Earlier in the week I got bored, very bored, watching Top Gear

This has never happened before, it was the first time. Top Gear is one of my all time favourite TV shows, so what’s going on?

The great thing about Top Gear was the transition from being a ‘car’ show; all about cars, to becoming an ‘entertainment’ show; using cars.

This was a brilliant concept and a very successful formula which made it into an exceptionally popular programme. It was never about appraising cars that the masses buy, that was left to 5th Gear and the others.

But now they are in the doldrums because the creativity has definitely gone AWOL and so too have probably the budgets for the stunts.

And even the new stunts lack edge, seem inappropriate with the mood of the times appearing either staged or stupid, or a combination of the two, rather than ‘cool’.

Sadly, the result is a fallback to what’s worked in the past, which is precisely why I think I’m becoming rather bored with part, if not all of the show. It has lost its way and the presenters have become caricatures of their own personalities.

And this is a great shame because it used to be my favourite programme and was cutting edge, for many years. But now, like the Sony Walkman, things have moved on and left it behind. It’s redundant and passed its sell by date.

And this is what happens when we get used to something and don’t keep it up to date. We become complacent, which is why it’s important to continually critique what we do, with fresh thinking.

Inspiration from Nelson Mandela

2009 has been a tough year for many of us, so here are a few words from the great man to inspire us all to achieve something special during 2010.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around us.
We were born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”.

Nelson Mandela, 1994 inaugural speech

Beatles to Bowie exhibition

This is the 60’s exposed, a time when pop music and its associated pop culture played a crucial role in establishing the look and sounds of the era in Britain and the World.

This was the time of ‘The Stones’ versus ‘The Beatles’ with fans loyal to either, but rarely to both.

It was a time of musical optimism.  Anything could be achieved, no limits.  Bands arrived, went platinum and became global success stories.

And there was no internet, no email, no photocopiers no fax machine and a transatlantic phone call, costing £’s per minute had to be booked!

So with communications like this, just how was this achieved?

In my mind it was a combination of several qualities.

• Raw talent, it was a time of great musicians
• It was about networking in the truest sense, no bells and whistles
• There was no right or wrong way.  Folk just got on with the job without today’s  analysis paralysis
• It was unsophisticated, KISS
• There was no pretence, because there was no way to fake anything
• People believed it would happen, so it did.

These are all qualities as great today as they were then. 

And all this energy is captured in this fabulous exhibition of photographs in London’s National Portrait Gallery, running until 24 January 2010.

This exhibition is superb; from Bill Zygmant’s Bee Gees, to two marvellous Bailey portraits of the Rolling Stones.  Neither of which would have been heavily re-touched and both with that wonderfully creamy texture and depth that comes from using film.

This is the true art of photography pitched up against today’s science of the image.  There’s no cheating; nowhere to hide and it’s real – we can all learn from this.

Survey identifies sales challenge in East Anglia

We surveyed companies to find out why they attended last month’s Destination Growth conference at IWM Duxford. 

56% wanted to find solutions to changing customer buying patterns, 44% to find ways to overcome pricing sensitivity, nearly 24% to find ways around shorter sales lead times and 20% to ‘Add Value’ for customers. 

The survey mirrors what we have been finding for some time now.  To succeed, businesses need to look creatively at ways to build loyalty, market these initiatives to their customers and train their staff to embrace the changes required to use them to best effect. 

Destination Growth ‘09 was very well received with 74% of those surveyed saying that the event either met or exceeded their expectations.  Over 37% of attendees claimed that they took away three or more ‘Business Nuggets’ that provided insight to help them build their businesses.

To encourage delegates to enter the survey there was a prize draw to win a copy of Destination Growth’s keynote speaker Greg Dyke’s book, Inside Story.  The lucky winner was Roy Badcock (left) from Cambridge Building Society, receiving his prize from Jonathan Wainwright (right).

The Cambridge Building Society is an independent, mutual organisation which has been operating in Cambridge since 1850.  The head office and branches are all within a 20-mile radius of Cambridge. The Society has over 120,000 local members and assets exceeding £844 million.

A full copy of the survey is available from FCG Consultancy in Ely by contacting Jonathan Wainwright on 07971 006 446 or emailing jonathan@fcgconsultancy.co.uk.

