Working from home is a blessing in many ways, particularly when we consider work/life balances, general well-being, and of course, unprecedented times. Aside from the ability to wear pyjamas to your 9 am meeting, roll out of bed a little later than usual and be literally anywhere in the world. At the same time, it’s also allowed so many of us to see a future where we don’t have to compromise on our goals or well-being to have financial stability. We&#8217;ve been able to see it in action these past couple of years. But like everything, it comes with its share of burdens to bear.
Working in the same places you usually go to relax can come with its own host of problems. Working where you sleep can confuse your brain into thinking your bed is no longer your sanctuary away from adult responsibilities. Working in your living room can have a similar effect. This meshed with cutting out any walking to and from your workplace, going outside less, fewer breaks in your day since you don’t have people to stop for coffee with, lines blurring between your work-life and your life-life and not wanting to complain because we’re so lucky to be able to do this. It can get a bit overwhelming.
That’s where this post comes in. I’m sure everyone knows by now how powerful it can be to prioritise your well-being and add things to your life that serve rather than drain you. These four tips will help you achieve this and help you continue them in a low maintenance way, acknowledging the full-time, busy-bee worker who too often prioritises others before themselves (you selfless beauty you).
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<h1>Morning Routine</h1>
Morning routines are a great way to start your day on the right foot. It subtly acts as a reminder that you do not wake up to work, you wake up to live, and working is a part of that. Having that time between waking up and working can be the perfect separation between your life and your work.
Back when it was the norm to go further than our living rooms to get to work, some semblance of a daily routine was forced into our mornings. Maybe it wasn’t perfect (what is really?), but we would allow enough time to make ourselves presentable, ready for our day at the office, surrounded by people who can see us head-to-toe and not just what we permit them to on Zoom. This allowed us time to mentally prepare for the day, practise some self-care in the way of breakfast, getting ready, and maybe listening to an energy-injecting playlist. Now the lines blur a little easier, and we don’t always allow ourselves the same amount of time. If we mimic that same energy in the mornings, it can work wonders for our work/life balance.
As part of your routine, it’s also really useful to write a daily to-do list. It doesn’t have to be a novel, but thinking about what needs to get done and what’s realistic enough to add to the ‘today’ list sets up your expectations and stops the list-making process happening in your head all day long.
So tip number one, give yourself some time in the morning to ‘get ready’. This can mean whatever you want it to mean, as long as it gives you that time to prepare for your day mentally. Then add a little light list-making to set up your day (and re-allocate the things you don’t have time for).
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<h1>Prioritise your lunch</h1>
When you’re working from home, the time you’re online can feel a lot more regimented than when you’re physically in the office. Something about seeing your day in the calendar feels a little more like you have to prove what you’re doing at all times (just me?). For so many people, this turns into overworking and it’s so easily done when you love the work you do, but missing lunch one day turns into missing lunch every day. Missing your lunch slowly turns into a complete lack of breaks in your day, which we all know isn’t great for anyone involved.
Tip number two: Prioritise your breaks! This prevents burnouts in the long run, which in turn affects the work you’re so passionate about. So really, you taking those breaks is a win-win situation for all.
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<h1>Water WITH your coffee</h1>
You can’t escape a well-being post without it including a tip relating to water. Whatever caffeinated drink keeps you going during the day, I’m happy for you and I don’t expect you to stop. But, consider an addition to your chosen beverage?
Water has been found to significantly improve pretty much all aspects of your well-being, physical or otherwise, and I’m positive that most of us aren’t having our allocated quotient, so let’s make a game out of it.
Tip number three: Every time you make yourself a [insert caffeinated drink here], have a glass of water too. Keep a bottle by your workspace, or fill up a glass when you get your coffee but either way, try to match the amounts of each drink. Your mind, body, and your skin will thank you.
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<h1>Check-in with yourself</h1>
Last but not least, keep checking in with yourself. Being aware of how you’re feeling means you’re better able to see what you need to be at your healthiest. It can be particularly important to do this while working a full-time job at home since it’s a relatively new change for most people, and it can be so easy to get stuck in a cycle and forget about our own needs.
There are several ways you can check in with how you’re feeling. A simple method is taking the time out of your day to ask yourself how you feel (and possibly writing it out). The aim is to bring yourself into the present moment in order to self-assess. Once you’ve got to this part (identifying anything like a potential burnout or being overwhelmed), knowing what to do next comes a lot easier (finding solutions to prevent this happening).
Tip number four: Try out different ways to bring yourself into the present moment and identify how you’re feeling. Take a look at the resources below for some ideas on where to start!
Bonus tip: It’s sometimes more important to find the things that fit best than to find the ones that have the biggest impact. That makes it more likely that it’ll stay in your routine and therefore help a whole lot more than the technique with the most substantial impact.
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<h1>What to take home</h1>
Considering the situations we live with every day, I would say we’re doing a pretty great job. From daily tasks becoming overwhelming to covid rules fatigue.. to who knows what else, it becomes even more important for us to ensure we are put first, that we are the priority, so we can continue to live our lives as vibrantly and authentically as possible. These four tips help us to achieve this. I hope it helps!
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<h1>TLDR;</h1>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Keep your morning routine (no matter how short)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Prioritise your lunches and take breaks</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Have water along with your coffee</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Check-ins with yourself regularly</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Resources:</h2>
<a href="https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mindful_breathing">Breathing techniques and practising mindful breathing </a>
<a href="https://positivepsychology.com/grounding-techniques/">Grounding techniques for mindfulness</a> 
<a href="https://positivepsychology.com/burnout-prevention/">Preventing burnout</a>

