Business 2012

 Three Reasons to be there…

There has been much comment on Twitter in the last 24 hours about the Business 2012 event being held at the O2 Arena in London.

Some of it has been justified, it was badly organised, it was cold it was a tad shambolic and yes there were some pretty barbed comments..one exhibitor said that it was badly organised on biblical proportions..

The feeding frenzy was by no means justified as many visitors actually enjoyed it,how do I know? Because I asked many as I went around, its sadly what I do..some were even planning on a return visit.

Customer satisfaction was not high for some but customer loyalty will see the event though to success.

Why?

Because at the heart of this event there are some fantastic speakers and motivators..the Three B’s in particular, Branson Burton and Botterill..all three are a huge success and all three have done so on the basis of being single minded and turning adversity into positive outcomes.

Learning from mistakes and being single minded epitomises the approach these three entrepreneurs take. You cannot be successful by wallowing in what has happened you have to learn, improve and move on.

That is exactly what the event will do, learn, adjust and deliver a better customer experience from today onwards.

Worth Visiting..Yes

If you have any doubts about visiting then talk your self into it rather than talk your self out of it..

There are some great exhibitors and the speakers are all on form..

Brad Burton was full of his normal enthusiasm and forthrightness, Get off Your Arse and get on with it..when in full flight the Meet, Know, Like Trust message is compelling, check out the speed networking section that 4N are running, not many gaps in that line of thirty chairs all day long.

Nigel Botterill’s 18 Points talk…you are the only person to blame when things go wrong,.. Botterill talks such common business sense that its hard not to listen..so many in the first talk of the morning were running out of pages to take notes on..the Entrepreneurs Circle area was busy all day..

If these two could share a stage tickets would sell out, it would be the cosmic event of all business motivational speaking…would they ever agree to such an event?

These were by no means the only speakers of note,my point is that mistakes can be made good, look to the positives of the day and learn to keep your eyes open to what is around you and keep Listening..these speakers made the event despite the first day hiccups.

Would love any feed back on day two of the event..

Social Media has a purpose, it’s a business tool that can help with customer research and competitor intelligence.

 New business needs to handled sensitively,it’s personal…you do your own M.O.T  Market Opportunities Template as you do with competitor research, Market Opportunities and Threats..

Both aspects make you more profitable…and improve the customer experience

As a business tool it needs to be used..you wouldn’t buy a hammer then pay the person who sold it you to come around and knock in a nail for you…. or would you?

You’d learn what the hammer does and then use it and get better at knocking in nails…

So why do it yourself?

1.Only you know what the business really needs..and that is how it will always be..you need to keep control

2.You want to find out what the Social Media Footprint is of a competitor and don’t want the world knowing – less people you tell the safer the intelligence – no need to brief a third party

3. Research needs evolve and can’t be planned…how can you know that you need to look at a LinkedIn profile or interrogate  Signal for current updates? You won’t know what twitter search you need to do to gather intelligence for a meeting until you have got the meeting.

4.Research is 80% confirmation 20% Inspiration… searching Twitter,FaceBook, LinkedIn etc takes you on a journey that only you will know the value of.. the 20% will only be obvious when you’ve hit the AHH that’s how it fits in spot..

5.Save money and time..once you have the tools you won’t need to spend money briefing someone to spend even more of your money on doing what you could yourself…

Having a managed Social Media platform is one thing but research is another – you can’t expect someone else to do your thinking and planning for you…situations change far too quickly and you need to be in the driving seat of new business and competitor intelligence.

If you would like some feedback on what these tools are then please do contact us

socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk

Marketing and Social Media go hand in hand,I would be surprised if anyone would say that it didn’t.It may be said that the combination works better for some than it does for others which has elements of truth.

Essentially all companies from whatever sector of what ever size can derive huge benefits form using platforms such as Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn… Social Media has taken off and every business needs to be part of the conversation.

Most often the key positive factors in having a Social Media campaign are centred around brand building,raising awareness,reputation enhancement,establishing expertise. These are of course important but they don’t cover an area that is often neglected,that of Customer and Competitor  Research.

Customer and Competitor Research

It is easy to overlook the fact that there is free information out there that gets you closer to your market sector.This same information allows you to mine for New Business and gain insights into your competitors that you would never have had before.

New Business

What if you knew how to find the people who currently, as of now,need your service and want to buy that service?

Well you can…Twitter allows you to search for key words and phrases..think of it as Google in reverse..

If you needed a plumber then you might Google “Plumber Town X” and look at the results and phone a couple…imagine if a plumber called you and said they could help with your burst pipe…wow, you’d be amazed..

