This just in: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!

Posted on | July 28, 2010

This could also go under the ‘if it looks like shit and smells like shit – it’s probably shit’ heading, but hey, I’m trying to clean up my act a bit (and my mother tells me I curse too much anyway).

Onwards and upwards.

I’ve been asked to speak about Social Media at a couple of business events later this year. What’s funny about that is this: I’ve been asked because I normally present the complete opposite view from all the so-called social media gurus out there. And I can see why. I listened to a guy speak a couple of weeks ago, and he was basically insistent that social media is the area ll businesses need to focus on. A not-so-subtle byline to his message was – if your business isn’t concentrating on social media….you will suffer tremendously.

Sometimes that’s true. Social media can be a very effective tool. Or should I say, there are a lot of very effective social media tools out there. These tools are like any other tools. They work extremely well for some jobs…not so well for other jobs.

(the metaphors write themselves, really. Hammers & nails come to mind immediately)

Coming back to my point: Not all tools work for all jobs. There is no golden ticket and Willy Wonka doesn’t actually exist.

Marketing casts a wide net. It needs to. And underpinning everything that you do has to be a solid understanding of what you’re trying to achieve, where you’re trying to get to, and what the best tools for the job are.

It’s a bit of this and a bit of that.

It’s a combination of things.

If someone tries to tell you that this is the one thing you have to concentrate on, and it will be the thing that makes your business, it’s probably too good to be true.

At this moment in time, this is particularly applicable to social media. At one of these talks, the current ‘guru’ was talking about how businesses need to take advantage of Facebook. (to which I say: potentially true, but not always) He talked and he talked and guess what? His business has a Facebook page with about 24 fans. Mostly friends of his. Now I ask you, does that seem like a good resource to spend time on? Do I need to answer that? (hint: no)

When I develop a marketing strategy for a company, I look at all areas and all opportunities. Nothing is prejudiced against and everything is valid until it’s been argued against. Direct mail? Sure! It’s hugely effective for some businesses. Telemarketing? Absolutely! We’ve had brilliant results. Social Media? Definitely! you just have to pick the right tools for the job.

Pick the right tools for the job. My old shop teacher would be so proud.

- j

Belgian Beers, Canal boats & Customer Service (with a little Social Media thrown in)

Posted on | July 21, 2010

Did you ever play the ‘one of these things just doesn’t belong’ game? I didn’t like that game either, and in this case, all three of these items featured in my vacation last week. And to be honest, I was really only planning on the first two.

I don’t read (or, in fact, speak) Dutch, so in between excursions around the country, I was hungry to read anything that was printed in a language I could understand. I fell onto an old copy of US Airways’ magazine, and was struck by an article they wrote about companies engaging customers via social media.

I was struck because, somewhat unexpectedly, the article made a lot of sense.

The gist of the article was pretty straightforward:

‘Customer Service hasn’t changed. It’s still about the customer.’

Think about that for a second. I don’t know about you, but I’m usually bombarded by social media experts and online advertising gurus. There are lot of words that get thrown about. Buzz words. Dumb words. Scary words.

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
SEO
Pay-Per-Click

(your company doesn’t have a Facebook page????  PANIC!)

Anyway, what impressed me about the article was the focus back to the essential point:

Customer service is about the customer.

(That is one of the best marketing rules you will ever want to remember)

I’ll put it simply:

Social Media can be a hugely valuable customer service tool for your company, but don’t forget:

1. It’s about the customer.
2. It’s about the customer AND you
3. It’s about listening and interacting – not shouting

It was a good article, and it was an unexpected pleasure to read.

(also, the beer was excellent, thanks)

- j

Lost in Translation

Posted on | July 8, 2010

All marketing is local. There, I’ve said it.

I like reading up on Franchise opportunities. They all boast about having ‘world-class marketing’ (where did that phrase come from anyway? It sounds like some sort of weird advert for hoovers) systems in place that will guarantee that their franchisees will make tons and tons of money.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I was always told that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The reality is most franchises fall down in translation – translating what they found successful in one area into another one. This isn’t as easy as it seems, and it’s a critical part of developing a marketing strategy for your franchise.

Repeat after me: All marketing is local. All marketing is local. All…you get the idea.

What works in one place won’t necessarily work in another. What works for one type of customer will turn another one off. You simply have to understand the local market before you send your new franchisee out to sell. If you don’t, they’ll get frustrated and accuse you of shoddy marketing. And they’d be right. Just because it worked in one area doesn’t mean it will work in another.

I speak three languages. That’s not bragging, it’s the truth. When you’re translating from another language, you very rarely do it literally – you almost always form your words in a way that will make sense to that new language. You adjust for your new audience.

