Bespoke software. Mobile apps. Websites. Digital marketing - Kayo Digital
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Reviewing the South East’s fastest growing companies online Bespoke software. Mobile apps. Websites. Digital marketing. Authors Contact Richard Pilton, Managing Director For more information, contact us on Harry Dance, Head of Digital Marketing. hello@kayo.digital
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CONTENTS
THE KAYO DIGITAL REVIEW 1 WHAT HAS CHANGED 18
WHO IS KAYO DIGITAL 6 TECH AND SOFTWARE INVESTED IN 20
ABOUT THE REPORT 8 AWARENESS 24
MAKING SURE ANALYSIS WAS CONSISTENT 9 ENGAGEMENT 28
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 12 SALES 32
METHODOLOGY 13 KEY THINGS TO CHECK WITH YOUR OWN COMPANY 36
BREAKDOWN OF THE DATA REVIEWED 14 CONCLUSION 38
KEY OPPORTUNITIES HIGHLIGHTED 16
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021
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WHO IS KAYO DIGITAL?
Another way to view it is that we couple business objectives with a
Kayo Digital is a leading technical agency
company’s technological need.
based in Kent that helps its customers grow
their businesses through research and Technology can be the catalyst for positive business change, but
without ‘the bigger picture’ it can remain a dormant resource within
evidence-based activities.
a company. Therefore, we place emphasis on understanding a client,
their objective, their market and more, to help provide/recommend a
We call this innovative process, the ‘KAYO technical solution that helps them succeed.
Way’ way, comprising of Knowledge Applied
to Your Objectives.
KNOWLEDGE APPLIED YOUR OBJECTIVES
Knowledge of the digital landscape and technologies Applied by us in developing Your objectives, be they business,
available, coupled with customer and competitor and customising the commercial, social, environmental or
analysis, to identify opportunities that can be optimum technological a combination .
exploited. solution to meet .
ANALYSIS
KAYO Way analysis has then enabled us to build
and maintain cutting edge websites and deliver
bespoke digital marketing, software and mobile
applications to clients including:
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021
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ABOUT THIS REPORT MAKING SURE ANALYSIS WAS CONSISTENT
Everything within this report was collated and reviewed by individuals not involved
in collecting the data and all companies’ names had been anonymised to prevent
bias in any of the reviewing and scoring.
Following publication of the Sunday
Times PwC Top Track 250, a yearly leader
board classifying the 250 fastest growing COMPANY SECTOR B2B/B2C COMPANY SECTOR B2B/B2C
INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS
privately owned companies in the UK, our
PARAGON BANK B2C TRANSFERWISE PROVIDER B2C
HYPERION INSURANCE GROUP INSURANCE BROKER B2C ALEXANDER MANN SOLUTIONS OUTSOURCING, CONSULTING, B2B
AND TALENT ACQUISITION
team reviewed what the South East’s top BARCHESTER HEALTHCARE HEALTHCARE B2C MOUNT ANVIL PROPERTY DEVELOPER AND B2B
CONTRACTOR
THE&PARTNERSHIP MARKETING B2B SOUTH EAST WATER WATER B2C
COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
50 companies are doing online to grow ELEMENTTESTING SERVICES PROVIDER B2B MEGGER ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS
MANUFACTURER B2B
TENNANTS CONSOLIDATED CHEMICALS BIOSCIENCE B2B MIQ DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY B2B
their sales and reach…and what they are CH&CO GROUP CATERING B2B IQ STUDENT ACCOMMODATION STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
PROVIDER B2C
MANAGEMENT AND TECH
not doing.
PA CONSULTING CONSULTANCY B2B THE WHITE COMPANY LIFESTYLE RETAILER B2C
BUCKINGHAM GROUP CONTRACTING BUILDING AND CIVIL B2B LOUDWATER CONSUMER PRODUCT B2B
ENGINEERING CONTRACTOR DISTRIBUTOR
GLOBAL MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT B2C CAMERON MACKINTOSH THEATRICAL PRODUCER B2C
PROVIDER
CAR GIANT AUTOMOTIVE B2C NETWORK AVIATION GROUP CARGO SERVICES PROVIDER B2B
HH GLOBAL MARKETING SERVICES B2B EUROPA WORLDWIDE GROUP LOGISTICS PROVIDER B2B
PROVIDER
Historically, we would have reviewed Kent’s 50 fastest growing companies, as
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR SPORTS B2C READIE CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR B2B
listed by the MegaGrowth Awards, but these were cancelled due to the COVID-19
WALSTEAD GROUP COMMERCIAL PRINTER B2B TSL CONSTRUCTION SERVICES B2B
pandemic; the Top Track 250 (2019-2020 edition) makes an excellent substitute.