 

What do customers expect from the email marketing they receive?

To stop your email from being deleted you really need to know, so ask regularly.  And having asked, act upon what they tell you!  These are my top ten customer needs, identified over the years, to help you start the process.

1. Protect them – keep their data safe and don’t sell it on.
2. Make them feel like you know them – start to build a picture about them by engaging in a two way communication process.
3. Help them – make sure your content helps them save time, money or reduces activity that frustrates them.
4. Promise them – be very clear about what you say and always live up to the expectations you set, whether that be content of the communication or quality of your products or services.
5. Make it easy for them to respond – whether that’s to forward, unsubscribe, purchase, reply or block.  Don’t lead them on a wild goose chase clicking through numerous web pages, keep it succinct.
6. Educate them – tell them something relevant and interesting that they don’t already know, but may appreciate.  A little learning in a ‘sound bite’ always goes down well.
7. Grab their attention – the subject line must persuade them to open the email, this is an absolute must.
8. Ask them - if you want to change the frequency or content and get their permission, this will help build a trusting relationship.
9. Give them options – let them choose what they want to receive from you rather than taking a one size fits all approach.
10. Free them – make it easy for them to change the information content they receive from you or to unsubscribe if that’s what they want to do.

Follow these ten top tips, build your list and watch your sales grow.

FCG Consultancy’s survey explains why delegates attended Destination Growth ’09 and explores their business priorities

Over 37% claimed that they took away three or more ‘Business Nuggets’ to provide insight into helping them build the business.

Destination Growth ‘09 was very well received with 74% of those surveyed saying that the event either met or exceeded their expectations. 

When it came to personal importance, nearly 48% of the participants put the Seminars/Workshops top.  This was followed with Keynote Speakers 32% and Networking 24%, with Exhibiting and Meeting the Exhibitors being least important at 8% and 4%.

56% were looking to the event to provide possible solutions to changing customer buying patterns, 44% to find ways to overcome pricing sensitivity and nearly 24% to find ways around shorter sales lead times and 20% to ‘Add Value’. 

The last points are particularly interesting as for some time now we have been helping clients look creatively at ways to build customer loyalty, market these initiatives to their customers and train their staff to embrace the changes required to use them to best effect. 

Where clients meet the entry criteria we are also able to help them access grants to support the training aspect of this package.

If you want a full copy of the survey (available from 30^th November), or to discuss how our skills can protect and develop your customer base, call Jonathan Wainwright on 07971 006 446 or email jonathan@fcgconsultancy.co.uk

Up to £5,000 training contribution to help make YOUR business more competitive

Grants are available now, to organisations with fewer than 250 employees based in the EEDA area, to address a wide range of business needs. 

The aim is to support organisations who have identified a critical need get in to shape and beat their competition. 

This programme, which gives access to up to 50% of the cost of the training (from £100, up to £5,000) is running now.  It’s being delivered across 10 sectors, which have been identified as key economic drivers, in the East of England.

If your business in these sectors – you could be eligible:

1. Automotive and High-Tech manufacture
2. Creative Sector
3. Financial Services
4. Food and Drink Processing
5. Life Sciences and Healthcare
6. Low Carbon and Sustainable Technologies
7. Social Enterprise
8. Sustainable Communities and the Built Environment
9. Tourism and Olympics 2012
10. Transport Gateways.

I can help you:

1. Identify  the business area where you will get the most benefit
2. Scope the content and KPI’s of the training required to help you succeed
3. Provide guidance to apply for the funding
4. Deliver a training programme to achieve the goals you wish to achieve.

If you want to equip your business with new skills to succeed, call me on 07971 006 446 or email jonathan@fcgconsultancy.co.uk

Blown down

There is a wonderful and very special place in Ely, it’s down by the river for all to enjoy and it costs nothing to visit.

It’s where Mums and Dads congregate and take their Children. 

It’s where Granddads and Grandmothers gather. 

It’s where friends and acquaintances and other people just pass the time of day.

And somewhere people park to eat their fish and chips.

It’s a lovely spot cos Ducks meet there too; under the shade of a lovely Weeping Willow.  And a tale or two that tree can tell I’m sure.

It’s where until today, children used to feed the Ducks.

But the Weeping Willow is crying for real, it’s split clean in two by the wind. 

