Marketing Communications Brief As unique as your business
Author: Pippa Kulmar 4.3.14 Issue date: Commercial Context What s the reason for this brief? Current customer payment devices for businesses are one size fits all. Whether you re in a supermarket or in an upscale hotel the experience is exactly the same even though these businesses could not be more different. In response to this, Commonwealth Bank launched a point-of-sale device (Albert) and an open platform operating system (Pi) for retail businesses. Together they re designed to enhance the customer experience by giving businesses the ability to customize the payment experience for their needs. This brief is here to generate leads (and ultimately sales) for the Albert and Pi service amongst Australian businesses with an EPTPOS need. What is the measurable Business or Marketing objective? 1. Business: 1000 Leads to help generate 300 sales 2. Brand: Be number 1 in overall Future focus rating; Increase in Brand Health Index attribute Latest banking solution that allows me to bank how and when I want ; Increase in Brand Momentum Score attributes Consider for day-to-day account and Brand of choice for day-to-day account. Without stifling thinking, what do we think we require? We want to generate leads in businesses that operate across a vast range of industries and at different stages of their lifecycle. So, we require an idea that can be customized and personalized to the exact business we are talking to demonstrating that we are the
opposite of the one size fits all solution they currently use. Ideally, the idea should marry context and content together (i.e. unique message delivered in a unique way). Communication Strategy What is this communication s goal? Currently payment systems are seen as a necessity, something that doesn t add much to the customer/ merchant relationship (aside from money in the businesses pocket) 1. We want to breakthrough this apathy. So, the goal of communications is to become a part of something that interests the people we re talking to: business owners/operators and that thing is their business (not our service). 1 Ideo, 2012, Pi Payment Platform and Albert Point-of-Sale Device : http://www.ideo.com/work/pi-paymentplatform-and-albert-point-of-sale-device/
What helpful insight do we have about our audience (behaviour, beliefs or feelings)? Every business is unique in it s own way. That can be because of the people it employs, the industry it operates in, it s offer, it s location, where it is in its business lifecycle etc. Yet, most of these things are ignored when the B2B salesman comes knocking. He s only interested in the sale not whether it really fits the business he s selling it to. What should this communication get them to think, feel or do? Our communications should get potential Pi/Albert merchants to feel we appreciate their businesses uniqueness we re the opposite of a one-size-fits-all. What is the single most important message, proposition or benefit? As unique as your business What evidence (sensory, emotional or rational) makes this believable? Albert and Pi, together, offer a level of customization that has not been seen in the market before. They allow businesses to add different apps to their payment platform to make it right for their unique business. For example, - If you own a restaurant or café, the terminal can be customized to allow customers to easily split their bill; - If you are a store owner, the terminal can be customized to allows you to run a loyalty program through it; - If you are supporting local community activity through your store, the terminal can be customized with a community giving function to allow customers to donate to charity when they pay; - If your business has multiple stores, the terminal can be customized with a merchant insights tool to analyze individual locations; - If you are a business with a strong social media presence, the terminal can be customized to let you engage with customers by combining transaction and social data. We should use this type of evidence as the basis for unique communication with potential businesses.
How can channel thinking enhance this strategy? Channel and message need to work together. If we are talking about businesses being unique, we need to use channels to do the same. This means we will have a heavy reliance on one-to-one channels to carry our message. Any thought starters? - Do we commission individual DM packs to be sent to businesses personalized with more than just a name for the owner/operator; - Do we leverage information on social media about the business we are targeting and use that to open the conversation; - Do we go to the business shop front or store and do something there to gain their attention (without being obstructive); Implementation and Process What can t be left out? Commonwealth Bank look and feel; Pi/Albert logo. What response mechanisms are involved? We will capture leads by directing potential merchants to register their interest on www.commbank.com.au/business/pi or call 1800 730 554 What s the budget? $500,000 (production) In order to generate 1000 leads we will need to reach around 10,000 businesses (assuming a 10% response rate). Given the importance of this project and the focus on making the communication unique to each business we will allow a greater budget for the production of communication ($50 per business or $500,000). We see this as a reasonable investment as the lifetime value of the acquired business will far outweigh this amount.