IBTG chats to Harriet Goodacre, Style Consultant and Brand Communications Manager at Topp Tiles about her career as a marketing and brand creative within the industry.
Can you tell us about your career journey?
I was drawn towards a Fashion Marketing and Communication course at university and after graduating, and working in the beauty and fashion industries, I found my passion for fashion wasn’t strong enough to build a career around.
It was really the evolution of Instagram that led me to my love for interiors and styling. So, when I saw that Topps Tiles, one of the few high quality interior focused brands that are based in my home county, were delving into a new brand direction, it felt like the perfect fit for me.
What attracted you to the marketing and brand management side of the industry?
Marketing was very much in my family, with my Grandad setting up a marketing firm in the 60s and my dad running it until his retirement. They would shoot a lot of content at home for a well-known high street brand, even our family pets featured on their pet food packaging! I got to see all angles of the industry from an early age, so I was always interested in undertaking a marketing-related degree.
What has been one of the most rewarding projects you’ve worked on?
My role at Topps is extremely varied, we have small teams in each department, so you get to be involved in most projects across the brand. When I started back in 2013, styling the photography shoots for new products was my main role and although I’ve moved my role on since, a lot of that photography is still used today, standing the test of time which makes me incredibly proud.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Honestly, every day is different, I create a lot of inspirational interiors content from blog posts to video. I present to camera as part of my role as Style Consultant but I’m also working behind the scenes on interior sets directing our latest campaigns or with rugby players as part of our partnership with Leicester Tigers!
In between, I’ll be working with our social team to create new content strategies, optimising our informational content with our search agency and putting together interior trend reports, as well as directing and overseeing our PR agency who gain meaningful media exposure for the brand.
What challenges do you face in communicating with both trade customers and end consumers?
It’s a little chicken and egg, some customers tell the tradesperson what they want, and the trader is simply acting on their requests, but other customers struggle with knowing what they want and therefore the tradesperson advises them.
But our overall goal is to instil confidence, whether that’s inspiring or empowering the customer to make interior design choices or encouraging the trader to learn new skills or use new tools. We tailor our messaging to each individual audience to ensure their needs are met, providing information and inspiration at every touch point of their respective journeys with us.
For someone interested in a marketing career within the industry, what advice would you give?
As it’s a vast industry, I would first determine what part you want to work in. For example, commercial and retail brands have completely different customers and therefore operate different marketing strategies, it’s really about finding what you enjoy and what area you want to specialise in.
For anyone looking for experience, I always advise to look for a role within a small brand first so you can get involved in more varied roles, helping to find the area you love most. Then as you progress in your career you can start to narrow your expertise.
It’s also super useful as a marketer to learn every aspect of the customer experience so spending time working in a physical store, in the customer service department and even the warehouse will better your understanding of what the customer wants and needs, helping to better inform marketing strategies to support the customer journey.
What’s your advice for staying on top of latest trends and technologies?
Immersing yourself in the industry is key, a lot of outside reading is required, not just in this industry but in retail as a whole. With technology moving so quickly it’s important to do your research and reflect on what’s right for your brand’s customer and their journey and of course, the brand itself.
It’s about learning what is beneficial to invest in and what’s just a fad. If it doesn’t aid the customer’s journey, then usually they’re not interested and therefore it’s not right for the brand.
What are your goals for the Topps Tiles brand in the near future, and what excites you most about achieving them?
We’re starting to move content forward, finding cost-effective ways of creating video content that resonates with our customers. We’re exploring how to promote our newer product categories like engineered wood, LVT and splash backs but also our brand to new and younger audiences.
But our biggest strategic goal is becoming carbon neutral by 2025. All the work going on behind the scenes to do the best we can environmentally is very complicated and time-consuming, but the outcome is just as satisfying, and when you have passionate people leading such a project, it’s very inspiring.
If you could give your younger self one piece of career advice, what would it be?
There is a lot of emphasis on team players and outgoing personalities within a team and if you’re not one of them you will be left behind, but the reality is that you also need the ‘do-ers’ and if you just be yourself and work hard, you will soon become an invaluable asse