Environmental research: A commercial necessity.

Environmental research: A commercial necessity.

Aug 29, 2016 | Change, Leadership, Strategy

Last week I was fortunate enough to be invited to a session that outlined the latest Roy Morgan research focussing on Mortgage stress and superannuation.

The data presented by Morgans CEO Michele Levine  was both informative and disturbing in a number of ways. I recommend you have a look at  the slides, and the report, and give some thought to the problems that will evolve over the next few  years that this country will have to address, somehow.

As I considered the data and the implications, it got me thinking more broadly  about one of my long term hobby horses.

Environmental research.

Not the tree hugging type, although there are significant commercial questions and opportunities there, but the sort of research that informs thinking about the long term trends and behavioural changes that will impact the competitive environment in which we all have to live.  Understanding the direction of change has proved time and again to be more important in successful commercial development than the more common stuff that just tests the reactions to a specific proposition. It provides the context for  the varying value propositions reflected in commercial and social offerings, and creates the framework from which you can learn.

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A sensible framework includes an ongoing process to scan the trends, focus on those that will have a long term impact on the community, generate alternative responses, execute responses in a trial format, test , measure and iterate.

 

In the fortunate circumstances that we had a political climate that encouraged and enabled the sort of decision making that a society needs if it is to optimise the mix of economic and social policy outcomes over the long term, this sort of ‘environmental research’ would act as a valuable input to the debate.

Pity we do not have that sort of political environment, our children will pay a high price for our failure in that regard.  The best I think that we can hope for is to rely on the collective common sense of the electorate, but I sense that cynicism and the resulting self interest are dominating.

Not much of long term community value seems to be coming from the current politics, although the participants all claim to represent the mood and values of the community. They should be publicly considering the implications of research such as that done by Morgan, and we would all be better off in the long run for the informed debate founded on facts rather than supposition, suspicion and hyperbole.

There is however considerable meat in the data useful for the development and informing of commercial strategies and priorities. This ‘meat’ should assist you to optimise your returns while our so-called leaders fiddle.

 

10 steps to world class excellence

10 steps to world class excellence

Aug 25, 2016 | Change, Leadership, Strategy

Watching Michael Phelps  weave his magic in the pool at Rio has been more than a sporting feast, it was a lesson in superior performance that has required solid foundations and enormous hard work over a very long period.

Where does that drive, determination, and ability to maintain a focus for so long come from?

Clearly Phelps is a hugely talented individual, but we all know those people who do not make the best of what they have naturally by doing the work. A colleague directed me to a recently published book, ‘Golden rules: Steps to world class excellence‘ by Phelps’s coach, Bob Bowman.

The ‘Golden rules set out apply to virtually everything we do, certainly everything I set out to do as someone who helps business owners get the most out of their emotional and financial investment in their businesses.

Following are Bowmans rules, with a few anecdotes from the businesses  I have been involved with, and life.

A champion sets a ‘Dream Big’ vision.

About 16 years ago I worked with David and Dooley Bellamy to map out a plan for their organic produce business,  that envisioned the launch of organic baby foods. At that time Bellamy’s was a modest organic farm at Longford, just outside Launceston in Tasmania. David & Dooley had a dream to produce organic babyfood they would be happy to feed their kids, that would sit on supermarket shelves, opening up what was then a non existent new category in the market. While there has been many changes since that time, and I can claim little credit for the success that has been realised, Bellamy’s is now a public company that has become a significant exporter of organic baby food, after being the first on shelf in Australian supermarkets.

Adopt an ‘All in’ attitude, not a ‘Get out’  one.