4 simple ways to maintain your well-being whilst working from home

So, I admit it. I&#8217;m a massive fan of the hit BBC show Dragons&#8217; Den. It&#8217;s worth watching just to catch a glimpse of Steven Bartlett, the founder of Social Chain, a social media marketing agency currently causing waves around the world. Besides watching a host of budding entrepreneurs trying to convince the Dragons that they can take the business world by storm, the show permits the viewer to be a secret sixth dragon by letting them in on each exciting marketing pitch. Each week, my housemate and I pontificate on whether we buy into either the product or the entrepreneur and, ultimately, if we would make the entrepreneur an offer.
Each team has to champion their cherished brand in just a short time. A strong and clear brand identity is vital to successfully launching a product or service. Without it, potential customers have no idea what distinguishes the brand from all the others on the market So, the entrepreneurs have to consider which colours to use, the graphics that match the market demographic, the brand name, the font type and how to convey essential information using language that resonates with their target audience. This leads to the million dollar question: just how it is possible to formulate a unique brand identity that can successfully retain a company&#8217;s core values and integrity? 
This week&#8217;s 5 Minutes To post will focus on the three central pillars of creating a standout brand identity for any product or service.
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<h1>Pillar One &#8211; Know your why?</h1>
The first question that any business owner should ask themselves is what exactly is the why behind their business? Consider how your unique products or services add value to your customers&#8217; lives. The internationally renowned speaker Simon Sinek formulated the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle consists of the Why, the How, and the What.
By clearly articulating your business&#8217; primary purpose or core beliefs, potential customers buy into why your business exists and can become loyal advocates of your brand. In a nutshell, customers don&#8217;t buy what your company does; they choose to buy into why you created the business in the first place. This is incredibly powerful and has the potential to super charge your business and your brand. 
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<h1>Pillar Two &#8211; Brand character and personality</h1>
The brand personality of your business is centred around your target demographic. Do you want to target high-net worth individuals, people wishing to improve their fitness, pet owners looking for the best nutrition for their beloved pets? Start by creating a highly targeted customer avatar. The customer avatar will help you highlight the adjectives that best describe your brand personality. By honing in on the needs and lifestyles of your target customers, you can build connections that allow your customers to relate to your brand on a personal level. 
There are five main types of brand personalities. 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sincerity: Generous, thoughtful, and value-oriented</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Competence: Authoritative and accomplished</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Excitement: Lively, easygoing and youthful</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ruggedness: Sporty, rough and outdoorsy</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sophistication: Elegant and renowned </li>
</ul>
Once you have identified who your target audience is, you can move on to creating a tone of voice that will strike the right chord. Then, you can weave your brand personality and tone of voice into your marketing messages and stories.
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<h1>Pillar Three &#8211; Tone of Voice</h1>
In a nutshell, your company&#8217;s tone of voice allows you to speak effectively with your audience in a way that resonates with them. It gives you the freedom to convey your key messaging in a way that is unique to your company&#8217;s voice and values. The Nielsen Norman Group* identified four primary tones of voice dimensions.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Funny vs Serious: Do you want to be humorous? Do you want to set a serious tone?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Formal vs Casual: Do you want to take a formal or informal approach? </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Respectful vs Irreverent: Do you want to take an irreverent approach, or should your brand take a respectful approach? </li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Enthusiastic vs Matter-Of-Fact: Does your brand have a lively persona? Does your brand need to take a straightforward and matter-of-fact way?</li>
</ul>
Check out this <a href="https://beaconagency.co.uk/post/brand-personality-and-stardom-how-classical-hollywood-marketing-strategies-are-changing-the-faces-of-modern-brands">Beacon blog</a> for a deeper insight into Brand Personality.
Once you have found your voice and brand personality, you can finally create your copy. When structuring any marketing copy, think of an inverted pyramid. Always aim to add the most critical information first and then fill the rest of the pyramid with greater detail. Whichever communication channel you use to share your messaging, always follow the Google SEO test &#8211; write your copy to be found by humans and computers!
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So, get the ball rolling by defining your company’s central purpose. Then, move on to brainstorming a list of adjectives that aptly describe your brand personality. Once you have defined your why, it’s easy to start creating the magic that is your marketing copy. Always aim to create fresh, accessible copy written in an active voice. By applying these three central pillars, you will lay down solid foundations for all elements of your marketing communications.
If you&#8217;re interested in refreshing your brand guidelines, get in touch with Beacon at <a href="mailto:hello@beaconagency.co.uk">hello@beaconagency.co.uk</a>
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Resources
*<a href="https://www.nngroup.com/articles/tone-of-voice-dimensions/">https://www.nngroup.com/articles/tone-of-voice-dimensions/</a>

