If you are an independent retailer or small food producer, you can either regard the multiple supermarkets as the big bullies and yourself as a passive victim, (in which case, join a campaign group and enjoy your long slow demise), or you can choose to learn from what is going on around you and compete more effectively.

I’ve always preached “fight the battles you can win” when talking to smaller food and drink businesses.  That doesn’t mean lie back and let things happen to you, nor does it mean going head to head in a battle for retail supremacy with multi billion pound businesses. Be smart- use the publicly available sources of information, (not just the Daily Mail and Radio 4) to learn from the big guys and implement change in your business that will improve your sales and profit.

For example, Tesco’s website includes a video library and in it there’s 3min50secs of insight into what Tesco are doing with their food offer to improve the in-store experience. It’s called “Better Stores Better Service” http://goo.gl/PC0x6 .

(Incidentally I found this via an excellent retail commentator I follow on Twitter  -Steve Dresser @dresserman and http://www.ukretailers.blogspot.co.uk  He is well worth a follow. )

Listen carefully to the professional, scripted production- and think why each shot was used. Turn up the volume, suspend any natural cynicism you may have for a few minutes, and see what you can learn. The words and images used will have been chosen carefully by people who have access to capabilities and research that are beyond the reach of small businesses.

The words that resonated with me were “warmth”, “friendliness”, and “staff”. The strategy is clear, put “fresh food first” as a driver of traffic (and therefore overall market share) and display it better, in a more comforting environment supported by more, better trained staff.  In the words of Tony Hoggett, the MD of Tesco UK Stores, “It’s not rocket science” and indeed it isn’t- you can see better examples of the same strategy in the excellent new Morrisons “Stores of the Future” in St Albans and Kirkstall, Leeds, and as Steve Dresser points out, Morrisons are undoubtedly ahead of the game in Fresh Food.

The video also gives some tangible pointers to how the stores and displays are being improved- the use of colors, lighting, merchandising equipment, are all worth studying.  There’s even an easy idea any retailer can implement- control product quality by asking yourself “would I buy it?” if the answer is no, take it off sale.

No-one expects a small retailer to be a clone of Tesco- that is the last thing you should be, so once you have made up your mind how you are different, take the same advice that Tesco are giving themselves and work on warmth, friendliness, and staff quality.

Ironically, aren’t these just the kind of competitive battles that small independent retailers CAN win?

Tim Nicol

18^th April 2012

Hope you like it. Watch it on YouTube here.

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BBG 29 with TT article

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For more information, please visit: www.innopreneur.org

-I hope Richard Reed, of Innocent, will forgive the plagiarism of the title- shamelessly lifted from his excellent Brands Lecture 3 years ago.

I’ve just spent almost 2 years trying to help revitalize a village and its economy via enterprise. You may even have heard about it, as we were the subject of one of the 6 programmes that made up the BBC1 “Village SOS” series broadcast this summer, and presented by Sarah Beeny.

The basic premise of Village SOS is an experiment between two of our great public sector bureaucracies, the BIG Lottery Fund and the BBC, to see if the application of enterprise can inspire a rural revival in villages throughout the UK.  More than 2 years ago a call went out to villages to apply for the chance to win £400,000 of funding for projects which were inherently financially sustainable and not just the usual approach of a capital grant for a construction project. Village SOS had a couple of interesting twists in that the BBC would follow the process and televise 6 winning villages in their quest for funding and their experiences in making something out of it. Furthermore, each village was to get the services of an external expert, a so-called Village Champion, to help manage the project and provide some full time expertise for the first year of the project. I was daft and vain enough to apply to be a Champion, having spent 10 years in consultancy and reached that age when one’s thoughts turn to doing something more lasting and worthwhile than writing proposals and reports.

To cut a long story short, I was selected by the handsome village of Tideswell in the Peak District to help plan and execute something called “Taste Tideswell”. Taste Tideswell is an innovative project to boost the local food economy and bring more prosperity to Tideswell, and by doing so preserve and develop local food retailers and manufacturers. Taste Tideswell helps locals and visitors alike to appreciate their food and drink for what it is, what it does, and where it comes from. When more people understand more about their food, we believe they will want to shop and eat more locally. The project follows the local food chain from “plot to plate” and offers activity and learning in growing, making, cooking, brewing, and tasting good food and drink. At its heart is Tideswell School of Food- a cookery school with a commercial kitchen, nano-brewery, and conference room included. This is where half the grant money was spent, in converting a property in the centre of the village and setting it up as a commercial business and a community asset for the village. Taste Tideswell now employs 9 people, (5.5 FTE) including an Education Officer who goes out to teach growing and cooking to schoolchildren at key Stage 2&3.