CAFFÈ NERO FOOD AND DRINK B2C SOLARCENTURY SOLAR POWER DEVELOPER B2B
Using expertise gained from years of helping clients grow their business the Kayo
Digital team analysed 17 different touchpoints and the findings are summarised in WATERSTONES RETAIL B2C ERITH CONTACTORS DEMOLITION CONTRACTOR B2B
this report. INSPIRED EDUCATION HOLDINGS EDUCATION B2C INHEALTH HEALTHCARE B2B
SUSHI DAILY SUSHI BAR OPERATOR B2C DAVIES GROUP INSURANCE B2B
We have also compared Top Track 250 results with last year’s Kent’s MegaGrowth FM CONWAY INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
PROVIDER B2B MOONPIG GROUP ONLINE B2C
companies. LEISURE PASS GROUP TOURISM SMARTCARD
PROVIDER B2C RICHER SOUNDS AUDIO-VISUAL RETAILER B2C
Côte Restaurants Food and drink B2C AXIS EUROPE PROPERTY MAINTENANCE B2B
CONTRACTOR
The companies reviewed can be seen to the right. Arcus Facilities b2b KELLY GROUP TELECOMS AND CABLE B2B
CONTRACTOR
*all data was collected in December 2020 and the official table can be found here.
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021
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“ Content is the
atomic particle
of all digital
marketing”
— Rebecca Lieb
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY METHODOLOGY
A lot of technology and online Unlike MegaGrowth the Top Track The report’s criteria reflect the path-to-purchase journey of a
habits have been accelerated by the 250 used software platforms that potential customer – awareness, engagement, and sales – as
pandemic. effectively market to users on multiple
online channels, nurturing prospects well as technologies/movements being incorporated into the
It even hindered us in reporting what and automating repetitive tasks, market, reflecting changing trends and behaviours.
Kent’s fastest growing companies helping to create an omnichannel
are doing; instead, we had to review experience, a cross-channel content
the online footprint of the 50 fastest strategy that organizations use to
The path-to-purchase model (see below) is a powerful tool,
growing in the South East as listed drive better relationships with their placing emphasis on customer impact and has helped us
by Top Track 250 which were, on audience across points of contact. highlight how the fastest growing companies have focused
average, £260 million larger than There is even evidence that Top Track
those listed in the 2019 MegaGrowth companies favoured data collection their digital activity.
50 Awards. over website speed, because they
found it had more value to the
As consumers’ needs and company.
expectations rapidly shift, companies
have had to change and adapt. This isn’t the only difference between AWA R E N E S S
This is no knee-jerk reaction, but an MegaGrowth and Top Track 250: Top Awareness refers to the activity produced
acceleration of what we can expect in Track companies produced twice as by a company that can influence a customer
the future. much content on average, had twice to think of the company once they need a
as many social media accounts and product or service
If the Oxford Dictionary needs a delivered a significantly better user
Word Of The Year – let’s ignore experience.
‘unprecedented’ – then we would
recommend ‘disruption’. For 2021, we predict the further rise
of livechat, marketing automation, ENGAGEMENT
We have seen click and collect being click and collect and data collection to Engagement refers to how
provided not just by the largest leverage the technologies driving how you communicate with your
companies but by the SME market, they interact with their clients and prospects and clients,
livechat is expected to continue to contacts. nurturing them towards
grow by as much as 87%, retail apps the point of sale
are on the rise, and internet use is To thrive in these uncertain times,
surging to record levels. every organization needs a complete
view of its data and understanding of
SALES
That’s not all. Reviewing the Top what is happening in the market, with Sales describes
Track 250 companies offers a glimpse the ability to take real-time action. the ‘final straw’
of the SME market’s future; where We hope this document gives you the NB: tools used to collect data consisted of SEMrush,
Google Lighthouse, Builtwith and Wappalyzer. All data
that enlists
tools once available only to larger insight you need to grow and develop. 2020 was collected in November a sale
companies become more affordable
as technology becomes more
accessible.