5 Minutes To: Creating brand guidelines that retain integrity and authenticity

Sleep is a central part of everybody&#8217;s life. It allows both your mind and body to recharge, ready for a new day. The average person sleeps between seven and eight hours per night. So, throughout a lifetime, that equates to a staggering 229,961 hours in bed! Therefore, it makes perfect sense to have a special day dedicated to slumber. World Sleep Day will be held on Friday, 18th March 2022. The day aims to highlight the importance of sleep to our general well being and raise awareness of various sleep-related disorders. 
Many factors have a direct impact on our ability to rest. These include laying on a comfy mattress that supports your spine, setting a room temperature that helps to keep your body warm, restricting access to electric devices that emit blue light, and last but not least, the capacity to block out unwanted light and sound. 
Thanks to the rapid innovation of smart technology, it is now simpler and more accessible to create the ideal atmosphere for a restful night&#8217;s sleep. So lay back, relax and discover a smarter way to improve your sleep routine. 
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<h1>Smart Lighting </h1>
Our body&#8217;s internal clock (circadian rhythm) regulates sleep. This natural sleep-wake cycle takes place over a 24 hour period. Our hypothalamus responds to the external cue of light and darkness levels within our environment. As light levels decrease, the brain initiates the release of the hormone melatonin. This helps to promote the desire to enter a sleep state. 
Using smart dimmers, you can pre-set the lights in each bedroom to gradually fade into a warm light before bedtime. This will help to provide everybody with a peaceful night&#8217;s slumber. You can then programme the lights to come on incrementally over fifteen minutes in the morning to wake up gently. Often, smart dimmers come with software that is compatible with smart assistants such as Amazon Alexa, meaning that light switches can be controlled by voice command alone. This is great if you need to turn the lights on for any reason during the night.
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<h1>Smart Thermostat</h1>
Just as our body responds to light, it also responds to temperature. As you move towards a sleep state, your core body temperature starts to drop naturally, ready to signal your muscles to relax and sleep to envelop you. If you are too hot, your body is stopped from reaching an optimal sleep temperature, resulting in a restless night’s sleep. Conversely, if you are too cold, it will cause your muscles to contract to stay warm, ending in a lack of restful sleep. 
Therefore, the temperature of your bedroom can have a dramatic impact on the quality of your sleep. There are many smart thermostats on the market that allow you to control the temperature in each room of your house. You can programme the heating to stay at between 16 and 19 degrees celsius before you go to bed. This will help create a comfortable environment to sleep in each night. 
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<h1>Sleep Hygiene</h1>
Just as you have a morning routine, it makes sense to incorporate simple sleep hygiene habits into your nighttime routine. It is essential to allow your mind and body to wind down and get into a relaxed state. A lack of restful sleep could have a detrimental impact on your mental and physical health. The following tips can all help assist in the maintenance of sleep hygiene. 
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Aim to avoid any caffeinated or alcoholic beverages for at least three hours.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Turn off your smartphone and television at a set time each evening to block out blue light.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Have a warm bath to wash away the stresses of the day.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Read your favorite book or listen to relaxing music.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Spend ten minutes each night trying relaxation techniques like mindfulness meditation.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Go to bed at the same time each night.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sleep in a location that is shielded from outside noise.</li>
</ul>
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<h1>Ready, Steady, Sleep.</h1>
By taking a few simple steps, you can create a sleep routine that allows the whole family to rest and recharge each night, ready and raring to go for the challenges of each new day. Sweet dreams!

