“Our business has been here for a long time which is an asset and also a challenge. Over the last 5 years we have modernised the look and systems in place, invested in stock and training our staff to the highest standards. This however is all

meaningless if you cannot communicate your offering effectively to potential clients. Aardvark helped us enormously in doing this by developing a trackable marketing strategy that really works!” Joe Milner, Managing Director

To design and implement a marketing strategy for Tustains Jewellers to attract luxury brands and grow customer spend

Benefits:• Winnersof4nationalwatchandjewelleryawards• ApprovedbyLuxuryBrandstostockTudor,BreitlingandMikimoto• Websiteshowsa258%increaseintraffic,andbetterqualityvisits• Reputationforquality,serviceandupmarketbrandsinthestoreestablishedby

pro-activePRstrategyinlocalandnationalpress• Averagespendpercustomerincreasedby20%

InnovationCentre,1DevonWay,LongbridgeTechnologyPark,BirminghamB312TSwww.aardvarkmarketingconsultants.co.uk

Background: TustainsJewellersareawell-establishedfamilyfirm,celebrating120yearsoftradinginLeamingtonSpa.Theysellhighqualitybrandedjewelleryandwatches,aftersalesservicesandrecentlyintroducedtheirownhallmarkeddiamondrings.Saleshadbeenstaticforacoupleofyearsandthenewgenerationofdirectorswishedtoincreaseturnoverbyintroducingnewupmarketbrandstoappealtomodern,affluentandyoungercustomers.

Wesetouttocreateamarketingprogrammethatwasaffordableandeffectivetoincreasesalesandchangethecustomerprofile.

Marketplace and business challenges:• LuxuryJewelleryandWatchbrandsvet

theirretailersverycarefullytoensureagoodfitwiththeirpremiumbrandvalues.TustainsneededtoestablishandmaintaintherightpresenceandreputationintheindustrytoconvincetheBrandMangersforRolex,BreitlingandMikimototoacceptTustainsasoneoftheirexclusivestockists.

• Thereisfiercecompetitionforonlinejewelleryandwatchsales,drivenbypricecomparisons.Tustainsrequiredwebsitevisitorstoconverttostorevisitorsinordertoappreciatetheirexceptionalindividualserviceandadvice.

• Theexistingwebsiteneededrefreshingfromthenon-editableversiontofullcontentmanagementandintegrationwithsocialmediachannels.Thesiteneededtoattractvisitorswithahigherdisposableincome.

• Tustainsadvertisingwaslimitedtolocalnewspapersandluxurybrochuresdistributedinthestore.

• TherewasnosocialmediapresenceforTustainsandnostrategyforPR.

Solution: Werandetailedcustomerinterviewsandanin-storecustomerservicesurveytocheckthatthecustomerexperiencewasconsistentwiththebrandimage.AnewmarketingstrategywasdevisedtomarketTustainsbothtotheluxurywatchandjewellerybrandmanagersandtoattractnewcustomers.

“Tustains marketing activities have been dovetailed into a coherent strategy, building the business reputation and benefitting from the compound effect of consistent messaging across all media channels.”

Gill Hutchinson, Aardvark Marketing Director

InnovationCentre,1DevonWay,LongbridgeTechnologyPark,BirminghamB312TSwww.aardvarkmarketingconsultants.co.uk

Usingour“Elephant,deer,rabbit”modelwedefinedtheidealcustomerandastrategytosuccessfullyattractthem.Wecreatedandimplementedannualmarketingplans.Theinitialprioritywastoimprovetheonlinemarketing,soanewwebsitewascommissioned.Thewebsiteobjectiveswere:• Movetoafullcontentmanagementsystem• Additionofbothclickandcollectandfull

e-commercefunctions• Integratedsocialmedia• Amoreupmarketlookandfeel• Morewelcomingandengagingtovisitors• SEOactivitytoboostsearchvisits

Overseveralyears,weimplementedanewPRstrategy,todrivevisitorstothewebsite,increasefootfallinthestoreandappealtotheluxurybrandmanagers.ThePRstrategyincludedenteringawards.Assalesgrew,themarketingbudgetwasincreased.TustainsadvertisedintargetedpapersandmagazinesincludingWarwickshireLife,theRSCSwanTheatreandTheEdgemagazine,topositionthebrandasmoreupmarket.TustainsstrengthenedcommunitylinksthroughTissotwatchesforlocalsportingheroes.SelectedsponsorshipsandpublicspeakingbuilttheTustainsbrandawareness.

Implementation and Project Management:MarketingactivitywasplannedandimplementedjointlybyAardvarkMarketing,actingina‘virtualmarketingdirector’role.Monthlyplanningandtrackingmeetingssupportedbyonlineprojectmanagementtoolsensuredeffectivecommunication.

AardvarkhelpedTustainsapplyforbusinesssupportthroughtheGrowthAcceleratorprogram,reducingtheoverallcostofmarketing

andtrainingandenablingTustainstograduallyimplementmoreofthemarketingplanin-house.

Conclusion:Thenewstrategy,bettermarketingandimprovedreputationwonTustains5industryawards:RetailJewellerHot100in2012,WatchProHot100in2013,PrideofWarwickwinnersforcustomerservicein2013,UKWatchandJewelleryfinalistin2014andWatchProHot100in2015.BrandssuccessfullyaddedintoTustainswereTudorwatchesin2013,Breitlingwatchesin2014andMikimotopearlsin2015.ThenewhallmarkTustainsCollectionwaslaunchedin2015.

Websitetraffichasincreaseddramatically.Over80%ofthesearchtrafficisfromlocalcustomers.Thetimespentbytheaveragevisitorincreasedtoover2½minutesandpageviewsincreased10fold.Bounceratehasbeenmaintainedatalowlevelthroughoutthe3years,furtherproofofthesuccessinattractingtherightvisitors.Thesiteismobileandtabletfriendlyandhalfthewebsitevisitorsnowcomeviathesedevices.

Thenewmarketingstrategyandplanningprocessbroadenedtherangeofeffectivemarketingactivitiesthatarerunefficiently,ontimeandonbudget.Marketingactivitiescombineintoacoherentstrategy.Activityismeasuredandmonitoredonaregular,systematicbasis,reducingthemanagementtimerequiredtoimplementthemarketingstrategy.