Searches can be run using Twitter itself and platforms such as Hootsuite..there are simple searches and you can even refine searches with an Advanced search function on Twitter.

Customer Research

By using Twitter,FaceBook and LinkedIn you can ask questions of your customers and conduct effective research.

Simply ask you followers for feed back using a variety of available tools...FaceBook has plenty of platforms that can be used, LinkedIn has Answers for example, in Twitter just ask and you will get responses from your followers..if the post is Re Tweeted then you automatically get a wider potential base of answers.

Competitor Intelligence

Track your competitors by checking their FaceBook pages, interrogate LinkedIn company profiles to see what they have been up to – very useful to see who the key people are in rival organisations.Quick research often gets good results, key people,new hires,new services…

Use Twitter to stay in touch with what competitors are up to. Follow key companies and people,check their lists and see who they are following,using tracking tools of which there are many..

The key to making this work is organisation…use the tools available and make sure that you have the basics in place, Google Alerts,a good Twitter platform such as Hootsuite,with lists and searches organised properly.Follow companies in LinkedIn,Like companies on Facebook,build relationships.

Use your LinkedIn company profile to post updates about what you are up to as a company,a powerful way to supplement your Online activity.

Remember…your Social Media marketing activity will take time to bear fruit,but your Customer Research and Competitor Intelligence will deliver immediate feedback…business intelligence that can be acted upon NOW..

We know what works because we have worked hard at finding out ….practical solutions that gets our clients results.

Not sure how to get the best from your campaigns?

Get in touch and arrange a chat,happy to help…..please contact socialmedia@customeyes-research.co.uk
View Angus Grady ✩Customeyes Research✩0845 6885272′s profile

There has been a lot of comment recently on Twitter in particular about customers being left for a long time without their BT service…these comments have not been good on the hole.. customer rage has been at full tilt..search #BTcare on Twitter for a sample…customer complaints have been high

As examples of good experiences they don’t rate highly.If the last few days of comments were used in customer research then BT would not be looking good..

Not being a fan of large corporates I have to hand it to BT for the diligence they displayed in getting my broadband sorted out.

There have been problems and BT have admitted this..a first perhaps.

I called a number on my phone bill and got that off shore call centre and thought here we go…to my amazement I was asked intelligent questions by the most polite of people..options were explored and  my number taken so that they could call back in ten minutes.

Call back…

They actually called back and told me that the issue was fixed and that my broadband was back up and running…they even apologised for it being down..

Since the first call some 3 hours ago BT have called back to see if everything is still working…how good is that?

How to handle a disgruntled customer..

My issue was handled brilliantly and highlights the key issues in customer service recovery..

• Be honest with the customer
• Take the blame
• Deal with the issue at once..
• Get back to the customer with the solution..
• Re contact to see if all still OK..

I am now a firm fan of BT..until my broadband goes down again….

Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 has a great chrous..

It’s all takin’  and no givin’

They just use your mind

Dragons Den Tread carefully

Watching the new series of Dragons Den has forced me to think that little more about branding and how sometimes a good name just isn’t good enough.

Last nights episode gave us Love Da Popcorn which looks like a good company with a product that will do well.

I hestiated to use the word Brand there because a brand has so much emotional tie ins that Love Da Popcorn can’t possibly have yet.

The fact that the three founders all work in advertising makes me think that they are constructing that brand and that it has not emerged itself from a light bulb moment.I could be wrong of course but my feelings tell me that they are trying just a tad too hard to be quirky,offbeat and far too Ben and Jerry..

The fact that they could not respond to the laser beam of costs that is Theo and had no idea of distribution costs etc was alarming to say the least.It was like those costs were a minor detail…we’ve got the name,a bit of artificial heritage and are trying to be a bit wacky..

In their heads the founders had gone from start to off load without getting the all important middle bit right…I wish them well and have a sneaky suspicion that they will get to where they want to be but in a different form to what they think now.

A brand evolves and its  a case of getting all the parts to be working together before the essence becomes distilled.Marketing,sales, distribution and customer research all play their part.

A good name isn’t enough as Deborah Meaden said when talking last week about Gloven…at least this week were were spared an explanation from Duncan Bannatyne on names for products —Gloven was wrong because it wasn’t a cross between oven and glove like a spoon and and a fork…can’t think how that works

What a spork…

Content sticks as well...

I’ve just come to the end of this brilliant book and am amazed at what it’s telling me.

Amazed I might add because it has changed the way that I think about marketing, the old rules truly are dead and finished if this book is anything to go by.

Grant Leboff has again come up with a major book that challenges the marketing approach.

