The HTA Marketing Forum took place at Horticulture House, Chilton, on 17 October and aimed to give delegates an insight into the advances in marketing to help them ‘Stand Out from the Crowd’.
Covering all disciplines of marketing, the key takeaways from the day were:
Reports of retail death are greatly exaggerated, as despite 69% saying they shop online to avoid queues, only 3% of Britons say they no longer shop in store and 64% of people still enjoy browsing in store. - Anthony Earl, POPAI UK & Ireland
Digital marketing was seen as the way to keep up to date with marketing trends, but because of the amount of digital advertising customers receive on a day to day basis, it is easy for communications to be missed. Print gives the smaller companies the opportunity to compete with the bigger companies if done properly. - Graham Thomas, Eight Days A Week Print Solutions
No matter who your consumer is, they will likely care about the environment in some way. Use this to your advantage. - Carol Wright, Hozelock
Is it the end consumer, or the retailer who needs to sell your products? Think about if you need to create two releases to target different audiences. - George Bullivant, Garden Forum
Visual merchandising works around key visual principles such as symmetry, alternation, utilising height and creating visual focus points. - Sarah Manning, Visual Merchandiser
The benefits of vlogging include increasing trust, providing added value, standing out from the crowd, showcasing strengths and awareness, maximising visual content and giving your business a voice. - Robbie Cumming, HornbyWhitefoot PR
Boosting posts can be a great way to create more customer engagement and increase brand awareness on a small budget. - Josie McGhee, HTA
Remember your customers are human, and you never know what they may be going through. Don’t always try to upsell and see them as more than just a number. - Annabelle Padwick, Life at No. 27
The full write up from the day is available at www.hta.org.uk/marketingforum2018