Marketing can be known to get an undeserved reputation in an organisation, sometimes referred to as fluffy or a discipline that uses soft skills, but can it make a real commercial difference in a business?

My name is Olivia Clinton, and I’m here with Southern Co-op for my work experience. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to Sarah Chilton – Head of Customer Insight and Marketing for Southern Co-op. Sarah has had a lot of experience within marketing and her work touches both the retail and funeral care sides of the business.

Sarah studied Business and French at university and completed a year in industry over in France, working with a cardboard company taking a new product to market. Her career has since then spanned multiple industries such as the National Lottery, airport retail and wine to name but three.

When it comes to Southern Co-op, Sarah has been in the business for eight years focusing her efforts on ‘putting customer understanding at the heart of everything we do’. The journey for her and her team has changed in what they do and how they do it. For instance, Sarah has become a lot more involved in engagement through the use of data and technology. With Southern Co-op, getting more customers to become members means being able to get a greater understanding of the demographics of customers and also a better understanding of their purchase behaviours. This improved customer understanding is the basis and leverage for commercial growth.

In current times, it’s about testing and learning what relevant communications work best with different groups of people. Sarah refers to a structure called The Growth Drivers, which involves – knowing our customers, improving customer experience, driving loyalty and maximising membership. The role, Sarah’s feels, is very broad and involves working with stakeholders across the business. Although, members have been the real focus for quite some time, there have been some significant and positive commercial results.

The diversity of marketing means no two days are the same – it is not a repetitive role. Working across different parts of the business creates variety. In her own words, “the thing that interests me most about working in marketing is the need to constantly adapt. Technology and customer trends change all the time, it’s up to the marketing team to keep abreast of those changes and ensure that the company’s messaging remains relevant and attractive to our target audience.”

On the other hand, Sarah stated that it’s helpful to be able to evolve, with the ability to be adaptable but also persistent.  “Its creative and challenging. Marketing requires creative thinking to solve complex problems and a knack for looking at things from different angles to find new ways of doing things. By adapting and changing to match customer needs, this is where the commercial value is created.”