Business Marketing Officer

Business Direct - June 2019

For the past ten years Richmond Council has had the Richmond Card, a card that aims to give local people access to services for example 30 minutes free parking, libraries and sport services, as well as exclusive deals from local and independent businesses. There are now over 330 offers available across the borough! 

Meet Andy Bell, the new Business Marketing Officer from Richmond Council. He tells us more about the Card and how businesses can really benefit.

What is your background and how long have you worked at Richmond Council?

My working life has been varied, starting in our family business, before leaving to build a career in Public Relations and sponsorship leverage through PR.  In the build-up to the London Olympics I identified an opportunity in the volunteering sector and so started my own social enterprise in sports volunteering. This business relied heavily on sponsorship, and during the credit crunch sponsorship, was increasingly hard to come-by.  I was approached by a contact to become the Marketing Manager for Europe’s largest importer, retailer and distributor of Korean foods.  After two years, I left to join Richmond Council to work in the development of local businesses through the Richmond Card and Community Toilet Scheme in advance of the Rugby World Cup.  After a year working at the Council, the role with Brentford FC Community Sports Trust became available and I left for three years working in the charity sector.  I rejoined the Council at the end of May 2019 to resume the work on the Richmond Card and identify other areas of potential commercial development.

What is the Richmond Card and why does it benefit local businesses?  

The Richmond Card is a local card used by over 140,000 residents to access free and discounted parking, library and leisure services.  It is also home to the Business Offers, where local, independent businesses can submit an offer to local residents or visitors to the borough to encourage them to shop locally.  The Richmond Card should be seen by businesses as a promotional tool that can help to raise the profile of their business for free.

How do people know about the business offers in order to claim them?

We have a Richmond Card newsletter, which is sent to over 30,000 email addresses on a fortnightly basis.  All of the offers are listed on the Council website and promoted through the @RichmondCard Twitter account.

We provide marketing materials to businesses such as a window sticker, but we have found that the digital promotion is more effective.

I am currently looking at new ways of promoting the offers and the local businesses of the borough including short videos, which showcase the business owners, where they are and what they are offering.

How many business offers are there and for what type of offer?

We currently have over 330 offers for people to use to support local business. These are split into seven regular categories: food and drink, health and beauty, leisure and culture, home, car and garden, shopping, sport and fitness,  and business services. 

We are in the process of launching a Youth Offers category, which as the name suggests, will target younger people within the borough.  We also run regular specials for events such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Easter.

How can businesses help promote their offers and their business?

Social media has been the best and most cost-effective way that we have found to promote the offers.  It would be great if the businesses who have offers on the Richmond Card would interact with us on social media, retweet and like the offers that other businesses in the borough are promoting.  It would also be good if businesses used other local businesses via the Richmond Card for their business needs.

What makes a good offer? And what makes a bad one?

The best type of offer is for something that people genuinely want and feel like they have got a good deal on, just using the offer to shift slow moving stock is not necessarily going to work.  Also, clarity on what people get is key, it is easier for a customer to understand buy one get one free rather than a percentage discount.

Bad offers are ones where the business ends-up giving away more than they anticipated.  To combat this, I approve every offer that goes live and will review the wording of the offer to try to minimise the risk to the business.

Any advice for businesses thinking about signing up on the Richmond Card?

Do it, in the current environment there is not a lot that your council can genuinely give you for free.  In the worst-case scenario, you give thousands of people an opportunity to see your brand or company for free.  In the best-case scenario, you have so many people wanting to spend their money with you that you sell out!

How can people find out more?

You can visit www.richmond.gov.uk/offers or you can email me on BusinessOffers@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk Remember to also follow us on Twitter @RichmondCard

Contact us

If you would like to feature in our next Business Direct newsletter, email business@richmond.gov.uk