I started working with the village in November 2009, at the stage when Tideswell was one of 25 or so shortlisted villages for the lottery funding and the plans were still on the drawing board. I worked with a team of very competent and enthusiastic village activists to develop our plans and the lottery bid, and in May 2010 we heard we had been selected as one of the lucky 6 villages to receive funding and TV coverage. As a consequence it was time for me to hit the pause button on my own business and move to Tideswell for 12 months to make things happen. 

Why? For many years I have felt uneasy with the public image of the so-called profession of marketing. In the minds of many of the general public, “marketing” means persuasion- typically selling, and is typified by dodgy promotion techniques and irritating advertising. I trust I’m on pretty safe ground with the readership of this newsletter by saying that I think there’s more to it than that. I’ve been in marketing and branding for most of my 30 year career, and I learned from an early age at Mars, from wise and intelligent colleagues, that true marketing is at the centre of most successful enterprises and branding is an essential technique that builds the balance sheet and the bottom line whilst giving pleasure to consumers.

One of my motivations for taking part in VSOS was to see if marketing and branding techniques could do some wider good for communities as well as companies. I have lived in a village myself for more than 20 years, and learned that the more you put in to a community, the more you get out. Villages die through neglect, inertia, and apathy, and we all regret it when they become soulless dormitories rather than thriving communities. So marrying my professional experience with a personal mission, I set out to see how branding could help Tideswell.

The first lesson was to avoid using marketing terminology or jargon. This even extended to the word “brand”. I was continually pulled up by the BBC producer/director if I used the “B word” on camera. I might have got away with it on BBC 2 but on BBC1- that’s a different matter, (and audience apparently).  Even when I was filmed talking about the “Tideswell Made” brand itself, I had, reluctantly and inaccurately, to use the word “label”.

In my dealings with local shop owners and producers, I had expected a little more marketing literacy than I found. I thought the general public is supposed to be marketing savvy and switched on to all the techniques we regard as common currency? Not a bit if it. My experience is that most local traders specialize in their craft or trade, and I needed to talk their language, not expect them to learn mine. So for example I didn’t talk about ‘developing business’- I said I was trying to ‘put a queue outside their shops’, or ‘increase trade’. Of course before you can communicate effectively you have to earn the trust of your audience- this wasn’t always easy or fast but I found that by not aligning myself too definitely with any of the wonderful tribes that make up English society, and just getting to know people, I managed to keep the lines of communication open, and mutual understanding followed soon after.

One of the key expectations on me was to develop the brand proposition and identity for the project as whole and the two main commercial arms, The Tideswell School of Food and the “Tideswell Made” branding scheme. Being in my comfort zone of brand planning for once was a pleasure, and it made a change from discussions on kitchen worktops, accounting software and job descriptions. From the start I wanted to ensure that whenever the project was discussed or communicated, a clear and consistent message was used. We developed a one page summary as a team, and used simple labels like “Grow It, Make It, Cook It, Sell It, Share It” to frame the project. When it came to brand planning and design I needed expert help, so I ran a selection process for local agencies in Sheffield and Derbyshire and was delighted with the general quality of response. I went with a branding and design-led communications agency, Peter and Paul of Sheffield and I’m pleased I did. It may have seemed like overkill to many but we went through the disciplines of research, immersion in the village, planning, and a thorough approach to the brand architecture and positioning. Not much of the material we developed made it to the shopkeepers but it was proof to me that you can translate the attributes and personality of a village into a brand. Identifying the emotional and rational buy-in to the brand was crucial, and as a team we developed a better understanding of the role of “village pride” for example, and the distinctiveness of the village that is rooted in its history and geography.

The execution of the logos and liveries was, as always, a milestone on the development of the business, and as you may have seen from the TV programme, we had two options to show the village. I foolishly opted for a democratic approach and at the first showing the majority went for what I considered to be the wrong one. I did feel the need to sell the virtues of the route I felt was right, and fortunately the village came round to my way of thinking. The logo is a solid, straightforward capital letter “T”- but with a cheeky bite taken out of it. It works on the “Taste Tideswell”, “Tideswell School of Food” and “Tideswell Made” brands equally well, and each one pays in to the other. We think we have a real property in the logo and the names, and following good practice we have managed to register the word “Tideswell” and the logo as trademarks, thanks to fellow BBG Member Dawn Franklin of BrandRight®. The accompanying liveries and design guides also reflect the true qualities and personality of the place, and we’ve had nothing but positive feedback on how it all looks.  We have a brand manual, positioning wheels, and templates for communication, and I hope it shows in the consistency. The marketing budget wasn’t huge but we chose to spend a hefty chunk of it upfront on getting the designs and positioning right. After that, signage, stationery, and interior design suddenly all fell into place.