It’s the same with marketing. When we create a marketing strategy for a franchise, we look to adjust it as new franchisees come on board. We translate it into the local market – taking advantages of what the local opportunities are.

Go on, say it one more time: All marketing is local.

- j

(this was originally written for The Franchise Gap)

Will it blend makes me laugh again…

Posted on | June 29, 2010

Our office loves the BlendTec ‘will it blend’ YouTube videos. What a brilliant use of video and a great idea for a viral campaign that really stuck to people. They have a shed load of views….

With the new iPhone 4, they are at it again with a slightly more ‘produced’ video.

Hilarious as always. I really want to know how many blenders these guys sell…I’ll have to go look them up.

-j

If you need me, I’ll be in the bar…

Posted on | June 29, 2010

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to really sit down and write. Sadly, today is not going to be one of those rare opportunities.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks. I’ve been really active on the meeting front recently, and it got me thinking how much my business is dependent on meeting new and varied people.

I was talking to a friend the other day who was bemoaning a lack of new business coming in. One simple question diagnosed the problem (and pointed to the solution):

How many meetings have you had?

The answer, of course, was none.

Now I should qualify this. I’m not talking about spending all of your time out and about having coffee and attending networking events. I think we’ve all seen people who spend all of there time doing that. Just because you’re out there doesn’t mean it’s time well spent – and yet you see a lot of people trying to convince themselves the opposite is true.

But most businesses (especially in the smaller category) are dependent on meeting new people. We form alliances, get to know one another, see mutual opportunities….it’s how we get new business in.

I’ve been spending a lot of time recently out and about forming relationships. It feels good to do it again, and it’s crucial to getting new business.

How are you doing?

- j

Jack of all trades, master of f*ck all.

Posted on | June 4, 2010

I’m sorry if this seems like another rant. I really am. I’m suddenly aware that these posts are making me seem like the grumpy old man waving his walking stick at the kids and shouting at them to “get off my damn land!”

I’m really a very nice person. Honest. I like puppies and everything.

(actually I f*cking hate dogs)

But anyway…I’ll get back to my point. This kind of occurred to me after reading a post on LinkedIn asking for recommendations for a good (and cheap, of course…it’s always got to be cheap) PR & Marketing company.

Why would you ever want to combine these two? They are separate skill sets. They have separate experience and separate applications.

The problem is, I can see why they asked. It’s not their fault.

There are so many companies out there that claim to be all things for all people. There is a HUGE problem in our industry of conflating entirely different skill-sets. This leads a lot of companies into doing work they just aren’t good at, which this leads to disappointment and, ultimately, a damaging reputation hit. I love seeing design companies that make great claims to marketing strategy, or website companies that make great claims to design. More often than not they just aren’t very good at one (or, to be honest, both).

So which is it? Are you a PR company or a marketing company? Are you a design company or a sales company? Do you actually have a focus and understanding of what you’re good at? Are you actually  good at any of the things you list on the ‘our services’ section of your website?

So in the interest of full disclosure:

I can’t design, I don’t do websites and I’m only an amateur hand at photography.

I’m also not a PR expert and I don’t claim to be.

I’m not a Sales trainer and would never pretend to be.

I’m not an Event Planner and I won’t ever be.

(should I go on?)

What I am good at (and consequently, so is my company) is figuring out how to make money for my clients. How to find income streams, how to bring products to the market, how to build a brand and how to expand. We’re good at building companies. We’re good at clarifying companies. We’re good at reaching out to new markets and new opportunities.

Our role is to develop the long-term strategy that will bring our clients the requisite return. We’re a marketing strategy company. When it comes to implementing that strategy (be it advertising, design, PR etc.) we bring in the best. And we get the best out of them.

I would much rather be a master of one than a jack of ‘jack shit’.

- Jordan ‘sweetness and light’ Fleming

It’s not the what – it’s the how, why and where.

Posted on | May 26, 2010

That is very, very, true.

When I talk to people in business, and I mention I am in marketing, most people assume I am a designer of some sort or another. “So you build websites?” I get asked a lot, or “So you can design me a business card or brochure?”

Yes, but that’s not the point.

The problem is that most people think of marketing as a thing. It’s a leaflet or an advertisement. It’s a brochure or a website. And that’s true, up to a point, but it misses the real truth of how marketing is effective. Thinking of marketing as a product (ie. the ‘what’) means you’ll miss the real areas you need to look at in your business.

The truth of it is, there are lots of great designers out there. There are lots of way of putting something together that will be effective. The end products are the easy part of marketing.

The hard bit which, conveniently, most creative companies aren’t very good at, is figuring out why something needs to be done and how it can be implemented. The hard bit is understanding the profitable areas of a business and charting out where this business is, how it can be obtained, and what the easiest routes are.

Too many companies ignore this, particularly when it comes to the SME market (where marketing tends to be a knee-jerk, ad-hoc, affair).

