Even commuting inspires marketing ideas

A simple journey into London can even present some marketing strategies that are worth evaluating for their relevance to your new or small business.

Educating customers

Public transport companies have the enviable position of being indispensable to the majority of their customers, and so they have several advantages. They spend very little effort in educating their customers - where to find a train station, how to buy a ticket, what time you should take a train. They are reliant on the overwhelming propulsion of your need as a customer to use their service that you will simply do whatever it takes to find out on your own. As a customer, this can be extremely frustrating.

Know what your customers need to know

As a conventional company - finding the balance is key. Surprise and delight your customers by knowing what they need to know (when wanting to buy from you or use your service) and helping them to access that information before they have to hunt for it. The opposite end of the scale is to provide just the right amount of information - your money may be put to better use invested in other marketing efforts rather than multitudes of information leaflets that will not do much more than be tossed in the bin. Present the information in a way that recognises that information you provide is another opportunity to communicate what kind of company you are - what your brand stands for, and the quality of your communication will help you to build a relationship with your customers.

Communicate to manage expectations

Another favourite of mine is the underground minute. The infinity that is waiting the three minutes for your particular tube train to arrive. I believe I am afraid of the effect knowing how long those three minutes actually is in real time will have on my patience. But, and this is the punchline, displaying a waiting time is a way of managing the  expectations of your customers. It is still communication. Consider the difference in the mindset of passengers waiting infinitely for trains that may or may not come comparatively to the simple device that displays how long until the next train (not forgetting that you have created a perfect opportunity to create a revenue opportunity in some alternative advertising space addressing a captive audience).

Use technology to make your customer's lives easier

A device that I am personally a big fan of is the journey planner. It is my preference as a train user to rather know at least the frequency if not the exact departure and journey times of the train I need to take. I don’t like to waste time, so nothing bugs me more than standing idly on a platform. So putting the journey planner in the hands of the customer that likes to help themselves is a winning way of helping to create a happy interaction with your business and a more satisfied customer. And, of course, it helps you as a business because you don’t have to make as many staff with customer facing skills available to answer questions about the where, what and how of trains. Apply it to your business: - Customers that understand how to use your products and service will be happier and better customers. How are you educating your customers? - Managing customer expectations will save resources and frustration. Are you keeping your customers in the loop? - Some of your customers may like to help themselves and you could use your customer facing resources where they are more needed. Do you make it as easy as possible for customers to buy from you or use your service? Bronwyn Durand writes the Marketing Ideaology blog for JupiterJasper Practical Marketing.