting customers, with the latest figures showing that shoppers spent £4.5bn online during May alone.

The research, conducted by the International Media Retail Group (IMRG) found that companies who utilised a range of sales channels had the most success. For example, retailers with both physical stores and online facilities saw year-on-year sales rise by 28%, compared with a rise of just 1% for online-only retailers. (more…)

As published in The Argus, Tuesday, February 23rd , 2010

The Rocket Marketing Group will now be offering their exclusive Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card on PeopleValue’s Advantage website. PeopleValue delivers employee benefit programmes to a diverse range of organisations.

This new offer gives employees who use PeopleValue, the opportunity to purchase the Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card and enjoy two rentals for the price of one, an unlimited amount of times, for a year. The Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card offers a fantastic opportunity for employees that use PeopleValue to enjoy great entertainment more often. (more…)

As published in The Argus, Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The Rocket Marketing Group has recruited Perfect Pizza to their loyalty membership programmes, offering a Buy One Get One Free deal.

This Buy One Get One Free at Perfect Pizza offer fits perfectly with Rocket’s Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card. Rocket will promote these complementing offers as the perfect night in, to members of its loyalty and membership programmes. Both the Blockbuster 2 for 1 Movie & Game Rental Card and Buy One Get One Free with Perfect Pizza are available to use anytime, as often as members like, on the full ranges, so will help members to enjoy their ‘Appetite for Entertainment’, whatever their lifestyle.

Please contact us if you are interested in any of these offers.

Terms and conditions apply. See www.theentertainmentclub.co.uk for details.

It is clear what the benefits of sales promotions are for consumers – and they know it. Demand for rewards and consumer incentives have grown immeasurably in the last year and it’s now what consumers expect wherever they shop. On the surface it would appear that this is a one-sided relationship in which consumers are holding businesses over a barrel. Sales promotion shouldn’t and mostly isn’t something that businesses are forced to resort to. Managed properly and thought out thoroughly, sales promotion can be mutually beneficial – particularly in the current economic climate. So what are the benefits of consumer sales promotions for businesses?

Consumer retention

In the long-term a loyal customer is worth far more to a business than an occasional high purchaser. When a customer is recognised as loyal the emotional involvement with the brand is increased. Showing recognition by offering consumer incentives for loyalty stands to solidify the idea of staying loyal to the brand. Loyalty can be rewarded in a number of ways from offering a coupon at the checkout to points collection cards.

Create positive brand associations

Working together with another brand creates a sense of corporate validation and helps your brand to tap into new loyal customer bases. Whatever you trade in there are sure to be a synergistic brands for you to work with, for example hotels and theatres or gyms and sports clothing retailers. It can also work well for pushing you brand’s image in a new direction by moving away from the logical partnerships, for example if you want to raise your green credentials how about teaming up with environmental brands such as The National Trust?

Increase brand recognition

Brand recognition is essential for enticing customers to buy your product/service over another. The authority recognition gives your brand offers consumers confidence in your product/service, as they know what to expect. Increasing brand recognition comes from offering your sales promotion to a wider audience than your regular customer base. A good example of this is featuring a consumer incentive or exclusive discount in a loyalty and membership programme or discount club. These programmes are usually a free marketing option, managed by an external agency that have an large existing customer base.

Reach new consumers

Sales promotion can be one of the most effective ways to catch new customers’ eye.  The best ways to offer a discount or consumer incentive is through a loyalty and membership programmes/ discount club or a chance to win a grand prize. By doing this you are giving consumers a reason to stray away from the brands they are usually loyal to. Competitions are an instant way to catch people’s attention but loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs go out to an established customer base and can sustain a lasting message.

These rewards are useful to any business and however you want to represent your brand there is a sales promotion answer for your business, that can be effectively integrated to compliment any marketing plan.

Contact us if you would like to discuss how one of our loyalty and membership programmes/ discount clubs or consumer incentive and rewards can benefit your brand.

Over the last few years the rise in the use of sales promotion in the form of vouchers and discount clubs, has led to a culture of consumers not leaving the home for a meal/ day trip without one. Because the vouchers and discount codes accompany so much cash into the tills, it is as if the voucher has become a form of legal tender.

In order to compete for customer retention is it therefore essential that retailers now adopt sales promotion techniques and trade/deal with vouchers plus exclusive discounts, even in the run up to Christmas?