Several of my kids achieved great athletic success, while falling just short of the Olympics, to continue the sporting theme. My now 30 year old daughter was one of the top 4 or 5 gymnasts in the country as a girl, lined up by the AIS as a ‘likely’ for the Sydney games. At the ‘nationals’ in Sydney she missed her footing on the beam, falling and badly damaging her breastbone, making it excruciatingly painful to do anything that stretched her chest, difficult to avoid in gymnastics. She did not pull out of the competition, but climbed back up on the beam, finished her routine, then completed the remainder of  the disciplines despite the excruciating pain and knowing she could not do some of  the skills she had trained so hard to perfect, and as a result could not score well. Today she practises Physiotherapy, and makes me proud every day.

Take risks then enjoy the rewards

An acquaintance of mine is a professional in nuclear medicine, a really smart guy who is also a serial entrepreneur. Over 20 years or so, he and his wife have ‘bet the farm’ on several occasions and are now in a position to enjoy the rewards, while still scratching their entrepreneurial itch on a wider scale. The rewards for them are not counted in the bank, but in the freedom and lifestyle delivered by their successes.

Short term goals lead to long term success.

Long term success is made up of many small steps, and the cliché that every journey starts with the first step is a cliché because it is  correct. Way back in march 2009, I wrote my first blog post, and had no idea where the second one was coming from, or what it would be about. However, I had come to the conclusion that committing to a post every couple of days was a good way to both articulate and record my thoughts, and be a marketing tool for my consulting practice.  My goal at first was just to impose on myself the discipline to write a couple of posts a week, and lo and behold, close to 1500 posts later, it is way more than a marketing tool, it is a repository of ideas, processes and a few rants about the things I care deeply  about, that together have great value, at least to me. It does also seem that some of those in those market segments where I choose to concentrate my efforts, weather they become clients or not, also see the value

Live the vision every day

As an Aussie, I love the success story of Atalssian, the local tech startup that has become a world standard in technical project management.  One of the founding visions was and remains, “Don’t f*** the customer”. A bit brash, perhaps not the usual polished wording of a corporate value statement, but nevertheless absolutely clear, memorable, and I bet nobody in the business has any doubt about the focus of their activity. That is what a vision, or purpose, or Mission, whichever of the management clichés you choose to apply, are all about: giving a clear objective to everyone. Any journey over a long period has its ups and downs, stuff that does not work. Having a guiding principal that dictates behaviour on a day to day basis, even one as unconventional as Atlassians, enables the short term reverses to be turned into improvement opportunities, rather than being destructive.

A team approach can bring individual success

Some time in the nineties I read Ricardo Semmlers book “Maverick“. At the time I thought it was the exception that made the rule, the business that became more successful with less, and bottom up management. However, as time passes, the importance of teams, not just to commercial management success, but to success in every arena is becoming more and more obvious, and libraries have now been written that recognise the role of teams in individual success. It is no coincidence that the emergence of digital tools that enable the co-ordination and collaboration of teams has led to an explosion of success in every facet of life, and the inverse also applies. The Australian swimming team was very successful in Beijing, failed comprehensively in London, and from the Rio results, is on the way back, while still experiencing growing pains.

Stay motivated over the long haul

One of my school mates is a musician, at least on the side, as he had to make a living being more conventional. However, over the 40 years I have watched him practise, play and perform, he stuck  to the dream of making a living albeit modest, out of music. He never gave up, and over the last few years has suddenly become successful, making a very good living after a long apprenticeship. Not quite an overnight sensation after 20 years of obscurity, more like a moderate financial but hugely rewarding personally success after 35 years of sticking to the job.

Adversity will make you stronger.

I have told the story of the early days of the General Products division of Dairy Farmers as I found it when I joined as it was spun out of the then regulated milk business to compete unfettered by the past. It was nothing short of a financial and operational disaster, which if not difficult enough was beset with industrial turmoil inherited from  the decades of operating in a regulated and highly unionised  ‘cost-plus’ environment.  During a strike, a deliberately lit fire destroyed much of the warehouse capacity, which could have led to the gates just being closed for good.  Instead, the fire was a catalyst for change, the final straw after which everyone recognised that we had hit rock bottom, and the choice was stark; change attitudes, work hard and together, or go home for good. Within a relatively short space of time, after some herculean effort, you would not have recognised the place.

