Rob Nicholls, managing director of Plastic Card Services, explains why the business should win the marketing and PR category of the Guardian Small Business Showcase competition.
As a company that prides itself on delivering a customer-focused approach, Plastic Card Services (PCS) took this commitment a step further by undertaking valuable market research into its target markets as part of its ongoing marketing and PR strategy. This led to a 29% increase in turnover.
With the rise of digital apps and the temptation for retailers to move to digital-only schemes, the findings from this research created some great opportunities for PCS to not only obtain excellent editorial coverage, but to improve its brand perception as thought leaders in the marketplace.
With 1,000 people surveyed about their loyalty habits, PCS was able to obtain results for a wide range of its customer base. In order for the research to reach its full potential, the findings were made available in a variety of formats including a short summary, in full form and through an infographic, providing an instant visual guide.
PCS took advantage of traditional media channels resulting in 14 pieces of editorial coverage. To further add to this reach, social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter and dedicated eShots was used. The infographic proved an excellent tool for the sales team, providing reassurance to customers that physical loyalty cards are still very much the preferred choice for consumers.
All entries which meet the competition criteria are published and our judging panel select a shortlist of the top three for each category. Winners are announced at an awards ceremony in summer 2016.