Companies use sales promotion by offering discounts, and accept them against payment for a number of products and services. The rise in the voucher is not only specific to the people who you would traditionally associate with bargain hunting, but most people now have used a discount in some form or other. Nielsen online reported that 9.8 million Britons used a coupon or reward site in 2008. In 2008 coupon and reward websites were the second fastest growing UK online sector according to YouGov. And most tellingly of all, 48% of shoppers were more likely to use retailers who offered voucher codes (Nov 2008).

Consumers are now programmed to look for discounts, if one shop isn’t offering a discount then the next one will be, so it is therefore not surprising that retailers are using sales promotion tactics by offering vouchers or exclusive discounts to members of loyalty and membership programmes or discount clubs. By doing this retailers are not only bolstering their presence on the high street but encouraging increased redemption online as well. And as internet shopping becomes the norm for many people, it’s increasingly important for retailers to establish their brand online – where it is even more important to be competitively priced, as other retailers are only one click away.

Contact Us if you are interested sales promotion for your business. We can discuss rewards for your consumers or an exclusive discount to offer members of a loyalty and membership programme or discount club.

Childhood days of collecting small change for a piggy bank may seem like a long winded approach to financial efficiency, but the lessons of prudent saving, budgeting and most importantly patience - can be key to getting ahead in the current economic climate both for businesses and consumers alike. Hard pressed consumers have become savvy at spotting bargains/ finding ways to save money and it’s important for businesses to be aware of the general change in customer’s spending habits to improve customer retention.

One way consumers are making substantial savings is by spending a little time calculating income against regular outgoings and developing a weekly or monthly budget. Looking at figures isn’t fun, and whilst this may in fact sound too simple to be of use, once aware of both how much they are spending and primarily where they’re spending it, ways of reducing this spend become much clearer. The key to customer retention for businesses is to be aware of the intended target market - knowing how they approach saving and subsequently positioning your brand as an essential purchase.

Consumers are now shopping around

Businesses operate in a competitive market and in many sectors, like energy for example, for consumers prices can seem frustratingly similar between suppliers. There is however evidence of fierce competition presented through indirect promotions like customer benefits and rewards. Even if consumers don’t take advantage of rewards immediately they retain information for future use. Price comparison sites can help with this process for utility bills and insurance especially, but sometimes this involves them engaging with your brand on the phone – consumers taking ten minutes out to get a quote or two will be receptive to any extra benefits you can communicate to them, making it easier for your company to achieve customer retention. A recent high-profile promotion is Tesco’s BOGOL (buy one get one later), designed to improve customer retention instead of just moving volume of stock.

Considering before buying

Bigger purchases like cars, furniture, computers, mp3 players, etc. can all set consumers back substantial amounts of their hard earned income. Before they buy, they can check to see if there is any scope for negotiation on price, or if the supplier would throw anything else in! More importantly though, consumers now usually ensure that they’re buying the right item beforehand. It’s too easy to regret an impulse purchase just a few months later, or to get a gift wrong for a loved one on Christmas eve. At the end of the day, if times are tough consumers should always ask, “Do I really need this?” A good technique people are using is waiting a day for every £100 in the price (or £10 for smaller purchases) - if still happy by the end of this period then they’ll at least have had a chance to think it through thoroughly and check out the competition. In this instance if you can’t  sell to them straight away, it’s about making the effort and giving them a reason to return (competitive price, the best service, any optional extras you’ll throw in just for them) – nurturing their needs and respecting a requirement for space plus reassurances.

Ordering pre-purchase vouchers

High street stores and big name brands like Debenhams, Topshop, Miss Selfridge, PC World and B&Q often either provide their own form of pre-purchase voucher, or are part of a wider voucher like Love2shop or SayShoppingPass. Through membership to a loyalty and membership programme or discount club such as The Big Savings Club or The Home & Garden Club for example, consumers are able to take advantage of savings of up to 7% on many of these vouchers. With Christmas on its way consumers will be spending more over the next few months on both everyday expenditure like energy, right through to gifts for friends and family and luxuries like good food and drink. So is this something your business can take part in? One of the easiest ways to achieve customer retention from vouchers or discounts is through a loyalty and membership programme or discount club. The operators of the loyalty and membership programme or discount club such as The Rocket Marketing Group, manage the club and can design bespoke vouchers featuring your discount to feature in print and online. This marketing service is usually free, all your brand has to do is offer members of the loyalty and membership programmes an exclusive discount.

Not yet made the most of customer retention by offering consumers an exclusive discount through a loyalty and membership programme or discount club? Contact Us today.