Innocent – a brand with a halo worth polishing

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Hannah Cameron – Junior Juice Press at Innocent. (The full interview will follow next week).

But it’s fair to say from the moment your call is answered at ‘Fruit Towers’, ‘. . . good afternoon, Innocent bananaphone, how can I help?’, you know you’re dealing with one of those businesses that manages to take its branding SO seriously, it can afford to be tongue in cheek. What’s more, consumers love ‘em for it!

Innocent is a great British Brand. Working from a standing start (and a great idea), 8 years ago, the business is steadily building a global presence and now operates in eight countries.
Want to know the secrets of Innocent’s success? I’ll give you a taste. .

Here are Innocent’s 4 top tips for business success, drawn from the advice and thinking that has served their business so well in recent years:

1) Keep the main thing the main thing. i.e. Understand why you’re different and don’t let that slip. Take every opportunity to communicate it and extend that difference.
2) Pay attention to the details – everything matters. Especially when you’re small. People notice things – make sure they notice you for the right things – from the way you answer the phone to the tone you use in your website.
3) Everything takes longer than you think – obvious but easy to get over-optimistic and carried away thinking things will happen instantly; they don’t.
4) Try before you buy. Don’t commit too much to something new without checking it first – really easy to forget, especially when in a rush.

Tune in next week for an interview that’s as packed with good stuff as one of Innocent’s smoothies! Mmmmmmm!

Sara is a marketing specialist with a wealth of on-line and traditional experience. With award winning credentials as an advertising writer, her career also spans the disciplines of planning and strategy for both B2B and consumer clients. Having worked for one of the the UK's biggest non-London agencies, Sara now works on a consultancy basis for clients large and small. http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/blog