When the time comes perform with confidence.

Most people feel some level of apprehension at the prospect of speaking in front of a crowd, for some it is  overwhelming. Jerry Seinfeld’s observation that many would rather be in the box than delivering the eulogy resonates deeply with many. Around 1985 I was asked to present at the ‘Foodweek’ conference, a then annual food industry gabfest that was the ‘must-attend’ event of the year for everyone in the industry.  To prepare I spent a lot of time writing and perfecting the presentation, hired some  professional AV assistance, and had some presentation coaching, but to call what I felt nervous would be like calling Everest a ‘hill’. On the day, I figured I could  have done no more, so went out there in front of still the biggest crowd I have ever presented to, relaxed and did a pretty good job, I am told.

Celebrate your achievements, then decide what is next

Success, no matter what it is in should be celebrated as an acknowledgement of the effort, as well as the achievement. The celebration when managed well becomes hugely motivating to everyone concerned. A client of mine has in their main office an old ships bell, been there for as long as anyone can remember. At any time, any person who believes something of value has been achieved that everyone should know about has the right to ring the bell, at which time everything stops, and the ringer is able to tell the story. It started, I am told in the 50’s as a device to let everyone know when a big order was secured, but has since evolved to enable achievements of any kind to be celebrated, and a part of  the celebration is that the ringer has to commit to the next objective, what ever that may be. It sometimes still records a big order, but these days more often records the success of a factory  improvement team, or  the successful trialling of a new piece of equipment, and occasionally a personal achievement like the passing of an exam. The bell has become a symbol of the culture of celebration and commitment that drives the performance of the whole business.

A great framework for us all.

 

 

Shoe-string marketing for SME’s

Shoe-string marketing for SME’s

Aug 22, 2016 | Marketing, Small business

All small and medium sized businesses struggle with the problem of not enough marketing budget. They have come, or perhaps been led to the conclusion that marketing must be expensive, and often it is,  but a bit of creativity goes a long way.

You do not have to spend a fortune to get a result, but you need to be focussed, disciplined and creative.

Some of the simple things that  every small business should have down pat

Community. Small businesses are local, part of a community, and we are herd animals that like to look after our own, so long as it does not compromise us, so be local, engage in local activities and causes, make a contribution to the social and cultural fabric of your community.

Elevator pitch. It is amazing to me how many people cannot describe the value their businesses  bring to those who do business with them in 30 seconds or less. Taking the time to craft a good elevator pitch is worth every minute.

Be vocal. Many people are uncomfortable being vocal, making speeches and presentations, but they are a great way to build profile, acceptance, and loyalty,  all of which delivers new customers to you. Being controversial can be dangerous, but we all relate to the rebels, those who have the guts and presence to say what they think, and make a noise about it, respectfully and with wit and wisdom, but nevertheless a noise. The added benefit is that when you do it well others pick up on it and spread. Nothing spreads as easily and widely as a good idea.

Collaboration. Scale is power, and can be easily built. Often mutually beneficial collaborations are relatively easily managed on a local level that are challenging on a wider scale, and they offer all sorts of benefits. If you run a fashion retailer, why on earth would you not want to collaborate with the fashion shoe retailer two doors down?

Networking. Networking works, but takes considerable  time and effort, and it not for free. Nobody likes being sold to, and while that may be the objective, going into a networking conversation with the attitude that you need to give before you earn the right to receive is always a good move. Rather than opening a conversation with the usual “What do you do..?” ask instead, ‘how can I help you?’ and see the difference. Networking enables you to build relationships, and trust.The reality is that we do business as far as we can with those we know, like and trust, and that does not happen immediately, it evolves over time based on behavior and performance.