The traditional marketing approach has been one of shouting at the consumer with the hope that some will listen and use your products.This route has proved to be an effective path for many a company…until now…

The internet has changed our relationships with others, we interact more we have choice like never before and we have the ability to be what the book calls “attractive”. It’s about reputation and about the experience that these companies give the consumer.

Never before has it been more important to enter into a process of engagement.As the book says its about the “Return on Engagement” not the “Return on Investment”.

Customers demand that engagement so that they feel valued and included.No longer can they be ignored or passed over without consideration being given for what they feel and want.

Companies need to deliver a consistent experience and tailor their services to that experience…if you are an accountant do you provide accountancy or reassurance and support? Not all accountants are the same….

Whilst striving for that consistent experience it’s crucial to monitor it so that it remains so.Customers are increasingly aware of when attention slips and they vote with their wallets.

Listening to your customers before someone else does really should be a major priority.

Read the book,digest the learning and begin to engage…

Not the best award Talk Talk have had

Next week sees the new Mary Portas series Secret Shopper starting on C4,Wednesday 9pm.

This will be a must watch because it seeks to show warts and all the lack of customer service that seems normal in this country.

Scary Mary gathers the evidence and confronts the chiefs to show them just how bad things are.

Brilliant…it’s about time that customer service was elevated to where it belongs, to the top of the customer experience.

At the same time the Daily Mail today delivers the results of it’s worst customer service award…and the Wooden Spoon goes to Talk Talk..

Other contenders were Santander,HMRC,Ryanair,Nationwide and the Royal Mail.

It seems that Talk Talk have done very little Listen Listen and customers have been treated in the most appalling manner….Calls not returned,staff that were rude,and dishonest claiming that faults would be fixed and lying about tariffs to get customers to change to a higher one.Some customers have had no phone or internet for months and still could not get anything done to sort it out.

Chasing new customers is one thing but failing to deliver on service standards to existing customers is unforgivable.

We need to stand up for ourselves and insist on good service as a given and not fall over backwards when we encounter a helpful,friendly and smiling face that makes our encounter truly great.

All companies in what ever sector may just be about to get the Portas treatment from a lot more people…about time….

This old thing still works well

Rumours of its demise have been greatly exaggerated..

A recent article in B2B Marketing highlighted just how popular the channel still is and that it is et to grow.

Recent research shows the main uses for Telemarketing appear to be for “generating new leads” and for booking “sales appointments” closely followed by “lead qualification”.

These primary demand generation factors,whilst important,are not the only use that Telemarketing can be put to.

It’s interesting that this Telemarketing survey was conducted via Email…Customeyes have been saying for some time that Tel-E-Marketing is the way forward where both elements are combined.

An interesting finding from the research was that customer feedback and research were also cited as uses of Telemarketing.

As a research tool the telephone is vastly underrated and can deliver some amazing results.People love to tell you things and “conversations” not calls allow you to explore and dig more than any email or social media campaign can.

Social media is a great marketing and research channel when used in conjunction with the telephone.

We are becoming more used to punching out emails as a first means of communication than getting on the phone and building rapport.

Maybe it’s time that the phone was dusted off and used more often.

If you need some help with your Telemarketing then please do email us….or push the boat out and call…

Full survey results available at www.b2bm.biz/telemarketing

You can beat the big boys....keep trying

A great article in the FT on 23rd November  -”The Value of Being an Underdog” gives hope to those of us who are up against industry Leviathans.

At times all effort seems futile until cracks appear that allow us smaller,leaner outfits to steal an advantage.

Steve Jobs once said “why join the navy when you can be a pirate?”…this approach has allowed Apple to still be seen as a challenger brand,a maverick that delivers great products.

4 key areas were identified as crucial to the challenger approach.

1.Decide what you stand for and stick to it..retain your core principles

2.Craft a compelling story….make sure that you have a consistent bio that grabs attention

3.Build a Lighthouse Identity….Adam Morgans phrase relates to being a thought leader and instigator – don’t navigate by the consumer let them navigate by you..

4.Be Brave…stick with what you believe to be the right way…

There is of course another factor and that is confidence… be supremely confident in the image that you portray and in story you build your company on.

To challenge successfully takes determination and steely nerves and a dose of basic research awareness…

Steve Jobs may think focus groups are a waste of time but the average company can only benefit when undertaking some straight forward business intelligence ground work.

Who is doing what and where?

What does the market place customer have to say about who is in and who is out?

Any nugget can be turned to your advantage…it was after all a small stone that felled Goliath…a small stone that was delivered effectively…

Go get ‘em