I truly hope that half can be saved.

Is social media marketing a waste of time or a powerful ally?

Unlike traditional sales and marketing, web 2.0 or social media isn’t a simple cause and effect process.  It can’t simply be defined as PR, sales, marketing or customer service as it can be a combination of each.  So just where should SME’s start with this exciting new medium?

To start with you can’t ignore it as another fad or plaything.  Sites like Facebook and Twitter are now well understood and established platforms with major brands trusting what they have to offer. 

And this is backed up by the figures.  For the first time online advertising (£1.75B) has now outstripped TV (£1.64B).

And the results can be impressive too.  Earlier in the year Dell ran a Twitter campaign which generated more than £1.9M worth of sales.

But it’s no use setting up a Twitter, Facebook or any of the other accounts and hope for the best.  You could waste hours of time and introduce mixed messages, which at best will confuse people about your organisation and at worst alienate them.

To avoid this and project manage your entry into social media marketing, you need to create a six point plan, which should cover the following areas:

1. Strategy and objectives to clearly establish what you wish to achieve (e.g. product awareness, product trial, customer feedback, repeat sales, account reactivation)
2. Identify which social media sites are best placed to help you achieve your objectives
3. Establish the tangibles you are trying to effect (e.g. targeted leads, drive more traffic to your website, readership, conversations with prospects and customers)
4. Creation of a ‘Touch point’ map, identifying where in your organisation, prospects and customers directly experience your brand
5. Establish how you can measure what you wish to achieve and thus determine the ROI
6. Check that you have the appropriate resources to manage your social media marketing.  It is real time communication that has a rapid roll-out and very fast response.

With traditional marketing, what you say directly influences the actions of the group targeted.  With social media marketing what you say, influences how the targeted group thinks about you and then provides them with a platform enabling them to communicate this to others. 

This is why the ‘Touch point’ map is vital.  If you have a great product but poor delivery, social media marketing is a great way to improve.  However you must acknowledge what people feel, not try to sweep their views under the carpet.  This is why you need to be scrupulously honest and transparent, otherwise you will be caught out and that can back fire on you. 

It’s all about building relationships and delighting, rather than selling to the people with whom you are communicating.  Get it right and you create a powerful ally, as positive testimonials are arguably one of the most powerful and effective ways to increase sales.  Get it wrong and you can cause confusion and create negative opinion.  However, ignore it and it is quite clear that you are missing a proven opportunity.

‘Found Out’- a thought provoking Exhibition from Fran Crowe

Sponsored by AdeC (Arts Development East Cambridgeshire), ‘Found Out’ challenges what we do with our plastic rubbish.  It is a thought-provoking and powerful reminder, from artist Fran Crowe, about why we need to look after the world we all live in. 

According to the UN, there are over 46,000 pieces of plastic litter per square mile of ocean worldwide, leading to the death of over 1,000,000 seabirds and over 100,000 marine mammals every year through entanglement or swallowing.  The exhibition explores the relationship between plastics and the environment, which provides a fascinating, yet disturbing insight into how we treat our world. 

Unless burned (which in turn pollutes) plastic it is extremely difficult to get rid of, so nearly all the plastic ever produced still exists in our homes, or in landfills and the oceans today and is growing at an alarming rate.

Fran’s work is 99% recycled, created from locally sourced discarded marine litter, mainly collected from East Anglia’s beaches.  Even nature’s most powerful washing machine can’t tame plastic.  It can take a1000 years or more to degrade in seawater and still continues to pollute with thousands of toxic microscopic fibres.  And Greenpeace recently discovered that there is a vortex of floating pieces of plastic in the southern Pacific which is the size of Texas.

Fran’s exhibition explores our relationship between increasing consumer demands for plastic packaging and materials and the environment.  The images are beautiful yet paradoxically made from waste.  And it all looks harmless enough, yet at the same time shocks, communicated playfully, teasing the viewer, lightening the moment before hitting them with plastic’s deadly message.

Entry is free and ‘Found Out’ runs until Sunday 22^nd November at Ely’s Babylon Gallery on Waterside.  The show includes a ‘matchbox gallery’, wildlife traps and an everlasting birdfeeder and is suitable for all ages.

www.adec.org.uk