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021
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BREAKDOWN OF DATA
REVIEWED
The fastest growing
companies were a good
mix of company types, with
60% being B2B (business
to business) and 40% B2C
(business to consumer)
The companies themselves
were based in the South
East of England, defined as:
London East and West
Sussex
Berkshire
Kent
Surrey
Oxfordshire
Buckinghamshire
Hampshire
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021
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KEY OPPORTUNITIES 58%
HIGHLIGHTED OF COMPANIES
HAD FOUR OR
MORE ONLINE
The information 58% of companies had four or more
online profiles. PROFILES
and research we
conducted has been The South East companies were 300%
enlightening and
highlighted several
more likely to have an app for their
customers. We have seen industry
90%
key opportunities: trends that promote the uptake of MORE PEOPLE
apps and the big companies seem to
be following this trend:
SEARCHING
REWARDS APPS
The top companies use marketing
— Mobile searches for ‘grocery app’
automation software to help attract
have soared more than 900% in the
and engage with customers/
past two years.
contacts. Tools such as Hubspot and
— Mobile searches for ‘rewards app’
900%
Marketo were heavily utilised for their
have grown by more than 90% in the
marketing automation.
past two years.
Crazy Egg, Hotjar, LinkedIn, Twitter,
Facebook, Google Analytics etc.
were used alongside each other to
MORE GROCERY
gather data and help understand the APP SEARCHES IN
audience interacting with each brand. THE PAST TWO
80% of these tools are free.
YEARS
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021
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WHAT HAS CHANGED?
MEGAGROWTH 2019 SOUTH EAST
COMPANIES GROWING FASTEST 2020 DIFFERENCE
COMPANIES
WHO HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA %
AWARENESS %66.00 %96.00 %30.00
PRESENCE
One of many reasons we created this report WHO PERFORM REGULAR CONTENT %
CREATION
%30.00 %66.00 %36.00
was to capture how the digital landscape WHO PERFORM VIDEO MARKETING % %36.00 %63.00 %27.00
changes year on year, but COVID-19 has WHO PERFORM BASIC SEO % %28.00 %30.00 %2.00
prevented this from occurring.
AVERAGE NUMBER OF SOCIAL MEDIA
1.6 3.66 2.06
ACCOUNTS
ENGAGEMENT WHO HAVE AN EMAIL NEWSLETTER % %20.00 %22.00 %2.00
If we were to compare Kent and the South
WHO USE PAID ADVERTISING % %14.00 %32.00 %18.00
WHO HAVE AN EXTERNAL APP % %8.00 %28.00 %20.00
East’s top growing companies, on average, WHO USE SOCIAL PROOF % %27.00 %46.00 %19.00
we would see a size difference of £200+ SALES
WHO HAVE A CTA (CALL TO %
ACTION) ON THEIR WEBSITE
%42.00 %80.00 %38.00
million between the two company groups. HAVE LIVECHAT ON THEIR SITE %6.00 %4.00 %2.00-
WHO HAVE ECOMMERCE %
%14.00 %10.00 %4.00-
FUNCTIONALITY
To some it might look like comparing apples and pears, but we see the comparison TECH WHO ARE MOBILE OPTIMISED % %79.00 %100.00 %21.00
as key to understanding what the biggest companies are doing to set themselves AVERAGE GOOGLE PERFORMANCE
33.00 28.00 5-
)SCORE (HOW QUICK IS THE WEBSITE
apart – even when they are being assessed against some of the bigger companies
in the country. AVERAGE GOOGLE ACCESSIBILITY
SCORE
74.00 81.00 7
PERCENTAGE THAT HAVE MORE THAN
To the right we have highlighted the difference between the groups of companies: ONE LANGUAGE CAPABILITY
%0.00 %34.00 %34.00
THAT USE AUTOMATION % %0.00 %10.00 %10.00
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202120
TECH AND SOFTWARE On average the company’s website
load speed is recorded as 28 out of
on multiple online channels, nurturing
prospects and automating repetitive
INVESTED IN
100. This is slow, to say the least, and tasks. However, we have seen little
it is usual to ‘bang on’ about how the take-up of this in smaller companies,
faster a website is, the better it will including the MegaGrowth 50.
convert and generate more enquiries
and revenue, but have we considered Web tracking was rife throughout the
The World is changing rapidly around us with why larger companies are happy for sites and data was being treated as
aggregators taking huge chunks of traditionally the site to be slower? Looking at the king. We saw companies tracking web
tech behind it, it could well be that visitors with:
stable business markets, leaving behind they are happy to sacrifice speed
businesses that are unable to adapt for the tools that allow user visibility, — Hotjar and Crazy Egg – tools that
automation, and testing, thereby track people behaviour on the site
and innovate. helping them understand who they — LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter
really are talking and engaging with. – tools that help the social media
platforms collect user data from
To many, technology is WordPress is the most popular CMS websites as well as their own websites
the tool that can level the (Content Management System) but —Marketo, Hubspot and Adobe Target
bespoke CMSs and several premium – marketing automation tools that
playing field and – more CMSs have their place. More advanced monitor and nurture prospects
importantly – then help a websites we reviewed had often
rejected WordPress in favour of 100% of the sites were easily accessible
company gain a competitive something more powerful. via mobile phones, compared to 79%
edge in the market. the year before... this is now the norm
On average the accessibility rating and Kent’s fastest growing companies
of companies we reviewed was bucking this trend isn’t positive to see.
