Recent research conducted by Grant Thornton into entrepreneuralism in the UK, highlighted the fact that many of the countries leading entrepreneurs “fail fast”. That is, they see see failure as part of the process of developing successful businesses and they get out fast or refine the business model/product if something isn’t working. In quality terms, there are a number of alternative names for this. One which I use regularly is Plan, Do, Check, Act. Get the idea (plan), sort the deployment plan, get on with implementing it (do), review the plan regularly (check) and do something if things aren’t going your way (act). Where many great ideas fail, is that people don’t do the check and act parts with the right frequency. They chase an idea, because it was their idea and often are prepared to go down with the ship, even if all the data says “fail”. So, if there is anything to learn it’s that failure is OK and part of the process of learning, refining and building your business or products. However, if it’s all going “pear shaped”, get out fast and do something else.
Over the past two working days, I’ve done the retirement speeches for two colleagues who’ve notched up over 50 years service between them. Incredible. One of them joined the business in 1974, repairing calculators which then cost a shattering £1,800 and £750 for an average repair, how times have changed. I felt incredibly proud to be the person whose job it was to say a few words. What struck me was that the one constant in life is still change. Everything evolves, people, places, technology. Perhaps nowadays you have to run faster to keep up, as most of the changes involve technology platforms, nevertheless the frequency of change still continues with aplomb. Over fifty years, so much has come and gone. I wonder what the next fifty holds for us? Implanted human data ports? Flying cars? Spangles coming back? We’ll see.
Following on from last nights blog, I wanted to touch on the issue of the
six degrees of separation and how transient technology platforms are making the world a very tiny place. Let me put something into perspective for you, that is, how fast technology is moving. If you look at how long communication platforms have taken to attract 50m users. Radio = 38 years. TV = 13 Yrs. Myspace = 2 yrs. (Factoid: If Myspace were a country, it would be the fifth largest in the world). Point being, 50M people suddenly became digitally connected in 2 yrs, that’s just for starters. So, the theoretical idea that you can (within six steps) be connected to anyone in the world, doesn’t seem so unreal. Now think about why traditional advertising is in such turmoil. If one well worded Twitter message can be re-tweeted by six people with 1000 followers each, you message would be seen by 43,000 people, for FREE. A blog post can be picked up by anyone in the world via Google. As of today, my blog posts on the Business benefits of Twitter are ranked #2 and #3 Globally on google, not bad for an evening blogger. So, getting your message out there has never been easier if it’s engaging and relevant and you get involved in the conversation.
Speaking in Manchester this morning, I described the different process that B2B brands have to go through to reach their audience. Conventions are changing, buyers are stressed and difficult to reach, the recession is a big distraction. Traditional interruption marketing just doesn’t work anymore, people are too time poor and “spray and pray” campaigns are yesterdays news. So, digital allows us to reach out and get better bang for buck. However, according to research I shared, search engine marketing can be a major switch off as there are so many aggregators and affiliates that they can have the opposite effect, there’s just too much clutter. So, search engine optimisation has to get better. More original content needs to go on, case studies and white papers are the way forward to reach IT procurers in B2B. In all areas of the buying cycle, the web was core for customer research and therefore digital strategy and deployment is key. Basic pay per click isn’t the be all and end all, it’s right for some areas of fast acquisition, however check carefully before you spend a fortune. Overall, life continues to get more complex, digital isn’t simple, social media networks are exploding and offer a new dimension, however listen and lurk before you leap in. If you can grab all of the above and get it into a coherent digital strategy, you’ll be going places.
Oh dear. The UK is the bottom of the heap. According to the OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development), there’s good news and bad news in the global economy. The good news first. They expect the global economy to bounce back quicker than they expected. By 2010, the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) will be the drivers for recovery and things will get better quicker, unless you live in the UK. They’ve downgraded our economy further predicting contraction of -4.5% vs. the previous forecast of -3.7% (government still predicting -3.5%), unemployment may rise to 10% and the budget defecit to be 14.5% of GDP (vs. an average of 8.5% for other major economies). So, what should we do? STAY POSITIVE AND REALISTIC, that’s what. Businesses are still buying, businesses are starting, businesses are still operating, businesses are growing in key sectors. We have to keep innovating, challenging, putting out fires and starting some too. We have to work smart, hard and tactically. We have to lead ourselves out of this recession. Chins up, look bright, let’s get to it.