Without an effective strategy, marketing activities tend to flounder around and not go anywhere fast. It’s hard to go anywhere, when you’re not sure which way you should be pointed (and why that’s the right way to go).

Starting with the ‘what’ is completely ass-backwards. You need to start out with how, why and where to really get structured marketing strategy that can bring you a proper return.

-j

Dead fish don’t stay for long…

Posted on | May 21, 2010

It’s been a long week, and long weeks tend to make me reflective. Or short-tempered. I’m not sure which.

Anyway, it’s a been a week.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m getting sick of people not managing their data lists. We all know that email marketing became the ‘golden ticket’ a few years ago. “Hurrah” thousands of small businesses cried, ” look at how many people we can reach for little (or no) cost!”

(sure now the big thing is social media and, guess what, the problems are the same)

I got to thinking about this because I got a really annoying email in my inbox today. It was a pretty standard email. And it was a bulk email. They are looking for business and want to sell to me.

That’s not what irritated me. What really got my back up was the fact that I have un-subscribed from this list three times. Three times. I don’t want their emails. I don’t want their company. I don’t want their shitty service. But I don’t seem to have a choice in this.

That’s just poor marketing. First off you send me an email I didn’t ask for. Then you compound my annoyance by having a shitty list management system. So I’ve now clocked who this company is and, needless to say, I’ll have nothing good to say about them.

I do have a point. Email marketing can be a good way of reaching people. It can be a great way of keeping in touch with your current clients and customers, and it can be a great way of keeping your profile up with people you don’t see a lot. It really can.

Email can also be an effective way of reaching someone new. We recently ran a campaign with a client that used (as one of the steps) an email to cold prospects and we received a tremendous response. But that’s because we did it properly.

I don’t see the fundamentals ever changing. If something is relevant to me, I’ll be interested. If it’s not. I won’t. That’s all.

I’m going to flush some fish down the toilet and go play squash.

- jordan

Why settle for less?

Posted on | May 6, 2010

That’s sort of a cryptic start, so I’ll give some background.

My company works with new-start, high-growth, businesses. These are businesses that have a great potential for growth (hence the term high-growth…duh) but normally need significant money to get things started. They are usually product-based businesses (physical or software) that have a mass-market appeal.

The problem with all of this is simple.

Money.

I know it’s a bit of a cliché, but it really does take money to make money. That or a tremendous amount of luck. Businesses that want to go after a large market need to prepare themselves in the right way. They need to secure their IP, identify their markets (and the strategy to reach them) and create the opportunity to successfully launch.

Money is a tough part of this equation. From personal experience I’ve seen some projects piss away a lot of money on needless expenses, poor decisions and crappy teams. I’ve seen companies burn through hundreds of thousands of pounds. That’s one problem in this industry – making sure that ‘money raised’ is ‘money well spent’.

The other side of the coin seems to be a really British sort of problem – settling for too  little. I’ve seen companies that have a good product and a willing market fall down for the simple reason of not asking for enough money. It was almost like they are so happy to be getting money at all, that they’ll happily settle for whatever they can.

The question we always ask is: ‘What does this money get you?” That’s an important question. What is the point of raising £80-100K when you really need £800K-£1m? What does that initial money get you? Are you going to be right back to the investors (with hat in hand) unable to proceed?

Now investors aren’t stupid, and the best ones will identify this pretty easily, but a number of smaller (angel) investors may not be clued up enough to really look at how much money it will take to get something to the market effectively.

It’s critical that the stages are identified early on. It may take £80-100K to establish a proper prototype and gather market demand/intelligence. It may take more. It may be that you can get to market effectively for £300K. It may take £2M+. None of these things are set in stone – they are all directly tied to the proposition and the market (and luck/opportunity).

My point is: these goalposts need to be identified. I’ve seen too many companies go for too little money, and they end up failing. Go for the right amount of money, and set your targets appropriately. It’s the only way to get a successful finish (and keep your investors happy).

-j

Memo to self: It may be time to think about Franchising…

Posted on | April 28, 2010

That’s sort of a convoluted way of starting, but I’m in a funny sort of mood this morning.

But good news (and if you’ve been thinking about franchising your business it’s great news) – The Franchise Gap is up and running.

For those of you that don’t know, the franchise world is one of the areas we’ve been working in over the past couple of years. In that time, we’ve been working with a couple of Franchise experts, and that relationship has been bearing proper fruit. The Franchise Gap was the next logical step – a collective of businesses that can work together to provide all the expertise to successfully franchise a business.

The group has an open meeting every month where we invite guests to come and meet the team. If you’re thinking about franchising your business, or you’re a new franchisor that’s looking to grow, we have the right people to drive you forward.

Check it out.

-j