Technology continues as 81 out of 100. This will become
increasingly important, not just because 34% of companies have more than one
to move forward at an it allows the broadest spectrum of language capability and are optimised
individuals accessing the website. to appear in different countries. This
unprecedented pace, but
Google announced that in 2021, user contrasts with the top 50 fastest
take-up of innovation and experience – including accessibility – growing companies in Kent, where
will be an important ranking factor in none of them had the functionality to
technology can stagnate in
search results. translate into other languages.
the larger companies of the
10% of companies and their websites
SME market.
use marketing automation, deploying
software platforms such as Marketo,
Hubspot and others to reach users
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202122
“ If your
competitors start
copying you,
you’re doing
something right”
— Jay Baer
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202124
AWARENESS
When companies and consumers need help, So, you may be asking: is SEO important then?
they need to know who to turn to. That is the Yes and no. It is biased to the industry. For
goal for brand awareness - how people view example, are you more likely to search for ‘a
and remember your brand. bag of potatoes’ or ‘Tesco’s’? Brand fame can
overturn SEO and SEO can overturn brand
Brand awareness might seem like a vague concept and, in truth, it is.
And for those marketers and business owners who like to gauge success awareness. It depends on how famous the
with neat and tidy numbers, brand awareness will only cause frustration. brand is. The larger companies listed seem to
But South East companies seem ahead of the curve when it comes to
generating awareness through online means. rely on fame, not SEO. This could be to their
detriment; we cannot all be a Tesla.
Top South East companies own
nearly twice as many social media
accounts as Kent’s MegaGrowth 50, The fastest growing South East As with video, the fastest growing
where 58% of the companies had companies are twice as likely to South East companies produce
four or more social media accounts. use video when compared with twice as much content as their Kent
the MegaGrowth. With all videos counterparts. We predict this is
There was a real lack of search being housed on YouTube, the only going to increase with 24% of
engine optimisation (SEO): only 30% second largest search engine/ marketers planning to boost their
of the websites had basic SEO in social media account, the reason investment in content marketing in
place. This is not to say that a huge is obvious. The importance of 2021 (HubSpot, 2020).
amount of traffic was not coming video to highlight a company
through these websites, but it is and the brand has recently been There is such a thing as too much
safe to say the main traffic media promoted by Google which content and video, but no one has
were: revealed how viewing time for reached that limit yet, even when
shopping-related YouTube videos the top SE companies are producing
— Social media grew fivefold in the USA during the twice as much as their Kent
— Brand searches past two years. counterparts.
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202126
“ It is no longer enough to satisfy
your customers you must
delight them”
— Philip Kotler
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202128
South East companies were 300% — Mobile searches for ‘rewards app’
more likely to have an app for their have grown by more than 90% in the
customers. We have seen industry past two years.
trends that promote the uptake of
apps and the big companies seem to From a study of 1,000 small business
be following this trend: owners, email marketing was ranked as
the second most effective medium for
— Mobile searches for ‘grocery app’ building brand awareness (Campaign
have soared by more than 900% in Monitor, 2019) but it’s a tool that is
the past two years. questioned increasingly: is it a) a cost
ENGAGEMENT effective medium and b) “just annoying
people”?
The top 50 companies in Kent and the top 50 in the South East, seem
equally unconvinced: only 20% of companies have an easy sign up to a
Why should people care about what you have to say and newsletter.
why should they engage with your company? Just because
you think your content is important?
We need to highlight expertise and promote content
and our services/products to the potential customer.
Interestingly, this is a skill that the top Kent companies lack,
with a bias shown instead towards the sales and awareness
aspects of the marketing funnel.
Key findings:
The power of ‘social proof’ is something the MegaGrowth companies
lacked. Social proof is a psychological and social phenomenon where
32% of the companies used paid to be globally responsible for $2.12 people copy the actions of others in an attempt to reduce the unknown
advertising; the advertising was billion of lost revenue in 2020 outcome of a given situation.
not live all year round, but it seems (Statista, 2018).
to have been scheduled to go live At least 50% of the fastest growing companies in the South East
at perceived profitable points of However, paid advertising is still a promoted positive work they had done and/or positive comments from
the year. An element we cannot very effective and lucrative medium.
clients.
quantify is how effective online Instead of targeting everyone
advertising will be in future with Ad blockers help people target
Social proof on a website was identified as:
ad blocking increasingly impacting only people who are interested in
— Testimonials
its ROI. Ad blockers are predicted advertising.