The project overall is still young and has just had the massive boost of a 1 hour prime time programme on BBC1, so the village, not surprisingly, is buzzing. Tills are ringing, a couple of new shops have opened, and the School of Food is taking record bookings. We’ve had hugely successful corporate day events, and artisan businesses are starting to use the commercial kitchen and sell food outside the village. The true test of financial sustainability will come when the novelty peak is past, but by lodging the village in the minds of millions in a way that pre-disposes them to buy our wares, we hope to keep putting those queues outside our doors for years to come.

Further information from:

www.tastetideswell.co.uk

www.tideswellschooloffood.co.uk

www.peterandpaul.co.uk

www.brandright.com

Enterprise is getting social- can the principles and practices of private sector management be applied to the “third sector”?

You bet they can.

There’s a transformation going on in the UK.  The “third sector” – that piece of the economy which lies between the public and private sectors is growing, both in size and importance. If it’s not of professional interest to you, chances are you have some personal interest in a third sector organization as a user, donor, governor, or other stakeholder.

Social enterprises characterise the third sector; I.E. businesses that have 3 bottom lines- financial, social, and environmental. As such, there’s always trade-offs and conflicts to manage, just like a private sector business.   So what’s new?

I’ve spent the last 18 months planning and managing a start-up social enterprise in an English village as part of the BBC/BIG Lottery Fund “Village SOS” programme. This experiment, recently televised on BBC One, is designed to examine if enterprises can inspire a revival in village life in the UK, with all the social benefits that brings, and be sustained by a functioning business that generates its own revenues after a pump-priming capital grant.

I’ve helped to establish “Taste Tideswell”- a project aiming to boost the local economy of Tideswell in the Peak District by driving the local food economy and educating people in every aspect of the local food chain. Taste Tideswell Ltd built and operates a cookery school and teaching mini brewery, with conference facilities and a commercial kitchen, plus a brand licence scheme to support start-up business.

Before this personal sudden rush of social conscience I ran my own innovation consultancy and before that worked for an FMCG Multi-national across many European markets, with a focus on branded innovation and NPD activity. So was that experience useful in my baptism into the third sector? You bet it was.

Social Enterprises are now obliged to become more commercial in order to survive with reduced grant funding, and the people that run them are becoming more business oriented- many are migrants from the private sector anyway. Social Enterprises are taking over responsibility for running large chunks of the economy and helping people to help themselves. Market forces and the needs of service users (customers) increasingly drive the business models, not central government spending. So the principles and practices of management, marketing, and innovation are all tools of the trade, whichever bottom line you are aiming to improve.

My background in branded marketing and innovation has come in handy in Tideswell. We’ve run the project in a businesslike way from the start, and planned and managed it as a business, not a cause or a campaign.  We start with the consumer, or the stakeholders- looking at their needs and wants and looking for unsatisfied demand and insights. Ideas and plans were developed and screened against the kind of criteria we use in front-end innovations screening- capability, strategy, demand.

The shape of the business (and it’s a complex, multifaceted one, covering as many touch points as possible on the local food chain), was moulded into a cohesive strategy with a clear mission and synergy built in throughout. For example, we want to save our local food retailers from extinction- how does a cookery school do that? Answer- by teaching local people more about the origins of their food and how to prepare it, we think they will want to buy more basic ingredients, which is what local artisan shops and producers tend to make and sell.

Having developed the concept and the business plan we got into execution mode. Delivery on a tight timescale and tight budget was critical not just to get the revenue in as soon as possible, but also to “beat the clock” of a 12 month deadline that the lottery funding and TV coverage came with. We developed brand positioning statements and design executions with the help of brand strategy and design experts, (“Peter and Paul”, Sheffield’s finest agency), and applied the branding clearly and consistently online, on paper, and on the building. We designed products, (Cookery courses) according to needs and wants, not what we thought was easy or good for people. Healthy eating cookery courses don’t sell- Chocolate, Cupcakes, and Curry (and Brewing) do. Now we’re selling we take constant feedback and continually refresh and replace courses in the portfolio. We’re running at 95% satisfaction overall and we’re always trialling and testing new courses.

We’re in business, so we use business techniques, and they work. We aim to achieve financial sustainability (monthly break-even) soon- so that we can reinvest surpluses in our social obligations to the community; teaching local kids and their parents about growing, cooking, making, and selling good food.

For more information on our cooking and brewing courses, corporate awaydays, and meeting facilities, see: www.tideswellschooloffood.co.uk

For more information on the project as a whole see: www.tastetideswell.co.uk andwww.villagesos.org.uk

See Tim’s Best Bits in an edited version of Village SOS here.