Referrals. When you have someone else recommending you to their networks, it is the most powerful marketing you can do. Therefore not be backward is asking for referrals from those to whom you have given. Usually they will be delighted to repay some of the value you have delivered to them. Referrals however can be complicated. As the number of networking groups has exploded, the value of the referral has diminished, as there is a ‘sort of’ obligation to refer as a part of the network group process. Tied up in the referral is your own credibility. Each time you give one, you should ask yourself, ‘Would I use this person to solve this problem?”  If the answer is anything less than an emphatic ‘Yes” my view is that you should not give the referral as it is a compromise of your own credibility.

Use tools for leverage. All of the above are enabled and enhanced by the digital tools now available, but they are just tools, the principals of marketing have not changed just because someone invested a fancy digital tool. Understand how  the tool is best used, use it yourself, or if your time is better spent elsewhere, and normally it is, find an expert who can maximize the leverage the tools can deliver.

None of this costs much money, but it does take time, commitment, and importantly, a plan that is executed, measured, and improved.

Do not be bamboozled by the notion that marketing is all about branding, it is not.

Building a brand is a key part of marketing success, the foundations of a brand make for marketing success, but the communication  processes to build a brand, which is what everyone thinks about, are nevertheless just a part of the more holistic process of marketing.

 

 

 

9 reasons to be wary of marketing automation

9 reasons to be wary of marketing automation

Aug 16, 2016 | Governance, Marketing, Small business

Marketing automation is the new game in town, it builds leverage onto marketing investments. Absolutely right, and I am a believer. Scott Brinkers amazing work illustrates just how rapidly it is advancing.

Automation delivers the opportunity for huge leverage when used well.  For small and medium enterprises it offers the opportunity to look and act like their much larger competitors, and win by outmanoeuvring them with their inherent agility.

However, there are risks not being talked about very much, if at, all in the rush into the automated tools.

  1. A tool is not a strategy.

There is so much smoke and mirrors and just plain bullshit being sprayed around by the vendors of many tools that the basics risk being ignored. When you need to drive a nail, the tool you need is a hammer, not an all singing, all dancing, multipurpose expandable screwdriver. Digital tools are all driven by algorithms and logical progressions, based on assumptions. Problem arises when the tool does not accommodate the myriad of behavioural realities that occur in the real world. I am seeing automation seen as a strategy way too often, without due consideration of the context in which the tool will be used, and the outcomes that can reasonably be expected.

2. Ownership delivers leverage.

Those who ‘own’ the tool are able to use the output to further their particular perspective. Outcomes predicted by some tool often takes on a credibility greater than it should simply because somebody has done the number crunching through a tool. These things do not think, they do as they are told, so being constructively critical of outcomes that appear at odds with common sense is usually a pretty good practise. The next time I see a course of action that sits uncomfortably with my instincts being pursued just because it appears justified by some algorithm will not be the first. Getting the balance between the wisdom of experience and domain knowledge and the output of some algorithm wrong is akin to letting the kids loose on a 1000cc racing bike. Great for a while, but destined for a nasty prang.

3. The danger of complication.

Steve Jobs has been credited with the words “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication’ which is simply an extension of what we have known for ages. Einstein said (amongst many other insightful strategic observations) ‘Everything should be as complicated  as it need to be, and no more’. Automation has within it the opportunity to overcomplicate, when the simple is all that is needed. I still have (SME) clients to whom Excel pivot tables represent automation of their sales analysis, and sometimes that is all that is needed. Setting out to implement a ‘marketing stack’ in this sort of environment, with this existing level of digital sophistication will only lead to tears.

4. Business is not absolute.

The formulas in a tool are absolute, they do exactly as they are told. As noted, business is not absolute, there are multiple shades of grey all over the place, often confusing and conflicting. Digital algorithms are yet to be able to learn and apply the judgements born of that learning to a situation facing them, and indeed, in analysing adequately the situation confronted.