— Third party review systems
— Case studies
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202130
“ Content Marketing is a
commitment, not a campaign”
— Jon Buscall
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202132
SALES Key findings:
A call to action (CTA) encourages
the web visitor to take some
Sales is the lifeline of any business and a specified action, such as use a
contact form. 80% of the reviewed
website can be its core strength rather than companies had user experience
being seen simply as a company’s front door; (UX) in mind with clear CTAs
found throughout. Compared with
any organisation that sees this as its only MegaGrowth the TopTrack 250 was
function is seriously under-estimating the power twice as likely to have a CTA.
of a successful site. Livechat use by consumers online
has been accelerated by the
pandemic, yet livechat take up by
We encourage our clients to see a website as a companies is still slow: only 6% of
digital Business Development Manager (BDM) the companies reviewed utilised its
functionality. Being able to directly
and if you measure a human BDA’s salary talk to a person in a company can
only be positive, but may be seen
package, including travel, holiday, expenses, as a logistic nightmare for larger
lead generation services and business cards companies, hence their reluctance
to add one to a site.
against building a website, it quickly becomes
clear that the latter can be a highly cost-
effective new business generator.
Sales on websites are evolving fast with the
inclusion of chatbots and personalisation, but
a call to action (CTA) continues to be the real
driver of sales – it is any device or feature
designed to prompt an immediate response or
encourage an immediate sale on a web page.
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202134
“ Content builds
relationships.
Relationships
are built
on trust.
Trust drives
revenue”
— Andrew Davis
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202136
KEY THINGS TO CHECK WITH The 17 points we reviewed for each Fast Track company can
be seen in the table below. For each item, please rate your
YOUR OWN COMPANY organisation’s online effectiveness (if the item is applicable)
1 being low and 5 being high:
Does your company...M 1 2 3 4 5 What you do well What you need to do/improve
Have social media presence
Regularly create content
Perform video marketing
Invest in SEO
Post on social media
Have an e-newsletter
Uses paid advertising
Have an app
Uses social proof
Use CTA's on the Website
Have livechat
Have ecommerce functionality
Have a Website optimised for mobile
Have a fast Website
Have an accessible Website
Offer a Website with language
capabilites
TOTAL Scores
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 202138
CONCLUSION
Successful websites information as possible, in Are we waiting for the one that your target audience
demonstrably produce order to customise their digital MegaGrowth companies to is listening to then please
more sales than even the footprint to attract their target catch up and start mirroring consider advertising there.
most successful BDM and, audience – even when the the big companies’ content They are only going to become
traditionally, a BDM will cost a higher traffic may impact the output? Yes, but neither set of more popular and established
company considerably more in speed of their websites. companies has utilised one key as a key medium in your
training, pensions, salary etc. element, even though research marketing toolkit.
than a successful website. When rating MegaGrowth has promoted its importance –
v. Top Track companies we livechat.
The fastest growing South East are really comparing apples
companies seem to understand and oranges because of the Livechat is no longer a gimmick
this – to an extent – and have contrasting size, but a key but a way to communicate
expanded this role to make finding is how Top Track to an audience. As we move
the website their best research companies emphasise their to the post-pandemic ‘New
method tool as well. online footprint. They are twice Normal’ it is worth revisiting this
as likely to produce content, increasingly important option.
With us all flocking online have twice as many social
during this surreal time, data media accounts on average, We also wanted to leave you
collection and analysis has have an app and be twice as with something to think about
never been so important and likely to produce video. So, and a prediction – podcasts.
effective for companies. Top content and places to promote Their growth has been
companies are making sure it really is king for the largest exponential, especially over
they collect as much data and companies. the past year, and if you find
K AYO DIGITAL 2020 REVIEW JANUARY 2021Questions? Comments?
Kayo Digital is based in Sittingbourne, Kent, and helps growing business
throughout the South East of England.
To discuss your digital How to reach us: Kayo_Digital
challenges and initiatives, please
give us a call or contact one of hello@kayo.digital wearekayodigital
the authors direct:
The Innovation Building,
Kayo-Digital
Richard Pilton, Managing Director Kent Science Park,
and Harry Dance, Head of Digital Sittingbourne, Kayo_Digital
Marketing — 01795 255600 ME9 8HLYou can also read