The smarter way to improve your sleep routine

If you’re in the smart home industry, chances are, you’ve been introduced to Matter &#8211; the new wireless interoperability standard that’s set to shake up the smart home ecosystem later this year. But what is Matter, and why will it impact the way we market smart home solutions?
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<h1>What is Matter?</h1>
Formerly Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP), Matter is the brainchild of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, with the project group lead by Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, Comcast and the Zigbee Alliance. Over 170 companies are currently involved, with Apple, Samsung, Amazon, Google and the Zigbee Alliance being the most prominent names.
Designed to simplify the interoperability of each of the disparate smart home ecosystems, Matter describes itself as “the industry–unifying standard”, heralding a world of “reliable, secure connectivity. Matter creates more connections between more objects, simplifies development for manufacturers, and increases compatibility for consumers.”
The mission statement of Matter is simple. They believe that smart home devices should be secure, reliable, and seamless to use. So many of the major players in the smart home industry are coming together to develop a new standard that puts security, reliability and communication first and centre.
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<h1>Why does Matter… matter?</h1>
Since the dawn of the smart home decades ago, which devices work together has been one of the stumbling blocks to mass adoption in the market. Often, the buying journey is interrupted or complicated by the question ‘will this work with my existing setup’, or worse, ‘I’d love to buy it, but it would mean having to replace all my existing devices.’
This standard could theoretically solve this issue. Matter describes its standard as ‘the seal of approval that says smart devices work reliably together — taking the guesswork out of the purchasing process. That trust allows you to choose from a wider range of the brands consumers love, and brings them the comfort of a secure and seamless connected home.’
Consumers can buy with confidence from retailers as well, whether online or in-person, theoretically allowing for greater category growth and further market penetration of the smart home. With lower training requirements in terms of the multiple existing standards and which ecosystems work with which, Matter could lead to higher margins for smart home offerings.
For developers and manufacturers, too, having a unifying standard built upon trusted IP-based connectivity protocols opens the door to faster, more exciting innovation and accelerated paths to market, something Matter is very keen to stress. With over 170 brands already engaged with the project and commitments being made from the major players in the smart home industry to adopt Matter going forwards, its open-source approach to the standard could drive innovation by breaking down barriers in the market.
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<h1>How will Matter change how we market the smart home?</h1>
Breaking out of the confines of the rather embedded ecosystem approach we currently have to the smart home will take some time. But interoperability-by-design means that marketing the smart home could be much more focussed on the solutions that these products offer rather than the features of the products themselves.
If a particular use case means that through your Google Nest Hub you can protect your home with Amazon’s Ring smart home security, set your heating with Hive, and use your iPhone’s GPS in geofencing with Apple’s HomeKit, all natively, the barrier for ‘what works with what’ disappears.
It also opens the door for innovation in competitor brands if they’re able to build on an open-source platform and ensure their device or service can be certified easily to work with the existing smart home infrastructure in any home. The push towards innovation, of course, leads to lower price points for the consumer, and with improved ease of use, we may be able to begin closing the 0 &#8211; 1 device divide that many consumers are still reluctant to cross.
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<h1>Can we ‘retrofit’ Matter? What about the existing market?</h1>
Talking about interoperability standards is all well and good for those in the industry, but what will this change mean for consumers? And how can we broach the subject with the market?
A lot of this depends on people&#8217;s hardware in their homes. As the standard is adopted going forwards, interoperability and the Matter standard will be just that, standard. This means that encouraging new customers to cross that divide from 0 &#8211; 1 should be that bit easier for new consumers. But for the loyal early adopters, who have often had to find complex solutions to get their devices to work together across ecosystems, what does this mean for their home setup?
The good news is that Matter has been designed to incorporate older / existing smart home devices. Mitch Klein of the Z-Wave Alliance says: “We can’t leave devices behind, or this whole program won’t work, the idea that everyone has to throw everything out and start again is just not going to work.”
More recent Wi-Fi / Thread devices or those using Z-Wave / Zigbee should be upgradable to Matter, either by upgrading the device directly or a software upgrade for a product’s existing bridge — Philips Hue has already committed to this approach.
However, individual devices are unlikely to be upgraded individually, primarily due to the heavy software burden on most of these products. On the upside is that the hubs they communicate through are likely to be upgraded or bridged to Matter, making them compatible via the existing hubs. In the future, though, the smart home should be hubless &#8211; with devices able to talk to each other, manufacturing costs are reduced, and setup processes are that bit simpler.
But for older devices that can’t receive these updates, support may eventually be phased out for these legacy products. But with the launch of Matter not coming until later this year, there’ll be support for these products for a while yet.
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<h1>Future proofing the home</h1>
With consumers looking more for sustainable solutions and the ability to future-proof their homes, how do we communicate with customers thinking about getting into the market? The answer is that new devices, or recent devices to the market, are more than likely ready to upgrade to Matter when the standard is launched, so consumers shouldn’t have to wait to buy into the smart home.
So from a marketing perspective, the industry should begin talking about the benefit of interoperability as standard across every ecosystem.
Now is the time to begin phasing out the oft-seen ‘Works with’ badges &#8211; because the future should be that every product works with every other to offer a fully-fledged smart-home-as-a-solution approach finally.
And that’s kind of exciting, right?!