5. Marketing ROI.

Marketing has long suffered from the accusation, that it is all smoke and mirrors, supposition and judgement along with the long lunches, and too often the accusations have had some merit. “Where are the numbers?’ is a pretty common question when marketing is chasing its slice of the available resource pie, and in their absence, Marketing is the first to be cut in a squeeze. Now there are tools that supposedly, and in fact do deliver an ability to do reliable calculations, they are often grasped like a drowning man will grasp anything that floats by. Pity an attractive lead weight can be tarted up to look like a life jacket.

6. Financial ROI.

Implementation of marketing technology is no cheap exercise, as anyone who has had anything to do with this stuff will attest. The cost of the software is only the beginning, and the time taken to project completion usually confounds even the most pessimistic forecasts made in the blush of the original ‘let’s do it’ decision. In many instances I have seen, taking some of the money thrown away in marketing automation, and putting it against genuine customer oriented activities would generate a far superior ROI.

7. Automation for its own sake.

Automating a crap process just leaves you with automated crap. One of the most common mistakes I see is believing that an implementation will solve a problem, when in my experience, automation just makes an existing problem worse, harder to find, and more expensive to fix. Never automate until the existing processes are working seamlessly, or alternatively, when you automate, throw all existing processes out the window, and start with a completely fresh page. The danger here is that without a rigorous outside intervention those that allowed the former processes to resemble a dog-pile will be the ones writing the new routines. Usually not sensible.

8. Automation is different to decision making.

Automating can deliver information that provides the data required to make informed decisions, but cannot in itself make decisions that require judgement. At best an automated decision tree can be an ‘if that then this’ logic sequence. If ever you needed convincing of this; just look at the May 2010 ‘Flash Crash‘ of the Dow Jones. The decisions surrounding resource allocation are challenging, requiring a multidimensional view of the options that balance the relative outcomes, risks and rewards.

9. It all becomes too easy.

Let’s face it, life is really busy and stressful, so when there is an answer provided that has corporate  credibility, the easy way is to go along with it, not rock the boat, and often not run the gauntlet of questioning the status quo.

 

My thanks to Tom Fishburne for the header cartoon. You continue to demonstrate the power of the cartoon to make a serious point.

6 strategies to build a brand on a shoestring

6 strategies to build a brand on a shoestring

Aug 15, 2016 | Branding, Small business

Small businesses everywhere suffer from the unequal access to the marketing funding they have compared to their larger competitors. Some complain about it, others get on and short circuit the system by turning it on its head.

Large companies overrun  with so called marketers do things in a pretty standard sequence.

Advertise to build awareness,

Generate some customer trial,

Build on trial for repeat purchase.

Small businesses need to find a way to get people to trial their product without all the mass advertising, they need to be able to target their ideal customer specifically, without the investment of mass media, and these days, paid social media which has replaced much of the mass media, but still needs to be managed.

Following are 5 strategies that have worked for my clients, often in tandem.

Sampling. 

If for example, you run a restaurant, stand outside at lunchtime and give samples of your signature dish to passers  by who match the profile of your ideal customer. Don’t waste money on advertising in the local paper, or sponsoring the local footie team (although that may be a good thing to do for other reasons)

Amazon allows you to sample the books on their lists in a number of ways. You can look inside most books, typically you are shown the contents page and often the first chapter. Sometimes you can download a sample chapter, and from time to time there are deals for a limited time on one book in a series, and of course there are the recommendations tailored on your search and purchase history, and reader reviews. All sampling.

Meadow Lea, a brand icon built through the late 70’s and into the eighties had a hugely effective media persona, ‘You ought to be congratulated’, but was supported with an extensive program of sampling in supermarkets that continued for   many years. Getting consumers to sample the product on a bit of bread in store, where the purchases are made was a hugely effective, but low key, slow burn, strategy

Identify your ideal customer.

Identify the most profitable market, by identifying your ideal customer, not just the ones who say they like you, but those who put their money where their mouth is. It amazes me how often a target market turns out to be other than the most profitable market when you do some data digging.