You might wonder why I’ve put a picture of Ronan Keating up on the blog tonight? No, I’m not a closet Boyzone fan (althought I’ve been exposed to enough of it over the years as my daughter grows up), it’s because one of his songs features the lyrics “you say it best, when you say nothing atall.” In todays high octane society, where everyone is shouting to be heard above all the noise, we should take note of those words. Being heard doesn’t mean who speaks the loudest, it’s about who makes sense. If we all spent more time listening and processing, then when the moment comes, a thundering crescendo of commentary could be delivered, in a whispered voice. Being heard is about being succinct, pointed and relevant. There may be times when it’s better to “say nothing atall.” Ssssshhhh.
Here, try these on for size. What do you think? Has it made your view better or worse? With glasses, one size – generally – doesn’t fit all. One mans set of glasses – to improve their vision – deteriorates anothers. Eyes in your business are no different. We each see things differently. Absorbing, analysing and making decisions through the inputs as we see them. That’s why it’s important to hear other perspectives, to validate and challenge our thinking. Tonight I had dinner with an industry analyst and it was really interesting to hear his view on the market at a more makro level. He can see and hear things I can’t, as he is more connected and as he lives and breathes such information each day. I benefitted from hearing his perspective, he benefitted from hearing my interpretation of his perspective (through my eyes). If you get too focussed on your own perspective all the time, you can become one-dimensional and that leads to predictability and lack of creativity. So, pop someone elses glasses on every now and then and see how different the world or your market might look.
Here’s part II of the blog that has been published today. I’ve put the key stuff down as bullet-points so you can work through it quickly:
For your business
1). Transparency. It’s a great way to build authenticity for your brand. Do you have brand values that you want to shine through? Then build a personality on Twitter. But don’t do it if you’ve nothing interesting to say. If you’re a small business, build trust with potential purchasers of your product and look for people in your locality using the search tool.
2). Traffic with no jams. It’s a great way to build traffic to your official website or blog. A well worded Tweet can entice people to click through to your website as part of your overall traffic-building strategy. But don’t cheat people or bend the truth or they won’t click on your link again; make it interesting. My blog traffic increased threefold after I started Twittering and readership has expanded to more than 20 countries, so it works.
3). Treasure and measure. Give something unique to your followers. Many of the well known global brands are already offering unique offers or pre-launches to their Twitter followers. This gives incredible ROI measurement when using unique codes.
4). Join the conversation. It’s a great way to understand what others are saying about your product or brand, and for people to share positive experiences with others. Buyer remorse is rife; the more support and reinforcement available, the better.
5). Shareware. I’m making this point twice (see below). The whole point of these platforms is to acquire and spread knowledge; if you build your brand/company reputation through a loyal following of people, they will help you spread your word.
For you in business
1). Grow up. You can increase your own personal learning and growth. There are some awesome and really clever people on Twitter who share their daily insights. Some of their Tweets are really thought-provoking. It’s free mind food.
2). Stay in touch.You can keep up with your key customers and contacts. A great reason to interrupt someone with something totally personalised: “I saw that you were… how interesting. Did you know?” You can see where people are and what they’re up to. Could you both be in the same place at the same time for an impromptu get together (called a Tweetup)?
3). I’m free. I’ve seen some really good consultants offer “free consulting” in their downtime between meetings. You can take advantage of this or give tasters of your goods or services to others. This is brilliant for smaller businesses – free advice.
4). Feed me. Ask questions of your followers to get instant feedback. Got a problem? You only need ask; people will give advice. Want to see some early feedback on a new product or service? Ask and people will reply. The community is building.
5). Shareware. The more you give, the more you will receive and the more your personal reputation will grow.
I published a blog on about the business benefits of Twitter on a PR industry site yesterday, you can read it
here.
“Create Magic”. That’s what serial ad man Sir John Hegarty of global agency Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty said in a speech tonight to staff and clients of Manchester ad agency BJL. Almost Bransonesque in his style and delivery, Sir John delivered ten key points aimed to enthuse the agency folk to greater things. These were: – 1) Agencies can innovate. 2) Agencies can create media opportunities 3) Agencies can create programming. 4) Agencies creativity can be the media. 5) Agencies can persuade clients to be brave. 6) Agencies can tackle growing social issues. 7) Technology has always been a spur to creativity, now more than ever. 
Agencies can expand their influence with clients. Integration is now vital. 9) Agencies can invent products. 10) Agencies can use the recession to be more creative. As any good ad man would, Sir John showed plenty of example of his work such as this piece for Xbox and this piece of programming, which ended up on MTV. As you often find with great leaders, Sir John had humility in bags, an underlying confidence, rock solid principles and an authentic delivery. That’s how you survive in the advertising world for 44 years. Rock on.