5 Minutes to: Matter and Marketing the Smart Home

What is the one thing that all business owners have in common? The answer, in a nutshell, is the need to make sales and conversions. Thanks to easy access to the internet, there are now a variety of communication channels to engage with prospective and existing customers. With your website as your shop front and email newsletters as your key to building customer relationships, the world is your oyster in the planning and deployment of fresh and exciting content.
So, what if you could harness just three copywriting tools to ensure you can write like a boss? Well, you are in luck. Today’s post will focus on the three essential tools that you can nurture to ensure you produce consistently engaging copy. 
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<h1>1. Establish a Regular Writing Routine </h1>
There are generally two types of people; Some are early birds, and others are night owls. Everybody is different. The art of copywriting is a highly creative process that requires a tremendous amount of focus and concentration. It’s best to write when you feel fresh and productive. Trying to write compelling content when you are tired is like banging your head against a preverbal brick wall. Think about when in the day that you will not be disturbed. When you write, sit in a quiet place, turn off your social media notifications and make a large pot of tea or coffee. Aim to set yourself a target of completing one writing task or getting to a specific word count. Remember to allow yourself regular breaks and get your blood circulating. You can effortlessly get into the correct headspace to write at your best by establishing a routine and sticking to a few simple rules.
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<h1>2. Grammar Is the Key </h1>
At the root of all writing is grammar. Without it, the structure of language as we understand it today wouldn’t exist. The essential foundation of grammar is the humble sentence. As a general rule, the subject comes first, followed by the verb, and with the objects placed last. Next comes punctuation. Remember to let your sentences breathe. Think of commas as natural breaths in the text. By having and demonstrating a solid grasp of nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, and punctuation, you can produce compelling and polished copy. 
Imagine two people are standing in front of you. One person is clean, polished and beautifully dressed with salon-fresh hair and matching accessories. The other person is dirty, with old and torn clothes and only a crumpled carrier bag for company. Which person would you be more likely to buy a product or service from? Unfortunately, people do judge books by their covers.
The way you present yourself using copy is the mirror image to how you present yourself in person. Readers will rapidly lose interest if you post digital communications containing typos, grammatical errors, unstructured paragraphs, and difficult to follow sentences. There is only a short time to grab and keep people’s attention. However, posting consistently accurate and engaging prose will encourage people to read your content regularly.
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<h1>3. Embrace SEO as Your Right Hand Man</h1>
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential for your copywriting toolkit. It makes optimising your website to receive more organic traffic easier. It also has the additional benefit of increasing your website’s ranking in search engines. SEO copywriting involves threading targeted keywords and phrases into your copy. 
Start by going to a keyword research tool. Think about what your target audience would type into a search engine. Aim to note down keywords that are often searched for and aren’t too competitive. This way, you have a better chance of ranking. 
Next, create a quarterly content calendar of engaging content. Then when you come to write copy, you can brainstorm ways to repurpose the content across various marketing channels.  By understanding your audience, you can create content that establishes you as an authority by offering well researched, engaging content. This, in turn, has the knock-on effect of encouraging social sharing. 
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There are numerous other copywriting tools that you can use to produce awesome content. These include creating a target audience avatar, understanding the language of your audience to build an instant rapport, and creating surprising and disruptive headlines to entice your audience to read more. However, the best way to write like a boss is to write, write, and then write some more! So, there you have it. Just harness the tools at your disposal, have fun and write. On your marks, get set, write!
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If you’re thinking about creating content or would like advice on how to improve your current marketing strategy, get in touch with Beacon at hello@beaconagency.co.uk.