If you are an architect, the most profitable market is unlikely to be first home  buyers, far more likely to be successful 40 plus professionals. They might be harder to find, and sell, but way more likely to be able to spend the necessary money to get what they want.

Differentiate yourself.

Create some sort of differentiation that has some emotional component, so it is likely to be something personal.

I drive an old Mercedes, love it to bits. Whenever it gets a service, the car comes back cleaned, not something I ask for or pay for, (at least not directly) but very nice. Last time I picked it up after a service, there was also a matchbox car of the same model as mine, and a note “for your new grandson” on the passenger seat. In casual conversation when I dropped the car off, I had shown a picture of my new grandson. Think anyone else would ever get to service my Merc?, probably cost them 10 bucks for the toy to ensure I never went anywhere else.

Use direct response techniques.

Direct response advertising provides a huge portfolio of ideas and techniques to learn from, and from long experience, we know direct response works. Even after social media has destroyed much of the advertising industry as we knew it a few years ago, direct response has adapted and thrived. Virtually every offer you receive in your inbox has been crafted with the disciplines of direct response that originated and were refined in the back half of the 20th century. Always have a call to action in an ad, an email, or piece of copy if the reader does not know what to do next, they will wander off.

Direct response advertising is absolutely  and immediately measurable, you know what you get, and can test varying treatments, so being able to calculate an ROI on your investment is now a reality.

Create or highlight a problem, then solve it with your product.

Purchases are made for a reason, and while  the reasons vary from the rational response to a problem, to the emotional solution to an imagined one, the rules are the same. If your product can deliver the solution better  than the alternatives, you will be successful.

Colgate used variations of this technique from the mid 70’s with the Mrs Marsh series of ads, which is to my mind the best example around. However, you do nit need to have Colgate-like budgets to use the same formula. Almost every  ad for weight loss products, gym membership, and a myriad of other things uses the same formula, varied in a range of ways.

Fix your website.

Most businesses these days have websites, and most websites I see are just bloody awful, at least they are if their objective is to build business. If the objective is to stand around and do nothing, then they are fine. There is tonne of advice out there on how to make your site more effective, and this is not about SEO, although that cannot hurt, it is about making the site more ‘sticky’ for when people visit.

There are some pretty simple things that will help add ‘stickyness’:

  • Understand your Bounce Rate. When a visitor to your site fails to move past the first page, it usually indicates that you have failed to engage them, they ‘bounce’. Experiment with differing treatments on your site, noting those that do not work, and ‘doubling down’ on those that do.
  • Ensure there is a prominent headline that leads to an action, top and centre of the page. As  noted above, problem/solution headlines work well in this context
  • Make it clean and uncluttered, so as  not to distract the visitor from the next thing you want them to do
  • Use video. Up till recently, Video was not a common tool, but as site visitors become more fussy and less likely to stay out of curiosity, and video gets better and cheaper, its use has exploded, as have the expectations of visitors.
  • Have social proof prominent, especially video testimonials prominent on the site. People want to be assured by people they can relate to that you are trustworthy, and will treat your money with the same respect they treat theirs.
  • Collect emails and mobile numbers. The old saying, ‘The money is in the list’ still holds, but in these days of mobile, having mobile numbers is becoming increasingly important, SMS messages have an almost 100% open rate, and is remarkably flexible. For example, if you run a restaurant, and have 20 seats available one evening, and you have mobile phone numbers, send out an SMS offering a bottle of champers with dinner as an offer to fill the seats, tonight. It may be that the average revenue on a table is $150, with marginal costs only for the food of perhaps $25, and you have just given away $20 to get the seat filled. Seems like a good deal, and the those who get the champers will be pleased, and talk about your restaurant.

Finally, and importantly, get stuff done. So often I see the results of procrastination, and self doubt, don’t let it hamstring you, and if you need a nudge, call me.