Reflecting on the last year, I think that everyone involved in Taste Tideswell can take a great deal of pride in what has been achieved so far. Thanks to the selfless commitment of village volunteers and the hard work of local staff, the Lottery grant has been wisely spent and has resulted in a fantastic set of benefits for the village as a whole. Sometimes people focus on the obvious evidence of what has been done- the Tideswell School of Food and the cookery courses on offer to our foodie visitors and villagers. But that’s only part of the story. Taste Tideswell runs a business that supports the village. That business employs 6 people directly and spends money on its supplies as locally as possible. The business delivers cookery and growing classes to children and it supports the Nursery Garden that is there for all to tend and learn from. It runs the “Tideswell Made” scheme to help local retailers identify and sell more of their local products, and to develop their businesses so they thrive and prosper. Within the Tideswell School of Food there is a commercial kitchen for budding producers to rent, and a nano-brewery for courses and rental. There are meeting rooms and facilities to entertain and be entertained in, and to attract groups and corporate visitors to the village to spend their money in our pubs, B&Bs and food outlets. Taste Tideswell shines a light on the village and through the TV and the other publicity surrounding the project it will put Tideswell on the map, and show why the place inspires such pride and deserves to thrive. With growing awareness and the continued support of the village, the business will grow to break even, and should soon be financially sustainable.

From a personal point of view, this has been a challenging and rewarding year, full of frustrations, difficulties and disappointments, but triumphs, success, and celebration too. I’ve grown to love the village of Tideswell and its people and over time I’ve felt more and more welcome and part of the village. I’ve even learned a bit more about cooking, and a lot about brewing, and I intend to make good use of that experience soon. Although I’ve returned to my “home village” of Easton on the Hill, near Stamford, Joanne, my wife, and I have kept the house we’ve bought in Tideswell, and we return there frequently. I’m still a Director of Taste Tideswell, and I’ve got a few loose ends still to tie up, especially with respect to Tideswell Made, the trust mark scheme for local retailers. I also like to keep an eye on the nano-brewery.

I started this experience hoping that I could use my marketing experience to help a community to thrive, and in doing so get some real job satisfaction and experience of the third sector for myself. There is still much more to do and this is not yet a time to say “job done”, but I can say so far, so good.  Very good.

It’s been a terrific privilege to take part in this national experiment to inspire change in rural communities.  Thanks to the BIG Lottery Fund, the BBC, and the good folk of Tideswell.

I’ve lost count of the times that I’ve been asked that question, on and off camera. It’s great to have the support and interest of so many villagers in Tideswell, and indeed friends in my “home” village of Easton on the Hill and beyond. I know lots of my professional colleagues and clients are taking an active interest too, so I hope the recent furious “blogging in bullet points” below gives some idea of the work that’s going on, and this gives you a feel for the job I’m doing.

It’s busy- that’s an understatement. It’s not only the volume of work that has to be done , but the diversity of it. I’m not complaining, and I’m certainly not the only busy body around. I’m amazed how so many committed villagers on the “core team” are managing to hold down a day job while putting in many hours of discussion and delivering on the project.

Personally I constantly bounce between tasks that are in my comfort zone and those that aren’t.

The briefing and selection of an agency (“Peter and Paul”- seen here visiting for a briefing) and working with them to develop the clear thinking behind the brand and the great designs they have produced in double quick time is familiar ground, but it’s what I’m primarily expected to deliver, so the pressure to get it right is pretty obvious.

  This week we had a massive turning point on the branding, when we presented to the Marketing Group and the Board, and we came away with the right decision on a really striking but simple logo. I confess to going into “sales mode” in the meeting and when we got the right result, I further confess to celebrating a little too hard at the George afterwards.

It’s the experience of things outside my norm of Corporate Marketing Consultancy and NPD that make this job even more rewarding though. I can walk out of my cottage front door on the High St to buy a loaf from Tindalls, some mince from Gibbs the Butchers, some apples from Peaches, or maybe a saddo’s ready meal from the Co-Op.

Some days that can take a couple of hours! Talking to people in the real life setting of their own retail businesses, with real customers there deciding on whether or not to part with real hard earned cash- that’s real marketing. I hope that the principles of marketing can be applied to Tideswell and show how real marketing can benefit communities as well as companies.

Even further away from my comfort zone I’ve been on cookery courses, helped to select granite worktops and kitchen equipment, (although Juliet Waugh has made the important decisions), puzzled over architects drawings, looked for brewing expertise and equipment, choosen phone systems and computers (almost), begged for help from suppliers, friends, and business contacts (thanks to all!) written job descriptions and advertisements, discussed many new business ideas, and pushed newsletters through several doors.

All of this gets punctuated by the arrival of our good friends from the BBC, Jane and Mandy, (or Hinge and Bracket as they are better known) and the opportunity to try and say the simplest things correctly on camera. I do ramble on, and there’s going to be quite a bit of me on the cutting room floor before we’re done. Why do I always think of the clever phrase just after they’ve left?

Hope that paints a picture for you.