Three Essential Copywriting Tools to Ensure You Write Like a Boss

With the beginning of a new year, many companies are looking for new ways to grow their business and maximise profits. When companies plan their marketing campaigns throughout the year, the main focus is usually on customer acquisition. However, this can be costly and can sometimes take a long period of time to execute. Many companies overlook customer retention as a method to grow their business. However, this can be one of the cheapest and most effective methods to aid growth. Here is how you can aim to improve your customer retention when planning your campaigns.
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<h2>Build Trust with Your Customers</h2>
Building trust with your customers is one of the most important things to do when you look to increase your customer retention rates. Steve Jobs once said, “a brand is simply trust.”  If your customers do not trust your business, then they will not remain as customers. Below are three ways you can help build trust with your customers:
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<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Always keep promises &#8211; Companies overpromising and under-delivering is usually the most significant factor that decreases trust with customers. It can eventually cause the business to lose its credibility through poor reputation. The best way to ensure that promises are being kept is to review the promises made to customers regularly. If these promises are not being honoured, it is time to change the promises being made to something that the business can consistently deliver on.</li>
</ul>
 

<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Implement feedback systems &#8211; Feedback systems can be put in place to help gauge customers’ feelings towards a company. These can range anywhere from a one-off performance survey to post-purchase surveys. When customers can provide feedback, they feel like the company is trying to understand them, which helps build trust and create long-lasting relationships.</li>
</ul>
 

<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Create Trustworthy and Positive Content &#8211; A study in 2017 released by Conductor found that 64% of customers feel a brand is trustworthy/positive immediately after they read a piece of educational content from that brand. The full study can be seen <a href="https://www.conductor.com/blog/2017/10/building-brand-trust/">here</a>. Educational content can come in the form of a blog post, social post or email campaign and can be one of the easiest ways to help build trust.</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Create a Customer Loyalty Programme</h2>
In today’s customer-centric landscape, it is no longer good enough just to sell a product or service if you seriously want to retain your customers’ long term. A customer loyalty programme allows customers to benefit from rewards or perks just by simply being a member of the said programme. However, this usually comes at a cost to the customer, usually in the form of a monthly or annual subscription fee.
An example of a customer loyalty programme would be Barclays’ Blue Rewards’. Barclays rewards centre around cashback offers &#8211; such as 10% cashback to your ‘Rewards Wallet’ from over 150 retailers, cashback for loans, life insurance, debit payments, etc. The rewards don’t just appear when you open an account. They also require a subscription fee to be part of the programme.  
Loyalty programmes are often set up to help increase customer retention as there is a perceived benefit to the customer by being a member of a loyalty programme. The schemes are also set up to promote account renewal. This is a fundamental part of retaining customers. It also makes the customer feel special for being a part of the loyalty programme, which feeds into the age-old marketing tactic, ‘FOMO’ &#8211; the fear of missing out.
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<h2>Make Use of Case Studies</h2>
Due to the rise of the internet in the 1990s, people from all around the globe now have a digital voice and multiple online platforms to speak from. Suppose customers are unhappy with your company and decide to talk about it online. In that case, the chances are that you will lose both existing customers and also potential customers. Case studies can act as positive, extensive reviews of your company that showcase why current customers should stay with you and why prospects should want to be with you. They are established proof that the products and services you’re offering are valuable, showing your experience as a business. Case studies can be promoted across multiple channels and in a variety of ways:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Your Website: This can be done through a separate page on your sitemap or a published blog post.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Your Social Media Profiles: Case studies can be posted to social media in multiple ways. These can include: a pinned social post with a link to a blog or testimonial, quotes from case studies or testimonials that can be posted to social media stories (which can be saved to highlights), or a social banner used as a cover photo to highlight the case study.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Your Email Campaigns: If your company sends a regular monthly newsletter, it could be wise to include a section for recent case studies or testimonials. This could be a brief description and could be linked to a web page or blog post with more information.   </li>
</ul>
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If you’re thinking about creating a customer retention campaign or would like advice on how to improve your current marketing strategy, get in touch with Beacon at hello@beaconagency.co.uk.

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